Movies feeding theater scene
For better or for worse, Hollywood is stitching itself more thoroughly into the fabric of theater. Here are some of the latest threads — casting news, opening-night announcements and more. “Long Day’s Journey Into Night”: Jeremy Irons is starring with Lesley Manville in this Eugene O’Neill classic, coming to the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills for a threeweek run in June — part of a tour with stops in London’s West End and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. “Pretty Woman: The Musical”: With a book credited to the late Garry Marshall and screenwriter J.F. Lawton and with original music by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance, the stage adaptation of the 1990 movie has set key dates: March 13 for the start of a five-week run in Chicago and July 20 for the beginning of previews on Broadway, with opening night scheduled for Aug. 16. “Ironbound”: Chris Messina of “The Mindy Project” will star alongside “Hell or High Water” actress Marin Ireland in the West Coast premiere of Martyna Majok’s play about a Polish immigrant struggling to eke out a living for herself and her son in New Jersey. It’s at the Geffen Playhouse beginning Jan. 30. “Frozen, the Musical”: Performances don’t begin on Broadway until late February, but seats are already sold out through May, and availability doesn’t get much better until August. Prices: $93 to $193 for evening performances. “SpongeBob SquarePants, the Broadway Musical”: “Muriel’s Wedding, the Musical”: The cult movie about a sulky, ABBA-loving young woman chasing her romantic dream has been adapted for the stage, and reviews following the Sydney Theatre Company’s Nov. 18 opening in Australia were positive. Alas, the production’s North American premiere, originally set for spring in Toronto, has been pushed back. “Meteor Shower”: Steve Martin’s tale of a volatile Ojai dinner party opens on Nov. 29 with Amy Schumer and Keegan-Michael Key in their Broadway debuts. Watch for Times critic Charles McNulty’s review.