Odds & Ends: Audra McDonald Sets London Concert Dates, Mark Rylance Is Knighted & More

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

Audra McDonald Is London-Bound
After postponing her West End debut in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill due to her pregnancy, Audra McDonald is heading across the pond. The six-time Tony winner is set to return to the Leicester Square Theatre for four concert performances from April 12 through April 15. Her husband, Tony nominee Will Swenson, will join her as a special guest for the concert series, which will be music directed and hosted by Seth Rudetsky.

That’s Sir Mark to You
Mark Rylance is a stage and screen giant (literally, in the case of the latter). The Tony and Oscar winner earned a spot on the British Cabinet Office’s list of New Year’s Honours of 2017 and thus knighthood for his services to the theater. Those across the pond can catch Sir Mark in Nice Fish at London’s Harold Pinter Theatre. Also on the list was Tony and Olivier winner Patricia Routledge, who becomes a Dame for her contributions to theater and charity.

Paper Mill’s A Comedy of Tenors Has Some Familiar Faces
The cast is now set for Ken Ludwig’s A Comedy of Tenors at Paper Mill Playhouse. The Lend Me a Tenor sequel will reunite six members of the theater’s 2013 production of the original comedy: Judy Blazer, John Treacy Egan, Donna English, David Josefsberg, Michael Kostroff and Jill Paice. Rounding out the cast is Ryan Silverman. Performances of the Don Stephenson-helmed staging will run from February 1 through February 26.

Rooney Mara Brings Blackbird to the Screen
Una, the Benedict Andrews-helmed film adaptation of David Harrower’s play Blackbird, heads to the Palm Springs International Film Festival on January 11 and theaters in Singapore on January 19. While it has yet to find a U.S. distributor, take a look at the intense trailer below. The film follows Una (played by Rooney Mara), who pays an unexpected visit to the man (played by Ben Mendelsohn) who had sexually abused her when she was 12. The play was recently revived on Broadway, earning Tony nominations for its stars Michelle Williams and Jeff Daniels.


Derek Klena, Lindsay Mendez & More Go Bare Naked
Calm down, keep your pants on. A plethora of Broadway favorites can be heard on composer Lynne Shankel’s upcoming album, Bare Naked. The Yellow Sound Label recording, available January 24, will feature performances by Derek Klena (Anastasia), Lindsay Mendez (Significant Other), Lilli Cooper (Tick, Tick…BOOM!), Katie Rose Clarke (Miss Saigon), Jenn Colella (Come From Away), Taylor Tresnch (Hello, Dolly!), Telly Leung, Melinda Doolittle and more. The track list features songs Shankel wrote with Jon Hartmere for the 2012 off-Broadway revival of Bare, as well as tunes she’s written for friends. Half of the proceeds from the album sales will go to the Tyler Clementi Foundation, which is dedicated to ending bullying in schools, offices and religious communities. An album launch event is set for January 23 at (Le) Poisson Rouge.

P.S. Yes, the Cher musical is still on track! A two-week staged reading, directed by Jason Moore, kicks off January 3. As previously reported, the bio-musical will feature a book by Jersey Boys scribe Rick Elice and three divas playing the pop icon at various stages of her life.