Odds & Ends: Six's Brittney Mack to Lead The Color Purple at The Muny

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

Casting Announced for The Color Purple at The Muny
In addition to the productions of Mary Poppins, Sweeney Todd, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and more, The Muny will present The Color Purple from August 3 through August 9. Directed by Lili-Anne Brown and choreographed by Breon Arzell, Six's Brittney Mack will lead the company as Celie. The cast will also include Tracee Beazer as Shug Avery, Evan Tyrone Martin as Mister, Nasia Thomas as Nettie, Gilbert Domlaly as Harpo and Nicole Michelle Haskins as Sofia. Mack received a Drama League Award nomination for her performance as Anne of Cleves in Six. Based on Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and Steven Spielberg’s landmark film (a new one is in the works), The Color Purple is making its Muny debut. The Muny season will kick off from June 13 through June 19 with John Cander and Fred Ebb's Chicago, starring Sarah Bowden as Roxie, J. Harrison Ghee as Velma, Emily Skinner as Matron "Mama" Morton, James T. Lane as Billy Flynn, Adam Heller as Amos and Ali Ewoldt as Mary Sunshine.

Brían F. O'Byrne & More Join London's A Doll's House, Part 2
Casting is complete for the previously announced London premiere of Lucas Hnath’s Tony-nominated play A Doll’s House, Part 2 . The staging will star two-time Olivier Award winner Noma Dumezweni as Nora Helmer. She will be joined by Tony nominee Brían F. O'Byrne as Torvald, June Watson as Anne Marie and Patricia Allison as Emmy. Directed by James Macdonald, the play will run from June 10 through August 6. Opening night is set for June 16.

Lauren Ambrose to Star in Reading of Marie Antoinette
Lauren Ambrose, who was last seen on Broadway in a Tony-nominated turn as Eliza Doolittle in the 2018 revival of My Fair Lady, will star in the Sharon Playhouse's staged reading of David Adjmi’s comedy Marie Antoinette on May 14. In this contemporary take on the young queen of France, Marie is a confection created by a society that values extravagance and artifice. But France’s love affair with the royals sours as revolution brews, and for Marie, the political suddenly becomes very personal. Michael Kevin Baldwin directs.

Broadway Stars Set for American Girl Doll Play
Industry presentations of Justine Gelfman’s In Sisters We Trust, or My F**ked Up American Girl Doll Play will take place on May 12 and May 13 at Open Jar Studios. The reading will star Catherine Cohen, Gabby Beans, Lauren Patten, Kristine Nielsen, Laura Dreyfuss, Nicole Villamil, Caitlin Kinnunen, Christine Jones, Elizabeth O'Donnell, Jonathan Burke and Sohina Sidhu. The play, in which the American Girl Dolls are all grown up and gathered together for a televised Bachelor-style reunion to decide the fate of the company, was made in collaboration with Susanna Wolk, who directs.

London's Heathers the Musical to Be Filmed
Heathers the Musical is heading to the screen. Performances at The Other Palace have been taken off sale from May 3 through May 19 to allow for filming to take place ahead of a future release. Performances will resume on May 20 and will run through September 4. Casting for the live capture is yet to be announced. With book, music and lyrics by Kevin Murphy and Laurence O’Keefe, the musical started its U.K. journey with a cult following at The Other Palace in 2018 before transferring to the Theatre Royal Haymarket for a limited engagement that year. Last year, the production returned to the Haymarket before returning to it is original home in November 2021. The production is directed by Andy Fickman with choreography by Gary Lloyd, designs by David Shields, lighting by Ben Cracknell and sound by Dan Samson.