Odds & Ends: Meryl Streep & Mary-Louise Parker Join Spotlight on Plays Series

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

Meryl Streep & Mary-Louise Parker Join Spotlight on Plays Lineup
Two towering talents have been added to the previously announced Spotlight on Plays series. Oscar winner Meryl Streep will star alongside Kevin Kline in Sarah Ruhl's Dear Elizabeth, directed by Kate Whoriskey. Tony winner and 2020 Tony nominee Mary-Louise Parker will star in Paula Vogel's The Baltimore Waltz, directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz. More details were also revealed: Oscar winner Ellen Burstyn and Carla Gugino will star in Lillian Hellman's Watch on the Rhine. Emmy winner Kathryn Hahn will star in Wendy Wasserstein's The Sisters Rosensweig. Six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald will star in Adrienne Kennedy's Ohio State Murders. Dates and further casting for these works will be announced later. The series kicks off on March 25 at 8PM ET with Larissa FastHorse’s The Thanksgiving Play, starring Heidi Schreck, Bobby Cannavale, Keanu Reeves and Alia Shawkat.

Tony-Winning Lighting Designer Pat Collins Dies
Pat Collins, who won a 1986 Tony Award for her lighting design work on I'm Not Rappaport, has died. Live Design shared condolences and memories from Collins' colleagues, peers and friends on March 22. She made her Broadway debut in 1976 with a revival of Threepenny Opera. Her lighting design for that show earned her a Tony nomination. She also garnered a Tony nomination in 2005 for her work on the Tony-winning play Doubt. Her additional Broadway credits included Ain't Misbehavin' in 1978 and 1988, Stages, Baby, Death and the King's Horseman, Sherlock's Last Case, The Heidi Chronicles, Lucifer's Child, Conversations With My Father, The Sisters Rosensweig, A Delicate Balance, Once Upon a Mattress, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Proof, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Good People and many more. Her final Broadway show was Orphans in 2013.

Céline Dion Musical Comedy Titanique Set for Virtual Debut
Titanique, the irreverent new musical send-up of the blockbuster movie Titanic, will give global audiences a virtual concert preview of the show before it hits the New York City mainstage on May 2 at 7:30PM ET. Featuring the songs of pop icon Céline Dion, Titanique: The Maiden Voyage Concert will be performed live from the Greenwich Village nightclub Le Poisson Rouge in New York and can be viewed here. Directed by Tye Blue and co-written by Blue, Marla Mindelle and Constantine Rousouli, the cast will include Rousouli, Mindelle, Alex Ellis, former Broadway.com vlogger Frankie J. Grande, Kathy Deitch, Kyle Ramar Freeman, John Riddle, Randy Blair, Jalynn Steele and Courtney Bassett.

Glimpse Adrienne Walker & Austin Cook's 32 Bar Cut
Despite Broadway still being on pause, theater couple Adrienne Walker, who appeared as Nala in The Lion King at the time of the shutdown, and her husband Austin Cook have created the site 32 Bar Cut, a platform that includes three different shows: Broadway Banter, The Curtain Call and 32 Bar Cut: The Show. The latter is their latest interview series about the inner workings of the theater industry. With three episodes out now (and a new one coming this week featuring Tony winner Kelli O'Hara), season one is set to include Michael James Scott, Austin Scott, Stephanie Styles, Bonita Hamilton, Jelani Remy, Raymond J. Lee, Roman Banks, Kimberly Marable, Diana Huey, Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer and Bradley Gibson. New episodes will be out every Thursday at 1PM ET. Check out the amazing trailer for 32 Bar Cut: The Show below, and learn about all of Walker and Cook's series here.

Hamilton Alum & Jeannette Creator Ari Afsar Set for Netflix Comedy
Hamilton alum Ari Afsar is nonstop! In addition to co-creating the musical Jeannette, she has landed a role on Netflix's upcoming comedy Wedding Season. Deadline reports that Schitt’s Creek star Rizwan Manji, Suraj Sharma and Pallavi Sharda will also lead the movie. Written by Shiwani Srivastava and directed by Tom Dey, the film follows two Indian-Americans who pretend to date in order to survive a summer of weddings. Shooting is scheduled to begin in Toronto next month.

Memphis, Newsies & More to Be Available Online for NYC Students
With the ongoing Broadway shutdown due to COVID-19 and cancellation of all school field trips, the Broadway League, with the support of the New York City Department of Education (DOE) and the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), will be offering all NYC public school tenth graders free streaming to three previously recorded Broadway and West End shows, including Memphis (March 15–April 2), Newsies (April 12–30) and Kinky Boots (May 10–28). Made available through Broadway Bridges, the League’s initiative that seeks to give every New York City public high school student the chance to experience a Broadway show before graduation, video programs featuring talents like director/choreographer Jerry Mitchell, costume designer Linda Cho and more will also be included. Additionally, students can explore resources about the wide spectrum of non-performance career opportunities available throughout the Broadway industry here.

Watch John Stamos in the Trailer for the Basketball Series Big Shot
John Stamos, who has appeared on Broadway in Gore Vidal's The Best Man, Bye Bye Birdie, Nine, Cabaret and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, is set to star in the Disney+ series Big Shot. The show stars Stamos as a temperamental college basketball coach who gets fired from his job and must take a coaching gig at an elite all-girls private high school. Check out the trailer for the series, which premieres on April 16, below!