Odds & Ends: Duncan Sheik & Kyle Jarrow's Whisper House to Make Off-Broadway Premiere in 2020 & More

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

Duncan Sheik & Kyle Jarrow's Whisper House to Make Off-Broadway Premiere in 2020
Whisper House, a long-gestating musical penned by Tony winner Duncan Sheik (Spring Awakening) and Tony nominee Kyle Jarrow (SpongeBob SquarePants), will receive an off-Broadway staging next year at 59E59 Theaters. Steve Cosson, artistic director of The Civilians, will direct the production, scheduled to begin previews on March 12, 2020 and officially open on March 24. Featuring music and lyrics by Sheik and a book and lyrics by Jarrow, Whisper House follows young Christopher who is sent to live with his aunt Lily, who he's never met, and Yasuhiro, the Japanese man who works for her, on the remote coast of Maine at the height of World War II. Soon Christopher begins to hear strange music seeping through the walls and wonders whether his imagination is getting the better of him. Whisper House is scheduled to play a limited engagement through April 19, 2020.

Laura Benanti, Ashley Park & More to Appear at Williamstown Theatre Festival Gala
Williamstown Theatre Festival has announced details of its latest gala, set for Febrary 10, 2020 at Tao Downtown in New York City. The high-profile event, which will honor Bo and Katherine Peabody, will feature special appearances by a slew of stage stars, including Tony winner Laura Benanti (My Fair Lady), Tony nominee Ashley Park (Mean Girls), Joshua Boone (Network) and Kyle MacLachlan (Desperate Housewives). Williamstown Theatre Festival has produced numerous productions that have since arrived on Broadway, including the current stagings of The Rose Tattoo and The Sound Inside and the upcoming Grand Horizons, which will feature Park reprising her performance as Jess.

Brett Ryback's Original Podcast Musical In Strange Woods Picked Up by Atypical Artists
Musical-theater writer Brett Ryback (Passing Through) and his collaborators Jeff Luppino-Esposito and Matt Sav have announced a partnership with the production company Atypical Artists on their original podcast musical In Strange Woods. The previously reported  podcast musical tells the coming-of-age story of Peregrine Wells, an 18-year-old girl in Minnesota's north woods, reeling from the death of her older brother. Ryback, who also acts as narrator, spins a fictional mystery that weaves together investigation and taped interview with a folk-pop score. A pilot of the podcast musical last year also featured Donna Lynne Champlin (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Tony nominee Patrick Page (Hadestown), Jonah Platt (Wicked) and Lily Mae Harrington (The Glee Project).