Global Roundup 3/14: Britney Musical Comes To Chicago, Alice Ripley in INTO THE WOODS, DIANA Reviews, and More!
By: BWW Special Mar. 15, 2019
BroadwayWorld presents a comprehensive weekly roundup of regional stories around our Broadway World, which include videos, editor spotlights, regional reviews and more. This week, we feature the new Britney Spears Musical, Alice Ripley in INTO THE WOODS, review for Diana in California, the CATS film and more!
Check out our top news and features from around the BroadwayWorld below! Want more great global content? Check out our "Around The World" section!
Top Stories
Britney Spears Musical ONCE UPON A ONE MORE TIME Will Have Pre-Broadway Run in Chicago This Year - Once Upon a One More Time, a new Broadway-bound musical comedy set to the smash hit music of Grammy Award-winning superstar Britney Spears, will have its world premiere this fall at Broadway In Chicago's James M. Nederlander Theatre (24 W. Randolph Street). Previews begin Tuesday, October 29, 2019, with an opening night of November 13, 2019, for its limited engagement through December 1, 2019, before heading to Broadway.
VIDEO: First Look At Alice Ripley, Ali Ewoldt, Constantine Maroulis, Melissa Errico And More In INTO THE WOODS In Concert At Patchogue Theatre - Into The Woods: In Concert opened this weekend at Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts. Alice Ripley plays the role of The Witch. She stars alongside American Idol's Constantine Maroulis as Prince Charming/The Wolf, Melissa Errico as The Baker's Wife, Ayla Schwartz(Disney's Frozen The Broadway Musical) as Little Red Riding Hood, and Ali Ewoldt (The Phantom of the Opera) as Cinderella, along with longtime Sesame Street actor Alan Muraoka (Broadway's Aladdin, The King and I, Miss Saigon) as Narrator/The Mysterious Man), Darren Ritchie (Broadway's Les Misérables, Little Shop of Horrors, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and more) as Rapunzel's Prince, Jim Stanek as The Baker, and Tyler Jones(Book of Mormon tour) as Jack.
Review Roundup: Critics Weigh in on DIANA at La Jolla Playhouse - The new Broadway-bound musical, DIANA, celebrated its official opening last weekend at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego! In 1981, an assistant kindergarten teacher married the Prince of Wales and, overnight, became the most famous woman in the world. But behind the fairytale, there was a troubled marriage and a young woman struggling to find her voice. Facing an entrenched monarchy and unprecedented media scrutiny, Princess Diana surprises everyone - including herself - as she grows into a global phenomenon and manages to change the world. Playhouse Artistic Director Christopher Ashley and the writers behind the Tony Award-winning musical Memphis create this highly-anticipated musical, featuring an epic and sweeping contemporary score. Let's see what the critics had to say!
Betty Buckley Addresses Cell Phone Ringing During Monologue in HELLO, DOLLY! - The SF Chronicle reports that at Saturday night's performance of Hello, Dolly! in San Francisco, Betty Buckley called out an audience member who's phone went off during one of her extended monologues. Buckley reportedly paused and said "Is that for me?" in response to the phone going off. She paused before continuing "You know, there is a button to turn it off." At the evenings curtain call, she also mimed talking on a cell phone.
Photo Flash: Rebel Wilson Visits CATS in Los Angeles - Rebel Wilson recently visited the national tour of CATS at Hollywood Pantages Theatre, and surprised the cast backstage! As previously reported, Wilson will star as Jennyanydots in Tom Hooper's upcoming film adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. The star-studded cast of Cats on film features Jennifer Hudson (Grizabella), Ian McKellen (Gus the Theatre Cat), Judi Dench (Deuteronomy), Idris Elba (Macavity), Rebel Wilson(Jennyanydots), Jason Derulo (Rum Tum Tugger), James Corden (Bustopher Jones), Taylor Swift (Bombalurina), Robert Fairchild (Munkustrap), and Royal Ballet principal dancers Steven McRae (Skimbleshanks) and Francesca Hayward (Victoria).
Top Reviews
Maine: Contributor Carla Maria Verdino-Süllwold reviews City Theater's THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA writing "Biddeford's City Theater rises radiantly to the challenge of producing the infrequently done, butexquisitely beautiful musical, The Light in the Piazza. The Craig Lucas/Adam Guettel work offers a luminous, quasi-operatic, through composed score, and requires a deft and delicate touch to bring the story and characters to life. Director Linda Sturdivant and her excellent company have done just that with restraint, taste, and soaring lyricism."
UK / West End: Contributor Marianka Swain reviews WAITRESS ag the Adelphi Theatre, writing "Sara Bareilles and Jessie Nelson's 2015 musical adaptation of Adrienne Shelly's film, about a small-town waitress who processes her feelings via her skilful baking, brings its sugar and spice mixture to the West End. The result is a tasty treat - albeit with the odd ill-mixed ingredient. Hollywood Handshakes all round."
Seattle: Contributor Jay Irwin reviews ACT's Near Perfect ROMEO + JULIET, writing "Over the years, Dear Readers, I've seen many productions of Shakespeare's oft-produced tragedy 'Romeo + Juliet'. So many productions from so many levels of professionalism with so many different takes on how to tell the story. And to be honest, only one of them even came close to bringing the story of the star-crossed lovers to life. That is until now. ACT's current production with its vibrant staging and top-notch cast incorporating Deaf and hearing actors using American Sign Language in conjunction with the Shakespearean text has created a new standard by which all other R+J's must be judged from here on."
Boston: Contributor Nancy Grossman reviews ONCE at SpeakEasy Stage, writing "Once upon a time, a guy and a girl meet on the streets of Dublin, bond over their shared passion for music, enrich each other's lives, and find the way forward to the separate paths that their lives were meant to follow. With its current homegrown production of ONCE, SpeakEasy Stage Company demonstrates once again its penchant for capturing the essence of an award-winning musical and successfully molding it to fit the expectations of their audience and the parameters of the Roberts Studio Theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts. It was announced today that the run is extended for an additional week due to overwhelming demand."
Milwaukee, WI: Contributor Kelsey Lawler reviews THINGS I KNOW TO BE TRUE at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, writing "This Australian play by Andrew Bovell, now making its American premiere under the direction of Mark Clements at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, is indeed poetic - in its verbiage, the way it flows in and out of monologues, and the way choreography lends surreal moments. But for all the dreaminess of its staging, this is a story that steadily descends into the kinds of nightmares, confusion, and heartache faced by a family whose dynamics might be found in any household.'"
Regional Editor Spotlight:
Kelsey Lawler
Kelsey Lawler is a copywriter by day and zealot for local theater by night. She earned her BA in Writing Intensive English from Marquette University in 2009, and has been working as an editor, creative & freelance writer, and blogger ever since. Kelsey is thrilled to be doing her part to spread the word about Milwaukee's vibrant performing arts scene.
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