Curtain Call: Kenny Leon will direct the first revival of ‘Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural Death’

BROADWAY.COM

Broadway: Tony winner Kenny Leon has been announced as director for Melvin Van Peebles’ Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural Death. The announcement marks the first revival of the production which is expected to reopen a Broadway theater in 2022. Mario Van Peebles, son of Melvin, will join Leon as a creative producer for the production that garnered seven Tony Award nominations after opening in 1971.

Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural Death tells its story through a blend of early hip hop, jazz, blues, and spoken words in 1970s Manhattan. Melvin Van Peebles wrote the book and score for the original production that was nominated for Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Original Score. Additional cast and creative team for the musical are set to be announced at a later date.

The lights will keep shining bright on Washington Heights as Lin Manuel Miranda announces the release of an In the Heights book. The book titled In the Heights: Finding Home, published by Penguin Random House, will be available June 22nd, in addition to the musical’s film adaptation premiere in Theaters and on HBO Max on June 18th. The publication is written by Jeremy McCarter and will include essays from Quiana Alegria Hughes, who wrote the musical’s book and screenplay for the upcoming adaptation.

The book will also feature commissioned portraits along with behind-the-scenes pictures from productions around the world, the original company, and the movie set. This marks the second book based on a production by Miranda after the release of Hamilton: The Revolution in 2016. In the Heights premiered on the Broadway scene in March 2008 and went on to win a Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Score, Best Choreography, and Best Orchestration.

Broadway actors have joined forces for a new song for Black Theatre United. Launched in partnership with the Republic Records Action Committee, Stand for Change unites 13 talents including Audra McDonald, Vanessa Williams, Billy Porter, and Norm Lewis, among others, in support of the ongoing social justice efforts of the organization. The theme song was written by Dave Schoeder and Phil Galdston.

The video was launched on Republic Records’s official YouTube channel and has received over 6,000 views. Vanessa Williams, Black Theatre United founding member, said in a statement that she hopes the song will inspire meaningful changes towards a more equitable society. All proceeds from Stand for Change will support Black Theatre United and its call to action in the Theatre community.

PLAYBILL

Off-Broadway: Hamilton’s Christopher Jackson is set to lead the company of After Midnight. Jackson joins the upcoming Signature Theatre’s streaming production alongside Nova Y. Payton, Sophia Adoum, and Phillip Attmore, among others. The musical serves as a celebration of Duke Ellington’s time at the Cotton Club and will mark the directorial debut of original cast member Jared Grimes, who will also choreograph the production that will be musically directed by Mark G. Meadows.

After Midnight will be filmed by Chiet Productions and will be available to stream for subscribers of the Virginia Theatre on Broadway on Demand in mid-June. The production is also expected to premiere for the general public at a later date. Additional information and tickets will be available on the Signature Theatre’s official website. 

Montego Glover and Quentin Earl Darrington will headline Beyond the Rail at Radial Park. The Tony nominee and Broadway alum will perform in the show, as part of Resounding’s drive-in theatre residency starting April 30th through May 1st. The play presents a Narrator, played by Darrington, who tells the story of a spiritualist medium named Rebecca, played by Montego, determined to bring justice to the dead. 

The cast will also feature Alyssa Fox, Siho Ellsmore, Mary Jo McConnell, and John Stimac. Steve Wargo, who wrote the thriller, will also serve as director of the production that will feature Josh Samuels in Sound Design. The drive-in theatre opened in October 2020 and is set to feature other works this season including Treasure Island, Triassic Parq: The Musical, Clu-eth, and The Temptest for audiences in their vehicles or reserved socially distanced picnic tables.

The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!) will stream in benefit of the York Theatre Company. Directed by Tom D’Angora and Michael D’Angora, the production will be streamed on April 18th with appearances by Chita Rivera, Kelvin Moon Loh, Telly Leung, Mandy Patinkin, and Audra McDonalds, among others to support the company which was severely damaged by a water main break back in January. The musical will also feature music directions and arrangements by Deniz Cordell.

The benefit will serve as a parody homage to Broadway’s Golden Age by presenting five mini musicals that present the same story in the different styles of Andrew Lloyd Webber, Rodgers and Hammerstein, and Stephen Sondheim, among others. The York Theatre Company premiered the Off-Broadway production in 2003 before its commercial run at New World Stages in 2005. Donations for the venue are currently active through a GoFundMe link and the stream will be available on-demand on April 21st on the company’s official website.

International: The Off-Broadway musical Disenchanted! is set to make its virtual comeback. With Tom Jackson Greaves’ direction, the production will feature the talents of Jodie Steele, Sophie Isaacs, Grace Mouat, and Shanay Holmes, among others in the musical comedy that aims to rewrite the well-known Disney princess’s tales of Cinderella, Tiana, and The Little Mermaid, among others. The production will feature a book, music, and lyrics from Dennis T. Giacino in the West End stream. 

Disenchanted! premiered in 2015 in the Westside Theatre, after a run at the St. Clements Theatre. The musical garnered nominations for Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical at the Outer Critics Choice Awards and Best New Off-Broadway Musical at the Off-Broadway Alliance. The virtual event is set to premiere on April 9th via Stream Theatre and will be available through April 11th.

The Japanese production of The Prom has begun performances. The production premiered on March 10th and will run through April 13th at the TBS Akasaka ACT Theatre in Tokyo. The musical is directed by Goro Kishitani, who also wrote the Japanese translation, with Yasufumi Terawaki and Hideomi Terasaki as assistant directors.

The cast includes Wakana Aoi, Ayaka Miyoshi and Kiriya Hiromu, among others. The Prom tells the story of Emma, a high school student in Indiana who gets caught up in a media scandal for wanting to bring her girlfriend to the prom. The production premiered on Broadway in 2015 to great success and it currently marks the second premiere of a musical theatre show in Japan after Waitress made its debut earlier in the week.