Odds & Ends: Leslie Odom Jr. Cast in CBS All Access Series $1 & More

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

Leslie Odom Jr. Cast in CBS All Access Series $1
Leslie Odom Jr. is headed to the small screen with a sweet new gig. The Hamilton Tony winner has been cast in $1, a CBS All Access mystery series set just after the recession in America, according to Variety. The show centers on how the $1 bill connects unrelated strangers to an unsolved murder. The cast of $1 will also include Broadway alums Jeff Perry (August: Osage County), Christopher Denham (China Doll) and Kirrilee Berger (Billy Elliot), along with John Carroll Lynch, Nathaniel Martello-White, Philip Ettinger, Gracie Lawrence and Sturgill Simpson. A premiere date for $1 will be announced at a later time.

Chester Gregory II & Stephanie Gibson Join Starry Benefit for Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation
Broadway alums Chester Gregory II (Motown the Musical) and Stephanie Gibson (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) have joined the lineup for the 2018 edition of Broadway Belts for PFF!, a concert evening benefiting the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation. Julie Halston will host the event, slated to take place on March 12 at 5:30pm at the Edison Ballroom. As previously announced, Broadway Belts for PFF! will also feature Tony winners Harvey Fierstein and Marissa Jaret Winokur with original Hairspray stars in a special segment, along with a slew of other big names in theater. To date, Broadway Belts for PFF! has raised nearly $750,000 for the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation.

Get an Inside Look at the Broadway-Bound Musical King Kong
The Broadway premiere of King Kong is approaching. The new musical based on the 1932 novel about a young actress and a maverick filmmaker voyaging through New York to capture the greatest wonder the world begins at the Broadway Theatre on October 5. The creatives at the center of the new show have offered up a look at the history of King Kong as a property and why Broadway is the perfect way to introduce the story to new generations. Watch below and don't miss the chance to experience King Kong for yourself.



Broadway Baby Mamas Concert to Benefit Ruthie Ann Miles
A new edition of the concert series Broadway Baby Mamas will donate proceeds to Tony winner Ruthie Ann Miles, who suffered the tragic loss of her daughter on March 5. Presented by Cara Cooper, Jessica Rush and Lauren Worsham and hosted by Celia Keenan-Bolger, Broadway Baby Mamas puts a spotlight on those stars who appear on Broadway by night and take on the role of hard-working mom by day. The new Broadway Baby Mamas concert will take place on March 15 at 9:30pm and 11:30pm at Feinstein's/54 Below. Stephanie J. Block and Nikki Renee Daniels are among the stars slated to perform.

Clare Barron's Dance Nation Announces Casting for World Premiere at Playwrights Horizons
Off-Broadway's Playwrights Horizons has announced complete casting for Dance Nation, a world premiere play by Obie winner Clare Barron (You Got Older). Directed and choreographed by Obie winner Lee Sunday Evans (Caught), the play will begin previews on April 13 with an opening slated for May 8. In Dance Nation, an army of pre-teen competitive dancers plots to take over the world. If their new routine is good enough, they’ll claw their way to the top at the Boogie Down Grand Prix in Tampa Bay. The cast of Dance Nation will include Obie winner Ellen Maddow, Purva Bedi, Eboni Booth, Camila Canó-Flaviá, Christina Rouner, Elena Maddow, Thomas Jay Ryan, Dina Shihabi, Lucy Taylor and Ikechukwu Ufomadu. Dance Nation will play a limited engagement through May 27.

Queen Musical We Will Rock You to Appear in New York Concerts
One of the longest-running musicals in London's West End, the Queen jukebox musical We Will Rock You will arrive New York City as a pair star-filled concerts at Feinstein’s/54 Below on April 8 at 7:00pm and 9:30pm. With a book by Ben Elton, We Will Rock You features Queen’s greatest songs including “We Are the Champions,” “Radio Ga Ga,” “I Want to Break Free,” “Somebody to Love,” “Killer Queen,” “Don’t Stop Me Now,” “Under Pressure,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Another One Bites the Dust” and the rollicking title number. Robert W. Schneider will direct the concerts sung by a cast including Caroline Bowman (Kinky Boots), Kristy Cates (Wicked), Matt DeAngelis (Waitress), Jennifer DiNoia (Wicked), Tyce Green (Rock of Ages), Marcy Harriell (In the Heights), F. Michael Haynie (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), Van Hughes (American Idiot), Lauren Molina (Rock of Ages), Larry Owens (Gigantic), Jonah Platt (Wicked), Talia Suskauer (Love in Hate Nation), Marty Thomas (Xanadu), Donna Vivino (Wicked), Dan’yelle Williamson (Wicked) and EJ Zimmerman (Avenue Q).

Tony Nominee Christiane Noll & More to Lead World Premiere Musical Snow Child
Tony nominee Christiane Noll (Ragtime) and Broadway alum Matt Bogart (Jersey Boys) will star in Snow Child, a new musical slated to make its world premiere with Washington, D.C.'s Arena Stage, followed by a pair of runs at Alaska's Perseverance Theatre. The tuner features a book by John Strand, music by Bob Banghart and Georgia Stitt and lyrics by Stitt. Based on Eowyn Ivey’s Pulitzer Prize-nominated novel, Snow Child follows a couple (played by Noll and Bogart) rebuilding their lives in the Alaskan wilderness when they meet a magical and mysterious snow child who transforms them. Directed by Molly Smith, Snow Child will run from April 13 through May 20 at Arena's Kreeger Theater, then from May 25-27 at Perseverance's Anchorage venue and June 9-10 in Perseverance's Juneau space. In addition to Noll and Bogart, the cast will include Fina Strazza, Natalie Toro, Alex Alferov, Dan Manning, Dorothy James, David Landstrom and Calvin McCullough.