Odds & Ends: Dear Evan Hansen to Hold Open Casting Call for New Stars & More

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

Dear Evan Hansen Holding Open Call for New Stars
Now's your chance to be waving through a window live onstage. The 2017 Tony-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen is offering an open call for actors who dream of playing the title role in the hit show on Broadway and on tour. The auditions will be held on February 25 from 9:00am-5:00pm at Pearl Studios in NYC. The production is looking for actors age 17 and up who possess a tenor with pop/rock sensibilities. This is surely too good an opportunity to pass up.

Joel Perez, Jonah Platt & More Cast in Ensemble of Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert
A bevy of stage alums will make up the ensemble of the starry TV event Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert, appearing on NBC this Easter Sunday, April 1. The full ensemble list includes Joel Perez (Fun Home), Jonah Platt (Wicked), Heath Saunders (Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812), Melody Betts (The Sound of Music), Felicia Boswell (Shuffle Along), Abby Corrigan (Fun Home), Rory Donovan (Finding Neverland), Christine Dwyer (Wicked), Mike Evariste (Hair), F. Michael Haynie (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), Charissa Hogeland (Kinky Boots), Bre Jackson (The Color Purple), Mykal Kilgore (Motown The Musical), Billy Lewis Jr. (The Portal), Vince Oddo (Rocky), Kyle Taylor Parker (Kinky Boots), Conor Ryan (Cinderella), Christina Sajous (American Idiot), Justin Matthew Sargent (Bonnie and Clyde), Joey Taranto (Kinky Boots), Syndee Winters (Hamilton), Lauren Zakrin (Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812), Micaela Diamond (Imbalance), Justin Gregory Lopez (Bare) and Angel Lozada (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat). As previously announced, the lead cast will include John Legend in the title role, with Brandon Victor Dixon as Judas, Alice Cooper as King Herod, Sara Bareilles as Mary Magdalene, Norm Lewis as Caiaphas, Ben Daniels as Pontius Pilate, Jason Tam as Peter, Jin Ha as Annas and Erik Gronwall as Simon Zealotes. David Leveaux will direct the live event. Watch Legend rehearse for the big night in the sneak-peek video below!



Hunter Foster to Direct The Drowsy Chaperone at Goodspeed
Tony nominee Hunter Foster has signed on as director of Goodspeed Musicals' upcoming production of The Drowsy Chaperone (September 21-November 25). We love Hunter, and of course we love Drowsy, but what's really making us nerd out is the fact that Hunter's Tony-winning sister, Sutton Foster, starred in the original Broadway production of Drowsy. After the new production of Drowsy wraps, Hunter Foster will stay put at Goodspeed to direct the company's production of A Connecticut Christmas Carol (November 30-December 30). Chris Bailey will choreograph Drowsy with Lisa Shriver setting the moves for A Connecticut Christmas Carol. Additional creative teams for the new Goodspeed season include Don Stephenson directing and Kelli Barclay choreographing The Will Rogers Follies (April 13-June 21), Rob Ruggiero helming and James Gray as the choreographer of Oliver! (June 29-September 8), Sarna Lapine directing and Patrick McCollum choreographing You Are Here (May 18-June 10) and Erica Schmidt helming Cyrano (August 3-September 2) with Jeff and Rick Kuperman as choreographers.

David Mamet Wrote a Play About Harvey Weinstein
Prolific playwright David Mamet has written a play about film producer Harvey Weinstein. Mamet shared the news in an interview with The Chicago Tribune. “I was talking with my Broadway producer and he said, ‘Why don’t you write a play about Harvey Weinstein?’ And so I did,” said Pulitzer winner Mamet. There currently isn't a timeline for a debut production of the play, but there is no doubt that it would be timely. Mamet's extensive résumé of plays includes Oleanna, Glengarry Glen Ross, American Buffalo, Speed-the-Plow, November, Race and the recent Broadway play China Doll.