About Town
People, Places,
PreoccupationsTHE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 18 FEBRUA RY 26, 2020
BIDEN: @JOEBIDEN/TWITTER. DAVID: COURTESY OF SUBJECT. DOUGLAS: DAVID DEGNER/GETTY IMAGES. JENKINS: AMANDA EDWARDS/GETTY IMAGES.COMPANY:BRINKHOFF/MOEGENBURG.GIRL: JOAN MARCUS.HANGMEN: AHRON R. FOSTER.LEHMAN: MARK DOUET.MINUTES: FRANK ISHMAN.TA K E: CATHERINE WESSEL.flashbacks: “The amount of flesh-
pressing and selfies in politics
boggles me,” she says. “It’s my
idea of hell.”
What is heaven for Metcalf?
Her current status as one of
the world’s most sought-after
stage actors, for starters, though
humility prevents her from
describing herself that way. She
now uses her yearly Conners
hiatus as an opportunity to tackle
a different play, alternating
between starring roles in original
pieces and revivals of famous
works. For the 2020 season, the
twice-divorced mom of four is
taking on Edward Albee’s 1962
dysfunctional marriage drama.
And despite a lengthy résumé
— her performances in early
Steppenwolf productions of The
Glass Menagerie (1979) and Balm in
Gilead (1980) are the stuff of the-
ater legend — this marks her first
stab at Woolf. So if Metcalf bails
on any plans between now and
opening night (April 9), know that
she’s genuinely preoccupied with
putting a new stamp on the drunk
and taunting Martha — discov-
ering her own sense of humor
buried in previously unmined
lines of the darkly comic 58-year-
old text, which she’s never seen
performed: “I purposefully stayed
away from it all these years,
thinking maybe one day I’d have a
chance to do it.”
As March 3 approaches — with 14 states holding primaries (including
California) — previously undecided industry players from Boots Riley
and Danny Zuker to Cher make last-minute endorsements By Peter KieferSuper Tuesday Sweepstakes
W
ith days to go before Super Tuesday,
which includes the California primary,
the race to shore up industry support
among the Democratic presidential candidates
has reached a fever pitch, though some (such as
Ava DuVernay) have yet to make up their minds.
“It’s been really interesting talking to people
on the road. It seems like if Pete [Buttigieg] is
not their first choice — then he’s their second,”
says Laurie David, who has been canvassing in
early primary states with a group of women that
includes Nicole Avant and Jamie
Lynton, all supporting Buttigieg
(who appeared at a fundraiser in
L.A. hosted by Seth MacFarlane
and Lee Daniels on Feb. 20). David
says she plans to knock on doors for
Buttigieg in California as well. ... Current front-
runner Bernie Sanders recently added to his
already formidable star roster (Cardi B, Ariana
Grande, Lizzo) after Dick Van Dyke and Boots
Riley endorsed him. (Sanders also got a shout-out
in the film Birds of Prey, which revealed HarleyQuinn as a fan.) ... Elizabeth Warren picked
up several new endorsements: Director Barry
Jenkins and Modern Family writer-producer
Danny Zuker both said via Twitter that her Feb. 19
Las Vegas debate performance won them over.
Also supporting Warren is John Legend, who
will perform at events for her in South Carolina.
... Jon Vein and his wife, Gotham Group’s Ellen
Goldsmith-Vein, have been helping run Michael
Bloomberg’s campaign in California and hosted
an early February event for him attended by
Michael Douglas. ... And on Feb. 17, actress
Lorraine Sheinberg (Jaws) hosted a fundraiser
for Amy Klobuchar at her home that drew about
200 guests, including Jay Leno. ... Meanwhile,
what about Joe Biden, who has struggled in the
early primary states? Cher posted a tweet that
tagged him, writing: “I WON’T turn my back on
you now that you’re struggling.”1 Laurie David in Iowa, where she canvassed for Pete Buttigieg.
2 Cher with Joe Biden, who tweeted, “Do you believe in life
after Trump?”
3 Michael Douglas made calls for Michael Bloomberg in
Brookline, Massachusetts, on Feb. 23.JenkinsBeyond Virginia Woolf: 6 Highly Anticipated Spring Broadway Shows
Among incoming highlights are a reimagined Sondheim classic, a Bob Dylan alt-musical, new plays by Martin McDonagh
and Tracy Letts and a stunning saga of American capitalism directed by Sam Mendes By David RooneyCOMPANY
Director Marianne Elliott’s
gender-flipped London
revival of Sondheim’s 1970
musical hits New York,
with Patti LuPone raising
a glass to “The Ladies Who
Lunch.” Opens March 22 at
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre.
GIRL FROM
THE NORTH COUNTRY
This piercing Depression-
era tone poem,
soulfully annotated with
Bob Dylan’s songs, stars a
stirring Mare Winningham.
Opens March 5 at the
Belasco Theatre.HANGMEN
Martin McDonagh
re defines gallows humor
with a comedy-thriller set
in a 1960s pub, with Mark
Addy (as an English execu-
tioner) and Dan Stevens.
Opens March 19 at the
John Golden Theatre.THE LEHMAN TRILOGY
Masterfully directed by
Sam Mendes, this sweep-
ing, novelistic saga about
the Lehman Brothers
banking dynasty stars a
trio of actors playing every
role. Opens March 26 at
the Nederlander Theatre.THE MINUTES
Tracy Letts plays the
mayor of a fictional small
town in his timely satirical
skewering of democracy
in action, with Armie
Hammer as a whistle-
blower. Opens March 15 at
the Cort Theatre.TA K E M E O U T
The Tony-winning serio-
comedy about race, class
and homophobia in sports
returns with Jesse Tyler
Ferguson and Jesse
Williams (as a player who
comes out). Opens April 23
at the Hayes Theatre.123