Odds & Ends: Matthew McConaughey's Theater, Rumer Willis & Frankie J. Grande Team Up & More

Here's a quick roundup of stories you may have missed today.

Matthew McConaughey's Theater
Move over Frozen, it looks like we’ve a new animated tuner to get behind! There will be 85—yes, 85—songs in Sing, starring Matthew McConaughey as a debonair koala who decides producing a singing competition will help his theater become successful again. Deadline reports that he will be joined by a cast including Tony winner Scarlett Johansson as a punk rock porcupine, Seth MacFarlane as a mischievous mouse and Reese Witherspoon as the stressed mom to 25 piglets. The release date is currently scheduled for December 21, 2016 so we’ll be contenting ourselves with frozen fractals until then.

Rumer Willis & Frankie J. Grande Team Up
Recent Broadway alum Rumer Willis, Frankie J. Grande, Lorna Luft, Jacob Young and more will sing in the season for Sparkle: An All-Star Holiday Concert on December 15. The brainchild of Scott Nevins, the event is set to take place at Rockwell: Table & Stage in L.A. and benefit the Actors Fund. We love the most wonderful time of year!

Close to You Hits a High Note
What’s new pussycat?! Off-Broadway hit What’s It All About is enjoying similar success across the pond! Renamed Close to You: Bacharach Reimagined and led by Kyle Riabko, the West End production has extended through February 14, 2016 at the Criterion Theatre.

Ian McKellen & Stanley Tucci's Odyssey
Big names including Ian McKellen, Stanley Tucci, Andrew Scott, Bertie Carvel, Jessica Brown Findlay, Juliet Stevenson and Olivia Williams have been tapped for London’s Almeida Theatre’s Greek season finale. Directed by Rupert Goold and Robert Icke, they will read The Odyssey, translated by Robert Fagles, on November 12. Homer's sequel will be live-streamed free from unusual and iconic locations across the U.K. capital including Tower Pier.