Odds & Ends: Ian McKellen Wants to Star in a Musical

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

Ian McKellen Has Musical Dreams
Despite his illustrious career, stage and screen legend Ian McKellen says his to-do list is not finished. The actor told BBC Radio 4's Today that he would love to be in a musical. “I can hold a tune, but I’m not a proper singer. I’m available but incompetent,” he said. "I don’t feel I have much to prove in my career anymore, so why not just do the things I enjoy doing, like getting in front of an audience and entertaining them." McKellen will appear in Whodunnit (Unrehearsed), a show in which stars, including Emma Thompson and Gillian Anderson, take the stage to play a detective. They will be fed lines through an ear piece, and the audience will not know which actor is playing the detective until he or she appears. The performers are offering up their services for free to benefit North London’s Park Theatre. McKellen has raised money for the theater industry throughout the pandemic.

Alan Cumming to Play Robert Burns in Solo Show
Alan Cumming is returning to the stage. According to The Guardian, the Tony winner will play Scottish scribe Robert Burns this summer in a solo show as part of the 75th Edinburgh International Festival. Cumming will collaborate with choreographer Steven Hoggett for Burn. The festival will also feature Liz Lochhead’s contemporary adaptation of Euripides’ Medea, which will be directed by Michael Boyd and star actor and playwright Adura Onashile. Further programming for this year’s festival, which is scheduled to run from August 5 through August 29, will be announced in the spring.

Roundabout Accepting Applications for Artists-in-Residence Programs
The Roundabout Theatre Company is now accepting applications for two of the institution’s signature artists-in-residence programs: the Roundabout Directing Fellowship and the Leon Levy Foundation Roundabout Directors Group. The deadline for applications is March 10. An online information session for both programs will be held on February 7. Head here to register. 

Barrington Stage Company Announces 2022 Season
Barrington Stage Company has announced offerings for its 2022 season, which will mark the final season under the leadership of founder and Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, who will retire at the end of September. The Boyd-Quinson Stage will open with a new production of Ain’t Misbehavin’, The Fats Waller Musical Show from June 16 through July 9. Next up will be Nilo Cruz's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Anna in the Tropics, directed by Elena Araoz, from July 16 through July 30. BSC will celebrate the life and career of the late Stephen Sondheim with a revival of A Little Night Music, directed by Boyd, from August 6 through August 28. The Boyd-Quinson season concludes with the world premiere of Laura Winters' All of Me from September 21 through October 9. The St. Germain Stage will reopen its doors with the world premiere of Brent Askari's Andy Warhol in Iran from June 2 through June 25. ABCD, a world premiere play by May Treuhaft-Ali, is scheduled to play from July 1 through July 23. The Youth Theatre will bring the world premiere staging of the musical The Supadupa Kid from July 29 through August 13. The season will conclude with Waiting for Godot from August 19 through September 4. Additional details on the 2022 BSC season, including gala, concerts and streamed and staged readings, will be announced soon. "It has been a glorious 27 years," Boyd said. "I look forward to a summer of superlative theater to fill the magical Berkshires nights.”