Rabbit Hole to be the next Hedwig???

I'm hearing that John Cameron Mitchell is directing the Rabbit Hole film. No lie. Because when I think of Rabbit Hole, the tragedy, the grief, the dark humor and quiet introspection, what really springs to mind is Hedwig and Shortbus, the two features Mitchell has directed. I do love that Hedwig! This will be GREAT!

Actually, wait, no, this makes Absolutely No Sense. Someone, please explain? Because I thought April Fool's Day was tomorrow, not today.

Shooting starts June 1st, Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart will star.

words I never thought I'd read

"Bono mentioned that they first got the idea to do a musical from Andrew Lloyd Webber, and name-dropped Rodgers and Hammerstein in their opening remarks."

That's from Modern Fabulosity, who attended a recent presentation of the Spiderman Musical. Bono and The Edge previewed eight songs, and Julie Taymor presented video demos of sets, costumes, and the web-spinning technology that will allow Spidey to fly over the audience. If all this isn't exciting enough, a new villain has been created who will join the Green Goblin, Lizard, Kraven, and Swarm in a mass effort to take down Spiderman - the new baddy's name is Swiss Miss, and she's described as being "dressed in immaculate white dominatrix gear and multiple knives". Um, yes please!

WMA/Endeavor Merger Update

Supreme Gossip Goddess Nikki Finke says today's a big decision day for this possible merger. According to her sources, enthusiasm from Endeavor has been wavering as they weigh the pros against the cons. WMA has been "obstinate" about who would remain employed at the new agency, and everybody knows that Ari Emanuel doesn't play well with obstinate - especially when the bullheaded WMA chiefs are generally regarded as failed leaders. I'm hearing that the new company would still be called William Morris, but Ari would be running the show, which makes sense - Ari might not be warm and cuddly, but everyone agrees that he runs a very tight ship.

In addition to Nikki's comprehensive diary of the whispering gallery that Endeavor has become, her comments section provides a whole additional canvassing of opinions on the potential merger. One comment in particular was so noteworthy, Nikki twittered it last night. It's titled, "Dear W.M.A., I Quit!" It's an entertaining read, check it out.

this is totally my look when I dash out to the corner store

...I wish. It's more like this, with slightly more, um, economical pieces.

(via the sartorialist)

Portia De Rossi Apologizes for Getting Married

Speaks for itself:



Could Portia and Ellen be America's Sweethearts? This cockeyed optimist thinks so!

Brighton Beach possibly not as somnolent as expected

Rumor has it that Laurie Metcalf will be seen on Broadway in the upcoming revivals of Brighton Beach Memoirs and Broadway Bound. Not only does this casting tidbit make perfect sense, it actually makes me a bit excited to see yet another production of Brighton Beach, a play that is typically the NyQuil of theater.

if you're trying to kill your husband...

Feed him Pork Brains in Milk Gravy! Or you could opt for serving up a nice cold McNuggetini, the mysteriously named Secret Treasure Loaf, or any of the other delicious treats found on This is why you're fat.

Natasha Richardson

Here is another chillingly outstanding performance from Natasha Richardson. I never got to see her in this role, but I remember listening the cast recording until I knew every lyric, every cymbal crash, and every snarl that Alan Cumming has now made his personal trademark. Every time I heard the songs, the raw emotion in her performance came through with a crystalline kind of clarity and sharpness that defined her as an actress. It's always sad to lose a member of the strange and wonderful entertainment community, but as it was with Heath Ledger, I think Natasha Richardson's death has hit everyone especially hard not only because it was so unexpected, but because these actors gave performances that felt so uncannily open, intimate, and vulnerable. Just so sad. Watch the video.

reasons to be pretty slims down

Above is a photo I snapped on the subway this morning, an little artistic addition to a poster for Neil LaBute's play reasons to be pretty, currently in previews at the Lyceum. According to this morning's Michael Reidel, the play may be going under the knife, with "people involved" thinking it might be better off at 90 minutes than in its current two-act form. I enjoyed the play downtown at MCC, but I wondered if a leaner meaner edit of the play could more effectively convey LaBute's tenaciously unflinching examination of America's obsession with attractiveness. If they can make it work in 90 minutes, odds are it will be one hell of a ride.

Ooo-belee-oo.

In honor of the long-overdue Broadway revival that opened last night, Vanity Fair did an amazing, moderately strange photo shoot recreating scenes from the iconic 1961 film version of West Side Story. The jets, sharks, and their ladies are played by a smorgasbord of hot young things, and Jennifer Lopez plays Anita. Once you get over J.Lo's va-va-voom factor, see if you can spot Robert Pattinson, Brittany Snow, Ashley Tisdale, and other cute, moderately out-of-place teen stars.

flawless

Natasha Richardson's effortless, brilliant performance of "Maybe This Time," from Cabaret.

(thanks, princesskyle)

WMA/Endeavor Merger?

My sources are saying that a William Morris/Endeavor merger is more and more likely every day. Nikki Finke noticed that someone went and bought both williammorrisendeavor.com and endeavorwilliammorris.com.

Personally, I think Endeavor + William Morris = Endorse. Not too bad, eh?

Update: Now I'm hearing that a merger announcement can be expected on Monday.

Anti-semitism is alive and well in the film world, apparently. Below is an exchange from a widely-read film biz listserv, read from the bottom up.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Above, a photo of the White House, where they've dyed the fountain green at the request of Michelle Obama. Sláinte!

SuckWatch: Guys & Dolls - Update

A few weeks ago, I got an invite to Guys & Dolls. Despite my having listed it on Suckwatch, the marketing team wanted to give this little blogger a chance to change her mind, and I thought it was a bold, cool move on their part to reach out after being dissed. So I accepted, and decided to lay off the gloating "I was right" posts (mostly, at least) until after I'd actually seen the show. I tried to attend during the last week of February, but was told that tickets were no longer available for the original dates offered. No problem, I would go during the first week of March - oops, no availability then either. Try again in two weeks, I was told.

Here's where things get a bit funny. Marketing is telling me they have no availability, but my spies at the theater tell me that the mezzanine has been virtually empty every night - so empty, in fact, that "they might as well close it down and only seat the orchestra."

So what's the deal? Is the show simply best viewed from the orchestra, or are the producers of Guys & Dolls trying to discourage further criticism from bloggers by pulling a ticket offer bait and switch?

there's good casting, and then there's....

Sometimes you read a script, and it's really good. So good, in fact, that you know someone will find a way to screw it up, usually by casting a Pussycat Doll or some such nonsense. Fortunately, this is not the case with what insiders have dubbed the best pilot this season, HBO's The Wonderful Maladys. It was announced today that Nate Corddry and Molly Parker will join Sarah Michelle Gellar as the three fucked-up-but-high-functioning siblings who lost their parents at a young age. Good stuff all around, looking forward to this one.

On the other hand, sometimes the greatest of projects gets mismanaged into the strangest of casting choices. For example, why is Phylicia Rashad playing August: Osage County's racist matriarch? Colorblind casting, okay, but really? really?

In a dream last night, I was watching an episode of Seinfeld. Every 30 seconds or so, something on the show would strike me as frighteningly antiquated, and I would stand up, point at the television, and shout, "Dated!" The objectionable elements included a pair of overalls, and a rotary phone. What could this mean?

Defying Inequality

If you're looking for countless hours of musical theater fun via youtube, look no further than Defying Inequality. The recent event was a four-hour cornucopia of Broadway love, with everyone from Bebe Neuwirth to the Spring Awakening kiddies performing their big hits, retooled for the evening's gay rights purposes. Check out Check out Shoshanna Bean and the Gay Men's Chorus of NYC. And the whole starry gang from Prop 8: The Musical! AND Mark Indelicato (from Ugly Betty) singing Seize the Day, from NEWSIES! Lynda Carter singing Hit Me With A Hot Note? It doesn't get any better than this folks.... or does it? See below:

happy monday

Good afternoon, lads and lasses. Today I'm reporting from midtown, which will be renamed ghosttown in honor of today's blissfully blizzardy quiet.

I'm very excited at Friday's news of a Damn Yankees movie, starring Jake Gyllenhaal (pictured above, you're welcome) and Jim Carrey. Jake Gyllenhall is totes the movie star version of Cheyenne Jackson. Sorry Cheyenne. But who will play Lola? Penelope Cruz is already doing a musical. I'm betting they'll go with Anne Hathaway or Evan Rachel Wood. Oooh I wonder if my ladycrush Eva Green can sing?

A little update on the Suckwatch: Guys & Dolls front: the notices are in, and they're not pretty. In fact, Variety actually says "the production sucks the personality out of an American musical-theater classic." Seeing it on Thursday and will report back... I will admit, even these rancid reviews can't crush my excitement to hear "Fugue for Tinhorns."