Wake Up With BWW 2/28: AIN'T TOO PROUD and KING LEAR Begin Previews, and More!

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! We'd like to first wish a great first preview to both Ain't Too Proud and King Lear, as well as a happy opening to Superhero off-Broadway!

Kids Night on Broadway was recently celebrated, featuring the first-ever Pop-Up Photo Booth Experience in Times Square, hosted by Joey McIntyre. We've got your photo and video coverage here on BroadwayWorld!

Fiddler is extending! We learned yesterday that the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (NYTF) production of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish has extended its run due to popular demand. The show, initially on sale as a limited run through June 30, 2019, has released a new block of tickets available to purchase through Sunday, September 1, 2019.

A Star is Born is headed back to theaters this weekend for an encore run, featuring all new footage. We've got a first listen to one of the previously unheard songs, Clover, below!

Want to learn more about these and other stories? Keep scrolling! Want our morning reports delivered via email? Subscribe here!

1) BWW Review: ROCK OF AGES, New Wimbledon Theatre
by Aliya Al-Hassan

Taking us back to a world of hideous stonewashed denim, huge hair and even bigger rock anthems, Rock of Ages is on a new national tour. The jukebox musical has been doing the rounds since it first appeared in Hollywood in 2005, but this particular version shows that it has not aged well. The paper-thin plot focuses on sweet Southern gal Sherrie arriving in LA's bright lights. Here she meets the sweet and clean-cut Drew at the Bourbon Club. With the threatened demolition of the club as a background, Sheree is drawn into the murky LA underworld where she ends up working in a strip club. After various misunderstandings, the show concludes with a vaguely happy ending; so far, so predictable.. (more...)

2) Photo Coverage: Joey McIntyre, Caitlin Kinnunen & Isabelle McCalla Help Kick Off Kids Night on Broadway in Times Square!
by Jennifer Broski

Just yesterday, The Broadway League celebrated Kids' Night on Broadway with its first-ever Pop-Up Photo Booth Experience in Times Square. Free and open to the public, the specially designed 260-degree, heated photo booth welcomed theatre fans and families to take pictures in Times Square before heading to their evening performances. .. (more...)

3) Photo Coverage: The Cast of ALICE BY HEART Takes Opening Night Bows
by Walter McBride

Last night was the official opening of the New York premiere of the musical Alice By Heart with book by Steven Sater with Jessie Nelson, music by Duncan Sheik, lyrics by Steven Sater and directed by Jessie Nelson. BroadwayWorld was there and you can check out photos of the cast taking their bows below!. (more...)

4) Debut of the Month: C-c-c'mon! Katlyn Carlson Makes Her Broadway Debut in BE MORE CHILL
by Caryn Robbins

Today BE MORE CHILL's Katlyn Carlson speaks to BroadwayWorld about making her debut in a show that proves you should always be yourself - especially if you're a loser...geek...or whatever!. (more...)

5) FIDDLER ON THE ROOF IN YIDDISH Extends Through Sept. 1, New Tickets Released

The National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (NYTF) production of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish has extended its run due to popular demand on the heels of its recent opening on Thursday, February 21, 2019.. (more...)

Today's Call Sheet:

AIN'T TOO PROUD begins previews on Broadway tonight!

The musical, about the life of The Temptations, will play Broadway's Imperial Theatre beginning Thursday, February 28, 2019, with an official Opening Night set for Thursday, March 21, 2019.

Leading the Broadway cast as The Temptations are Derrick Baskin as Otis Williams, James Harkness as Paul Williams, Jawan M. Jackson as Melvin Franklin, Jeremy Pope as Eddie Kendricks, and Ephraim Sykes as David Ruffin.

KING LEAR, starring Glenda Jackson, begins previews on Broadway tonight!

This season's new Broadway production of William Shakespeare's King Lear, starring two-time Academy Award winner, two-time Emmy Award winner, and 2018 Tony Award winner Glenda Jackson in the title role, will also star Tony Award winner Jayne Houdyshell, three-time Obie Award winner Elizabeth Marvel, Aisling O'Sullivan, Pedro Pascal, Tony Award nominee and two-time Drama Desk Award winner John Douglas Thompson, and two-time Olivier Award winner and Golden Globe Award winner Ruth Wilson.

The production, directed by Tony Award winner Sam Gold, will begin previews Thursday, February 28, 2019 and will open Thursday, April 4, 2019 at the Cort Theatre. The production will play a strictly limited engagement through Sunday, July 7, 2019.

SUPERHERO opens off-Broadway tonight!

Before we can save the world, we have to save each other. From the Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer of Next to Normal and the Tony Award-winning writer of Red comes a deeply human new musical about a fractured family, the mysterious stranger in apartment 4-B, and the unexpected hero who just might save the day.

SUPERHERO features Kate Baldwin, Bryce Pinkham, and Kyle McArthur, as well as Julia Abueva, Jake Levy, Salena Qureshi, Thom Sesma,and Nathaniel Stampley.

BWW Exclusive: Broadway Belongs to the Kids! Go Inside the Times Square Kids' Night Kickoff

Set Your DVR...

-Donny Osmond will appear on The Talk today!

-John MULANEY will appear on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon tonight!

What we're geeking out over: Lady Gaga And Bradley Cooper Sing Unreleased Song From A STAR IS BORN In New Clip

Check out a snippet from the new footage of the film's stars, Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, singing an unreleased song called "Clover!"

What we're listening to: Creators Anais Mitchell and Rachel Chavkin Talk HADESTOWN's Relevance

Variety has released the latest episode of its Stagecraft podcast. This episode features Anaïs Mitchell and Rachel Chavkin, creators of Hadestown.

On this episode, the pair discussed the work they have done to bring Hadestown to Broadway, since its premiere in 2016. They also discuss the relevance of the plot and themes within the show, as well as any changes they have made since its premiere.

Listen to the episode here!

Social Butterfly: Tim Minchin Counts Down to His Tour With Videos From Past Performances

Tim Minchin has started a countdown to his upcoming tour on Twitter! For each day of the countdown, Minchin has shared a video of a past performance of his.

Click here to view the countdown thus far!

And a Happy Birthday shout-out to Bernadette Peters, who turns 71 today!

Bernadette Peters most recently starred in the Broadway revival of Hello, Dolly! One of Broadway's most critically acclaimed performers, Peters has won numerous accolades including three Tony Awards®, a Golden Globe, three Grammy® nominations, three Emmy® nominations and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Recent stage credits include City Center's Encores! production, A BED A CHAIR: A New York Love Affair featuring the music of Stephen Sondheim and orchestrations by Wynton Marsalis, and on Broadway, A Little Night Music and Follies.

Peters has recorded six solo albums; including the Grammy®-nominated I'll Be Your Baby Tonight, Sondheim, Etc.: Bernadette Peters Live at Carnegie Hall and Bernadette PetersLoves Rodgers & Hammerstein, in addition to numerous Grammy Award®-winning Broadway Cast recordings.

Peters devotes her time and talents to numerous events that benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Her "pet project" Broadway Barks, co-founded with Mary Tyler Moore, is an annual star-studded dog and cat adoption event that benefits shelter animals throughout The New York City area. She is a New York Times Best-Selling author who has penned three children's books, Broadway Barks, Stella is a Star, and Stella and Charlie: Friends Forever. All of her proceeds from the sale of these books benefit Broadway Barks. Peters resides in New York with her rescue dogs, Charlie and Rosalia.

See you bright and early tomorrow, BroadwayWorld!