Bang!
The fall Broadway season is coming into focus now that we’ve survived the Tony Awards parade.
Next up: Tony winner James Corden, who hosted a talk show more recently, is coming back to Broadway. He’s not singing, however. ‘
Corden’s heading up a new production of the play, “Art,” with an all star cast. Bobby Cannavale and Neil Patrick Harris will be his co-stars. Scott Ellis directs the revival coming at the end of August. “Art” is written by Yasmina Reza, translated by Christopher Hampton.
Corden won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play back in 2012. “One Man, Two Guvnors” was directed by Mike Nichols. Corden was absolutely hilarious. Unexpectedly he beat Philip Seymour Hoffman who was playing Willie Loman in “Death of a Salesman.” The other heavy hitter nominees that season were no less than James Earl Jones, Frank Langella, and John Lithgow. Amazing!
And there’s a little bit of trivia: Neil Patrick Harris hosted the Tony Awards that year.
Doing his talk show Corden lost a lot of charm as the show took over his life. He was clever, and his bits like “Carpool Karoake” were genius, but Corden got so out of control that he was banned from a New York Soho restaurant for mistreating the staff. When that happens, you know it’s time to step back.
I’m very excited about James’s return. The combo of him with Cannavale and Harris should strike a chord with Broadway audiences. Looking forward to this one!
