Odds & Ends: Lea Salonga to Launch 'The Human Heart' Tour in 2019 & More

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

Lea Salonga to Launch 'The Human Heart' Tour in 2019
Lea Salonga will lend her voice to a new national concert tour, launching next year. The beloved Tony winner is calling the tour "The Human Heart," a homage to the show-stopping number she sang as Erzulie in Once On This Island on Broadway. Salonga won her Tony Award for originating the role of Kim in Miss Saigon; her other stage credits include Les Misérables, Flower Drum Song and Allegiance. Check dates and locations for Salonga's upcoming concert below.


Bobby Conte Thornton & Alex Prakken to Revive Early Musical by Beetlejuice Team
Stage stars Bobby Conte Thornton (A Bronx Tale) and Alex Prakken (Newsies) will team up onstage in a one-night concert of Gutenberg! The Musical!, a 2007 tuner written by Anthony King and Scott Brown and first directed by Alex Timbers—future collaborators on the upcoming Broadway musical Beetlejuice. The concert, produced and directed by Matt Redmond, will be held at The Green Room 42 on November 11 at 9:30pm. Gutenberg! The Musical! follows an overwhelmingly enthusiastic pair of aspiring playwrights performing a backers' audition for their new project: a big, splashy musical about printing press inventor Johann Gutenberg. Writers Doug (Thornton) and Bud (Prakken) sing all the songs and play all the parts, with the hope that one of the producers in attendance will give them a Broadway contract. Thornton and Prakken will be accompanied by Andrew Callahan. The original off-Broadway staging of Gutenberg! The Musical starred future Tony nominees Jeremy Shamos as Doug and Christopher Fitzgerald as Bud. 

Student-Run Production of Next to Normal to Play SoHo Playhouse
NYU's Tisch New Theatre will stage a fresh production of the Pulitzer-winning musical Next to Normal beginning next week at off-Broadway's SoHo Playhouse. Directed and choreographed by NYU senior Danica Jensen, the fully student-run mounting of Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey's contemporary rock musical will run from October 23 through November 4. Next to Normal centers on Diana, a woman who has been diagnosed with mental illness, and the effect this has on her family. The cast will include Samantha Tullie as Diana, Knox Van Horn as Dan, Sam Tennant as Natalie, Kyle Brenn as Gabe, Jose Contreras as Henry, Max Fiorello as Dr. Madden and Lizzy Gesensway as Dr. Fine, with an ensemble comprising Kaeli Heffner and Aja Hinds.

Yiddish-Language Fiddler on the Roof Extends Run for Final Time
The acclaimed Yiddish-language production of Fiddler on the Roof has received a fourth and final extension from the 104-year-old National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene. Joel Grey's new staging at the Museum of Jewish Heritage will now play its off-Broadway run through December 30. The new mounting of the iconic musical stars Steven Skybell as Tevye, Jennifer Babiak as Golde and Emmy-nominated Broadway favorite Jackie Hoffman as Yente.