Odds & Ends: Darren Criss, Lea Salonga & More Set for Virtual Broadway Backwards
(Photo by Caitlin McNaney for Broadway.com)
Here's a quick roundup of stories you might have missed recently.
Broadway Backwards to Make Virtual Premiere on March 30
Broadway Backwards, the annual gala that bans gender constraints in its performances, will make its virtual premiere on March 30 as a benefit for both Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center in New York City. The show will feature Jay Armstrong Johnson as an isolated New Yorker who dreams a fantastical journey guided by a late-night television host, portrayed by Jenn Colella. New performances will be merged with numbers from previous editions of Broadway Backwards. The evening will also include performances and appearances from Darren Criss, Lea Salonga, Stephanie J. Block, Deborah Cox, Matt Bomer, Ariana DeBose, Robin De Jesús, Cynthia Erivo, Joshua Henry, Cherry Jones, Kelli O’Hara and Jim Parsons. Additional guests will be announced later. The online event can be viewed here and will remain available through April 3.
Watch the Trailer for the Tina Doc
The trailer has arrived for Tina! As previously announced, the feature documentary about music icon Tina Turner is set to premiere on HBO and HBO Max on March 27. The doc features interviews with Turner and includes never-before-seen footage, audio tapes, personal photos, interviews with Tina: The Tina Turner musical's Tony-nommed scribe Katori Hall and more. Check out the trailer below!
Keke Palmer, Aaron Tveit & More Set for Scripted Comedy Podcasts
Nothing like the sound of Broadway alums in your earbuds! Variety reports that Audible and Broadway Video are set to release the scripted comedy podcasts Hit Job and Hot White Heist on April 22 and June 17, respectively. The former will star Broadway alum Keke Palmer alongside Saturday Night Live's Pete Davidson as co-workers at a company with the motto “Do Bad Things for Good Reasons.” The ensemble cast of that podcast will also include 2020 Tony nominee Aaron Tveit, Matt Bomer, Brooke Shields, Okieriete “Oak” Onaodowan and more. Starring SNL's Bowen Yang and directed by Tony winner Alan Cumming, Hot White Heist tells the story of a group of LGBTQIA+ contemporaries who attempt to steal the U.S. government’s sperm-bank deposits from some of history’s most brilliant minds in the hopes of selling the genetic material on the black market to buy an island for a new queer paradise. Yang will be joined by an ensemble of openly queer artists, including Cynthia Nixon, Jane Lynch, Mj Rodriguez, John Cameron Mitchell, Cheyenne Jackson, Peppermint, Tony Kushner and more.
Cynthia Erivo to Release Children's Book
Cynthia Erivo took to Instagram on February 24 to announce she'll be releasing a children's book called Remember to Dream, Ebere. "It is a little reminder to dream as big as you want to and with all the detail you could possibly muster up," she said. Illustrated by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow, this heartwarming tale of mother and child will be published by Hachette Book Group and available on September 28. Pre-order it here.
P.S. Check out Broadway alum Donna Vivino's amazing parody of Sara Bareilles' "She Used To Be Mine" from Waitress.
