Odds & Ends: Kate Baldwin & Tiler Peck Set for Starry Little Dancer Reading & More

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

Kate Baldwin & Tiler Peck Set for Reading of Ahrens & Flaherty's Little Dancer
A talent-packed lineup of stars have signed on for an industry reading of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty's new musical Little Dancer. The private NYC reading, set for June 8, will take place in advance of the previously announced West Coast premiere production at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre. Susan Stroman, who directed and choreographed the musical's 2014 world premiere run at the Kennedy Center, is repeating her duties for the reading and the 5th Avenue staging. Leading the reading's principal cast is original Little Dancer star Tiler Peck reprising her turn as Young Marie alongside Tony-nominated Hello, Dolly! star Kate Baldwin as Adult Marie, Tony and Olivier winner Robert Lindsay as Edgar Degas, Tony winner Karen Ziemba as Martine, Tony nominee Dee Hoty as Mary Cassatt, Christopher Gurr as Corbeil, Kyle Harris as Christian, Scarlett Strallen as Antoinette and Sami Bray as Charlotte. Set in the harsh backstage world of the Paris Opera Ballet, Little Dancer follows a young ballerina (Peck) who, after posing for Edgar Degas (Lindsay), became the most famous dancer in the world. The musical features a book and lyrics by Ahrens and music by Flaherty.

Uma Thurman to Star in Netflix Series Chambers
Recent Parisian Woman star Uma Thurman isn't headed back to Broadway just yet but she has landed a fresh TV gig. The newly anointed Broadway.com Audience Choice Award winner will lead the cast of Netflix's Chambers, a supernatural drama created by Leah Rachel, according to Deadline. Chambers follows a heart attack survivor who is fascinated by the identity of the donor who saved her life. Thurman will appear as Nancy, the mother of the heart donor. Additional casting and a start date is forthcoming.

Where's Charley? Star Allyn Ann McLerie Has Died
Allyn Ann McLerie, the actress who made her mark on Broadway and on-screen as Amy Spettigue in Where's Charley?, has died at age 91, according to The Hollywood Reporter. McLerie made her Broadway debut as a dancer in One Touch of Venus (1943), following up that appearance with a gig in On the Town (1944). McLerie dazzled audiences in a Theatre World Award-winning turn as Amy Spettigue in Frank Loesser and George Abbott's musical Where's Charley? (1948), reprising her performance in a brief 1951 revival and later playing the role in a screen adaptation (1952). McLerie's other Broadway credits included Miss Liberty (1949), Time Limit! (1956), Redhead (1959), West Side Story (1960) and The Beast in Me (1963). McLerie married Tony-winning lyricist Adolph Green in 1945; the couple divorced in 1953. McLerie was then married to actor George Gaines from 1953 until his death in 2016; the couple had two children: a son, Matthew, who died in 1989, and a daughter, Iya, by whom McLerie is survived. She is also survived by a granddaughter, Niki, and her husband, Simon, along with great-granddaughters Portia and Harper.

Tovah Feldshuh to Test Out Leona Helmsley Bio-Musical in Concert
Four-time Tony-nominated Broadway icon Tovah Feldshuh will portray famed American businesswoman Leona Helmsley in an upcoming cabaret at Feinstein's/54 Below. The concert will feature tunes from the Broadway-aimed Helmsley bio-musical Queen of Mean, written by Ron Passaro, David Lee and Alex Lippard. The concerts, directed by Jeff Harnar with musical direction by James Bassi, are set for July 5, 6 and 7 at 7:00pm.

P.S. Hear firsthand from trouper Jim Parsons about his Boys in the Band curtain-call injury.