Odds & Ends: Kelli O’Hara on Next Week’s 'Liberating' Cabaret, Speech & Debate Album with Kristin Chenoweth & More

Kelli O’Hara’s New Cabaret Appearance Is “A Long Time Coming”
Audiences are in for a treat when Kelli O’Hara makes an appearance at ShowBiz After Hours with Frank DiLella at Birdland on March 27 at 7:00pm. The luminous actress who won us over in The Light in the Piazza, The Bridges of Madison County and her Tony-winning turn in The King and I is excited to play a cabaret setting. “I grew up in a small town, singing in people’s living rooms,” O’Hara told Broadway.com. “The first time I sang in a small room in the city, it felt like home.” O’Hara will be performing songs from two shows she has appeared in: one sung by a character she played, one she did not. “I find cabaret to be a very liberating way to perform,” adds O’Hara, who said that being a part of the Broadway at Birdland series has been “a long time coming.” Hosted by DiLella alongside musical director Randy Redd, Monday’s lineup will also include Claybourne Elder and Henry Krieger. Sounds like a definitive way to kick off the week.

Casting Complete for Rebel in the Soul at Irish Rep
Larry Kirwan’s new play Rebel in the Soul has set full casting for its world premiere at Irish Repertory Theatre. Directed by Charlotte Moore, Rebel in the Soul begins performances on April 12 with an official opening set for April 18. The limited run will play through May 21. The cast includes Patrick Fitzgerald, Sean Gormley, John Keating and Sarah Street. The play follows the “handsome, intense, arrogant and unpredictable” Dr. Noël Browne (Fitzgerald), who was elected to the Irish Parliament in the general election of 1948. He has a burning ambition to rid Ireland of the scourge of tuberculosis that wiped out most of his family. The production plays Irish Rep’s new downstairs space, the W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre.

New Kristin Chenoweth Song Featured on Speech & Debate Soundtrack
Tony winner Kristin Chenoweth will be featured on Broadway Records’ Speech & Debate film soundtrack. The album, featuring 15 songs from the motion picture, will include the new tune “Losers Are Winners (Flying Free),” sung by Chenoweth. The original soundtrack will be available for pre-order online on March 24 and will be released as a CD on March 31. Sycamore Pictures will donate 10% of all soundtrack sales to the Kristin Chenoweth Arts & Education Foundation. Every pre-order will receive an immediate download of the Chenoweth-sung tune. Stephen Karam's Speech & Debate premieres in select theaters on April 7.

Jerry Seinfeld to Bring Prank Letters to the L.A. Stage
Jerry Seinfeld is set to produce the new show Letters from a Nut, based on Ted L. Nancy’s bestselling book series of prank letters and their responses, at the Geffen Playhouse. The new play will star Nancy, who adapts his book for the stage, alongside Beth Kennedy and Sam Kwasman. Pierre Balloón will direct. Performances begin June 23 with opening night set for June 28 and a final performance set for July 30. This producing gig sounds perfect for Emmy-winning comedian Seinfeld. Do we hear Broadway a-calling?

Acclaimed New York Play The Wolves Heads to Chicago
Sarah DeLappe’s The Wolves, which played a recent pair of sold-out runs off-Broadway, will make its Chicago debut at the Goodman Theatre. Vanessa Stalling will direct the new work about a high school girls soccer team from February 9-March 11, 2018. Also on deck for the Goodman season is Ivo van Hove’s production of A View from The Bridge, which took home the 2016 Tony Award for Best Play Revival, set to play this fall, September 9-October 15.