In the News: Will Swenson and Rachel Bay Jones Head to the Small Screen, Blindness Sets Toronto Dates, More | Playbill

Film & TV News In the News: Will Swenson and Rachel Bay Jones Head to the Small Screen, Blindness Sets Toronto Dates, More Plus: Tony-winning producer and BroadwayHD CEO and founder Bonnie Comley has been elected board president of The Drama League.
Will Swenson and Rachel Bay Jones

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

Will Swenson and Aubin Wise Join Ensemble of Netflix's First Kill
Full casting has been announced for First Kill, the upcoming YA vampire drama series from Netflix. The series is based on a short story by best-selling author Victoria “V. E.” Schwab and is written by Schwab and Felicia D. Henderson. The story pits a teen vampire (Sarah Catherine Hook) from a powerful vampire family, the Fairmonts, against teen vampire hunter (Imani Lewis), from a family of celebrated vampire killers, the Burns. Tony nominee Will Swenson (Hair, Waitress) will sink his teeth into the role of Sebastian Fairmont, as Aubin Wise (Hamilton) will no doubt slay as Talia Burns.

Rachel Bay Jones Will Recur on The United States of Al
Tony winner Rachel Bay Jones (Dear Evan Hansen) has landed a recurring role on CBS comedy The United States of Al, Deadline reports. The series centers on Riley, a Marine combat veteran, and Al, his unit's interpreter from Afghanistan, as they restart their lives in Ohio, played by Parker Young and Adhir Kalyan respectively. Jones will play a divorcee who catches the eye of Riley's father Art, played by Dean Norris. The series is written and created by David Goetsch and Maria Ferrari. Jones makes her first appearance in the June 3 episode.

Classical Theatre of Harlem’s Seize The King Finds Its Cast
Carson Elrod (Peter and the Starcatcher), RJ Foster, Ro Boddie, Andrea Patterson, and Alisha Espinosa will star in Classical Theatre of Harlem's outdoor premiere of Seize The King beginning July 6 at the Richard Rodgers Amphitheater in NYC's Marcus Garvey Park. Carl Cofield directs the Will Power play, a modern reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s Richard III. Performances run through July 29. Tickets are free, but reservations are required. Click here for more information.

Blindness Continues an International Run With Canadian Premiere
The Donmar Warehouse production of Blindness, a socially distanced sound installation, will make its previously reported Canadian premiere at Toronto's Princess of Wales Theatre beginning August 4. Inspired by José Saramago’s dystopian novel and adapted by Simon Stephens, the piece charts perhaps familiar territory—a sudden global pandemic—that leaves its victims without sight. Audiences experience the story, as narrated by Olivier winner Juliet Stevenson, through binaural headphone technology while immersed in an atmospheric design. Walter Meierjohann directs with immersive binaural sound design by Ben and Max Ringham. David Mirvish produces the Canadian production.

Bonnie Comley Named Drama League Board President
Three-time Tony Award-winning producer and CEO and founder of BroadwayHD Bonnie Comley has been elected the new board president of The Drama League. Comley has served on the board since 2009 and has served three terms as vice president. This move marks the first time in over 50 years that a theatre industry leader will take the presidential seat, as the position is usually held by a person outside of the industry. Comley succeeds Stan Ponte, who will remain on the board. Additional officers of the board for this term will be Vice Presidents Joseph Pizza and Arthur Pober, Secretary Donna Daniels, and Treasurer Tony Benten. The Drama League was founded in 1916 and is the country's oldest theatre non-profit organization, dedicated to advancing American theatre through initiatives to promote artistic development and audience engagement.

 
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