I just need to know if ‘Whorl’ will reach Broadway.

Maybe Club Nouveau’s classic song didn’t bubble up in your brain this week, but the collective energy of this rumor was almost palpable.

Is the smash off-Broadway play Whorl Inside a Loop transitioning to the Great White Way?

Well…it depends who you ask, and when.

It started December 7th with Michael Musto reporting in Out.com that he ran into Whorl’s star and co-writer  Sherie Rene Scott and Michael Mayer who directed said show. Scott, according to Musto’s piece, said that not only was the show moving to Broadway, but “it’s moving with a star.” Those are her words, and his ink.

Great! Where do we buy tickets?

Not so fast.

Then later the same day later Scott was quoted as saying that Broadway, and the possibility of a star, were options considered for where the show might go next.

Okay, now I am confused.

That is the gossip. Here are the facts, as we understand them.

Whorl Inside A Loop is a story about an actress who teaches six felons how to tell their stories, at least according to Scott and the show’s website. It has received rave reviews from the “New York Times” and “The Huffington Post.” It premiered at the Second Stage Theater this summer where they even extended the run of the show. We were there on opening night.

It was co-written by Scott and Dick Scanlan and also starred Donald Webber Jr. Nicholas Christopher, Chris Myers, Ryan Quinn, Derrick Baskin and Daniel J Watts.

No word has come down as to whether the show will indeed get a Broadway run. But who knows? If the rumors keep circulating, someone might pick it up. Critics and audiences agree it deserves a chance. Until then, I guess we gotta keep spreading the gossip until one of them sticks to Broadway.

Stay tuned.

The post Fact, Fiction, or Just a Whorl? appeared first on Broadway Black.

The play, which had an extended run at Off-Broadway’s Second Stage this summer and featured Karen Pittman (Disgraced), was described as a midsummer surprise.

It is not surprising that Showtime would seek a sports-focused dramedy for its lineup with offerings such as Starz’ LeBron James-produced “Survivor’s Remorse” and HBO’s “Ballers.” Even FOX has a pilot underway with “Fantasy Life” based on the memoir of ESPN’s Matthew Berry.

“King Liz,” which will be adapted by Coppel (who also has written episodes of FX’s “The Bridge” and DirecTV’s “Kingdom), will further take a look into the sports agent world from the perspective of a woman – a Black woman at that.

Sports agent Liz Rico has money and an elite client roster but a woman in a man’s industry has to fight to stay on top. She’s worked twice as hard to get where she is and wants to take over the agency that she’s helped build. Enter Freddie Luna, a high school basketball superstar with a troubled past. If Liz can keep this talented yet volatile young star in line, she just might end up making not only his career, but her own as well. But at what price?

More tackling of isms – with regard to sex, gender, class and age – as well as dialogue on what power and success mean will be brought to the forefront with Coppel’s writing as a foundation.

Coppel’s New York debut was Chimichangas and Zoloft at Atlantic Theater in 2012 – a play published with Samuel French. This year, she received the inaugural Williamstown Theatre Festival New Play Commission. The three-year Lila Acheson Wallace Playwriting Fellow at The Juilliard School has won the Asuncion Queer Latino Festival, the 2012 HOLA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Playwriting and the 2012 Helen Merrill Award.

In April, Second Stage purchased Helen Hayes Theater – one of the last independently owned Broadway houses – in an effort to present more contemporary plays by America’s living playwrights as well as an emphasis on work by women and artists of color. Shows are expected during the 2017-2018 season.

The post Showtime Develops Adaptation Of Fernanda Coppel’s King Liz appeared first on Broadway Black.

Continuing their exploration of Bertolt Brecht, Classic Stage Company and Brian Kulick tackle one of Brecht’s most famous plays. 

From the Classic Stage Company’s website:

The indomitable Mother Courage follows one luckless army after another across a war-torn world in her canteen wagon. She’ll do anything to hold onto her money-making wagon, even if it means the loss of her children. Experience a timeless tale of war updated to the modern-day conflagration in the Congo, with a new and vibrant score by Tony Award-winning composer Duncan Sheik (Spring Awakening, American Psycho).

Performances are currently scheduled for Dec. 7 through Jan. 24, 2016.

The post Tonya Pinkins to Star in Classic Stage Company’s Mother Courage appeared first on Broadway Black.

Previously announced star Sherie Rene Scott will be joined by Derrick Baskin (…Spelling Bee), Nicholas Christopher (Motown), Chris Myers (An Octoroon), Ryan Quinn (King Lear), Daniel J. Watts (In the Heights), and Donald Webber, Jr. (Motown).

Performances are set to begin August 4, 2015 at 2econd Stage Theatre’s Tony Kiser Theatre (305 West 43rd street). Season subscriptions are currently available through 2st.com or by calling the box office at 212-246-4422.

Here’s how 2econd Stage is billing the production:

“A well-regarded actress agrees to teach six inmates how to tell their stories behind the bars of a men’s maximum security prison. Sharing intimate and sometimes hilarious details of their former lives, this unlikely group forms a bond — even as the actress’ life outside spins out of control. And when what happens in prison doesn’t stay there, no one is sure who to trust. From the team that brought you Everyday Rapture, this new play features Sherie Rene Scott and six men playing two dozen characters in a constant shifting of scenes, ages, genders and races. Whorl Inside A Loop explores the fine line between convicted felons and the criminal inside each of us, the viability of forgiveness and the unreliability of redemption.”

The post Whorl Inside A Loop Will World Premiere At 2econd Stage appeared first on Broadway Black.

Initially set to close on August 16^th play-goers now have until August 23^rd to catch the show.

Between Riverside tells the story of Walter “Pops” Washington, played by Stephen McKinley Henderson (A Raisin in the Sun, Fences), an ex-cop and recent widower, his newly paroled son “Junior”, played by Ray Anthony Thomas (Their Eyes Were Watching God, The Sopranos), and their struggle against the city to maintain residence in one of the last remaining rent stabilized apartments on Riverside Dr. The story develops as Pops interacts with sketchy neighbors, his overbearing landlord and the delivery of the final notice.

Get tickets to see this show right here before it’s gone!

Photo Credit: Kevin Thomas Garcia (C)

The post Between Riverside and Crazy Gets Off-Broadway Extension appeared first on Broadway Black.