Odds & Ends: Matt Smith & Zosia Mamet Team Up, Kelli O’Hara to Headline at Carnegie Hall & More

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

Matt Smith & Zosia Mamet Team Up For Mapplethorpe
Stage and screen stars Matt Smith (Doctor Who) and Zosia Mamet (Girls) will join forces in Ondi Timoner's new biopic Mapplethorpe. According to Deadline, Smith will play avant-garde photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, who died of AIDS in 1989 at 42; Mamet takes on the role of Patti Smith, Mapplethorpe’s best friend and sometime lover. Interesting side note: Smith led the world premiere of American Psycho in London and Mamet appeared in a workshop of the Broadway-bound tuner, which will begin performances at the Schoenfeld Theatre on March 24.

Kelli O’Hara to Headline at Carnegie Hall
Kelli O’Hara is set to make her Carnegie Hall solo headlining debut! The Tony winner will appear on October 29 at the Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage; more details will be announced later. Of course, you can continue to get to know the Broadway fave at Lincoln Center, where she is currently appearing in The King and I.

Character Actor Abe Vigoda Dead at 94
Stage and screen favorite Abe Vigoda died in Woodland Park, New Jersey, on January 26, aged 94. According to the AP, the cause of death was old age. Perhaps best known for his portrayal of an ill-fated Mafioso in The Godfather and the detective Phil Fish in the 1970s TV show Barney Miller, Vigoda made his Broadway debut in 1967 in The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat… His additional Main Stem credits included Arsenic and Old Lace and Tough to Get Help. Vigoda is survived by his daughter, Carol Vigoda Fuchs, grandchildren Jamie, Paul and Steven, and a great-grandson.

Tom Kitt Takes Us Behind the Music at Grease: Live
Tony winner Tom Kitt (Next to Normal) is currently hard at work supervising the music for Grease: Live. Check out below as the self-confessed "fan boy" takes us behind the scenes of what we can expect for the live telecast on January 31, which stars (as if you didn't already know) Aaron Tveit, Vanessa Hudgens and Julianne Hough. Incidentally, the cast recording will also drop on that date. Grease is the word!


P.S. Speaking of Grease: Live (which we make no apologies for, we will be doing so ALL week), Carlos PenaVega revealed on his Instagram that Broadway vet Wendell Pierce will play Coach Calhoun in the tuner. Oh, and Tveit will be the headliner of the next #OutofOz video. A plethora of riches to look forward to!