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Anyone in the market for a new bed frame? Award-winning comedian and viral sensation Lou Wall is bringing their show Breaking the Fifth Wall to SoHo playhouse this fall. It will play a limited three-week engagement from Sept. 17 to Oct. 5.
The show sold out in Wall’s native Australia and had a successful run in Edinburgh. It’s the follow-up to their infamous bed saga, which went viral at the Melbourne Comedy Festival Gala. Their story about trying to sell a bed frame on Facebook Marketplace was viewed over 50 million times in 48 hours. It left thousands of audiences with questions — questions that Wall will answer in Breaking the Fifth Wall. But can you trust their answer is honest?
Breaking the Fifth Wall will be directed by Zoë Coombs Marr, who is a performer, writer, and one of Australia’s most accomplished comedians. She is the creator, writer and host of “Queerstralia,” a fascinating look into the untold LGBTQIA+ history of Australia, available to stream on ABC iView.
Breaking the Fifth Wall runs approximately 60 minutes with no intermission. It will play Wednesday to Saturday at 9 p.m. and Sunday at 7 p.m. For tickets and more information, visit here.
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Center Stage Records has announced the release of Out of Myself – Songs of Peter Foley in streaming and digital formats tomorrow, Friday, July 25. The album was recorded live at a tribute concert Peter Norton Symphony Space in 2023 by many Broadway stars, luminaries of the opera world, a nine-member musical ensemble and a 19-member chorus.
Foley was a rising musical theatre composer who was mentored by Stephen Sondheim, who called him “among the best of his generation at setting lyrics and writing music that evokes character and mood.” His work earned him the NEA New American Works grant, the Richard Rodgers Award, and Jonathan Larson Foundation Award, among many others. While he passed away before his work received widespread public recognition, he left behind an undiscovered trove of sweeping music.
Theatrely has an exclusive first listen to Kate Baldwin singing “Broadway” by Foley.
The cast features Baldwin, Shereen Ahmed, Mikaela Bennet, Max Chernin, Eisa Davis, Melissa Errico, Manoel Felciano, Ashley Pérez Flanagan, Jason Gotay, Marya Grandy, Darron Hayes, Christian Probst, Sam Simahk, and Michael Winther.
The album’s chorus includes Bobby Barksdale, Elyse Bell, Landan Berlof, Kat Capili, Jordan Collins, Julianna Braga, Nour Habbash, Gabriela Hernandez, Charlotte Kunesh, Jadon Lopez, Asher Muldoon, Michael Protacio, Izzy Ramirez, David Rowen, Chandler Sinks, Grayson Todd, Maria Tramontozzi, Matthew Weatherhead, and Yemie Woo.
The band features Meg Zervoulis Bate on piano, Kiku Enomoto on violin, Katherine Cherbas on cello, Jeremy Clayton and Greg Riley on reeds, Marc Schmied on bass, Matt SanGiovanni on guitar, Barry Spatz on keyboard, and Dan Berkery on percussion, with additional performances on piano by Rob Berman and Joseph Thalken, where noted.
To pre-save the album, visit here.
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Andrew Barth Feldman is picking up his copy of Jazz Monthly and his charging cable! The Dear Evan Hansen star will take over the role of Oliver in the six-time Tony Award-winning musical Maybe Happy Ending for a limited nine-week engagement beginning Sept. 2. Feldman takes over the role from Darren Criss, who won a Tony Award for his performance as Oliver and plays his final performance on Aug. 31.
Feldman joins the company alongside his real-life partner Helen J. Shen, who plays Claire, a Helperbot Model 5, in the production. Also in the cast are Dez Duron and Marcus Choi.
“I am so in love with this show and with Helen J Shen,” Feldman said in a statement. “I’ve been a plus one on this Broadway journey from the beginning, and this brilliant team and beautiful company have already become such a big part of my life. That they trust me with this role, and are giving me the ridiculous gift of sharing it with Helen, is an honor beyond words.”
Feldman is perhaps best known for his turn in the titular role of Dear Evan Hansen when he was a teenager. He has also starred in the current Off-Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors as Seymore, and films such as No Hard Feelings.
Maybe Happy Ending was written by Will Aronson and Hue Park, and directed by Michael Arden. The show won Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, Best Direction of a Musical, Best Scenic Design of a Musical, and Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for Criss’ performance as Oliver.
Aronson, Park, and Arden said they first fell in love with Feldman’s take on Oliver as he was the reader in Shen’s original audition tape. In a statement, they called his take on the role “fresh and moving,” and said they are excited for audiences to see what he brings to the show.
Maybe Happy Ending is in performances at the Belasco Theatre on West 44th Street in New York City. For tickets and more information, visit here.