tl;dr for January 31st

• Show Announcements: Phylicia Rashad will direct Charles Randolph-Wright's "Blue" at the Apollo Theater for a run starting this spring; the Public Theater's free Shakespeare in the Park season this summer will include “Richard II” and a version of its 2017 musical adaptation of “As You Like It”; the musical version of "The Notebook" will premiere in Chicago this fall; a reimagined production of Disney's "Aida" will premiere at Paper Mill Playhouse in 2021, before a national tour; and following a Baltimore launch, a revival of "Hairspray" will have a 60 city North American tour starting in Fall 2020 

• News: the cast recording of critic's pick "Hadestown" (read my review) won the 2020 Grammy Award for best musical theatre album; upon recouping on Broadway, "Mean Girls" the musical based on the movie announced a movie musical adaptation is in the works; a movie adaption of "Matilda The Musical" is in motion, too; Kevin Chamberlin replaced Awkwafina in the upcoming film version of "The Prom"; Joshua Henry, Judith Light, and Bradley Whitford have joined Lin-Manuel Miranda's upcoming film adaptation of "Tick, Tick...BOOM!"; Antonio Banderas wants to bring his Spanish production of "A Chorus Line" to New York; and check out the latest round of Tony Award eligibility rulings

• Development: a musical version of the 1984 film "The Karate Kid" is in development 

• Rumor: it looks like "Almost Famous" the musical is headed to Broadway this fall, following its premiere at San Diego's Old Globe last fall

• Milestone: on Sunday, January 26th, "The Phantom of the Opera" marked 32 years on Broadway 

• Good Cause: three friends have started a gofundme to raise $15k for Housing Works, an amazing organization fighting the twin crises of AIDS and homelessness; if they hit their goal, they'll watch "Cats" (the film!) on repeat for 24 hours; donate here

• Read: this magnificently reported New York Times Magazine profile of "West Side Story" and this exit interview with Patrick Vaill, long-time cast member of Daniel Fish's "Oklahoma!" 

• Watch: this cute trailer for "Back to the Future: The Musical" in the UK

• RIP: intrepid independent producer Margo Lion, who brought "Hairspray" and more to Broadway, is dead at 75; Joseph P. Patria Jr., who worked as a stagehand on more than 100 Broadway shows, is dead at 86; and Tony Award-winning set designer Peter Larkin is dead at 93