John Grisham's A Time to Kill is Headed to Broadway 
Producers Eva Price and Daryl Roth announced on June 25th that a new adaption of the John Grisham novel will head to Broadway's Golden Theatre for an opening on October 20, 2013. This is the first of Grisham's books to be adapted for stage, and it couldn't be in better hands. Rupert Holmes, who received a Tony Award for The Mystery of Edwin Drood, has penned the adaption and Ethan McSweeny� director of the 2000 revival of Gore Vidal's
The Best Man, will direct. The Broadway premiere follows a well-received run at Washington, DC's Arena Stage, where Broadway actor Sebastian Arcelus starred and McSweeny directed. No casting has been announced for the Broadway production.
A Time to Kill depicts a Mississippi town's upheaval when Carl Lee Hailey takes the law into his own hands following an unspeakable crime committed against his daughter. Now on trial for murder, Carl Lee's only hope lies with one young, idealistic lawyer Jack Brigance, who is outmatched by the formidable district attorney, Rufus Buckley, and under attack from both sides of a racially divided city.
The novel was originally released in 1998 and is  currently in its 9th printing - 16 million copies have sold to date. The novel became Grisham's first of seven bestsellers. Since publishing A Time To Kill, Grisham, Publishers Weekly's Bestselling Author of the 90s, has sold 250 million copies of his 25 novels worldwide. On the new Broadway production, Grisham said: "For almost a quarter of a century, A Time to Kill has captivated readers with its raw exploration of race, retribution and justice. It was my first book and the first that I have allowed to be adapted for the theater. Rupert Holmes did an excellent job of translating it from the page to the stage, and I am happy that not only my loyal readers, but a whole new audience will be able to experience this story in live theater. I am looking forward to opening night on Broadway!"
The play follows a critically acclaimed 1996 film adaption starring Matthew McConaughey as Jack Brigance and Samuel L. Jackson as Carl Lee Hailey. The film was number one in theaters for two weeks and grossed $19.6 million on 2123 screens its opening weekend. Domestic box office totaled $108.7 million and internationally grossed $43.5 million for a worldwide box office total of $152.2 million. The film ranked #10 in Domestic Gross for 1996, and Jackson received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
"John Grisham's endlessly gripping, perfectly-plotted storytelling is so well suited for the live theater, and we are thrilled to be bringing this first-ever stage adaptation of one his novels to Broadway," said Ms. Roth and Ms. Price. "Rupert Holmes has written an adaptation that masterfully replicates for theatergoers the page-turning thrill of reading a Grisham novel, while also honoring the powerful intimacy of its exploration of the injustices of our not-so-distant past. We look forward to audiences of all ages experiencing its essential message of equality, justice, and compassion for all."
Stay tuned for more announcements on this exciting new project!
Read Entertainment Weekly's announcement.
Read New York Times' announcement.
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Annie's Busy Summer 
Things over at Annie on Broadway are about to change! The announcement that Lilla Crawford will leave the show on July 28 made way for two new young performers: Taylor Richardson (currently playing orphan Duffy) and Sadie Sink (currently a standby). The two girls will share the titular role starting on July 30. Director James Levine shared the excitement: " As we were preparing to cast the next Annie, I realized we had two wonderful candidates already in the orphanage. Both Taylor and Sadie are such unique young actresses, that I decided to let them share the role." We can't wait to see the two strut their stuff alongside Daddy Warbucks Anthony Warlow, who has extended his contract to December, and Miss Hannigan Faith Prince, who will take over from Jane Lynch on July 14.
See the Playbill article here.
 There's excitement for Annie's canine friends this month as well: From Shelter to Stage: PEDIGREE and Annie the Musical took home a Silver Lion in branded content at the recent 2013 Cannes Festival for Creativity! The program documented Annie's search for Sandy through a television special in which PEDIGREE and animal trainer Bill Berloni conducted a nationwide search for a real-life shelter dog to play Annie's beloved companion. The search resulted in the casting of shelter dog Sunny as Sandy, who has now performed for over 243,000 people on Broadway. What a star!
Read about it here.
 Annie's story is about to become even more popular with Penguin Publishing's new series of books based on the Annie characters. There will be 5 books released on their children's imprint Puffin, along with a reprint of Tom Meehan's original novelization of the story with a new forward. The novelization will be released on November 14, 2013, in hard and soft cover. Release dates for the five new stories are still to be determined, and if successful could launch more Annie books in the future. Who wouldn't want to read about the lucky little orphan?
 Finally, the behind-the-scenes documentary It's the Hard Knock Life: From Script to Stage premiered on PBS on Friday, June 28! Here's what people have to say about the hour-long look of the creation of "It's the Hard Knock Life" in the new revival of Annie on Broadway:
"You know what the great divide is in the theater-going world: able to tolerate Annie or can't stand Annie. But it's hard to imagine even the haters not enjoying Annie: It's the Hard-Knock Life, From Script to Stage, a delightful documentary." - Neil Genzlinger, NY Times
"This documentary should be required viewing material for every drama student! It's absolutely wonderful." - Anton Andersson, BroadwayWorld.com
"Part of the charm of It's the Hard Knock Life is that the kids really are, to the degree you can be when you're literally nine, professional; goofy like kids can be, and imperfect as newcomers are, but resolute in the way young girls can be when they've made up their minds to succeed in the world and have been led to a proving ground. This isn't a musical number; it's a test with one hell of a final." - Genevieve Valentine, A.V. Club
Re-live some of the documentary's most adorable moments with these clips of Emily Rosenfeld, Junah Jang, and Georgi James getting the call of their dreams!
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Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Joins the Recoupment Club
 The 2012-2013 Broadway season again proved strong overall for plays at the box office with the announcement that Christopher Durang's Tony-winning comedy Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike has recouped their $2.75 million capitalization since it opened at the Golden Theatre on March 14, 2013. Vanya has enjoyed strong box office sales since its opening, and sales have only increased after the announcement on June 9 that the show won the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play. The show is set to earn a profit until its closing on August 25, with Tony winner Julie White replacing star Sigourney Weaver on July 30. The rest of the cast, including David Hyde Pierce, Kristine Nielson, and Billy Magnussen, will perform until closing. Vanya is the fifth in a string of plays to recoup their investments this season, the others being Glengarry Glen Ross, The Heiress, Lucky Guy, and I'll Eat You Last. Grace narrowly missed hitting the recoupment mark, partially due to fall out from Hurricane Sandy. These five profitable plays represent about one-third of all commercial plays currently on Broadway; usually only about 25% of Broadway productions total turn a profit during any given season. The Trip to Bountiful, starring Tony winner Cicely Tyson, has extended it's run to October 9 in hopes of following the recoupment trend.
Click here to read the Playbill report.
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Get Your TKTS Faster! TKTS, the popular discount ticket seller that has become a fixture in Times Square, announced a new program on June 26 at their 40th Anniversary Celebration that will appeal to Broadway and off-Broadway frequenters. This new program, the TKTS 7-Day Fast Pass, permits TKTS patrons to return to the discount ticket booth within seven days of their TKTS purchase and walk up to Window #1 with their TKTS ticket stub, avoiding lines that at peak hours can get up to a wait time of three hours.The Theatre Development Fund stated, "Whether you're visiting from out of town and seeing your first Broadway or Off-Broadway show, or you're a veteran Broadway fan, TDF would like to thank you for being a theatre audience member by inviting you to return to TKTS within seven days of your initial TKTS purchase without waiting on the regular TKTS lines. ... TDF feels that this will help visitors who are in town for a limited period of time enjoy more theatre during their trip and save some of their time for more sightseeing."Let's hope this new program sparks fans to get to more Broadway shows this summer! See the full Playbill article here.
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Jason Robert Brown's Bridges of Madison County Plays Williamstown en route to Broadway
The Bridges of Madison County, a new musical by Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown, will play the Williamstown Theatre Festival August 1-18 before arriving on Broadway at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre for previews on January 13, 2014. The show will open in late February.
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Broadway Summer Closings Make Way for Fall Openings
This summer is bringing lots of changes to the Great White Way! Here's your guide to all that's coming and going on Broadway. Making their final bows this summer are a number of critic and audience favorites:
Ann - closing at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre June 30 I'll Eat You Last - closing at the Booth Theatre June 30 Lucky Guy - closing at the Broadhurst Theatre July 3 Macbeth - closing at the Ethyl Barrymore Theatre July 14 The Assembled Parties - closing at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre July 28 The Nance- closing at the Lyceum Theatre August 11 Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike - closing at the Golden Theatre August 25 The Trip to Bountiful - closing at the Sondheim Theatre September 1 As we bid farewell to these shows, we make way for new Broadway adventures this summer and fall! Luis Bravo's Forever Tango will return to Broadway this summer for a limited engagement from July 9 - September 15 at the Walter Kerr Theatre. The show traces the birth of salsa music and dance of 19th-century Buenos Aires to its more modern manifestations and will star Dancing with the Stars veterans Karina Smirnoff and Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Let It Be, the Beatles concert show, will open at the St. James Theatre on July 24 and play to December 29. The London import was created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the famous British band.
Smash's Krysta Rodriguez and NBC's Chuck star Zachary Levi will star in new musical comedy First Date, opening on August 4th at the Longacre Theatre. The show focuses on a first date, unfolding in real time, that turns from a quick drink at a busy New York restaurant into a hilarious, high-stakes dinner.  Soul Doctor, the musical about the real-life unconventional Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, will open on Broadway at the Circle in the Square on August 15. Eric Anderson will reprise his role as the beloved and controversial "rock and roll rabbi". A new, racially-charged production of Shakespeare classic Romeo and Juliet starring Orlando Bloom and Condola Rashad as the star-crossed lovers will open at the Richard Rogers Theatre on September 19.  The American Repertory Theater production of Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie will begin its Broadway run at the Booth Theatre on September 26 for a limited engagement until January 5. The production stars Tony winner Cherry Jones, Tony nominee Celia Keenan-Bolger, and Zachary Quinto. Big Fish, a fanciful new musical based on the novel by Daniel Wallace and the 2003 Columbia Pictures film written by John August, will open on October 6 at the Neil Simon Theatre. The highly anticipated production will star Broadway favorites Norbert Leo Butz and Kate Baldwin.  One Night with Janice Joplin will open at the Lyceum Theatre on October 10 after successful runs in Washington, DC, Portland, Oregon, and Los Angeles, California, among others. The show, starring Mary Bridget Davies as the legendary singer, will celebrate the inspirations of one of rock n' roll's greatest legends. Ruper Holmes' new adaption of the John Grisham novel A Time to Kill will open at Broadway's Golden Theatre on October 20. The play, which tells the story of a racially-charged trial in Mississippi in the 1980s, will be directed by Ethan McSweeny. Tony and Emmy award winner Mary-Louise Parker is set to return to Broadway on October 24 in the MTC-produced world premiere of The Snow Geese. The World War I drama will play at MTC's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre for a limited 11-week run.
A revival of Harold Pinter's play Betrayal will open at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on October 27 featuring an all-star cast that includes Rachel Weisz, Rafe Spall, and 007 himself, Daniel Craig. When one Macbeth closes, another one opens. Ethan Hawke will star in Lincoln Center's interpretation of the Shakespeare classic this fall. Previews begin on October 24, with an opening not yet announced.
Encores! critically acclaimed production Cotton Club Parade will open on Broadway as After Midnight on November 3. The production will feature a 17-piece big band with musicians handpicked by The Jazz at Lincoln Center All-Stars music director Wynton Marsalis. The New York Times is reporting that American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino is attached to star.
 Tony and Olivier winner Mark Rylance is bringing two critically acclaimed productions from London's Globe Theatre to Broadway, marking the first time a show from the Shakespeare theatre will premiere in New York. Twelfth Night and Richard III will be performed in rep at the Belasco Theatre, opening on November 10. The all-male cast features Rylance as both Twelfth Night's Olivia and Richard III's title monarch, as well as British comedian Stephen Fry as Twelfth Night's Malvolio. Billy Crystal will bring his Tony-winning one-man show 700 Sundays, a show about growing up on Long Island, back to Broadway for a final nine-week engagement at the Imperial Theatre. The show will run November 13 - January 5.New Musical A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder will transfer to Broadway's Walter Kerr Theatre for an opening on November 17. The play, based on Roy Horniman's novel Israel
Rank, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, stars Tony winner Jefferson Mays reprising his role(s) as eight different heirs to the D'Ysquith family fortune.
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Broadway Buzz!
- The stars are about to light up Broadway! Neil Patrick Harris, Zach Braff, Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Fantasia Barrino, Zachary Quinto, Ethan Hawke, and Marie-Louise Parker are all attached to productions coming to New York in the 2013-2014 season. What a Tony race it'll be!
- New York is going Shakespeare crazy! Three productions of the Bard's work are already confirmed for the 2013-2014 season, and now it's rumored that the Kenneth Branagh and Rob Ashford-helmed Macbeth currently making waves at the Manchester International Festival could be making its way to Broadway too. If it finds a New York home, it will be the third revival of The Scottish Play in one year.
- The film adaptation of Jason Robert Brown's musical The Last Five Years is underway with Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan starring as the singing couple at the center of the story. Both stars have posted pictures in-character on their Twitters and Instagrams. How cute!
- Anna Kendrick is becoming the go-to girl for musical movies. She's also in talks to star as Cinderella in Disney's already star-studded film adaption of Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods. Also in talks is Les Miserables' littlest star Daniel Huttlestone, who played Gavroche in the Tom Hooper film. He will fight the Giants in the Sky as Jack.
- Everyone's favorite red-headed orphan is coming to the big screen in a new film produced by Will Smith. Quvenzhane Wallis will star as Annie, Jamie Foxx will be a new Mr. Warbucks-based character named Benjamin Stacks, and Cameron Diaz has just signed on to portray the evil Miss Hannigan.
- The highly anticipated film adaption of August: Osage County starring Meryl Streep has been put on hold. The film will now premiere during the holiday season this year.
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That's all for this edition of The Maximum Insider! Stay tuned for all the Tony coverage as this season draws to a close.
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