THEATRE/ "MORMON" & "ANYTHING GOES" TOP DRAMA DESK AWARDS: "The Book of Mormon" and "Anything Goes" topped the 55th annual Drama Desk Awards last evening with 5 wins apiece. "Mormon," which leads the Tony nominations with 14 and also led the Drama Desk noms with 12, was named best musical, while "Anything Goes," which has 9 Tony noms, won for best revival of a musical. "Mormon" also took home trophies for direction for a musical (Casey Nicholas and Trey Parker), music (Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone), lyrics (Parker, Lopez and Stone) and orchestrations. "Anything Goes," meanwhile, also was recognized for best actress in a musical (Sutton Foster), choreography (Kathleen Marshall), set design and sound design. Also taking home top acting honors in the musical categories were best actor Norbert Leo Butz ("Catch Me If You Can"), featured actor John Larroquette ("How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying") and featured actress Laura Benanti ("Women of the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown"). Meanwhile, "War Horse" and revival "The Normal Heart" took top awards in the play categories. For acting in a play, the winners were best actor Bobby Cannavale ("The Motherf**ker With the Hat"), best actress Frances McDormand ("Good People"), featured actor Brian Bedford ("The Importance of Being Earnest") and featured actress Edie Falco ("The House of Blue Leaves"). Harvey Fierstein hosted the ceremony, which took place at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan. Highlights of the awards show will be shown June 4 on Ovation. The Drama Desk Awards honor productions that opened on Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway during the 2010-2011 New York theatre season. Full details can be found on the Drama Desk website.
Casting has been announced for the Hollywood Bowl's summer production of the Tony-winning musical "Hairspray". Tony winners Harvey Fierstein and Marissa Jaret Winokur, who created the roles of, respectively, mother Edna Turnblad and daughter Tracy Turnblad in the original Broadway company, will reunite for the upcoming production, which will be directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell. Fierstein and Winokur will be joined by Corbin Bleu (Seaweed), Drew Carey (Wilbur Turnblad), Diana DeGarmo (Penny Pingleton), Mo Gaffney (Prudy Pingleton, the Gym Teacher, the Matron), Nick Jonas (Link Larkin), Darlene Love (Motormouth Maybelle), Tara Macri (Amber) and John Stamos (Corny Collins). There will be 3 performances of the Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman, Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan musical, which is based on the film of the same name, at the famed California venue August 5 to 7.
THEATRE/ "CATCH ME" PLANS NATIONAL TOUR: The Tony Award-nominated musical "Catch Me If You Can," based on the film and autobiography about the life of former jet-setting conman Frank Abagnale Jr., will launch a US national tour in the fall of 2012 in Providence, Rhode Island. Written by Tony Award-winning "Hairspray" songwriters Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman and Tony-winning playwright Terrence McNally ("Master Class" "Kiss of the Spider Woman"), the sleek, jazz-inflected musical opened on Broadway April 10 at the Neil Simon Theatre. It reunites much of the creative team behind the hit musical "Hairspray," including director Jack O'Brien and choreographer Jerry Mitchell. The production frames the scandalous adventures of Abagnale's life within a 1960's television variety show, as he cons his way to becoming an airline pilot, lawyer and doctor, all while eluding the FBI. "Catch Me If You Can" received 4 2011 Tony Award nominations including Best Musical, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical (Norman Leo Butz), Best Orchestrations and Best Sound Design. Additional cities will be announced at a later date.
Bette Midler has been cast opposite Al Pacino in HBO Films’ Phil Spector telefilm. The singer-actress will play Linda Kenney Baden, a defense attorney who represented the producer during his 1st trial for murder. Also joining the cast of the film, written and directed by Academy Award nominee David Mamet ("Wag the Dog"), is Jeffrey Tambor, who will play Bruce Cutler, a attorney on Spector’s defense team. Barry Levinson is on board to executive produce the film, which is in development and revolves around the relationship between Spector and Baden. Midler’s last TV series gig was for CBS in 2000-01 with "Bette," a sitcom in which she played herself. Midler picked up a Emmy nomination for her 1993 telepic, "Gypsy," which also aired on CBS. Levinson exec produced and directed HBO’s TV movie "You Don’t Know Jack," for which he and star Pacino both earned Emmys.
FILM/ OSCILLOSCOPE BOOKS "KEVIN": Oscilloscope Laboratories has signed for the North American distribution rights to Lynne Ramsay’s "We Need To Talk About Kevin," starring Oscar winner Tilda Swinton. The movie, which shown early In Competition during this year’s Festival de Cannes, will be released in theaters this winter and will be accompanied by an awards campaign. Ramsay’s 3rd movie is an adaptation of Lionel Shriver’s bestseller of the same name and details the story of a mother and her son who ends up going on a high school killing spree. Swinton’s performance in the movie garnered critical plaudits during Cannes but failed to win the actress an award from this year’s Cannes jury presided over by Robert De Niro. The head of Oscilloscope Laboratories described the film as the most intense thriller he’d seen since Roman Polanski’s "Rosemary’s Baby". “I was on the edge of my seat throughout and it was clear I was in the capable hands of a master filmmaker, who I'm now proud to see join all our other great filmmakers as a member of the O-Scope family,” he said. The film is presented by BBC Films and the US Film Council.
(SK COMMENT: I highly recommend the book, which is a page-turner and has a very surprising and shocking ending).
FILM/ LENNY KRAVITZ JOINS "HUNGER GAMES": Lenny Kravitz has joined the cast of "The Hunger Games" in a role that fans of Suzanne Collins' best-selling trilogy have been anxious to see filled. The actor-musician will play Cinna, the fashion stylist assigned to Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) as she prepares to take part in the Hunger Games. His stunning and unique designs play an integral role in her performance in the Games. Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth also star in the movie, which Lionsgate is set to release March 23. Kravitz was nominated for an NAACP Image Award and an ensemble SAG Award for his role in "Precious". He also has appeared in "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" and "Zoolander". He is set to release his 9th studio album, "Black and White America," on August 30.
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