Akihiro Nishino/Poupelle of Chimney Town – EAT/Deadly Stages – The Heart of Rock and Roll/James Earl Jones Theatre – Brave New World Rep/Leni’s Last Lament
Rock and Roll legend Huey Lewis and producers Hunter Arnold, Tyler Mitchell and Kayla Greenspan announce the complete Broadway company of The Heart of Rock and Roll, a new musical inspired by the iconic songs written and performed by Huey Lewis and The News. The book is by Jonathan A. Abrams, and story by Tyler Mitchell and Jonathan A. Abrams. Music supervision, arrangements, and orchestrations by Brian Usifer, musical direction by Will Van Dyke, choreography is by Lorin Latarro andThe Heart of Rock and Roll will be directed by Gordon Greenberg with Corey Cott (Newsies) and McKenzie Kurtz (Wicked) starring as Bobby and Cassandra, the will-they/won’t-they couple at the center of our story. The principal cast also includes Josh Breckenridge (Come From Away), F. Michael Haynie (Wicked), Zoe Jensen (Six), Tamika Lawrence (Caroline or Change), Raymond J. Lee (Sweeney Todd), John-Michael Lyles (A Strange Loop), Orville Mendoza (Swept Away), Billy Harrigan Tighe (Pippin) and John Dossett (Wicked).
The Heart of Rock and Roll will open on Broadway at The James Earl Jones Theatre (138 W 48th St, New York, NY 10036) with previews beginning on Friday, March 29 with opening night set for Monday, April 22. www.heartofrocknrollbway.com
Japan’s most talked about rising star, Akihiro Nishino, has adapted his sensation-causing book-turned- anime film, Poupelle of Chimney Town, for the stage and is receiving a by-invitation-only presentation in New York. The presentation will be a collaboration with Japanese and American artists and will be performed in English, ahead of a planned full-scale production.
Akihiro Nishino is one of Japan’s most acclaimed, influential, and multifaceted young artists, renowned as a comedian, author, illustrator, and filmmaker. His transition from a successful comedian to a celebrated author and illustrator has made him an icon of Japan’s art scene. Nishino’s initial claim to fame came from his role as part of the comedy duo King Kong.
Emerging Artists Theatre in association with No Anita No Productions presents Deadly Stages, a gender-bending homage to the backstage murder mystery movies of the ’40s and ’50s written by Marc Castle and Mark Finley. Finley will direct a cast of six including Marc Castle* (1st Nat.: Camelot), Tom Gilantich* (Broadway: The Lehman Trilogy, War Paint), Rob Hancock* (London: Daddy Long Legs; National Tour: Mamma Mia!; TV: “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”), David Leeper (Internat’l: At The Flash), Dani Marcus* (1st Nat.: A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder) and Ellen Reilly* (Off-Bway: Penny Penniworth), with understudies Jonas Cohen* and Sarah Ellis*. Thirty-one performances will be staged at Theatre 5 at Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036 from February 16-March 16, 2024. Opening night is Sunday, February 25 at 3:00 p.m. www.emergingartiststheatre.org
Brooklyn’s acclaimed Brave New World Repertory Theatre has announced its 2024 season debut with the world premiere of Leni’s Last Lament, a new play that took three top honors at the one-night-only presentation at United Solo Festival in March 2023. With Jodie Markell, Directed by Richard Caliban, and Spiff Weigand on accordion. March 13 thru March 30 The Invisible Dog Art Center, 51 Bergen Street, Brooklyn.
In Leni’s Last Lament, Hitler’s controversial filmmaker, Leni Riefenstahl, poses as a misunderstood victim as she attempts to edit and reassemble her notorious past. Tickets available here: https://www.bravenewworldrep.org/lenis-last
