Rachel Bloom to bring back ‘Death, Let Me Do My Show’
Actress and writer Rachel Bloom, who recently brought her one-woman comedy with songs “Death, Let Me Do My Show” to the Lucille Lortel Theatre in the West Village, will do an encore run at the Orpheum Theatre in the East Village (which served for countless years as the home of “Stomp”) beginning Dec. 7. In the show, silly gags give way to genuine COVID trauma, including over the loss of her songwriting partner, Adam Schlesinger. It directed by Seth Barrish, who has previously done excellent work with comedian Mike Birbiglia.
Bebe Neuwirth joins ‘Cabaret’ revival cast
Tony Award winner Bebe Neuwirth has joined the cast of the upcoming Broadway revival of “Cabaret” as Fraulein Schneider. Also new to the cast are Steven Skybell (the Yiddish production of “Fiddler on the Roof”) as Herr Schultz, Ato Blankson-Wood (“Slave Play”) as Clifford Bradshaw, and Natascia Diaz as Fraulein Kost. The revival is headlined by Eddie Redmayne (in his first appearance on Broadway since 2010) as the Emcee and Gayle Rankin (who played Fraulein Kost in the musical’s last Broadway revival in 2014) as Sally Bowles.
Eddie Izzard to star in one-man ‘Hamlet’
Last year, Eddie Izzard appeared Off-Broadway in a one-man adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “Great Expectations.” As a follow-up, the transgender English actor and comedian (as well as marathon runner and political candidate) will return to the Greenwich House Theater in the West Village with a one-man adaptation of “Hamlet” in which Izzard will play no less than 23 characters. “I have always gravitated towards playing complex and challenging characters and Hamlet is the ultimate. This is a production for everyone, a timeless drama with an accidental hero,” Izzard said in a statement.
Alicia Keys to play one-night concert at Public Theater
The Public Theater, which is currently producing the world premiere of “Hell’s Kitchen,” a new musical with songs by Alicia Keys, has announced that Keys will play a one-night-only concert at the Off-Broadway venue on Mon., Dec. 4. Titled “Alicia Keys: An Evening with the Composer,” it is intended to provide an inside look at the creation of the musical with guest appearances from cast members. It will be limited to a 280-person audience.
Richard Dreyfuss attended ‘The Shark is Broken’ and really didn’t like it
Richard Dreyfuss was one of three characters in the recent Broadway comedy “The Shark is Broken,” which depicted Dreyfuss and co-stars Roy Scheider and Robert Shaw during breaks in the shooting of the movie “Jaws.” Dreyfuss attended a performance before the show ended its limited run and even posed for photos with the cast – but it turns out he was not a fan of the play (which was written by Ian Shaw, son of Robert Shaw). “I went to see it, to see if it really was gonna hurt…and it did…It was pretty awful…The problem is that they made my character the fool…They didn’t do that to Roy, and they didn’t do that to Robert. And that hurt because it wasn’t true,” Dreyfuss told Vanity Fair. Dreyfuss also complained that Ian Shaw did not contact him to discuss the making of the film before the play premiered.
