Curtain Call: Kerry Washington Takes On Whoopi Goldberg Role, New Casting Announcement For ‘Purpose’
Vivian Bayubay McLaughlin
Broadway: Kerry Washington and Kara Young are to star in The Whoopi Monologues, a new production of the Whoopi Goldberg play. Directed by Whitney White, the production will be playing at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater in New York starting Monday, July 7, 2025. The play sees Goldberg’s 1984 solo show reimagined for an ensemble, with additional cast members still to be announced.
Brenda Pressley is to join the cast of Purpose, the award-winning play from Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. The play, which has already won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Best Play at the Tony Awards, is currently playing on Broadway at The Hayes Theater in New York. Pressley is to take over from Tony-nominated actress LaTanya Richardson Jackson in the role of matriarch Claudine, starting on Tuesday, July 15, 2025.
Billy Porter and Marisha Wallace are to take over in the lead roles for the Broadway production of the iconic musical Cabaret. Porter will be appearing once more in the role of Emcee whilst Wallace again plays the part of Sally Bowles, the two having already played their respective roles for the West End production running concurrently in London. The duo will star in the roles for the New York production’s final run, from Tuesday, July 22, 2025, through Sunday, October 19, 2025. “I can think of no better way to celebrate this production’s incredible run on Broadway than by welcoming Billy and Marisha into the company,” stated director Rebecca Frecknall. “They brought down the house every night on the West End, and I cannot wait for Broadway audiences to experience the electricity they generate together.”
Vivian Bayubay McLaughlin, co-host of Disney’s Out of the Box series, is to appear in the upcoming festive show Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas, which will be playing at OFC Creations Theatre in Rochester, New York. The show is based on the Jim Henson special from the 1970s and will feature McLauglin in the role of Mrs. Alice “Ma” Otter. The show will be running from Wednesday, November 26, 2025, until Sunday, December 7, 2025.
andre holland - Miikka Skaffari
Off-Broadway: Law & Order actress Courtnee Carter has joined the cast for the US premiere of Rolling Thunder, a retelling of the story of the Vietnam War set to a wide range of classic rock anthems. The production, which was originally developed and produced in Australia, will be playing at New World Stages in New York, with its official opening on Thursday, July 24, 2025. Also appearing in the cast will be Drew Becker, Cassadee Pope, Justin Matthew Sargent, and Deon’te Goodman.
The Day I Accidentally Went to War, the one-man show from writer and comedian Bill Posley, is to return to New York this August, with previews beginning Wednesday, August 6, 2025, and an official opening on Saturday, August 9, 2025. This limited engagement will be running at the SoHo Playhouse in Manhattan until Sunday, August 31, 2025, after an earlier run back in January. The production, directed by Bente Engelstoft, reflects on the experience of the American veteran. “Coming back to do this show in New York means everything to me,” Posley stated. “When I first started writing this show, I wasn’t sure if it would resonate with audiences or find its place in the world. I’m so thankful it has, and I’m eternally grateful to the Soho Playhouse for bringing it back to NYC.”
Abingdon Theatre Company in New York has commissioned its first full-length play as part of its upcoming 33rd season. The play, written by artist-in-residence Cris Eli Blak, will tell the story of noted cabaret singer and pianist Bobby Short. The production, commissioned by Don and Nancy Watson, will feature some of the music for which Short was best known.
Tony nominee and Obie Award winner Quincy Tyler Bernstine is to star in the premiere of Well, I’ll Let You Go, a new play written by Bubba Weiler and directed by Jack Serio. Bernstine will take the lead role as a woman in crisis in a Midwestern community that is impacted by a crumbling American dream. The play will be showing at The Space at Irondale in Brooklyn and will be running from Tuesday, July 29, 2025, until Monday, August 25, 2025. Bernstine will be appearing alongside Michael Chernus, Emily Davis, and Constance Shulman.
André Holland is to star in the upcoming production of The Brothers Size at the Shed’s Griffin Theatre in New York. The co-production with Los Angeles’s Geffen Playhouse will mark the 20th anniversary of the play, which follows two brothers living in the Deep South and will see André Holland in the role of Ogun, appearing alongside Alani iLongwe and Malcolm Mays. Directed by Tarell Alvin McCraney and Bijan Sheibani, the production will be running from Saturday, August 30, 2025, to Sunday, September 28, 2025.
The Public Theater has announced that the initiative Critical Minded will be sponsoring the 2025-26 cohort of Jose Solís’s BIPOC Critics Lab, which has, since 2020, aimed to provide training and expand opportunities for BIPOC critics and theater journalists. Recipients for the sponsorship will receive offers in August, with the cohort officially beginning in mid-September through a hybrid model of online sessions and optional in-person activities. This comes alongside the announcement that 12 members of the 2024-25 cohort have now completed their BIPOC Critics Lab training. “I’m still in awe of how brilliant our most recent cohort was—each of them brought such heart, insight, and boldness to the Lab,” Jose Solís stated. “Every time we do this work, I’m reminded just how vital and urgent it is to carve out space for BIPOC critics to thrive, dream, and lead. I can’t wait to meet the next group and see how they’ll challenge, expand, and reimagine what criticism can be.”
Motivational speaker DeVon Franklin is bringing his solo show, Be True: My Journey from Breakdown to Breakthrough, to New York later this month. The performance, which will be taking place at Minetta Lane Theatre in Manhattan, will last over three days, from Friday, July 18, 2025, until, Sunday, July 20, 2025. It will also be recorded by the audiobook service Audible for later release as an Audible Original.
fran de leon - Rich ryan
Regional: Lakisha May is to star in the world premiere of Ginger Twinsies, an upcoming parody of the 1998 film The Parent Trap. She will be playing the role of Elizabeth James, appearing alongside Russell Daniels and Aneesa Folds. Written and directed by Kevin Zak, the production will be running from Thursday, July 10, 2025, until Sunday, October 26, 2025. The opening night is set for Thursday, July 24, 2025, at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles.
Fran de Leon has taken over as Artistic Director for Theater Mu. Founded in 1992 in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Theater Mu is the largest Asian American theater in the Midwest. Taking over from Lily Tung Crystal, de Leon has worked as a theater producer since the age of 19 and will be responsible for Theater Mu’s mainstage productions and wider artistic programming, including festivals, cohorts, and the Mu Training Institute courses designed for Black, Native, Asian, and Latine artists. “At a time when the arts are in a most precarious position, I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and work even harder to ensure we retain the essential experience of humanity and community that theatre provides,” de Leon stated. “Art and activism are in my DNA. My purpose in the theatre world is to engage, enlighten, disrupt, and sometimes enrage—I’m okay with that too.”
Artistic director Nik Whitcomb has left his role at Hillsboro theater company Bag&Baggage Productions. Whitcomb has left the role after 2 years in order to pursue a graduate degree in urban planning. Whitcomb was responsible for curating seasons that blended classics with bold new voices, including the regional premiere of the play Red Velvet, an outdoor staging of Tartuffe, and the launch of the Native Theater Project. He also established the Hillsboro Youth Performance Ensemble, a paid training program providing local teenagers with hands-on experience in theater production. “Leaving Bag&Baggage was not an easy decision, but it is the right one for my personal and professional growth and for the long-term health of the organization,” Whitcomb stated. “I walk away grateful, inspired, and confident in the company’s future.” The Bag&Baggage board of directors will be meeting shortly to discuss next steps and are expected to be exploring a range of leadership models.
The Houston Grand Opera has announced a new partnership with the London Symphony Orchestra, enabling it to reach a wider audience than before in what is the London Symphony Orchestra’s first such partnership with a US-based opera company. “For decades, HGO has led the way in building the American repertoire through new commissions from the country’s finest composers,” stated Houston Grand Opera CEO Khori Dastoor. “With its award-winning label and rich legacy of inspiring global audiences, the London Symphony Orchestra is the ideal partner to help bring Houston’s operatic innovation to the world.” The first album to be released as part of this new collaboration has been confirmed to be the Houston Grand Opera’s Intelligence, a story of a Southern landowner and an enslaved woman living during the American Civil War. Further albums are to follow, with streaming available via Apple Music Classical.
Mary Elizabeth Williams has been named as the inaugural Imasogie Executive Apprentice with Opera Baltimore. Having previously worked as a soprano for Seattle Opera and the Opéra National de Paris, Williams will make her directorial debut next year with a new production of Lucrezia Borgia. “It is a profound privilege for Opera Baltimore to welcome the extraordinary Mary Elizabeth Williams,” stated Julia Cooke, President of Opera Baltimore. “That an artist of her international stature has chosen our company—and this moment in her luminous career—to explore the next chapter of leadership is a powerful affirmation of the work we do and the values we uphold.”
Chiquitita - John Lamparski/Stringer
International: A new production of Cecilia Gentili’s Red Ink is to form part of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival, held throughout August in Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh. The production will be showing at Underbelly in Bristo Square from Wednesday, July 30, 2025, until Monday, August 25, 2025. Making their debut stage performance in the production is Brooklyn nightlife star Chiquitita, who will first be appearing in preview performances in New York before heading to Edinburgh.
Casting has been announced for the European premiere of Fat Ham, a modern reimagining of the Shakespeare play Hamlet from James Ijames. The play, which had its New York premiere in 2022, has been picked up by the Royal Shakespeare Company and is to play at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon from Friday, August 15, 2025, to Saturday, September 15, 2025. It will star Olisa Odele in the lead role of Juicy, a queer college kid from the South who faces issues of identity and, as in the original Hamlet, sees a vision of his deceased father demanding revenge. Also starring in the production is Andi Osho and Sule Rimi. Supporting cast members will include Jasmine Elcock, Sandra Marvin, Corey Montague-Sholay, and Kieran Taylor-Ford. The production will be directed by Sideeq Heard.
soe yun
Industry: Seven new musicals have been named as the winners for the Pipeline Awards. The winners have been granted $125,000 between them from the Pipeline Arts Foundation for further development. The writers for the seven plays—Performing Filipina, Eight Immortals, The Eternity Machine, The Jury, ROJA, The Real Kyle McCarren, and The Unsolved & Forgotten Crimes of Sullivan County…—each won varying amounts to develop them further, after more than 300 plays had been entered to the blind submission process. $25,000 was the largest amount granted, being given to Performing Filipina writer Lianah Sta. Ana. Applications for the 2026 awards cycle will open in the fall.
New York-based designer and artist Seo Yun has been named as a recipient of the 2025 Willa Kim Costume Design Scholarship, alongside Russian émigré Sveta Moroz. Administered by the Theatre Communications Group, the Willa Kim Scholarship aims to provide training and professional development for early-career costume designers currently enrolled in a university or professional training program. Yun will receive up to $7,500 to be used towards tuition, registration fees, supplies, and/or travel expenses over one year.
Theatre Communications Group has announced Kamilah Long to be its new director for advancement and philanthropic engagement. Having served in numerous directorial roles for different theater and film organizations, Long will be working to cultivate partnerships and develop a comprehensive advancement strategy for a planned giving program and an upcoming change capital campaign. “I’m honored to join at such a transformative time in the American theatre landscape,” stated Long. “I see a powerful alignment between mission and momentum, and I’m eager to contribute to national strategies that advance a culture of philanthropy rooted in equity, artistic excellence, and long-term resilience.”
