Cate Blanchett will make her Broadway debut later this year in The Present, an adaptation of Chekhov’s posthumously discovered first play, written by the actress’ husband and frequent stage collaborator Andrew Upton. The production, directed by John Crowley (Brooklyn) first premiered at Sydney Theatre Company and also stars Richard Roxburgh. Stuart Thompson will produce the Broadway transfer, featuring both stars and an all-Australian cast. Exact dates and theatre have not yet been announced.
Nerds, A Musical Dot-Comedy about Steve Jobs and Bill Gates will play Broadway’s Longacre Theatre this spring, producers announced. Originally staged at Philadelphia Theatre Company in 2007, the musical about the tech giants’ rise and rivalry features book and lyrics by Jordan Allen-Dutton and Erik Weiner (Cartoon Network’s Robot Chicken) and music by Hal Goldberg. The Broadway production will begin previews March 31 for an opening night of April 21, featuring direction by Casey Hushion and choreography by Josh Bergasse.
Hang onto your tails, Cats is officially returning to Broadway this summer. The fourth longest-running musical in Broadway history (the original ran from 1982 to 2000), Andrew Lloyd Webber’s feline phenomenon will begin previews at the Neil Simon Theatre on July 14 for an opening night of August 2. The show’s OG director Trevor Nunn will return, and Andy Blankenbuehler (Hamilton) will provide choreography based on the original work by Gillian Lynne. Casting has not yet been announced.
A stage adaptation of John Kennedy Toole’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel A Confederacy of Dunces has its sights set on Broadway next season, according to reports from the New York Post and the New York Daily News. Nick Offerman starred in the world premiere production of Jeffrey Hatcher’s adaptation at Boston’s Huntington Theatre Company, where the show was a sell-out hit under the direction of David Esbjornson. Steven Soderbergh, who has been working on a film verion of the book, is reportedly on board to produce the stage production.
Broadway sensation Hamilton is hitting the road: Producers announced that a sit-down production will begin performances in Chicago later this year, and a national tour will kick off at Los Angeles’ Pantages Theatre in August 2017. The musical with book and score by Lin Manuel Miranda opened at the Richard Rodgers Theatre last summer to rapturous reviews and an explosive box office that shows no signs of cooling off.
