Odds & Ends: Dates Set for 2017 Broadway Cares Gypsy of the Year Competition & More

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

Dates Set for 29th Annual Gypsy of the Year Competition
Broadway's brightest will celebrate six weeks of dedicated fundraising in a showcase of songs and skits when the annual Gypsy of the Year competition returns! The 29th edition will take place on December 4 at 4:30pm and December 5 at 2:00pm at the New Amsterdam Theatre. Gypsy of the Year celebrates the talented singers and dancers in the ensembles of shows, historically and affectionately known as "gypsies." More than 200 stars will perform original skits, songs and dances, with awards presented to the best presentation and for the top fundraisers from six prior weeks of fundraising. Starting tonight, theater lobbies in NYC and beyond will be filled with casts, crew members and volunteers accepting donations with Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS' signature red buckets in hand. Every dollar collected will benefit BC/EFA.

Emma Rice's Brief Encounter Will Play the U.K.
Emma Rice's innovative take on Noël Coward's Brief Encounter, which played Broadway in 2010, will appear in the U.K. in 2018, according to the Daily Mail. The production, which was developed by Kneehigh Theatre, will kick off performances on March 2 at the Empire, in the Haymarket, just following February engagements at Birmingham Rep and the Lowry in Salford. Exact run dates for each engagement are to be announced. Look back at the sweeping Broadway production in the montage below.



Tonight at Eight! She Loves Me Lands on PBS
The 2016 Tony-nommed revival of She Loves Me arrives on PBS tonight at 8:00pm, courtesy of the Great Performances series. The She Loves Me revival starred Zachary Levi and Laura Benanti as Georg and Amalia, two parfumerie clerks who soon realize that they are anonymous romantic pen pals. The cast also included show-stopping supporting turns by Jane Krakowski and Gavin Creel. She Loves Me took home the 2016 Tony Award for David Rockwell's gorgeous jewel-box set. Give a watch to the Broadway show clips below and tune in on the small screen tonight!



Mandy Gonzalez's Debut Recording Fearless Is Released
Fearless, the debut album of Hamilton star Mandy Gonzalez, is released today by East West Records. The album bridging pop and R&B includes the title tune, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, as well as Every Day, an original number written by Next to Normal Tony winner Tom Kitt specifically for Gonzalez. Check out Miranda and Gonzalez in the "Fearless" lyric video below and pick up your copy of the album today.



Broadway's Kathleen Marshall & Jessica Stone to Direct Classics at The Old Globe
Three-time Tony winner Kathleen Marshall and Broadway veteran Jessica Stone are slated to direct productions as part of the 2018 summer season of The Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, CA. Stone will helm a new mounting of Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park, set to run from July 28 through August 26, while Marshall is scheduled to direct a new production of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, running from August 12 through September 16. The Old Globe's summer lineup will also include a production of The Tempest, playing from June 17 through July 22, as well as a musical adaptation of Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, running from July 2 through August 12.

P.S. Cher spills the news of the ABBA song she'll be singing in the Mamma Mia! film sequel.