Trudie Styler Will Direct Bette Midler in "Freak Show" | Playbill

News Trudie Styler Will Direct Bette Midler in "Freak Show" Bette Midler, who was last on Broadway in John Logan's I'll Eat You Last: A Chat With Sue Mengers, has landed a role in the film adaptation of "Freak Show," based on the best-selling book by James St. James.

The motion picture, according to Deadline.com, will be produced by Trudie Styler. Midler will be joined by AnnaSophia Robb, Ian Nelson and Lorraine Toussaint with the leading role still to be cast.

Filming is expected to begin at the end of this month. A release date has yet to be announced.

"Freak Show," according to the online industry source, "tells the story of Billy Bloom, a funny, good-hearted, cross-dressing teen who becomes the new student at an ultra-conservative high school. Although accosted with Bible thumpers, the jocks, the bullies, Billy takes a stand. Determined to be who he is and not bow to peer pressure, he refuses to change his outlandish outfits or behavior. Instead, he decides to run for Homecoming Queen for outcasts and underdogs everywhere."

Midler will play Billy's mother with Robb and Nelson as Billy's friends and Toussaint as his nanny.

Midler has earned three Grammys, four Golden Globes, three Emmys, a Tony Award, and sold 30 million records worldwide in a career that spans more than four decades. She has played film roles in "The Rose," "Down and Out in Beverly Hills," "Ruthless People," "Beaches" and "The First Wives Club," among many others. Midler made her Broadway debut in the chorus of Fiddler on the Roof. Other stage performances include Tony Award-winning Clams on the Half Shell; Experience the Divine, for which she holds the all-time record for a six-week engagement at Radio City Music Hall, The Divine Miss Millennium Tour; Kiss My Brass; and The Showgirl Must Go On at The Colosseum in Caesars Palace. Outside the spotlight, she is the founder of the New York Restoration Project (nyrp.org), a non-profit organization that revitalizes abandoned and neglected public spaces across New York City.

 
Today’s Most Popular News:
 X

Blocking belongs
on the stage,
not on websites.

Our website is made possible by
displaying online advertisements to our visitors.

Please consider supporting us by
whitelisting playbill.com with your ad blocker.
Thank you!