Actor Ciara Renée has filed a suit against the producers of the upcoming Broadway musical Wanted, after being re-cast in the musical. Renée, formerly of Broadway's Frozen and Waitress, co-starred as Mary Clarke when the musical played the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey in 2024. At that time, the Angelica Chéri-Ross Baum musical was titled Gun and Powder; Renée played opposite Liisi LaFontaine as Martha Clarke.
Casting for the Broadway production of Wanted has not been announced, though the show is expected to bow on Broadway next year. According to Renée's suit, she will not be starring on Broadway.
In June, a workshop of the musical was held with LaFontaine and Solea Pfeiffer as the leads (Pfeiffer played the role of Mary in the show's 2020 world premiere at Virginia’s Signature Theatre). Pfeiffer and LaFontaine also sang on the musical's newly released EP.
The suit alleges that Renée's contract for the Paper Mill run guaranteed her "the right to continue [in the role] in a production of the Play mounted by the producers] in New York or London upon completion of good faith negotiations[.]" The filing shares that Renée completed the Paper Mill run and was later hired to record some of the musical's songs, to perform for potential investors at a 2024 Martha's Vineyard event, to participate in an October 2024 developmental reading, and attend the 2024 Vivian Robinson/Audelco Recognition Awards for Excellence in Black Theater as a representative of the musical.