Odds & Ends: Alice Ripley to Lead All-Female Sondheim Birthday Celebration & More

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

Alice Ripley to Lead All-Female Sondheim Birthday Celebration
Tony winner Alice Ripley has signed on for the upcoming concert In Praise of Women: A Sondheim Celebration, in honor of Tony-winning songwriter Stephen Sondheim's 89th birthday. The star-studded event will be held at Feinstein's/54 Below on Sondheim's birthday, March 22, at 11:30pm. Joining Ripley onstage will be Lucy Anders, Ashley Blanchet, Bebe Browning, Emma Degerstedt, Jordan Ensign, Kaitlyn Frank, Gaelen Gilliland, Jenna Leigh Green, Celia Hottenstein, Autumn Hurlbert, Eryn LeCroy, Kate Loprest, Jessie Peltier, Becca Peterson, Kimber Sprawl and Nasia Thomas. Audiences can expect to hear songs ranging from Into the Woods to Road Show, Do I Hear a Waltz and much more. The evening is produced and directed by Matt Redmond with music direction by Rebekah Bruce Parker.

Paul Downs Colaizzo's Film Brittany Runs a Marathon Bought by Amazon
Hats off to celebrated playwright Paul Downs Colaizzo! Amazon has acquired his acclaimed new film Brittany Runs a Marathon, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Jillian Bell stars in the flick, written and directed by Colaizzo, which follows a woman whose life changes when she loses weight in preparation for a marathon. Colaizzo's playwriting credits include Pride in the Falls of Autrey Mill and the Outer Critics Circle Award-nominated Really Really.

Brett Ryback Launches Narrative Musical Podcast In Strange Woods
Acclaimed writer/performer Brett Ryback (Passing Through, Murder for Two) has teamed up with former Nickelodeon songwriters Matt Sav and Jeff Luppino-Esposito to develop the narrative musical podcast In Strange Woods, to be released later this year. In Strange Woods tells the coming-of-age story of Peregrine Wells, an 18-year-old girl in Minnesota's north woods, reeling from the death of her older brother. Ryback, who also acts as narrator, spins a fictional mystery that weaves together investigation and taped interview with a folk-pop score. Casting is to come, but a recent pilot featured Donna Lynne Champlin (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Patrick Page (Hadestown), Jonah Platt (Wicked) and Lily Mae Harrington (The Glee Project). For more information, click here.

Wesley Taylor & Alex Wyse's Indoor Boys Nominated for 13 Indie Series Awards
Great news for a group of Broadway favorites! Wesley Taylor (Alice by Heart) and Alex Wyse (Waitress) have netted 13 Indie Series Award nominations for their acclaimed series Indoor Boys. The annual Indie Series Awards celebrate independently produced entertainment created for the web. Indoor Boys follows two single gay roommates navigating life and dating from L.A. to New York. Joining Taylor and Wyse in the series are stage veterans Carolee Carmello (Sweeney Todd), Frankie Grande (Rock of Ages), Kyle Harris (Marie), Krysta Rodriguez (Spring Awakening) and Veanne Cox (An American in Paris). All sixteen episodes are available to watch on Vimeo.