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Today on Broadway: Thursday, July 31, 2025
00:16:01
Big stars announced for ‘Bat Boy,’ ‘This World of Tomorrow,’ ‘Damn Yankees,’ ‘The Rink’ Since 2016, “Today on Broadway” has been the first and only daily podcast recapping the top theatre headlines every Monday through Friday.
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Matt Tammanini
Broadway for Thursday, July 31, 2025. I'm Broadway Radio's Matt Tammanini and I'm.
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Grace
Tell Me on a Sunday Podcast Grace.
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Matt Tammanini
Aki Grace, I had this conversation with somebody yesterday and technically summer goes until like the 20th of September, but for me, for some reason like I always think of like you get to August like it's still hot out but like that's the start of fall. Am I wrong? Is it just because like I've been down here in Florida for so long, like school starts around this time? Like how do you feel about the differentiation of like obviously the autumnal equinox is different, but like is August fall or is August still summer?
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Grace
I think that mid to end August is summer or is fall? Because it's like school starting back. But also I base it on football season because I am that Southern girl.
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Matt Tammanini
Yeah, and I I agree. Ohio State starts its preseason fall camp today on the 31st, so I think that's part of it as well. So I agree. All right, that's enough seasonal and football talk for today at least. Let's dive into the news. And there was a ton of really cool stories with about some really awesome theater stars yesterday. So we're going to run through them all and I'm interested to get your thoughts on these. Grace but yesterday we got a lot, but not all, of the additional casting for New York City Center's upcoming gala performance of the musical. We already know that Taylor Trench is playing Edgar, the titular bat boy. Now we know a ton of stars who are going to be joining him, but we don't know who is going to be playing his leading lady and we will get to that shortly. However, I thought maybe we did know who was playing as leading lady when I got the press release because the press release headline mentioned Kerry Butler who originally played Shelley in the Off Broadway or original production. She is in the cast but she is not playing Shelley. It's not one of the Ellen Green Little Shop situations like we had when New York City Center's gala did Little Shop. She is going to be playing Meredith Parker, who is Shelley's mother in the show. Playing Shelley's father, Dr. Parker will be the great Christopher Sieber. Also in the cast will be Andrew Durant, Alan H. Green, Evan Harrington, Mary Faber, John Michael Lyles, Alex Newell, Olivia Puckett, Remo Webb, and joining longtime friend and on and off co star Kerry Butler will be Marissa Jarrett Winoker. The production of Batboy is going to run from October 29th through November 9th. I did a little digging as to why we don't know who Shelley is. I thought maybe they were waiting to do like a third cast announcement leading up to this. Apparently that's not the case. From what I've heard from a couple different people, they've had basically everybody who you would think could potentially be typed into that role in to audition, and they still haven't landed on anybody. So I'm not sure if it's just like a vocal thing or the comedy chops thing or whatever, but like, they're apparently looking far and wide, Grayson. They just haven't landed on anybody yet. Do you know Batboy well enough to give thoughts on who would work really well opposite not only Taylor, but also Carrie as well?
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Grace
Unfortunately, not even a little bit. I saw this show in high school when a competing high school did it for a competition piece, but I don't remember that role. So I feel like I too am at a loss to know who should play it. But here we are.
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Matt Tammanini
Well, it is very much vocally, you know, similar to some of the other stuff that Lawrence o' Keefe has written. So you've got some great power ballads, some very funny songs, but she is a little bit of an interesting character because of the kind of the different evolution that she goes through from being a kind of a stereotypical rebellious girl, not dislike some of the other characters in other Laurence o' Keeffe shows like Heather's or and branching over into Nell Benjamin's work with Mean Girls. But then throughout the show, she shows some empathy and kind of grows and changes, pushing some boundaries that her mother and father probably do not like at times for reasons that become quite obvious throughout the course of the show. But I'm fascinated to see who they go with here. The only thing that really comes into my head, because we have Andrew Durand playing Rick Taylor, Shelley's boyfriend in the show, maybe we get Caroline Interbichler to come and do it with the Shucked Connection, I could certainly see her being Chris Sieber and Kerry Butler's daughter. So that that's really my only thought if we're gonna throw out names. So hopefully they figure somebody out and we wrap up this casting information fairly soon. Because I am very, very excited to see who completes this cast and you know, I would love to have an opportunity to see it. I don't know that I have a trip scheduled that is gonna land in there, but I might have to plan one because this cast is truly incredibly awesome. This is to me like the cast that you want for a production like this. I would also love to see like an actual long running open ended production of this with this cast. But for a run of October 29th through November 9th at the New York City center. This looks tremendous. Speaking of great casts happening in New York City this fall, we already knew that Tom Hanks was going to be bringing a stage adaptation of the short stories that he wrote called this World of Tomorrow to New York City this fall. He has written it with James Glassman adapting his own original stories. It is going to be directed by Kenny Leon. As we've said before, he directs everything. But this is going to begin performances on October 30th at the Shed. We didn't know anybody else who's going to be in the show with him, but yesterday we found out that eight time Tony nominee Kelly o' Hara is going to be starring opposite Tom Hanks in this show and the rest of the cast is pretty tremendous as well. You have such folks as Kerry Bechet, J O Saund, the always fantastic Ruben Santiago Hudson, Donald Webber Jr. Michelle Wilson, Kaylee Carter, Paul Murphy, Jamie Ann Romero, Lee Aaron Rosen and others. So this is a really great cast. Anytime you can see Kelli o' Hara on stage is great even if she's not singing room. And Santiago Hudson is always fantastic whether he is acting or directing. And I love J O Sanders and I know Grace, you're a big fan of Donald Webber Jr. As well.
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Grace
No, I love Donald Woodward Jr. And like I'm staring at my Our Town script like as we speak this year alone with him doing Glengarry Glen Ross and like Our Town. He's just someone that I like Kara Young like want booked and blessed in every single thing and every single season. And if we can get more from his character in Severance at the same time that he is doing this show at the Shed, I just think that that's exciting and that's Lore that I am personally pumped about.
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Matt Tammanini
Yeah. Did he appear in season two or was he just in that dinner party in season one?
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Grace
No, he appeared again. He was in the group scene with Michael Chernis who is also starring off Broadway this season. Right now they just had their first preview. So I'm just saying there's a lot of severance people going around doing stuff.
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Matt Tammanini
Michael Chernis in the show that I can't think of the name of right now being directed by Jack Sirio. So yeah, that's a very, very good severance connections there. All right, sticking off Broadway. This one is going to be a one night only concert though and it is a star studded one because we have two Tony winners taking to the stage to do the incredible Terrence McNally and Kander and Ebb show the rink. This show originally starred Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera. And this concert on September 15th at the Classic Stage Company will feature Beth Leavel and Jesse Mueller. It is going to be directed by Dave Solomon and tickets start at 100 bucks. But the full like you can go up to like $1,000 if you want to make sure you can get in there to see this for a show that never really gets done, to have Beth and Jesse doing this together feels incredible. And I really, really hope that there's like an album of this or tons of videos or maybe it leads to a future production. But to see those two together should be a really, really special treat. All right, Speaking of another fantastic cast, this one is actually in Washington D.C. grace. And as soon as I got this press release I said bring it to New York. I don't care about anything else. If this cast and this show doesn't come to New York, I'm going to be very angry. Yesterday was announced that the Arena Stage in Washington D.C. has an absolutely star studded cast for their upcoming revival of Damn Yankees. Directed and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo. It is going to begin performances on September 9th of this year and it is currently scheduled to play for two months through November 9th. Starring as Mr. Applegate will be Rob McClure as his henchwoman Lola will be Anavia Fanier as Joe Boyd. The man who sells his soul to play for the Washington Senators will be Quentin Earl Darrington. The younger version of him, Joe Hardy will be played by Jordan Donica. Also in the cast will be Alicia Umphress, Nihal Joshi, Brianna Marie, Keenan McCarter, Rihanna Gonzalez and Sarah Ann Sillers as well. Well as a great ensemble as well. I maybe it's the Baseball love that I have growing up, or I love the original novel, but I love Damn Yankees. And I think it's such a fun show with so many incredible songs. And, yes, everyone knows, you know, whatever Lola wants, Heart, Shoeless Joe from Hannibal Moe. But there are so many other incredible songs in there. I love the. The opening number, Six Months. I love the song a man doesn't know you've got, who's got the pain, and two lost souls that are. That are iconic, but I think the best tenor song in all of musical theater that I wish I could sing and I just do not have the upper range for is Goodbye Old Girl, which is sung before, during, and then immediately after Joe Boyd transitions into Joe Hardy with the help of Mr. Applegate. Just absolutely iconic song in the cast album from the 1994 Broadway revival with Jared Emick doing it is just perfect. It's. It's absolutely incredible. So I'm very much looking forward to seeing this production. And I think Rob McClure stepping into the shoes of such names like Ray Walston, Victor Garber, Jerry Lewis, Sean Hayes will be Goldberg. They've all played Applegate. I think that he is going to be incredible. This just feels like an absolutely can't miss production.
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Grace
Well, and the thing is that they just had a couple of, like, I think at least two workshops in New York City with a few different cast members.
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Matt Tammanini
With some different cast members. Yeah.
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Grace
Yeah. But I think that due to some obligations and whatnot, like, I think that that's, you know, where. Where we're at with it. But it's an excellent cast. I saw it. Several newsies in there shout out to them. I know that they're gonna be dancing their ass with Sergio, but, yeah, I love Anna Villafanier. I love so many people in this cast, and Nihal especially. He's just so funny and excellent. And now everybody's back on the Jordan Donica train after his, like, brief stint and Sunset. So this is going to be really exciting, I think, for everybody.
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Matt Tammanini
Yeah. Nihal is playing Van Buren, who is the manager of the Washington Senators. Alicia Amfres, who I think is great. I think that the part of Gloria Thorpe, who's like the reporter who coins the term Shoeless Joe, that's a phenomenal part. So I think she's gonna be great in that. It really is just a. A wonderful, wonderful group of people. So I'm very much looking forward to that.
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Sam
And now your Joe has to go, but he'll come back to you again, so sleep yourself me bone, girl. I love them. Keep on, girl Till then Goodbye, old girl My whole girl, goodbye.
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Matt Tammanini
Moving Off Broadway yesterday, the Gingold Theatrical Group announced that it will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a limited Off Broadway engagement of the classic George Bernard Shaw play, Pygmalion. It is being done in partnership with the Al Hirschfeld foundation, and it is kind of a reimagined production that will play theater row from October 22 through November 22. Gingold's artistic director, David Stoller will direct the production. And the reason that it is being done with the Al Hirschfeld foundation is that it is going to be inspired by Hirschfeld's iconic caricatures of George Bernard Shaw. If you like, know the original My Fair lady cast album that was done by by Hirschfeld. So those line caricatures and all of that stuff is going to be integrated into this production somehow. We don't exactly know what that'll be yet, and we obviously don't know the casting of this, but love Pygmalion, love My Fair lady, and hope that I have an opportunity to see this one when I'm in town this fall.
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Sam
They call us losers, but we built this spot of magic and love and turkey legs and beer.
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Matt Tammanini
All right, Greece, let's wrap up with a recommendation here that comes to us from another Lawrence o' Keefe show. We started the show off with Bat Boy. We're going to end it with Huzzah, the new musical that we talked about that is going to be having its world premiere at San Diego's Old Globe Theater in September. He wrote the show with his wife, Nell Benjamin, and the show is going to begin performances on November 13. But Lisi LaFontaine, who is going to be a cast member in this show, debuted one of the songs, I guess, last week, last Tuesday, and it is called World We Live in. And we have the video of that. So if you want to check out what that show is going to sound a little bit like, you can do that in the show notes. All right, everybody, that's all that we have for today. Thanks for listening to Today on Broadway. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, rodwayradio. And if you want more Broadway radio, head over to patreon.com broadwayradio gracework people find you.
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Grace
You can find me at Grace Hockey.
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Matt Tammanini
All right, everybody, have a wonderful Thursday and a wonderful final day of July.
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Sam
And we're back to talk to you tomorrow. And we vow we'll take back the world we live in. Sam.