Odds & Ends: Renee Elise Goldsberry Returns to Her Lion King Roots, Phylicia Rashad Is Taye Diggs’ Mom & More

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

Renée Elise Goldsberry Gets Cool Mom Points
The Hamilton Tony winner already has them in spades for playing the oldest and wittiest Schuyler sister in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s game-changing musical. Goldsberry will lend her voice in season two of Disney Junior’s The Lion Guard, an animated series which continues the story of The Lion King. She will voice Dhahabu the Golden Zebra, the charismatic leader of a group of zebras. (We just had a mental image of a bunch of zebras sassy snapping and yelling, “Werk!”)

Phylicia Rashad Joins Empire Season 3
Tony winner Phylicia Rashad has been tapped for season three of Fox’s series Empire, which will premiere on September 21. She will join Broadway alum Taye Diggs, who, as previously reported, will take on the role of city councilman Angelo Dubois, and will play his mother Diana Dubois. She was last seen on the New York stage in off-Broadway’s Head of Passes; her performance earned her a Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play.

No Pay, Nudity Will Bare All in November
As announced, Gabriel Byrne, Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf will star in No Pay Nudity, which Variety writes is slated for a release this November. Helmed by Lee Wilkof and penned by Ethan Sandler, the comedy-drama follows an aging actor (Byrne), who has lost his way with his career; the film premiered at the Stony Brook Film Festival this July and received the Special Jury Prize Achievement in Filmmaking.

Cast Announced for The Producers at Paper Mill Playhouse
They can do it! The Producers will play the Paper Mill Playhouse from September 28 through October 23; the production is helmed by director Don Stephenson. David Josefsberg (An Act of God) is set to reprise Matthew Broderick’s role as Leo Bloom, while Michael Kostroff (The Nance) will take on Nathan Lane’s uproarious Max Bialystock. Broadway alums Ashley Spencer (Priscilla Queen of the Desert), Kevin Pariseau (Legally Blonde), Mark Price (Mary Poppins) and John Treacy Egan (Casa Valentina) will play Ulla, Roger De Bris, Carmen Ghia and Franz Liebkind, respectively. Jacob ben Widmar, Michael Biren, Courtney Brady, Tim Capodice, Jesse Carrey-Beaver, Scott Cote, Madeleine Doherty, Hannah Flam, Brad Frenette, John Jeffords, Jeffrey Johnson II, Naomi Kakuk, Jenny Laroche, Liz McKendry, Kelly Peterson, Emily Jeanne Phillips, Jessica Sheridan and Kate Wesler will round out the ensemble.

Cheyenne Jackson and Alicia Silverstone Reunite
Broadway fave Cheyenne Jackson is coming to TV Land. He has been cast opposite his The Performers co-star Alicia Silverstone in the pilot American Woman. The 1970s-set series stars Silverstone as Bonnie, a single mother grappling with the end of her marriage; Jackson will charm onscreen as Greg, who sways Bonnie’s best friend (and his lover) to invest in his casting company. Catch him on American Horror Story’s sixth season, which premieres on September 14.

P.S. Broadway alums Christina DeCicco (Evita), Cameron Folmar (The 39 Steps), Jack Noseworthy (Sweet Smell of Success) and Lenny Wolpe (Bullets Over Broadway) have been tapped to star in Delaware Theatre Company's The War of the Roses. Bud Martin will direct the production, which begins performances on September 14. The deliciously dark comedy is based off of 1981 novel and 1989 film starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner as a married couple whose divorce becomes a take-no-prisoners face-off.