Odds & Ends: Tony-Winning Oklahoma! to Hold Benefit Performance for Actors Fund & More

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

Tony-Winning Oklahoma! to Hold Benefit Performance for Actors Fund
The cast of the Tony-winning revival of Oklahoma! is giving back. The company will offer up a special added benefit performance of the acclaimed production for the Actors Fund on September 22 at 7:00pm. This innovative reimagining of the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic, directed by Tony nominee Daniel Fish, features a seven-piece band and chili served to the audience at intermission. The cast includes 2019 Tony winner Ali Stroker in a fiery turn as Ado Annie. Do well by the Actors Fund and check out the special performance this Sunday.

The Lightning Thief Cast Will Appear at Comic Con
In advance of the first Broadway preview of The Lightning Thief, producers of the new musical have announced an upcoming appearance at New York's Comic Con. The talent-packed cast will take part in a panel entitled "The World of Percy Jackson: From Page to Stage," set for October 3 at 2:45 pm at the Javits Center in NYC. Panelists will include book writer Joe Tracz, songwriter Rob Rokicki, director Stephen Brackett and cast members Chris McCarrell, Jorrel Javier, Ryan Knowles, Sarah Beth Pfeifer, James Hayden Rodriguez, Jalynn Steele and Kristin Stokes. The Lightning Thief begins Broadway previews on September 20 at the Longacre Theatre.

Watch Harry Hadden-Paton & James Frain in The King's Speech
Footage is here from the North American premiere staging of The King's Speech, currently in performance at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. The previously announced production of David Seidler's acclaimed drama—which was the basis for the Academy Award-winning motion picture—runs through October 20. Harry Hadden-Paton, the Tony-nominated My Fair Lady star who will soon return to Broadway in Flying Over Sunset, stars as King George VI opposite James Frain (The Tudors) as Lionel Logue. Check out director Michael Wilson's stirring production below, and make your way to the Windy City to experience it in person.



Amas Musical Theatre to Hold Casting Call for Romeo & Bernadette Musical
Wherefore art thou, Romeo? The upcoming off-Broadway premiere staging of Romeo & Bernadette: A Musical Tale of Verona and Brooklyn has launched a casting search for the role of Romeo. Amas Musical Theatre's upcoming production will hold auditions for the romantic lead on September 30 from 10:00am to 6:00pm at Ripley-Grier Studios. The wild spoof of Shakespeare's classic tale finds Romeo in 1960 Brooklyn, chasing a girl he believes is his beloved Juliet. But it's actually Bernadette, the beautiful, foul-mouthed daughter of a crime family. The new musical, directed by Justin Ross Cohen and featuring a book by Mark Saltzman, will include tunes based on classic Italian melodies. The production is scheduled to run at the A.R.T./New York Theatre from December 23, 2019 through February 16, 2020.