Roundup: A Hoosier on B’way, Wizard World Comic Con, SNL’s 40th, more

It's time to empty the arts notebook.

—Indianapolis’ Ethan Halford Holder, who charmed audiences in the Indiana Repertory Theatre’s production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in 2013 and this season’s “The Velveteen Rabbit,” will debut on Broadway in the revival of “The King and I.” Previews begin March 12 with an opening date set for April 16.

—A shout-out to the person responsible for the music that played in the dealer room of Wizard World Comic Con. The well-run convention was nicely accented by whoever was spinning the tunes ("Hey, that's the theme from 'Sherlock'!") and the volume was set at just the right level to enhance without inhibiting. And while I still am baffled by folks paying $40 for autographs, the celeb guests all seemed jovial and in the proper spirit.

—Glenn Close will be presenting the Jorgensen Guest Filmmaker Lecture at Indiana University April 27. She’ll also attend a screening of “Fatal Attraction,” which is being shown as part of a “Mental Illness in American Film” series.

—The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art has added Scott Shoemaker to its curatorial ranks. A Ball State grad and a member of the Miami Nation of Indiana, Shoemaker formerly worked at the Science Museum of Minnesota.

—Due to health issues, Raymond Leppard will turn over the baton to Ludovic Morlot of the Seattle Symphony for the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s March 13-14 concerts. Here’s wishing the maestro well.

—Shauta Marsh has resigned as executive director of the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art.

—Indiana native Twyla Tharp marks her 50^th anniversary as a professional choreographer with a tour this fall. Nothing announced for Indianapolis, but she will be hitting Chicago. We can only hope for a Clowes Hall or Tarkington stop.

—I only caught the last hour of the SNL 40^th anniversary special (was out at opening night for Beef & Boards’ “Crazy for You, which I will be reviewing in next week’s IBJ). It seems like it would have been stronger if it had spent more time showing us that the show is funny rather than telling us that it's funny. There’s was a little too much lightning-round rememberthis?rememberthis? for me. Idea for 50^th: Invite anyone who ever wrote for the show to submit a sketch. Give a very generous payment to any that are accepted. Then cast it with any willing cast member, past or present. Riskier, yes, but would certainly have been more memorable.

—Once again, I'll be tweeting the Oscars. Join me Feb. 22 @IBJARTS. I'll also be providing opening comments before the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra's live accompaniment of the silent "Peter Pan" film (so much better than the recent live TV debacle) on Feb. 20 at the IMA's Toby Theatre.