Odds & Ends: Bernadette Peters Gets Jazzed About Starring in Hello, Dolly! & More

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

Bernadette Peters Gets Jazzed About Starring in Hello, Dolly!
This leading lady is headed back where she belongs! We had no doubts when we got the news that two-time Tony winner Bernadette Peters would be taking over the title role from Bette Midler in Hello, Dolly! The beloved stage veteran is without any doubt a bonafide Broadway star. Peters sat down with Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest today to give a sneak peek into the rehearsal process for Hello, Dolly! and get audiences excited about her big return. Watch Peters below and make plans to see this glorious revival come January.



Alice Ripley & Emily Skinner to Lead Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens Concert
Side Show icons Alice Ripley and Emily Skinner will join a talented group of stars for a one-night pair of concerts featuring Janet Hood and Side Show co-creator Bill Russell's song cycle Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens at Feinstein's/54 Below on January 18, 2018 at 7:00pm and 9:30pm. The show, first developed in the 1980s, was inspired by the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt. Joining Ripley and Skinner for the concerts will be Nick Cearley, Lauren Molina, Nancy Opel, Emily Padgett and Lauren Elder. Russell will serve as the evening's host with Hood as musical director.

Faith Prince to Star in Bekah Brunstetter's New Play The Cake at La Jolla Playhouse
Tony winner Faith Prince will lead the cast of Bekah Brunstetter’s new play The Cake, set to play San Diego's La Jolla Playhouse in 2018. Casey Stangl will direct the production that will run from February 6 through March 4. Joining Prince will be Aubrey Dollar, Wayne Duvall and Miriam Hyman. The Cake follows Jen (Dollar) who lives in New York but has always dreamed of getting married in her small North Carolina hometown, so she heads down south with her partner (Duvall) to ask Della (Prince), her late mother’s best friend, to do the honors of making the wedding cake at her bakery. Della's cakes are legendary—even earning her a spot as a contestant on the Great American Baking Show. She is overjoyed at Jen’s request—until she realizes there's not just one bride, but two, forcing her to re-examine some of her deeply held beliefs, as well as her own marriage.

Andrew Keenan-Bolger & Kate Wetherhead Release Profound Short Film The Ceiling Fan
Broadway alums Andrew Keenan-Bolger and Kate Wetherhead have just released the new short film The Ceiling Fan, featuring original music by The Bengsons, whose hit show Hundred Days is currently playing off-Broadway's New York Theatre Workshop. The film stars Broadway vet Andrew Samonsky and Wetherhead, who wrote the screenplay, with Keenan-Bolger as director. The Ceiling Fan tells the story of a woman (Wetherhead) working alone in her country house, referring only to an online handyman (Samonsky) for guidance. One job—installing a ceiling fan—proves more difficult than she expected. Watch The Ceiling Fan below, and gear up for Keenan-Bolger and Wetherhead's first feature film, which is slated to debut in 2018, with more info to come.

THE CEILING FAN - short film from Andrew Keenan-Bolger on Vimeo.