Odds & Ends: Megan Hilty Tapped for BrainDead Opposite Aaron Tveit, Groundhog Day Cast Set & More

Here's a quick roundup of stories you may have missed today and over the weekend.

Megan Hilty Tapped for BrainDead Opposite Aaron Tveit
Broadway.com has confirmed that 2016 Tony nominee Megan Hilty will appear in the premiere of CBS' BrainDead as a cable television news anchor. The D.C.-based series about politics and extraterrestrials, headlined by your Broadway boyfriend Aaron Tveit, also stars Tony winner Nikki M. James and Fun Home’s Beth Malone. It’s perhaps no surprise that Main Stem faves have landed roles in the series…showrunners Michelle and Robert King are theater fans and previously took charge of (and gave lots of stage faves employment with) The Good Wife. BrainDead is scheduled to start airing on June 13, the day after this year's Tony Awards.

Andy Karl-Led Groundhog Day Cast Set
We now know who will be joining the previously reported Tony nominee Andy Karl and Carlyss Peer in the Broadway-bound Groundhog Day. The ensemble cast at London’s Old Vic from July 11 will include Leo Andrew, David Birch, Ste Clough, Roger Dipper, Georgina Hagen, Kieran Jae, Julie Jupp, Andrew Langtree, Vicki Lee Taylor, Emma Lindars, Antonio Magro, Carolyn Maitland, Kirsty Malpass, Lisa Mathieson, Eugene McCoy, Jenny O’Leary, Leanne Pinder, Mark Pollard, Damien Poole, Jack Shalloo, Andrew Spillett and Spencer Stafford. The production is set to begin Great White Way performances on January 23, 2017.

Carmen Cusack & More Enlisted for MTC Gala
2016 Tony nominees Carmen Cusack (Bright Star), Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple), Danny Burstein (Fiddler on the Roof), Adrienne Warren (Shuffle Along) and Christopher Fitzgerald (Waitress) are just some of the talent tapped for Manhattan Theatre Club’s annual spring gala. The swanky event, one of the highlights of Tony season, will be hosted by Tony winner Sarah Jones and is scheduled to take place on May 16 at Cipriani 42nd Street.

Charlie Stemp Lands Half a Sixpence
School of Rock's 2016 Tony nominee Julian Fellowes has a new theater project in the works, a collaboration with mega-producer Cameron Mackintosh. Half a Sixpence will play the U.K.’s Chichester Festival this year, starring Charlie Stemp as Arthur Kipps, Devon-Elise Johnson as Ann Pornick, Ian Bartholomew as Chitterlow, Emma Williams as Helen Walsingham and Vivien Parry as Mrs. Walsingham. With this team, next stop the West End?

The SpongeBob Musical Extends Out of Town
A good sign for the Broadway-aimed The SpongeBob Musical; the production has extended its world premiere engagement in Chicago by a week and will now close on July 10. The new tuner is set to begin performances on June 7 at Broadway in Chicago's Oriental Theatre, led by newcomer Ethan Slater in the title role. As previously reported, he will be allowed to be human and is not set to don a puppet type outfit as seen in Times Square. We're going to depart today's Odds & Ends before we start making jokes about Bikini Bottom and getting ourselves into trouble!