Odds and Ends: Wicked News, West End Moves and a Sondheim Encore

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

Colman Domingo Finds His Courage

Colman Domingo is heading to Oz. The Oscar-nominated actor, who has appeared on Broadway in Passing Strange, Chicago and The Scottsboro Boys, will voice the Cowardly Lion in Wicked: For Good, the second installment of Jon M. Chu’s two-part film adaptation of the musical. The casting was announced on the Wicked movie’s Instagram account, where Domingo playfully revealed himself from behind a stuffed lion and said, “See you in Oz!” Chu had teased that fans would be thrilled once the role was revealed. In the story, the Cowardly Lion is the cub Elphaba (played by Tony winner Cynthia Erivo) once freed, now grown and bitter about his fate. Returning cast members for the second film include Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, Marissa Bode, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang and Bronwyn James. Wicked: For Good opens November 21.

Sweet Smell of Success Finds Its Stars

Stars are set for MasterVoices concert edition of Sweet Smell of Success, running November 21 and 22, at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall. Raúl Esparza stars as columnist J.J. Hunsecker with Lizzy McAlpine as his sister Susan and Ali Louis Bourzgui as press agent Sidney Falco. The cast also features Noah J. Ricketts as Dallas and Aline Mayagoitia as Rita. Ted Sperling will direct and conduct with choreography by Andrew Palermo. Featuring a jazz-infused score by Marvin Hamlisch and Craig Carnelia and a book by John Guare, the 2002 musical based on the 1958 film noir explores the ruthless world of New York media and ambition.

Stream It Like You Mean It

Can’t get to Broadway before Punch closes? Manhattan Theatre Club has you covered. From October 28 to November 2, the company will stream a filmed performance of James Graham’s acclaimed drama, captured at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. Created with the League of Live Stream Theater, the pre-taped presentation features Will Harrison, Victoria Clark, Sam Robards and more in Adam Penford’s production based on Jacob Dunne’s memoir Right From Wrong. The play follows a young man reckoning with a fatal mistake and finding forgiveness in the victim’s family. Punch also runs in London’s West End at the Apollo Theatre through November 29.

Judgment Call

Rosamund Pike will return to the stage as Crown Court Judge Jessica Parks when Inter Alia moves from the National Theatre to Wyndham’s Theatre in spring 2026. Written by Suzie Miller and directed by Justin Martin, the limited engagement will run from March 19 to June 20. The story follows Parks, a sharp and determined judge whose professional poise is tested when a personal crisis upends her life. Exploring themes of motherhood, justice and identity, Inter Alia asks what it means to balance power and compassion in a system built on control. Jamie Glover will reprise his role as Parks’ husband Michael Wheatley with additional casting to be announced. The production features design by Miriam Buether, movement and intimacy direction by Lucy Hind and music by Erin LeCount and James Jacob.

Rolling Merrily to the Big Screen

The first trailer has dropped for Merrily We Roll Along, the pro-shot of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s musical directed by Maria Friedman. The filmed performance captures the Broadway production starring Tony winners Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez. Spanning three decades in reverse, the story follows composer Franklin Shepard and his closest friends, writer Mary and playwright Charley, as ambition and time test their bond. First seen on Broadway in 1981, Merrily has grown into one of Sondheim’s most celebrated works, featuring “Old Friends,” “Not a Day Goes By” and “Our Time.” Also starring Krystal Joy Brown, Katie Rose Clarke and Reg Rogers, the film arrives in theaters December 5.