Odds & Ends: Spike Lee Is Collaborating with Passing Strange Duo on Viagra Movie Musical & More

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

Spike Lee Collaborates with Passing Strange Duo for Viagra Movie Musical
Fresh from helming David Byrne’s American Utopia for HBO, Spike Lee has got his next gig lined up. According to The New York Times, the Oscar-winning director is collaborating with Passing Strange creators Stew and Heidi Rodewald on a movie musical based on the article All Rise: The Untold Story of The Guys Who Launched Viagra. (Like American Utopia, Lee also filmed Passing Strange during its Broadway run.) With a screenplay written by the Kwame Kwei-Armah, who is the artistic director of London’s Young Vic, the film is inspired by the true events surrounding the drug manufacturer Pfizer’s discovery and launch of the erectile dysfunction drug. Casting and a timeline for the film will be announced later.

Mary-Louise Parker Joins Colin Kaepernick Netflix Series
Tony and Emmy-winning actress Mary-Louise Parker, who was set to appear on Broadway in How I Learned to Drive this past season and recently earned her fourth Tony nomination for The Sound Inside, is heading to the small screen. According to Deadline, Parker has joined Netflix's upcoming Colin Kaepernick bio-series, Colin in Black and White, as Kaepernick's adoptive mother. The six-episode series, created by Kaepernick and Ava DuVernay, examines Kaepernick's upbringing as a Black teenager in a white adopted family. It also focuses on his time becoming a star quarterback in the NFL, and what it was like laying the groundwork for his present-day activism. Nick Offerman will play opposite Parker as Rick Kaepernick while Jaden Michael will star as a young Colin.

Joshua Harmon and Nicole Cox Receive Theater J Prizes
Playwrights Joshua Harmon and Nicole Cox have earned prizes from Theater J. The new prizes are aimed at recognizing plays that celebrate, explore and/or struggle with the complexities and nuances of the Jewish experience. Harmon's Prayer for the French Republic has been awarded the Theater J Trish Vradenburg Jewish Play Prize, and Cox’s Abomination has been awarded the Theater J Patty Abramson Jewish Play Prize. The Vrandenburg Prize comes with a $15,000 award and the Abramson Prize includes $3,000 and a stage reading.