Odds & Ends: Cush Jumbo Eyes Saint Joan, Lin-Manuel Miranda's 'Pinch-Me Moments' & More

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

Cush Jumbo Eyes Saint Joan
Former fresh face Cush Jumbo, who appeared on Broadway last season opposite Hugh Jackman in The River, will play the title role in George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan, helmed by Josie Rourke. According to the Daily Mail, the production is scheduled to run at London's Donmar Warehouse from December; a Donmar spokesperson would not confirm the report at this time. The play was last revived on the Main Stem in 1993, starring Maryann Plunkett.

Cyndi Lauper & Kit Harington Tapped for the Oliviers
Kinky Boots scribe Cyndi Lauper will perform both on her own and in a unique collaboration at this year's Olivier Awards; the London incarnation of the Tony-winning tuner garnered seven nominations for British theater's most prestigious prize. Other names enlisted for the ceremony on April 3 include Kit Harington (Doctor Faustus), Amber Riley (Dreamgirls), Michael Feinstein, and the cast of The Maids—Uzo Aduba, Laura Carmichael and Zawe Ashton. As previously reported, international audiences can catch the event at the Royal Opera House on YouTube.

New Marsha Norman Tuner to Bow at Old Globe
New musical October Sky will open San Diego’s Old Globe’s 2016-17 season. Featuring a book by Pulitzer Prize and Tony winner Marsha Norman (’night, Mother, The Secret Garden) and Aaron Thielen (Hero), and music and lyrics by Michael Mahler (Diary of a Wimpy Kid), the production will run September 10 through October 23 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre. Directed and choreographed by Rachel Rockwell, the show is inspired by the 1999 film Rocket Boys, which follows a local high schooler who decides to enter a rocketry competition after the Soviets launch the Sputnik rocket. Will this be the blast off the show needs to get to Broadway?

Lin-Manuel Miranda's 'Pinch-Me Moments'
Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda recently sat down with Katie Couric and all sorts of tidbits about the Tony winner came to light, from having “about ten different pinch-me moments a day,” to when he fell in love with hip-hop, to scoop on the Hamilton Mixtape. Phillipa Soo and Renée Elise Goldsberry also pop up…check out the interview below; the show, as if you weren't already aware, is playing at the Richard Rodgers.