Wake Up With BWW 2/18: MCP Presents THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL Tonight, and More!

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Happy Monday! Kick off a brand new week by catching up on the latest Broadway news!

First, further details emerged about the chaos and mass panic a medical emergency caused at a recent performance of Hamilton in San Francisco. Hamilton and SHN released a statement regarding the issue, and stating that those in attendance would be invited to see a future performance.

We've learned that Bette Midler will be performing at the Oscars! The actress and singer will sing The Place Where Lost Things Go from the recent film Mary Poppins Returns during the ceremony on February 24.

BroadwayWorld congratulates Broadway couple Josh Young and Emily Padgett on the birth of their new baby girl. Adele May Young was born on February 3, 2019, and the pair took to Instagram to share the first photos of the child.

Read more about these stories and many more below! Want our morning reports delivered via email? Subscribe here!

1) HAMILTON and SHN Release Statement on Chaos at San Francisco Performance; Further Details Revealed
by Stephanie Wild

As BroadwayWorld previously reported, a recent performance of Hamilton in San Francisco ended in chaos and mass panic after a misinterpreted medical emergency.. (more...)

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2) Bette Midler Will Perform a Song From MARY POPPINS RETURNS at the Oscars
by Stephanie Wild

Bette Midler is headed for the Oscars! According to Variety, she will perform "The Place Where Lost Things Go" from Mary Poppins Returns at the Oscar ceremonies on February 24.. (more...)

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3) BWW Review: The York Reconstructs and Revives Lerner and Loewe Obscurity THE DAY BEFORE SPRING
by Michael Dale

Opening in November of 1945 and closing up shop less than four months later, the sophomore Broadway effort of the team of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, THE DAY BEFORE SPRING, would be the last musical by the composer of sumptuous melodies and the scribe of urbane wit that would lapse into obscurity.. (more...)

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4) A Muse-ic Lesson: Counting Down the Best Songs in Stage-Bound HERCULES!

As BroadwayWorld reported last week, The Public Theater will conclude its summer season at the Delacorte Theatre with free performances of the Public Works' musical adaptation of HERCULES (August 31-September 8), with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by David Zippel, book by Kristoffer Diaz, and directed by Lear deBessonet. . (more...)

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5) Song Insights: 'The Ladies Who Lunch', COMPANY
by Rona Kelly

Musical Director Joel Fram joins us once again to dissect "The Ladies Who Lunch", Marianne Elliott's staging of it, and the 'complex set of causes and effects' that result from this reworking.. (more...)

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Today's Call Sheet:

MCP presents The Scarlet Pimpernel tonight!

Frank Wildhorn and Nan Knighton's musical comedy will be presented tonight at David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center. Gabriel Barre (Stage Director) and Jason Howland (Music Director) reunite to lead the cast and creative team. The cast is led by Tony Yazbeck, as Percy Blakeney, with Laura Osnes(Marguerite), Norm Lewis (Chauvelin) Corey Cott (Armand), Dana Costello(Marie) and Drew Gehling(Prince of Wales/Robespierre).

With music by Frank Wildhorn and lyrics and book by Nan Knighton, The Scarlet Pimpernel is based on Baroness Orczy's famous 20th-century novel of the same name, taking place at the peak of the French Revolution and the fight for liberty, equality and fraternity. Set in England and France, The Scarlet Pimpernel tells the story of an English nobleman Sir Percy Blakeney who adopts a secret identity, the heroic Scarlet Pimpernel, to battle the forces of evil during the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution. The Scarlet Pimpernel serves as a brilliant window to life in 18th-century England, and was a precursor to the spy fiction and superhero genres, featuring a hero hiding under an alias. The musical made its Broadway debut at the Minskoff Theatre on November 9, 1997 and ran through January 2000 in several theatres, has had numerous regional U.S. productions, and has been produced internationally in Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden, Canada, Mexico, Malta, and Norway, among others.

Michael McCormick begins performances in Wicked tonight!

Beginning Monday, February 18, Michael McCormick assumes the role of The Wizard. He succeeds Kevin Chamberlin who played his final performance on Sunday, February 17.

McCormick joins a cast which currently includes Jessica Vosk as Elphaba, Katie Rose Clarke as Glinda, Nancy Opel as Madame Morrible, Ryan McCartan as Fiyero, Jamie Jackson as Doctor Dillamond, and Jesse JP Johnson as Boq. Kristen Martin (Nessarose) will play her final performance on Sunday, March 10.

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What we're geeking out over: The Clintons recently stopped by TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD On Broadway!

Hillary and Bill Clinton made a stir tonight at the Broadway adaptation of Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird. The former President and First Lady received a warm welcome from the sold-out crowd as they took their seats.

Based on an event that occurred in Alabama in the 1930s, Harper Lee's enduring story of racial injustice and the destruction of childhood innocence centers on one of the most beloved and admired characters in American literature, the small-town lawyer Atticus Finch.

Jeff Daniels leads a cast which includes Celia Keenan-Bolger, Will Pullen, Gideon Glick, Frederick Weller, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Stark Sands, Dakin Matthews, Erin Wilhelmi, Phyllis Somerville, Liv Rooth, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Danny Wolohan, and Neal Huff.

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What we're watching: Barbra Streisand delivers the keynote at the UCLA Anderson's Women's Leadership Summit

UCLA Anderson's Women's Business Connection recently presented Barbra Streisand with the 2019 Velocity Award. The award recognizes Streisand's achievements in raising awareness of many of the most pressing issues of our day.

Streisand is the first recipient of this award, presented at UCLA Anderson's 7th annual Velocity women's summit. Watch her deliver the keynote at the Summit!

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Social Butterfly: Josh Young and Emily Padgett announce the birth of their new baby girl!

Broadway couple Josh Young and Emily Padgett have announced the birth of their new baby girl. Adele May Young was born on February 3, 2019.

BroadwayWorld is happy to congratulate the couple!

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And a Happy Birthday shout-out to Susan Egan, who turns 49 today!

Susan Egan has made powerful impressions in theatre, film, television and music. She headlined on Broadway as Thoroughly Modern Millie, won critical acclaim as "Sally Bowles" in Cabaret, starred in Triumph of Love and State Fair, and received Tony Award and Drama Desk nominations for "Best Actress" as the original "Belle" in Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Regionally, Egan starred alongside Carol Burnett in Putting It Together and Tommy Tune in the national tour of Bye, Bye Birdie, and developed works at Yale Repertory, Baltimore Center Stage, South Coast Repertory, and the Mark Taper Forum.

Her film credits include "13 Going on 30," "Gotta Kick It Up" for the Disney Channel, and many award-winning indies seen at Seattle Film Festival, Sarasota Film Festival, Slamdance, the HBO Comedy Festival and beyond. Susan has voiced leading characters in the animated features "Hercules" (Meg), "Spirited Away" (Lin), "Porco Rosso" (Gina), "Lady and the Tramp II" (Angel), "Achmed Saves America" (Ginny), and is currently on Cartoon Network's Steven Universe (Rose Quartz). On television, she spent two seasons on the WB's Nikki, and guest-starred on "House," "Numb3rs," "NYPD Blue," "Arli$$," "Drew Carey,"" Great Performances," and countless others.

Susan has headlined with more than 50 symphony orchestras worldwide, including concerts at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center and the Hollywood Bowl, and has over 40 recording credits including her solo CDs: "All That and More," "So Far," "Winter Tracks," "CoffeeHouse" (Best Vocalist 2004), "Susan Egan LIVE," "The Secret of Happiness," and 2015's "Softly." She is an accomplished master teacher in music performance, obsessive gardener, happy wife, and leader to her daughters' two Girl Scout troops.

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See you bright and early tomorrow, BroadwayWorld!