MUSIC/ GAGA RELEASES SINGLE COVER ART: Lady Gaga has released the cover art for her "Born This Way" single, which is due to be released Friday. Gaga is also featured on this Sunday's "60 Minutes," which will be shown prior to the 2011 Grammy Awards.
FILM/ JULIA ROBERTS BOOKS "SNOW WHITE" ROLE: Julia Roberts has closed a deal to star as the Queen in Relativity Media's "Snow White" feature. Directed by Tarsem Singh, the movie is based on the Brothers Grimm fable and is scheduled to begin shooting in April. In this more modern-edged take written by Melissa Wallack and Jason Keller, Snow White looks for payback along with her band of 7 dwarves after her evil stepmother kills her father. Relativity plans to release the film June 29, 2012. Roberts will next be seen on screen with Tom Hanks in the Universal comedy "Larry Crowne," which opens July 1.
TV/ MCDONALD LEAVING "PRACTICE": Four-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald is leaving the ABC drama "Private Practice" at the end of the season. McDonald is leaving her role as Naomi in order to spend more time with her family. Although McDonald will no longer be a series regular, there is a chance she will return in a guest-starting capacity. In an interview, McDonald said: "I have spent four amazing years working with the best cast and crew on television at 'Private Practice.' Though I am stepping away from the series as a regular in order to spend more time in New York with my family, I am not closing the door on 'Private Practice' or the character, Naomi. I am beyond grateful to Shonda Rhimes, ABC, and the team behind the show". Producers said they look forward having her return to 'Private Practice' as often as possible.
THEATRE/ "SPIDEY" FIRES BACK: "Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark" producer Michael Cohl said those who didn't like the show are out of touch. "Any of the people who review the show and say it has no redeeming value are just not legitimate reviewers, period," Cohl said late last night. "It's hard to have people that don't get pop culture reviewing a pop culture event, isn't it?". His words came hours after a show spokesman blasted critics for filing early reviews of the Broadway musical. "The PILE-ON by the critics was ridiculous and uncalled for," the spokesman in a statement. "Their actions are unprecedented and UNCOOL!" He also told AP: "Changes are still being made and any review that runs before the show is frozen is totally invalid". Critics from The Hollywood Reporter, The New York Times and The Washington Post were among those who panned the show in reviews posted online late Monday night. Critics decided to review the show on Monday, as February 7 was the planned opening date, before producers pushed it back to March 15. That postponement was the 4th, since "Spider-Man" began previews.
American Conservatory Theater's world-premiere run of the new musical "Tales of the City," inspired by the novels of Armistead Maupin, will get 2 extra weeks in San Francisco this summer. It's not in rehearsals yet, but the show is selling so briskly that the added performances were announced yesterday. No casting has been announced, but Tony Award winner Betty Buckley appeared in an earlier workshop of the musical, playing Anna Madrigal. The show has a libretto by Tony Award winner Jeff Whitty ("Avenue Q"), direction by Jason Moore ("Avenue Q") and songs by Jake Shears and John Garden of the Scissor Sisters. The synopsis of the show is: "Three decades after Armistead Maupin mesmerized millions with his daily column in the city's newspapers, detailing the lives and (multiple) loves of Mary Ann, Mouse, Mona, Brian, and their beloved but mysterious landlady, Mrs. Madrigal, his iconic San Francisco saga comes home". A Broadway run is likely if the show is successful in San Francisco.
"Sex and the City" star Kim Cattrall will repeat her London role of Amanda in Noel Coward's "Private Lives" in Toronto in a September-October engagement billed as "prior to Broadway." The comedy, directed by Richard Eyre, will play the Royal Alexandra Theatre. No additional casting or specific dates were announced for the production that is based on the 2010 staging on London's West End. In the famous comedy, "glamorous divorcee Amanda and her prosaic new husband honeymoon on the French Riviera," according to Mirvish Productions in Toronto. "When Amanda finds that the hotel room next to theirs is occupied by her ex-husband, the rich and reckless Elyot, old passions begin to bubble". "Private Lives" is one of Mirvish Productions 7 show subscription series for 2011-2012. Other shows opening during the season in Toronto include the acclaimed National Theatre production of "War Horse"and the North American tour of "Hair".
No comments:
Post a Comment