In the News: Ben Platt Boards The Premise Anthology, Remembering Late Jackie Mason on Stage, More | Playbill

Film & TV News In the News: Ben Platt Boards The Premise Anthology, Remembering Late Jackie Mason on Stage, More Plus: Norm Lewis, Kelli O’Hara, Adrienne Warren, and Megan Hilty will headline The Best of Broadway concert for San Diego Symphony.
Ben Platt Joseph Marzullo/Media Punch

Read on for more theatre news you may have missed in today's headlines.

Ben Platt Joins The Premise
Tony winner Ben Platt (Dear Evan Hansen), Daniel Dae Kim (The King and I), and Tracee Ellis are among the new cast members announced for the upcoming FX anthology series The Premise, Deadline reports. The previously untitled series is created, written, and hosted by B. J. Novak, and will combine comedic premises with dramatic performances to highlight the biggest issues of the modern era. The first two episodes of the series premier September 16. Previously announced cast members include Kaitlyn Dever, Lucas Hedges, George Wallce, Ed Asner, and Beau Bridges. The series also revealed the plot lines for the first five-episodes, tackling topics such as sex scandals, gun lobbies, and social media approval in the comedy series. The Premise is executive produced by Novak and John Lesher, and produced by FX Productions.

Jinkx and DeLa Hit the Bottle...and the Road This Holiday Season
RuPaul's Drag Race favorites Jinkx Monsoon and BenDeLaCreme will take their yule extravaganza on the road again this season with a 25-city tour of The Return of The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show, LIVE!. Tickets are on sale now for U.S., U.K., and Canada stops for the variety show, promising new songs and perennial favorites. The duo toured holiday shows in 2018 and 2019, and in 2020 presented the one-hour, made-for-screen variety The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Special on Hulu. This year's return to "boozed up and bawdy" in-person performances begins November 13 in Liverpool and concludes December 30 in Portland, Oregon. For more information, visit JinkxAndDeLa.com.

Norm Lewis, Kelli O'Hara, Adrienne Warren, and Megan Hilty Set for San Diego Symphony Concert
San Diego Symphony will celebrate the opening of its new outdoor space, The Rady Shell at Jacob’s Park, with a weekend of star-studded programming August 6-8. Following a classical concert on Friday night, Norm Lewis, Kelli O’Hara, Adrienne Warren, and Megan Hilty will headline The Best of Broadway on Saturday featuring performances of songs from A Chorus Line, The Band's Visit, Little Shop of Horrors, Wicked, and more. Music Director Rob Fisher will conduct the evening, directed by Gary Griffin. The first weekend of performances at The Rady Shell concludes with Gladys Knight. Visit SanDiegoSymphony.org for a full schedule of the inaugural season at the new venue on the San Diego Bay.

Remembering Jackie Mason
Comedian Jackie Mason, who brought the Borscht Belt to Broadway in seven solo shows, died July 24 at the age of 93. The former rabbi turned stand-up was born born Yacov Moshe Hakohen Maza on June 9, 1928, in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, but grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. He made his Broadway debut in 1969 in A Teaspoon Every Four Hours, a play he both starred in and co-wrote with Mike Mortman. The play closed on opening night. He returned to Broadway in 1986 for a successful two-year run of his first solo show The World According to Me!, featuring his trademark Jewish-themed observational and political comedy. Mr. Mason received a Special Tony Award for the show, and an Emmy for writing for the HBO special of the same name. He revived the show two years later, and brought an additional five solo shows to The Great White Way.

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Jackie Mason in Jackie Mason's The World According to Me! Martha Swope//©NYPL for the Performing Arts

Plus: When The Lights Are Bright Again, the previously announced book created by Andrew Norlen spotlighting the theatre shutdown, is due from Applause Theatre & Cinema Books on November 1. The book, a collection of over 200 letters from Broadway notables (such as Jerry Mitchell, Keala Settle, Ali Stroker, Sergio Trujillo, Eden Espinosa, Rob McClure, Robyn Hurder, Clint Ramos, Arian Moayed, Amber Iman, and Andrew Barth Feldman), arts workers, and fans paired with portraiture from Broadway photographer Matthew Murphy, serves as a moment-in-time record of the the struggles and hopes of the theatre community during the pandemic shutdown. Ninety percent of proceeds will benefit The Actors Fund. To pre-order, click here.

 
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