Odds and Ends: Hadestown Film Sets Release, Happy Feet Musical in the Works & More

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

Hadestown Hits the Multiplex

Fans across the country will get the chance to see a live capture of Hadestown filmed in London's West End. Titled Hadestown: The Musical, the filmed stage performance features original principal cast members Reeve Carney as Orpheus, Eva Noblezada as Eurydice, Tony winner André De Shields as Hermes, Amber Gray as Persephone and Patrick Page as Hades. It will be released theatrically in North America on July 24, and the U.K. will follow at a date to be announced. Noblezada, Gray and Page received Tony nominations for their otherworldly performances. Drawing from Greek mythology, Hadestown features music, lyrics and a book by Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell and imaginative direction from Tony winner Rachel Chavkin. Premiering on Broadway in 2019, the show currently stars Joshua Colley as Orpheus, Jordan Tyson as Eurydice, Gaby Moreno as Persephone, Gary Dourdan as Hades and Tony winner J. Harrison Ghee as Hermes. For those who can’t wait to see De Shields work his magic, you can watch the theater legend hold court as Old Deuteronomy in Cats: The Jellicle Ball at the Broadhurst Theatre. Then hop over to the Broadway Theatre to see Noblezada and Carney lead The Great Gatsby. Lest we forget, Gray is also on Broadway this season, supplying thrills and chills as Riff Raff in the hotly-anticipated revival of The Rocky Horror Show at Studio 54.

Penguins on Parade

The Oscar-winning animated hit Happy Feet is being developed into a Broadway-bound musical. In 2006, audiences across the world fell in love with Mumble, a tap dancing penguin incapable of producing a mating call. Now, Mumble’s misadventures are being adapted for the stage, with direction from Maybe Happy Ending Tony winner Michael Arden, a book by Douglas Lyons and featuring the hit songs from the motion picture alongside a lineup of chart-topping favorites. Happy Feet’s choreography team is comprised of tap virtuoso Ayodele Casel and the duo Lauren Yalango-Grant & Christopher “Cree” Grant, whose work can currently be seen in The Lost Boys, A New Musical. The stacked design team includes Tony winning set designer Dane Laffrey (Maybe Happy Ending, Once on This Island), Tony winning costume designer Susan Hilferty (Wicked, Spring Awakening), Tony winning lighting designer Natasha Katz (Sweeney Todd, Once), puppet designer Basil Twist (Pee Wee Herman’s Playhouse, Charlie & The Chocolate Factory), orchestrator/co-arranger Kenny Seymour (Ain’t Too Proud) and music supervisor/co-arranger Jackson Teeley. Dates for future productions and additional members of the creative team will be announced shortly.

Still Beating

Angels in America scribe and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Tony Kushner will direct a one-night-only benefit reading of Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart for The Public Theater. Staged at The Public’s Barbaralee Theater, the reading will take place on April 27 at 7 p.m. The Normal Heart originally premiered at the Public in 1985, supplying righteous indignation and a galvanizing call to action through its story of a writer who fights to expose the truth about the emerging AIDS crisis in New York. In 2011, the play was mounted on Broadway under the direction of Joel Grey and George C. Wolfe, receiving three Tony Awards. Three years later, Ryan Murphy directed an Emmy-winning telefilm adaptation of The Normal Heart for HBO. Proceeds from the reading will go toward the Public and God’s Love We Deliver, which was founded to support people with HIV/AIDS and provides medically tailored meals, nutrition care and education to individuals living with serious illness.

Moonstruck

A star-studded lineup of performers will take part in We Chose to Go to the Moon, a multimedia, immersive sensory theatrical experience that chronicles America’s participation in the Space Race and our hard-won journey to secure a moon landing. Presented by American History Unbound, We Chose to Go to the Moon will be staged at Carnegie Hall under the direction of Tony winner Michael Mayer, who helmed the hit revival of Chess that’s currently running on Broadway. The program features vocal performances and vignettes from Skylar Astin, Grammy nominee Brent Comer, Claybourne Elder, Elizabeth Gillies, Tony nominee Taylor Louderman and Tony and Grammy nominee Joy Woods. Historian John Monsky penned the project and will supply narration. Additionally, Neil Armstrong’s son Mark Armstrong and granddaughter Kali Armstrong will perform a special tribute to the astronaut as part of the space age celebration. Performances will take place on April 7 and 8.

All The Things She Sang

…Girl! New York theatergoers will have the chance to come to the cottage with a fully-staged off-Broadway run of Heated Rivalry: An Unauthorized Musical Parody. Following a string of sold-out concert presentations, this raunchy romp will be staged at the 6th Floor Theater at 530 West 27th Street (formerly The McKittrick Hotel). Inspired by the Canadian television series that launched a thousand glute routines, Heated Rivalry will star Jay Armstrong Johnson as Ilya Rozanov and Jimin Moon as Shane Hollander, a pair of star-crossed hockey hunks who pass the puck and love to... sing showtunes! Jam-packed with infectious earworms, the original musical was written by Dylan MarcAurele, with direction from Winnipeg's very own Alan Kliffer. Ryann Redmond, Cherry Torres and Ryan Duncan will co-star. Previews begin May 12 ahead of an official opening night on May 26. The icescapades will run through July 6, 2026.

Frankly, My Dear

After a sold-out run last summer, comedian Morgan Bassichis’ Obie-winning play Can I Be Frank? is returning to SoHo Playhouse from May 21 through June 27, 2026. The piece explores the legacy of Frank Maya, one of the first openly gay comedians to appear on network television. Right as he was on the cusp of a mainstream breakthrough, Maya died from AIDS-related complications in 1995. Incorporating some of Maya’s own material, Can I Be Frank? finds Bassichis reckoning with their own place within a queer lineage. This unique theatrical event will once again be directed by Tony winner Sam Pinkleton, who helms the runaway Broadway smash Oh, Mary! and the aforementioned revival of The Rocky Horror Show starring Luke Evans.