Odds & Ends: Watch Cyndi Lauper Rave About Kinky Boots Showstopper Brendon Urie & More

Kinky Boots Creator Cyndi Lauper on Brendon Urie: ‘He Could Be a Movie Star’
Since Panic! at the Disco frontman Brendon Urie stepped into Kinky Boots as Charlie Price, Panic! fans have been swarming around the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. Arguably one of Urie’s biggest fangirls? Kinky Boots’ music maker and pop icon Cyndi Lauper, who hand-picked the powerhouse performer for his debut role. “He’s fantastic, are you kidding me? I saw him the first night,” Lauper said. “I think he brings a lot of life to this show. And I also think he could be a movie star if he wanted.” Now that’s some praise that would raise anyone up. Watch the full interview below, and catch Urie in the crimson boots through August 6!



Aladdin Standout Michael James Scott & More Win Sydney's Helpmann Awards
Broadway shows and creatives were honored for their work on the Australia stage at 2017 the Helpmann Awards! Michael James Scott, who took Broadway.com viewers behind the scenes at Australia's Aladdin, took home a the Sydney honor for his showstopping turn as the Genie. Jerry Mitchell followed up his Kinky Boots Tony win with a Helpmann Award for his impeccable choreo while Trey Parker and Casey Nicholaw also saw a repeated win for their direction of The Book of Mormon, which won the Helpmann for Best Musical.

Michael Arden Will Direct Reading of New Musical Republic
Tony nominee Michael Arden, who is directing Broadway's first revival of Once on This Island this fall, is set to helm a July 28 reading of Republic, a new take on William Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, set in Northern Ireland. The musical is written by Kait Kerrigan and Brian Lowdermilk. Actors set to participate include Paul Alexander Nolan, Nikki Renee Daniels, Eric Petersen, Andrew Samonsky, Bonnie Milligan, William Youmans, F. Michael Haynie, William Parry, Mark Delevan, Danny Kornfeld, Katherine Anne Weber, Nathan Salstone, Bernard Holcomb, Mikki Sodergren, Mikaela Bennett, Brian Michael Henry, Alexander Sage Oyen and Zachary Altman.

Donna McKechnie Set for Pajama Game & More Arena Stage Casting
A Chorus Line Tony winner Donna McKechnie will take on the featured role of wise-cracking Mabel in a new production of The Pajama Game at Washington, D.C.'s Arena Stage. Alan Pau directs the classic musical that will run from October 27-December 24, 2017. Joining McKechnie onstage will be Broadway veteran Britney Coleman as Babe, with additional casting to be announced at a later date. Additional casting newly announced for Arena's 2017-2018 season includes Broadway's Harriett D. Foy in the title role of Christina Ham’s music-infused drama Nina Simone: Four Women (November 10-December 24, 2017); stage and screen actor Kalani Queypo as John Ridge in Mary Kathryn Nagle’s world-premiere drama Sovereignty (January 12-February 18, 2018); Bowman Wright as Martin Luther King, Jr. in The Great Society (February 2-March 11, 2018), Robert Schenkkan’s follow-up to his Tony-winning All the Way; and Ryun Yu as acclaimed sociologist Gordon Hirabayashi in his solo drama Hold These Truths (February 23-April 8, 2018).

Menier Chocolate Factory to Debut English-Language Premiere of Florian Zeller's The Lie
French playwright Florian Zeller, who teamed up with Tony winner Christopher Hampton on the 2016 Broadway production of The Father, will again collaborate on the English-language debut of Zeller's The Lie, with a translation by Hampton, set to play London's Menier Chocolate Factory. Lindsay Posner will direct the production that is set to run from September 14-November 18. The Lie centers on Alice, a woman who spots her friend’s husband with another woman and wonders whether she should tell her friend the truth or a lie. Casting for The Lie will be announced at a later date.

Corbin Bleu & More on the Timeless Music of Irving Berlin
The 2016 holiday season provided Broadway audiences with a glittering stage adaptation of the classic film Holiday Inn. Starring stage veterans Corbin Bleu, Bryce Pinkham, Lora Lee Gayer, Megan Sikora and Megan Lawrence, Broadway venue Studio 54 was filled with iconic Irving Berlin tunes and fancy footwork by Tony-nommed choreographer Denis Jones. Ghostlight Records, which captured the talented ensemble on an original cast album, has released a brand-new video from inside the recording studio. Watch Bleu, Pinkham, Jones and more reminisce about Berlin's tunes and their place in the music pantheon.