Odds & Ends: Beetlejuice Heading to Brazil in 2022 & More
(Photo: Matthew Murphy)
Here's a quick roundup of stories you might have missed recently.
It's Showtime! Beetlejuice Heads to Brazil
Touché Entretenimento will bring the Tony-nominated musical Beetlejuice to Brazil. Renata Borges Pimenta, the company's executive director, made the announcement via Instagram. Casting and official dates will be announced later. As previously reported, the musical is also set to play a limited engagement at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in South Korea beginning in June. The production will feature a translated script performed in Korean. Beetlejuice played its final Broadway performance at the Winter Garden Theatre on March 11 due to COVID-19 ahead of its scheduled closing date of June 6.
Austin Butler Lands Lead Role in Masters of the Air
After making his Broadway debut in the Denzel Washington-led The Iceman Cometh and snagging the title role in Baz Luhrmann's Elvis Presley biopic Elvis, Austin Butler has another exciting project lined up. Variety reports that Butler will star alongside Callum Turner in Apple's upcoming World War II drama Masters of the Air, a continuation of the Band of Brothers/The Pacific franchise from Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. (Hanks plays Presley's manager Colonel Tom Parker in Elvis alongside Butler.) Based on the book of the same name by Donald L. Miller, Masters of the Air follows the true story of American bombers in World War II. Butler will star as Major Gale Cleven and Turner will star as Major John Egan.
Stage & Screen Star Ronald Pickup Dies at 80
Ronald Pickup, who appeared on Netflix's hit series The Crown and earned a 1998 Olivier Award nomination for his performance in Amy’s View, has died at the age of 80. Variety reports that he died on February 24 following a long illness. Born on June 7, 1940 in Chester, England, he went on to graduate from the University of Leeds in 1962 with a degree in English and landed his first TV role as a physician in an episode of the hit series Doctor Who in 1964. He is perhaps best known for his performance in the 2011 film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and its 2015 sequel. He worked with the great Laurence Olivier throughout his career and notably made his stage debut as Octavius in Julius Caesar under the direction of Lindsay Anderson in 1964 at the Royal Court in London. Pickup is survived by his wife Lans Traverse and children Simon and Rachel.
West Side Story's Rachel Zegler Set for Shazam Sequel
Rachel Zegler, who plays Maria in Steven Spielberg's forthcoming West Side Story remake, will join Tony nominee Zachary Levi in New Line and DC Comics' superhero sequel Shazam: Fury of the Gods, according to Variety Though her role has yet to be revealed, the casting is a significant milestone: Zegler is the second Colombian American to be cast in a DC superhero project, following Sasha Calle, who was announced as Supergirl in the upcoming Flash film. The new movie will continue the story of Billy Baston (Asher Angel), who can transform into a godlike superhero upon saying the magic word “Shazam!” The film is set for release on June 2, 2023.
Elaine Paige & More Tapped for All Star Musicals Special
Stage legend Elaine Paige will join forces with Samantha Barks, John Barrowman and Trevor Dion-Nicholas for a new All Star Musicals special later this year. Paige tweeted the news on February 25. The TV event will feature celebrities who will each take to the stage to perform a musical number aiming to impress the evening's virtual audience, as well as the panel, which includes Paige, Barks and Dion-Nicholas. Paige is set to mentor the participants leading up to the special. An air date will be announced later.
P.S. Start the weekend right by watching Jessica Vosk and Pentatonix's Scott Hoying sing from the developing Bridgerton musical.
