WAKE UP with BroadwayWorld - Wednesday, April 16, 2014 - OF MICE AND MEN Opens on Broadway!

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? For your most important theatre meal of the day, we've rounded up the big news you missed yesterday, what's on the agenda today, and a few extras to start your day off right.

The Bacon: See what's on the griddle today...

• OF MICE AND MEN, starring James Franco and Chris O'Dowd in their Broadway debuts, opens tonight. Be sure to check back tonight for our live Review Roundup!

Cup of Joe: Perk up and revisit yesterday's big stories...

• SOUL TRAIN is headed to Broadway!
• Kristin Chenoweth revealed she will be returning to the Great White Way, just not in what show...
• Barrett Foa will take the lead in off-Broadway's BUYER & CELLAR this May!
• We got a first look at highlights from Broadway's OF MICE AND MEN (here) and ACT ONE (here)!
• We also got a first listen to the original Broadway cast recording of ROCKY, which will be released on May 27! Hear a preview of five of the tracks here.
• Also in recordings news, Billy Porter released his new solo album, and THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY cast recording is now available!
• On the casting front, Kathleen Chalfant, Teal Wicks and more will appear in THE LIGHTNING THIEF benefit concert next week, and CHASING THE SONG announced its full cast at La Jolla Playhouse!
• Across the pond, ttage and screen legend Angela Lansbury officially became a dame at Windsor Castle.
• Off-Broadway, GREED set its closing date for this Saturday at New World Stages, and THE LIBRARY opened at the Public Theater - read our Review Roundup here!

Broadway Weather Forecast: Happy Hump Day! Sunny with a high of 50 degrees.

Quote of the Day: On the elusive power of the theatre...

"I feel there's a power in theatre, but it's an indirect power. It's like the relationship of the sleeper to the unconscious. You discover things you can't afford to countenance in waking life. You can forget them, remember them a day later or not have any idea what they are about."
-- Tony Kushner (via BrainyQuote)

What we're reading: A new book outlining the career of composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz -- titled THE MUSICAL THEATER OF STEPHEN SCHWARTZ -- hits the shelves today. We're curious to see how thorough and engaging it is!

Video of the Day: In honor of OF MICE AND MEN's opening tonight, watch a fun clip from an episode of Looney Tunes' Bugs Bunny called "The Abominable Snow Rabbit", which first aired in 1961.