When It Rains, It Pours

You know how some nights it seems like nothing (or at least nothing much) has happened to make it on the news? They're showing the "feel good" pieces cause there's nothing else to report on? (And not to get off on a tangent, but I really wish they show MORE "feel good" stuff on the news.) And then some nights it's like they can't get it all in on the time that they have?

Sometimes I feel like that happens in the world of theatre. We hum along, things kind of going at a steady pace. A story here, an announcement there. Stuff is happening, constantly, but every so often it's like a proverbial hail storm of news in the theatre world. I felt like we had a theatre hail storm today.

All kinds of things (and not even Tony related things) seemed to have been announced today. Perhaps they wanted to take advantage of people paying attention because of the Tonys? Who knows. But it was crazy busy today.

Some stuff that particularly caught my eye today?

1.) Jason Robert Brown's musical The Bridges of Madison County is headed to Broadway in February 2014.

2.) Stephanie J. Block and Will Chase have been announced for the cast of the new Little Miss Sunshine musical headed to Second Stage Theatre in October. Just another note, both were in this year's The Mystery of Edwin Drood revival and are Tony nominees for their roles.

3.) The first photos of Lindsay Mendez and Derek Klena as Elphaba and Fiyero in Wicked have been released. I really, really wish I could see this. But I'm always too cheap to pay to see Wicked on Broadway.

4.) Motown: The Musical has announced plans for a national tour to begin in April 2014. Having just opened, the show has been extremely popular, grossing as one of the top musicals on Broadway (despite luke-warm critic reviews).

5.) Select seating for Aladdin have been released for sale for the show's run in Toronto, Canada. The creative team includes Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, Tim Rice, and Chad Beguelin. I kind of want to go to Canada to see this, I won't lie. The show is set to begin in November.

6.) Two-time Tony winner Mark Rylance is headed back to Broadway in a transfer of Shakespeare's Globe theatre production of Twelfth Night and Richard III. These shows will play in repertory at the Belasco Theatre beginning in October. Also starring Stephen Fry (in my mind, the totally awesome shrink from the television show Bones), this cast is all male, as often performed in Shakespeare's day.This will also be the first time that there has ever been a transfer from the Globe to Broadway.