Odds & Ends: Brian Stokes Mitchell Announces Third Solo Album & More

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

Tony Winner Brian Stokes Mitchell to Release New Album Plays with Music
Tony winner and Actor’s Fund Chairman Brian Stokes Mitchell will release his third solo album, Plays with Music, on November 29, Broadway Records announced today. The album features a variety of his favorite show tunes, like ‘Getting Married Today’ and ‘Hello, Young Lovers.’ Each song is approached as if it were its own mini-play. Accompanied by an orchestra with Stokes' own arrangements, Plays with Music will also debut a new song called, "A Wizard Every Day." Plays with Music is currently available for pre-order.

Celebs Set for the 19th Annual The 24 Hour Plays Broadway Gala
This year’s 24 Hour Plays Broadway Gala continues to get more and more star-studded. This year’s event will honor Academy Award-winning actor Kathy Bates on November 18 at the Laura Pels Theatre. Newly announced participants in the night’s activities include acting couple Dagmara Dominczyk and Patrick Wilson, David Harbour, Katherine McNamara and more. This year’s gala will team up with the Lymphatic Education & Research Network (LE&RN). Proceeds from The 24 Hour Plays 2019 Broadway Gala support LE&RN’s work to fight lymphedema and lymphatic disease through education, research, and advocacy. Kathy Bates serves as LE&RN’s national spokesperson. For tickets and more information click here.

Olivia Newton-John’s Iconic Grease Outfit Goes for $405,700 at Auction
Tell us about it, stud! Olivia Newton-John’s black “bad Sandy” finale look from the 1978 movie musical Grease is an iconic ensemble. According to The Guardian, the pants and leather jacket sold at a Beverly Hills auction for a whopping $407,700. Fun fact: the pants were so tight that she had to be sewn into them to film the hip-shaking “You’re the One That I Want” duet with co-star John Travolta, and thus, were sold with a broken zipper. The buyer has not been publicly revealed. The auction, which also included a Grease poster signed by the movie cast that went for $64,000 and a custom Pink Ladies jacket that sold for $50,000, raised money for the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Center in Melbourne, Australia.

Yiddish Fiddler on the Roof to Hold Benefit Performance on November 6
Off-Broadway’s celebrated Yiddish production of Fiddler on the Roof is teaming up with the YES Project/Youth Equity Science: Fighting Stigma, Preventing Suicide With Science + Law for a benefit performance. This will take place on November 6; the evening show will be preceded by a VIP reception at Chez Josephine and followed by a talkback with the cast. Director Joel Grey is set to host the reception alongside Human Rights Watch LGBT Program Director Graeme Reid, Yale public health and law professor Ali Miller, and LGBTQ+ youth mental health experts Theo Sandfort and Mark Haztenbuehler.