‘Cabaret’ & ‘Dreamgirls’ casting tea! And a new NYC gay bar!
Cabaret, in which he played the slithering Emcee. But this time, decadence-loving chanteuse Sally Bowles won’t be played by Jessie Buckley, who must be busy.
My sources swear that the creative powers that be have narrowed this production’s Sally down to three tantalizing choices:*Cristin Milioti (of TV, movies, and Broadway’s Once)*Adrienne Warren (Tony winner for her fiery Tina Turner in Tina, she was going to star in a Broadway adaptation of Room until the money fell out.)*Micaela Diamond (the 23-year-old who was the young Cher (“Babe”) in The Cher Show and copped a Tony nomination for the current Parade revival.Those are three very different talents, but my educated guess is that the part will go to Diamond, who could bring a youthful yet haunted aura to the role.
But “Willkommen” to whoever lands it.Ben Platt leads a stellar company in a revival of “Parade,” a musical about Leo Frank, unjustly convicted of murder in Georgia circa 1913.In other Broadway casting news, I told Tony winner Alex Newell (Shucked) that they should play the deeply wounded Effie in Dreamgirls and they responded, “I’ve been manifesting that for years!” Well, a source confided to me about this particular casting coup, “It’s going to happen.” Interestingly, another Glee alum, Amber Riley, scored in the same role in London in 2016.
Either she or Alex would no doubt be righteously riveting in the part on Broadway, but I’m hearing it will be Alex. And I’m telling you, I AM going.A post shared by Frankie’s Pub (@frankiespubnyc)Tony winner Billy Porter was an investor in the Q, the troubled and now shuttered queer club in Hell’s Kitchen, which promoter Frankie Sharp had a contentious relationship with.
