Cole Escola’s unhinged alternative history farce “Oh, Mary!,” one of the most unlikely hits in recent Broadway history, has extended its limited run through Jan. 19.
“Oh, Mary!” (in which Escola plays alcoholic, foul-mouthed, self-obsessed, perverted, needy, and dim-witted reinvention of 19th century First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln) is the first show in the 121-year history of the Lyceum Theatre to gross more than one million dollars in a single week.
Celebs who have recently attended the show include Jennifer Aniston, Madonna, Zoë Kravitz, Austin Butler, Kerry Washington, and Anna Wintour.
Danny Burstein will play Herbie in ‘Gypsy’
Ever since it was officially confirmed that Audra McDonald will star as Rose in a new Broadway revival of “Gypsy” this season, theater fans have clamored for Danny Burstein (whose numerous credits include “Follies,” “Fiddler,” and “Moulin Rouge!”) to join her in the supporting role of Herbie, Rose’s love interest, who puts up with her relentless pursuit of show business glory until he reaches a final breaking point and departs. Last week, the show’s producers granted their wishes and announced that Burstein will indeed play Herbie.
No other casting has been announced yet, though rumors strongly suggest that Joy Woods (“The Notebook”) will play Rose’s neglected daughter Louise, who eventually morphs into the stripper Gypsy Rose Lee.
Last week, City Center announced that Woods will no longer be appearing in its upcoming gala production of “Ragtime” “due to scheduling conflicts” and will be replaced in the role of Sarah by Joaquina Kalukango, who won a Tony Award for “Paradise Square.” Given that “Gypsy” begins previews on Nov. 21, full casting will likely be announced soon.
Experimental artist Richard Foreman to be celebrated at NYU
Twenty years ago, my first published article in amNewYork was an interview with the avant-garde director and playwright Richard Foreman, who for decades presented experimental works annually through his Ontological-Hysteric Theater in the East Village.
Foreman, who is now 87 years old, will be celebrated this fall, beginning this week, at NYU with panel discussions featuring critics, artists, scholars, and Foreman himself and an archives exhibit. For more info, visit nyuskirball.com.
Foreman’s shows were creepy, chaotic, perplexing, dreamlike, and disturbing spectacles, with Foreman’s disembodied voice booming from loudspeakers, harsh lighting, strings hanging over the audience, young actors being moved around like mindless pawns, random theoretical musings and total lack of narrative.
Earlier this year, the Wooster Group presented a new production of Foreman’s 1988 drama “Symphony of Rats.”
Gershwins’ ‘Strike Up the Band’ to play Carnegie Hall
If you miss the old days when the Encores! series at City Center regularly presented Gershwin musical comedies from the 1920s and 1930s (e.g. “Lady, Be Good!,” “Girl Crazy,” “Of Thee I Sing,” etc.), Mastervoices (which tends to present at least one musical in concert each year with a full orchestra and chorus and starry cast) will produce a one-night performance of the Gershwin political satire “Strike Up the Band” at Carnegie Hall on Oct. 29.
The cast will include Victoria Clark (“Kimberly Akimbo”), Christopher Fitzgerald (“Waitress”), Bryce Pinkham (“A Gentleman’s Guide”), and Shereen Ahmed (“My Fair Lady”). Technically speaking, there are two different versions of the musical from 1927 (which closed out of town) and 1930 (which played Broadway).
Mastervoices will use a new version created by artistic director Ted Sperling and historian Laurence Maslon that is intended to combine the best aspects of the 1927 and 1930 editions.
