Irish actor Paul Mescal (“Normal People,” “Gladiator II”) will make his US theater debut in a new production of Tennessee Williams’ perennial classic “A Streetcar Named Desire” directed by Rebecca Frecknall (“Cabaret”), which debuted in London and will now play a limited run at BAM’s Harvey Theater in Brooklyn beginning Feb. 28. This follows other starry international productions of the drama that have played Brooklyn, including with Cate Blanchett in 2009 at BAM and with Gillian Anderson in 2016 at St. Ann’s Warehouse. The winter/spring season at BAM will also include Whitney White’s “Macbeth in Stride,” which is described as an “R&B-soaked recasting of Lady Macbeth as an indomitable Black female icon,” and the Berliner Ensemble’s new staging of “The Threepenny Opera,” which debuted at the same theater in Germany where the piece premiered almost a century ago.
Nicole Scherzinger provokes social media backlash for her response to Russell Brand
Nicole Scherzinger, who recently received a round of rave reviews for her performance as Norma Desmond in the new Broadway revival of “Sunset Boulevard,” became the target of harsh backlash on social media after expressing interest in purchasing a MAGA-style “Make Jesus First Again” red hat being marketed by the comedian Russell Brand. This prompted a full-scale written apology from Scherzinger in which she distanced herself from Trump supporters while emphasizing her Christian faith.
“When I commented on these posts, I made the mistake of not realizing that they could be easily interpreted as being politically related and I apologize to anyone who understandably reached that conclusion,” Scherzinger wrote. “Many presumptions are being drawn, which do not reflect who I am, what I stand for, or who I voted for. Many of the marginalized communities feeling hurt and concerned by the results of the presidential election are people I care about most. I stand with them, as I always have, throughout my life and career.”
Broadway adaptation of ‘Fahrenheit 451’ in the works
Shortly after the first Trump election, a new stage adaptation of George Orwell’s “1984” played Broadway, in which Orwell’s concept of “doublethink” felt strangely similar to “alternative facts.” Now word comes that another classic dystopian novel on the dangers of thought control, Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451,” will be adapted by Martyna Majok (“Cost of Living,” “Sanctuary City”) for a future Broadway production.
“What struck me most in ‘Fahrenheit 451’ was its lens on our loneliness,” Majok said in a statement. “How our yearning for connection and fear of its absence can be feasted upon. How we long to devote ourselves to something true and lasting in a fracturing society. And the ways we blow up our lives to unearth the truth we’ve buried – which will shatter us into our most honest selves. As Bradbury writes, ‘We need not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while.'”
Stephanie J. Block will narrate audiobook of Cher’s autobiography
Stephanie J. Block, who played Cher (or at least one of three different incarnations of Cher, alongside Teal Wicks and Micaela Diamond) in the 2017 Broadway musical “The Cher Show,” will narrate the audiobook version of the superstar’s upcoming autobiography “Cher: The Memoir, Part One,” which will be released Nov. 19. According to People, Cher will still participate in the audiobook by introducing each chapter.
