Odds & Ends: Armie Hammer on Playing Rooster in Annie, Making His Broadway Debut in Straight White Men & More

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

Straight White Men Star Armie Hammer on Playing Rooster in Annie & Making His Broadway Debut
Armie Hammer won over movie audiences last year with a Golden Globe-nominated turn in Call Me by Your Name. Next up for the megastar is Broadway: Hammer kicks off previews of his Broadway debut in Young Jean Lee's acclaimed play Straight White Men on June 29 at the Hayes Theater. Hammer paid a visit to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on June 25 to talk about topics ranging from his stage beginnings ("I did play Rooster Hannigan in Annie in sixth grade!") and the differences between acting on stage vs. screen ("It's a totally different muscle"). Watch Hammer below and don't miss the chance to experience his performance in Straight White Men on Broadway.



Martha Plimpton to Bring Cabaret All The Presidents Mann to Bard Summerscape
Stage-and-screen veteran Martha Plimpton is offering up her acclaimed cabaret tribute to songwriter Aimee Mann, All the Presidents Mann, to audiences in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York this summer. Emmy winner and three-time Tony nominee Plimpton will appear in Spiegeltent at Bard Summerscape for two performances on June 29 at 7:00 and 9:30pm. All the Presidents Mann sees Plimpton and her music director Dan Lipton (who collaborated on Broadway's The Coast of Utopia) paying tribute to Mann and dedicating songs to some of their most (and least) favorite U.S. Presidents.

Nick Blaemire & More to Workshop Jason Robert Brown's New Musical The Connector
Additional casting has been announced for the slate productions set to be workshopped at the Vassar & New York Stage and Film's 2018 Powerhouse season in Poughkeepsie, NY, which is currently running through July 29. Among the newly announced stars is the cast of The Connector (July 13-15), a new musical featuring a score by Jason Robert Brown, book by Jonathan Marc Sherman and direction by Daisy Prince. The company will include stage veterans Nick Blaemire, Renee Albulario, Alvin Crawford, Max Crumm, Ashley Perez Flanagan, Danielle Lee Greaves, Mylinda Hull, Daniel Jenkins, Jimmy Kieffer, Jeff McCarthy, Jessica Molaskey, Ana Nogueira, Eliseo Roman and Michael Winther. For a full look at the Powerhouse season's casting, click here.

Ethan McSweeny Named New Artistic Director of American Shakespeare Center
Broadway alum director Ethan McSweeny has been named as the new artistic director of The American Shakespeare Center, a regional theater company located in Staunton, Virginia. McSweeny's New York directorial credits include Broadway productions of Gore Vidal's The Best Man and A Time to Kill as well as off-Broadway stagings of Rx, 100 Saints You Should Know, The Persians, Sabina and Never the Sinner, for which McSweeny received a 1998 Outer Critics Circle Award nomination. "The ASC's celebration of the human spirit through Shakespeare is an inspiring goal that transcends merely the making of plays and engages with something larger, something that I am humbled and excited to become a part of nurturing and building," said McSweeny in a statement.

3rd Annual Broadway Golf Outing Sets August Date
For the third consecutive year, people around the Broadway community will come together to play a round of golf at the Annual Broadway Golf Outing. This year's event will take place at Crystal Springs Golf Club and Resort in Vernon, NJ on August 13 at 12:15pm. The outing is open to anyone associated with the theater industry in any capacity. Notable past participants have included Jeremy Jordan, Aaron Tveit and Richard H. Blake.