Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? Today's big news: BROOKLYNITE and BRIGHT HALF LIFE open off-Broadway, Ralph Fiennes stars in MAN AND SUPERMAN at the National and more!
TODAY'S TOP ITEMS:
- Vineyard Theatre's new superhero musical BROOKLYNITE opens tonight!
- Tanya Barfield's BRIGHT HALF LIFE premieres tonight at the City Center, while Doug Wright's POSTERITY begins off-Broadway!
- Ralph Fiennes stars in MAN AND SUPERMAN, beginning tonight in the West End.
- And Joey Arias performs in tribute to Billie Holiday this evening at The Appel Room...
NEWS YOU MISSED YESTERDAY:
- Lin-Manuel Miranda's HAMILTON is headed to Broadway next season!
- We got a first look (right) at THE AUDIENCE on Broadway, plus new shots of John Cameron Mitchell in HEDWIG!
- Robert Petkoff will lead THE 39 STEPS off-Broadway!
- Nina Arianda, Ellen Burstyn, Kim Cattrall and more will lead a reading of OUR CLASS in April...
- Jessie Mueller is set to headline Carnegie Hall's TAKE THE STAGE concert this spring.
- THE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE cast recording will be released next month!
- And Evan Rachel Wood will reprise her role in FTR: DEAR JOHN HUGHES in Chicago.
Broadway Weather Forecast: Sunny with a high of 40 degrees!
Quote of the Day: A word from MAN AND SUPERMAN star Ralph Fiennes...
"As an actor, there's a bit of you that's decided you want to be looked at and watched, but there's a paradoxical bit that wants to run away."
-- Ralph Fiennes (via BrainyQuote)
What we're reading: In honor of Black History Month, Stewart F. Lane's new book BLACK BROADWAY: AFRICAN AMERICANS ON THE GREAT WHITE WAY. Leslie Uggams, Sheldon Epps and more are appearing with the author at Barnes & Noble today!
Video of the Day: Watch THE AUDIENCE's Dame Helen Mirren scold David Letterman for upstaging her earlier this week!
And a Happy Birthday shout-out to Douglas Hodge, who turns 55 today!
Hodge last appeared on Broadway in Cyrano de Bergerac. Before that, he starred in La Cage aux Folles, for which he won a 2010 Tony and Drama Desk Award for his portrayal of 'Abin', a role that also earned him an Olivier Award in London. Hodge originated the role of 'Willy Wonka' in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in the West End. His other West End credits include Inadmissible Evidence, Guys and Dolls and Bashville. The actor has also appeared on the London stage in many Harold Pinter plays, including No Man's Land, Moonlight, A Kind of Alaska, The Lover, The Collection, Betrayal, and The Caretaker, which earned him an Olivier nomination in 2000. Hodge is also a director and composer and is currently appearing in the TV series Penny Dreadful.
See you bright and early tomorrow, BroadwayWorld!