‘Diana’ to premiere on Netflix
“Diana,” a new bio musical about Princess Diana, which was in previews when Broadway shut down in March, has found a way to be seen by audiences before Broadway officially reopens. On Wednesday morning, its producers announced that the musical will premiere on Netflix next year ahead of its new Broadway opening date, which is now slated for May 25, 2021.
‘Then She Fell’ will not reopen
“Then She Fell,” an experimental and immersive theater adaptation of “Alice in Wonderland” set in a mental hospital, which ran for 4,444 performances over the course of seven and a half years at a converted space in Williamsburg, has closed for good due to the pandemic. “We found ourselves unable to continue to pay the associated costs of holding a show in indefinite limbo without foreseeable income from ticket sales,” its producers and directors said in a statement.
Lawsuit sparks between major producer and ad agency
SpotCo (a prominent theater industry advertising agency) has filed a lawsuit against mega-producer Scott Rudin (who had multiple shows on Broadway at the time of the shutdown) in New York State Court in which it alleges that Rudin owes more than $6 million in unpaid fees for work on shows such as “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “The Music Man” and “West Side Story.” Jonathan Zavin, an attorney for Rudin, told Broadway News that “the case has no merits and the defendants intend to contest it vigorously.”
Odom almost bailed on ‘Hamilton’ film due to salary dispute
Leslie Odom Jr., whose Tony-winning performance as Aaron Burr was preserved in the filmed version of “Hamilton,” revealed on the “Armchair Expert” podcast that he nearly backed out of taking part in the filming due to a salary dispute. According to Odom, he insisted that he be paid as much as Aaron Tveit received to play Danny in “Grease Live!” “This is all I have…And so I just can’t sell it away for magic beans. I can’t give it away,” Odom said.
Tony winner Brent Carver dies
Canadian stage actor Brent Carver, who appeared on Broadway in the 1990s in “Kiss of the Spider Women” (for which he received a Tony Award) and “Parade,” died last week at the age of 68. “Brent was an artist who demanded the utmost of himself, opening up his heart to reveal the pain and beauty of life. He was an inspiration to everyone who knew him,” Antoni Cimolino, artistic director of Ontario’s Stratford Festival (where Carver appeared in numerous musicals and classical works), said in a statement. Carver last appeared on Broadway as Friar Laurence in a 2013 revival of “Romeo and Juliet.”
This week’s streaming recommendations:
- Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley: Broadway & Beyond (the final nightclub concert performed by Mazzie, who died in 2018 as a result of ovarian cancer, with her husband), Fri. Aug. 14 at 8 p.m., BroadwayOnDemand.com.
- The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (reading of Kristoffer Diaz’ 2010 play with members of the original Off-Broadway production), Sat. Aug. 15 at 7 p.m., play-perview.com.
- Christopher Jackson: Live from the West Side (“Hamilton” star performs at Off-Broadway’s New World Stages as a benefit for several nonprofit arts organizations), Sat. Aug 15 at 8 p.m., papermill.org.
