> Danielle Brooks, best known for her role as Taystee on Orange Is the New Black, will make her Broadway debut as Sofia in The Color Purple this fall. As previously announced, the stateside transfer of director John Doyle’s acclaimed London production will also star Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson as Shug Avery and Cynthia Erivo as Celie. Produced by Oprah Winfrey and Scott Sanders among others, the musical will land at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre with previews beginning November 9 for an opening night of December 10.
> Jessica Lange, Gabriel Byrne and John Gallagher Jr. will star in a revival of Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night on Broadway next spring, Roundabout Theatre Company announced this week. Directed by Jonathan Kent, the production will begin previews at the American Airlines Theatre on March 31, 2016 for an opening night of April 19. The revival will be presented in association with film and TV producer Ryan Murphy as part of the company’s 50th anniversary season.
> Producers Jeffrey Richards and Jerry Frankel announced further details for their upcoming revival of Fiddler on the Roof, which will arrive at the Broadway Theatre with previews on November 17 for an opening night of December 17. Bartlett Sher, currently Tony nominated for his direction of The King and I, will direct the production, starring five-time Tony nominee Danny Burstein as Tevye. Additional casting has not yet been announced.
> Both Fun Home and Something Rotten!, two new musicals vying for Tony Awards on June 7, announced plans to launch national tours in the 2016 – 2017 season last week. The shows join fellow nominees An American in Paris and The King and I, as well as awards shutout Finding Neverland, in revealing plans to tour shortly after opening this spring. For awards contenders, including On the Town and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which opened in the fall and also plan to tour, the announcements are both a show of confidence in their commercial strength and a play for support from Tony voters.
> The 2014 – 2015 Broadway season was the best attended and highest grossing season in Broadway history, according to end-of-season statistics released by the Broadway League this week. The season, which began in May of 2014 and ended this month, saw a total attendance of over 13 million audience members and grossed a total of over $1.3 billion, breaking records on both fronts by an increase of over 7%.
(Fun Home: joan marcus)
