{"id":94776,"date":"2026-02-22T16:24:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T00:24:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.billymasters.com\/custom\/?p=94776"},"modified":"2026-02-22T16:24:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T00:24:18","slug":"casting-here-and-abroad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.billymasters.com\/custom\/blog\/2026\/02\/22\/casting-here-and-abroad\/","title":{"rendered":"Casting Here and Abroad"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Jonathan Groff <\/strong>announced he was leaving Just In Time<\/em><\/strong>, I mused that the list of \u201cnames\u201d who could helm a show about Bobby Darin <\/strong>were few and far between.  Rumors abounded that Hugh Jackman <\/strong>was approached, but I felt the ideal person was Matthew Morrison<\/strong>.  Of course, I always think the ideal person is Matthew Morrison.  Jeremy Jordan <\/strong>got the gig, and I am sure he\u2019ll be great.  But there is something of a hiatus between when Groff leaves (March 29th<\/sup>) and when Jordan can start (April 21st<\/sup>).  What to do, what to do?  Enter the magnificent Matty, who will play the role for three weeks.  I expect a surge at the box office.  I\u2019m surging just thinking about it.<\/p>\n

A provocative event is headed off-Broadway<\/em>.  Jesse Tyler Ferguson <\/strong>is returning to the stage in a revival of Jay Presson Allen<\/strong>\u2019s Tru<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 playing bon vivant <\/em>Truman Capote<\/strong>.  Most people identify this show with Robert Morse<\/strong>, who helmed the 1989 Broadway <\/em>production.  While smaller in concept, we are certain that Capote would approve of this new venture since it will be staged in the former home of the great-granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt<\/strong>.  That venue is currently known as the Library of the House of the Redeemer <\/em>\u2013 which sure sounds like a metaphor for something.  The run starts on March 6th<\/sup> and ends April 12th<\/sup>, but I suspect that will change.<\/p>\n

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People, please leave John Lithgow <\/strong>alone.  He was cast in HBO<\/em>\u2019s Harry Potter<\/em><\/strong> series and immediately started getting harassing messages on social media about author J.K. Rowling<\/strong>\u2019s perceived transphobia.  \u201cI take the subject extremely seriously.  She has created this amazing canon for young people, and it has jumped into the consciousness of the society.  It\u2019s about good versus evil, kindness versus cruelty.  I find her views ironic and inexplicable.  I\u2019ve never met her, she\u2019s not really involved in this production at all…It upsets me when people are opposed to me having anything to do with this.  But in Potter<\/em> canon, you see no trace of transphobic sensitivity.  She\u2019s written this mediation of kindness and acceptance.  And Dumbledore is a beautiful role.\u201d  So there!<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s something even I didn\u2019t see coming \u2013 Rowling is in the Epstein <\/strong>files!  To be fair, lots of people are in there for non-nefarious reasons.  Apparently, Epstein was invited to the 2018 Broadway <\/em>premiere of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child<\/em><\/strong>.  Amusingly enough, it seems that while he did show up, he was turned away at the door.<\/p>\n

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Jinkx Monsoon <\/strong>is preparing to take London by storm.  She\u2019ll be appearing in a revival of Peter Quilter<\/strong>\u2019s play, End of the Rainbow<\/em><\/strong>, portraying the legend that is Judy Garland<\/strong>.  The play focuses on the last months of Garland\u2019s life.  This is a strictly limited run that will open on May 15th<\/sup> at the Soho Theatre Walthamstow<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Jonathan Groff announced he was leaving Just In Time, I mused that the list of \u201cnames\u201d who could helm a show about Bobby Darin were few and far between.  Rumors abounded that Hugh Jackman was approached, but I felt the ideal person was Matthew Morrison.  Of course, I always think the ideal person is<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.billymasters.com\/custom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94776"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.billymasters.com\/custom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.billymasters.com\/custom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.billymasters.com\/custom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.billymasters.com\/custom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94776"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.billymasters.com\/custom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94776\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":94777,"href":"https:\/\/www.billymasters.com\/custom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94776\/revisions\/94777"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.billymasters.com\/custom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.billymasters.com\/custom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.billymasters.com\/custom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}