Critic’s Notebook: Stumped by Sondheim After Spending ‘Sunday in the Park with George’

Jenelle Riley Deputy Awards and Features Editor Pictured: Casting directors Katja Zarolinski and Geoff Josselson of JZ Casting. This article first appeared as part of Jenelle Riley’s Acting Up newsletter – to subscribe for early content and weekly updates on all things acting, visit the Acting Up signup page. Casting director Geoff Josselson just checked off a major bucket list item. When he was asked what show he dreamed of casting, he would say “Into the Woods.” And just last year, working with Telsey Casting, Josselson was part of the team that assembled the heralded Broadway revival starring Sara Bareilles, Brian D’Arcy James and Joshua Henry. Josselson is on a bit of a Stephen Sondheim spree — with Telsey he also helped cast the new production of “Sweeney Todd,” starring Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford. And he and his partner at JZ Casting, Katja Zarolinski, just collaborated for the first time with the Pasadena Playhouse to cast “A Little Night Music,” playing at the theater April 25-May 1. 

Charity Lawson is already smitten after one night as the Bachelorette! ET's Denny Directo spoke with season 20's leading lady after she met the men vying for her heart, and it's safe to say that Charity's journey for love is off to a great start.«It was a good one,» Charity told ET of night one, when her suitors made their limo entrances. «I'm a little giddy.

Patti LuPone, 73, has nine huge shows remaining on her ongoing ‘Don’t Monkey With Broadway Tour’ all over the U.S.That includes two stops in the Garden State followed by a pair in New York.First, the three-time Tony winner will belt standards by Richard Rodgers, Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and more at Englewood, NJ’s Bergen Performing Arts Center on Thursday, March 23.Then, on March 25, she’ll perform at New Brunswick’s State Theatre.Come summer time, the tour will drop into Poughkeepsie’s Bardavon Opera House on June 17.For those willing to wait over a year, you can see the show in Manhattan — ‘Don’t Monkey With Broadway’ is scheduled for a night at Carnegie Hall on April 8, 2024. And the best news of all is you won’t have to pay Broadway-like prices to see LuPone live on the road.At the time of publication, we found some seats going for as low as $58 before fees on Vivid Seats.So, if you want to see LuPone deliver what Front Row Reviewers called “autobiographical snippets (and) powerful song(s)” live, here’s everything you need to know.A complete calendar including all tour dates, venues and links to the cheapest tickets available for all remaining concerts can be found below.(Note: The New York Post confirmed all above prices at the publication time.

Taylor Swift have told Elon Musk to leave the pop star alone after the Twitter CEO sent a series of bizarre tweets about her.On Friday (March 17), Musk commented on a tweet by Dogecoin founder Billy Markus that read: “Taylor Swift rules and if you disagree you’ll be kicked off the internet i’m pretty sure.” Musk replied: “Her limbic resonance skill is exceptional.”Limbic resonance is an idea that a person’s capacity for sharing deep emotional states comes from the human brain’s limbic system.Her limbic resonance skill is exceptional— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 17, 2023“Who are you trying to make jealous Elon?,” asked one Twitter user, while another said: “most superdweeb flirt ever.”Elsewhere, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO responded directly to a tweet from Swift’s official account, which shows four images of the pop star on stage at the opening shows of her ‘Eras’ tour. He responded with a cigarette emoji.I miss you like it was the very first night.

Kim Kardashian steps out of her car for a shopping outing in London, England on Friday (March 17).

Stephen Sondheim’s final, long-awaited musical Here We Are will make its world premiere this September in a strictly limited Off Broadway engagement to be directed by two-time Tony winner Joe Mantello.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Stephen Sondheim’s final musical “Here We Are” is hitting the stage in the fall. The legendary musical theater figure, who composed “Sunday in the Park with George,” “Follies,” “Sweeney Todd” and countless other Broadway classics, died in 2021 at the age of 91. The musical, formerly known as “Square One,” was in the works prior to his death and took inspiration from two Luis Buñuel films, “The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie” and “The Exterminating Angel.” Joe Mantello, whose credits include Sondheim’s “Assassins,” as well as “Wicked” and “Take Me Out,” is directing “Here We Are.” The strictly limited engagement will begin September 2023 in The Shed’s Griffin Theater, an Off-Broadway venue near Manhattan’s Hudson Yards neighborhood. Casting will be announced soon.

Katie Price is officially back together with her ex-fiancé Carl Woods as the pair were spotted arm-in-arm in London after the glamour model returned from her family trip to Thailand.The 44 year old TV personality was in Thailand for three weeks, on an extended holiday with her two youngest children, Jett, 9, and Bunny, 8, who she shares with ex-husband, Kieran Hayler. Carl, 34, even joined them on the trip, with Katie posting plenty of snaps to social media, but he flew home before his on-off partner and her children did.The pair clearly wasted no time in reuniting though, as they headed to a nail bar where Katie got a manicure as Carl waited for her.

The upcoming Broadway revival of the Stephen Sondheim musical Merrily We Roll Along starring Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez will play its first performance at the Hudson Theatre on Tuesday, September 19, producers announced today.

A guest on Antiques Roadshow was left so stunned by a painting valuation he hid behind the work of art. The unnamed guest said the painting had been in his family for 65 years.

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic Some folks have it easy, and others make life difficult for themselves. Guess which type “Problemista” is about. The perpetually unsatisfied title character, a demanding New York art critic played by Tilda Swinton as a hag with hair the color of hibiscus tea, is obsessed with archiving the life’s work of her late husband (RZA), who left behind a series of egg paintings no one seems to understand. Swinton feels like a future Halloween costume in search of a movie in writer-director Julio Torres’ overly kooky and all-too-quixotic debut — another attention-deficit comedy from the studio that made “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” except that Torres lacks the technical experience to pull off even a fraction of the ideas to which he aspires.

by night or by day) and for the in Los Angeles last night, March 12, she added another naked number to her repertoire. A range of made dramatic impact on the after-party red-carpet (hello, Daisy Edgar-Jones in crystal-swathed transparent Gucci and Janelle Monáe in a cut-out black beaded Area confection), but it was Ratajkowski’s goddess-like chainmail sheath that had the most drama. The brains behind the gauzy silver creation, accented with braided details? Emerging London designer Feben, the Central Saint Martins graduate who has also created pieces for Beyoncé and Erykah Badu and who enlisted Jorja Smith to walk in her recent autumn/winter 2023 show. By Carrie WittmerEmily Ratajkowski’s gown came straight from Feben’s runway, one which also featured a range of artisanal embellishments like molten sequins, which the designer describes as an outré armor.

Questlove returned to the Oscars on Sunday, one year after Will Smith overshadowed his win in the Best Documentary Feature Film category for his .Before taking the stage with co-presenter Riz Ahmed, host Jimmy Kimmel announced the pair, and took a moment to poke fun at the infamous Oscars slap.«Our category is Documentary Feature, which you may recall, is where we had that little skirmish last year,» Kimmel began, referencing the moment Smith took the stage to slap Chris Rock, after he made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith's baldness. «Hopefully, this time it goes off without a hitch, or at least without .»He continued, «Please put your hands together — and then keep them to yourself for Oscar winners Riz Ahmed and Amir „Questlove“ Thompson.»After getting praise from Ahmed, who told the musician turned filmmaker that he loved , the pair set the stage for the nominees before announcing  as the winner in the Best Documentary Feature Film category.The pair went on to present the award for Best Documentary Short next, which went to .The win marked yet another moment where last year's slap was part of a punchline.

Halle Berry and Jessica Chastain are doing double duty at the 2023 Oscars!On Sunday, ET's Nischelle Turner and Kevin Frazier spoke to the pair on the red carpet at the 95th Academy Awards, where Chastain revealed that they are presenting the Oscars for both Best Actor and Best Actress  -- the latter of which would've been Will Smith's job had the now infamous Oscars slap not occurred. «I've been so excited since they told me we were gonna present together,» Chastain gushed before revealing which category she and Berry would be presenting. «Best Actor and Actress,» she continued. «I'm a little nervous, because I'm not as graceful as she is. And the whole thing -- we have to walk by ourselves.

Katie Reul editor The latest episode of “Saturday Night Live” opened with Marcello Hernandez and Heidi Gardner masquerading as two reporters from Access Hollywood stationed at the 2023 Oscars red carpet. The two recounted the miserable circumstances they’ve endured throughout the day — from limited bathroom breaks to long lines outside of the Dolby Theatre — before Hernandez chimed in, “But it’s all worth it to ask Angela Bassett if she really did the thing.” The comment was aimed at “Westside Story” star Ariana DeBose, who celebrated leading and supporting actress nominees at the 2023 BAFTA awards with a now-viral rap. But the jokes didn’t stop there; Gardner proceeded to levy jabs at the Academy, satirizing the award show’s implementation of revised security protocol following last year’s ceremony.

Independent TV and film studio MRC has named Jenna Santoianni its president of television.MRC CEO Scott Tenley made the announcement Tuesday morning. Santoianni will oversee MRC’s current programming, its development slate, joint ventures, production partnerships, operational unites, business, legal affairs and production finance.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer MRC has set Jenna Santoianni as the studio’s new president of television, following the exit of former president Elise Henderson. In her new role, Santoianni will oversee MRC’s current programming, its full slate of development, all joint ventures and production partnerships, as well as all of the television studio’s operational units, including production, business and legal affairs and production finance. Reporting to recently named MRC CEO Scott Tenley, Santoianni is expected to begin this week. She joins the studio amid a restructuring that saw Tenley elevated, while co-founders Modi Wiczyk and Asif Satchu assumed the new roles of chairmen. Jonathan Golfman and Brye Adler remain co-presidents of film and Amit Dey as head of non-fiction.

A "Wheel of Fortune" contestant spun the wheel of misfortune as she missed out on two major prizes.  During an episode of the beloved game show, a player from Louisiana named Micki guessed the puzzle letter incorrectly, causing major disappointment among fans. Micki was three letters away from winning not only the million-dollar wedge, but also a trip to Croatia.  Before announcing her letter, audience members are heard in the background cheering her on once the wheel landed on the Croatia wedge.

Former Paramount Television Studios executive Jenna Santoianni has joined MRC as President of Television. She will replace Elise Henderson who is leaving the company after a four-year stint. The personnel change comes on the heels of Scott Tenley’s elevation to CEO as part of a new executive structure the studio announced last week, with co-founders Modi Wiczyk and Asif Satchu assuming the new roles of Chairmen. (Jonathan Golfman and Brye Adler continue as co-Presidents of Film and Amit Dey as Head of Non-Fiction.)

Dawn French debuted the much anticipated return to her signature bob whilst attending the opening of a West End show on Tuesday.The 65 year old comedian, who is best known for starring in Vicar of Dibley, had previously cut her hair short into a pixie cut whilst she was growing out her greys after revealing last year that she’d lost interest in dying her hair at home. Appearing on The One Show in December of last year, Dawn had said: "I just couldn’t be bothered to keep doing it.