Odds & Ends: Cirque du Soleil Rumored to Replace On the Town, Anika Noni Rose to Lead CBS Pilot & More

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

Will Cirque du Soleil Replace On the Town?
It’s no secret that the Broadway revival of On the Town has been struggling to fill the Lyric Theatre—with 1874 seats it is one of the largest houses on the Main Stem. On March 4, the New York Post speculated that the tuner will shutter this spring to make way for Cirque du Soleil, which has been looking for a long-term home in the Big Apple. A production spokesperson for On the Town had no comment. New York, New York—it’s a helluva town.

Anika Noni Rose Will Lead CBS Pilot
Tony winner Anika Noni Rose will star in TV pilot For Justice, which will feature Tony winner Phylicia Rashad in a supporting role. Based on James Patterson’s novel The Thomas Berryman Number, Deadline reports that Rose will play a tough FBI agent in the CBS civil rights crime drama. It will be directed by Selma’s Ava DuVernay and penned by Rene Balcer, so this is definitely a project to keep an eye on.

Alex Sharp to Host Theater Festival
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’s Alex Sharp will emcee the first annual Shubert Foundation High School Theatre Festival for New York City Public Schools. The event will will take place on March 9 at Broadway’s Imperial Theatre (where Les Miz is playing) and feature more than 100 talented students from five select New York City high schools. Break a leg to all!

Jeff Biehl Boards Lives of the Saints
Jeff Biehl (Poor Behavior, Machinal) will join the company of Lives of the Saints on March 10. The production is playing off-Broadway at Primary Stages at The Duke on 42nd Street through March 27. Biehl is stepping into the roles played by Rick Holmes, who departs the show to begin rehearsals for The Visit on Broadway.

Hunter Parrish & Lance Bass Tapped for Amazon Series 
Broadway alums Hunter Parrish, Lance Bass and Jon Tenney, along with Erykah Badu and Jacob Vargas, will guest star in Amazon’s Hand of God series. The show, about a hard-living, law-bending married man with a high-end call girl on the side, is of course not to be confused with Hand to God, the adult puppet musical about to open on Broadway. Important we cleared that one up, we feel.