Odds & Ends: Christy Altomare to Lead Reading of New Musical Alice in Neverland

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

Christy Altomare, Will Swenson & More Set for New Musical Reading
Broadway favorite and former vlogger Christy Altomare will lead a developmental reading of the new musical Alice in Neverland on June 16. The show, which features a book, music and lyrics by Phil Kenny and Reston Williams, brings together the title characters of both Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan. The reading will also include Will Swenson, Heath Saunders, Megan Masako Haley, Alistair Brammer, Timothy Hughes, M. Chase Grant, Kurt Hellerich, Claire Wilkins Kenny, Lisa Larsen, Mack, Beatriz Melo, Ryan Simmons, Scout Smith, Matt Walker, Kim Williams and Clotile Yanna. 

Robyn Hurder, Jessica Vosk & More Unite for a Great Cause
Want to hang with some Broadway faves and contribute to a great cause? Stage Door Mixer, a celebratory night of theater and live music with performances by some of NYC’s finest talent, will take place on June 21 at Watermark Bar in New York City. All proceeds benefit The Actors Fund. Moulin Rouge! Tony nominee Robyn Hurder, her triple-threat husband Clyde Alves, Jessica Vosk, Jelani Remy and Isabelle McCalla are just a few of the performers who will be in attendance. The evening will conclude with the first public showing of Places, Please, a film written and directed by Reed Luplau, featuring seven-time Tony nominee Danny Burstein, Krysta Rodriguez, Pixie Aventura, Ben Cook, Deborah S. Craig, Joseph Haro and Bahiyah Hibah. Head here for tickets.

Jackie Hoffman to Star in Fruma-Sarah (Waiting in the Wings)
The Cell Theatre will present the off-Broadway premiere of E. Dale Smith’s Fruma-Sarah (Waiting in the Wings) beginning on July 1. Directed by Braden M. Burns and starring former Broadway.com vlogger and Emmy nominee Jackie Hoffman and Kelly Kinsella, opening night is set for July 8. Weighed down by the reality of her current situation and yards of rented cheesecloth, aging community theater star Ariana Russo (Hoffman) sits backstage awaiting her entrance as Fruma-Sarah, the screeching deceased wife of Lazer Wolf. Tethered to the fly system overhead, she prepares to navigate her hour-long exile to stage left alone when she meets Margo (Kinsella), a feisty substitute fly captain for the night. Set in real time, while a production of Fiddler on the Roof is happening onstage, the wait begins to wear on Ariana, exposing the deep cracks in her bombastic facade.

Michael R. Jackson & More Set for New York Stage & Film Season
New York Stage and Film's summer season will return from July 17 through August 1 with in-person programming in Poughkeepsie. Co-created and performed by Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson, Mexodus, a concept album inspired by the estimated 4,000-10,000 enslaved people in the Southern part of the United States who pursued a journey into Mexico instead of looking north, will play at Vassar College on July 17 and Marist College on July 24. Florencia Iriondo's South, which is inspired by her experiences as a Latina living in the U.S. and features music and arrangements by Luis D’Elias, will play on July 23 and 24 at Revel 32. Melissa Li and Kit Yan's Interstate, a Queer Asian-American pop-rock musical about two trans people directed by Jesca Prudencio, will play at Marist College on July 25. Pulitzer Prize winner Michael R. Jackson's White Girl in Danger will play at Marist College on July 31 and August 1 in a staging directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz. The new musical satire tells the story of Keesha Gibbs, a young woman who lives in the "Blackground" of a melodramatic soap opera town called Allwhite. Get information on all of the shows here.

Harvey Fierstein Donates $2.5 Million to New York Public Library
Tony winner Harvey Fierstein has donated $2.5 million to the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts' Billy Rose Theatre Division to create the Harvey Fierstein Theatre Lab. This will serve as a hub for both students and teachers and will ultimately be constructed in what is currently a meeting room and office space on the Amsterdam level of the building. This year marks the 90th anniversary of the Theatre Division. 

Full Company Announced for West End's The Prince of Egypt
As previously reported, The Prince of Egypt will resume performances at London's Dominion Theater beginning on July 1. Initially, audiences will be socially distanced. The cast of will be led by Luke Brady as Moses, Liam Tamne as Ramses, Christine Allado as Tzipporah, Alexia Khadime as Miriam, Clive Rowe as Jethro, Tanisha Spring as Nefertari, Silas Wyatt-Barke as Aaron, Joe Dixon as Seti, Debbie Kurup as Queen Tuya, Adam Pearce as Hotep and Mercedesz Csampai as Yocheved. The company will also include Simbi Akande, Casey Al-Shaqsy, Joe Atkinson, Danny Becker, Felipe Bejarano, Pàje Campbell, Catherine Cornwall, Adam Filipe, Soophia Foroughi, Natalie Green, Jack Harrison-Cooper, Kalene Jeans, Christian Knight, Jessica Lee, Oliver Lidert, Daniel Luiz, Jay Marsh, Scott Maurice, Carly Miles, Alice Readie, Samuel Sarpong-Broni, Christopher Short, Molly Smith, Ricardo Walker, Danny Williams, Niko Wirachman and Sasha Woodward together with young performers Cian Eagle-Service, Maiya Eastmond, Jersey Blu Georgia, Taylor Jenkins, Mia Lakha, George Menezes Cutts, Iman Pabani and Vishal Soni.