With Oleanna on the boards at Broadway’s Golden Theatre and a double-header of his work running at the Atlantic Theater Company through Nov. 1, playwright David Mamet continues his busy fall season with his latest work, Race, beginning Nov. 16 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. Here’s a look at the cover of its Playbill.
After closely guarding the plot through most of the development process, Mamet revealed the main details in mid-September: “In my play a firm made up of three lawyers, two black and one white, is offered the chance to defend a white man charged with a crime against a black young woman. It is a play about lies. All drama is about lies. When the lie is exposed, the play is over.”
The playwright directs a cast that boasts the talents of James Spader, David Alan Grier, Kerry Washington and Richard Thomas.
In 1950s Memphis, DJ Huey Calhoun would have played the hits of the era for his listeners on vinyl, but later this year his music will likely spin on CD — or hum digitally.
Pre-orders are being taken at the Shubert Theatre for the original Broadway cast recording of Memphis, the new musical featuring a score by Bon Jovi keyboardist and songwriter David Bryan and lyrics by Joe DiPietro (I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change).
While an official announcement of a cast recording and a release date has not been made, the staff at the Shubert Theatre is currently taking orders for the recording and will notify theatregoers once the cast album is available for purchase.
Chad Kimball and Montego Glover lend vocal pyrotechnics to the musical’s score, which the New York Times described as evoking “the powerhouse funk of James Brown, the hot guitar riffs of Chuck Berry, the smooth harmonies of the Temptations, the silken, bouncy pop of the great girl groups of the period.”
To hear what everyone is buzzing about, visit MemphistheMusical for a sample of the score.
Hugh Jackman won’t be making a repeat appearance as host of the 2010 Oscars. Tony Award winner Jackman, who is currently starring on Broadway alongside Daniel Craig in A Steady Rain, hosted the 2009 movie awards, but Entertainment Weekly and Variety report that Jackman has turned down an offer to headline the Academy Awards for a second time.
Sources said that he may return in the future, but did not want to go back this year.
Once Jackman completes his run in A Steady Rain (Dec. 6), he will take some time off to prepare for his next flick, the DreamWorks drama “Real Steel,” directed by Shawn Levy, which begins production in the spring.
The March 7, 2010, Oscar telecast will mark the 82nd anniversary of Academy Awards, and will be executive produced by Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman.
Oliver Platt — last seen on Broadway in Guys and Dolls — will co-star with another stage veteran, Laura Linney, in the Showtime pilot “The C Word.”
The dark comedy stars Linney as a suburban wife and mother who has been diagnosed with cancer. Platt will portray her narcissistic but lovable husband. Also slated to be series regulars are stage actors John Benjamin Hickey (Mary Stuart, Cabaret) and Phyllis Somerville (Once in a Lifetime). Bill Condon (”Dreamgirls,” “Kinsey”) directs the pilot from Darlene Hunt’s script.
Showtime — which currently employs other stage stars Mary-Louise Parker (”Weeds”), Edie Falco (”Nurse Jackie”), Michael C. Hall (”Dexter”) and Toni Collette (”The United States of Tara”) among more — has also previously provided work for Platt on the series “Huff.” The actor’s other credits include Shining City and “Frost/Nixon.” Linney — to be seen next on Broadway in Time Stands Still — has also appeared on stage in Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Sight Unseen and The Crucible. Screen creds include “The Savages,” “The Squid and the Whale” and “Kinsey.”
It turns out that “Ring of Fire” was only the tip of the iceberg. When former musical theatre actor performed the iconic Johnny Cash song as a Middle Eastern jam on “American Idol,” it was the start of a string of bold, polarizing performances that garnered him an ardent following.
Lambert’s daring choices have continued with the selection of his CD cover, which was unveiled on Tuesday to wildly mixed commentary. The heavily designed cover image depicts the “Idol” runner-up as an electric-blue-haired androgyne, replete with gold eyeshadow and requisite guyliner. Oh, and he’s floating in space, possibly naked, save for the open-fingered glove he’s wearing.
Acclaimed puppeteer Basil Twist and drag artist Joey Arias have released a sneak-peek of their upcoming film docu-fantasy based on their stage collaboration, Arias With a Twist, which played a sold-out engagement in New York City at HERE in 2008.
Twist and Arias have been working on the film with Working Pictures producer Bobby Sheehan. The clip, which was posted on the Arias With a Twist blog, offers fans a look at Twist’s innovative work and highlights the production’s opening number, with Arias performing Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” during an alien abduction.
Numerous New York folk are interviewed in the film including Chi Chi Valenti, producer and director Cheryl Henson, Mabou Mines director Lee Breuer, Village Voice columnist Michael Musto, performance artists Ann Magnuson and Adrian Richards, as well as Paper Magazine publisher Kim Hastreiter and Arias With a Twist producer Johnnie Moore.
The music-filled stage production boasts Arias’ uncanny Billie Holiday-inspired vocals on such songs as “Kashmir,” “Jungle of Eden,” “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” “Within You Without You,” “I’ll Take it to My Baby,” “All By Myself,” “Lately,” “You’ve Changed,” “Twisted” and “Ooh, What a Feelin.’”
Since its New York premiere Arias With a Twist has played numerous international engagements and will make its Los Angeles debut Nov. 18.
Ratings for this week’s “Gle..” W-what? “Glee” was pre-empted for some TV show about guys throwing balls and swinging sticks?
Even though FOX won’t be airing any original episodes of the hit dramedy until Nov. 11, we can still offer our weekly fix of “Glee” ratings stats — with a twist. Deep into the fall TV season, with “Glee” airing seven episodes so far (eight, if you include the show’s high-profile debut in May), the baseball break offers a chance to look at how the show has performed a third of the way into its freshman season (in the modern era of network TV, a typical season is usually 22 episodes).
Courtesy of a FOX network ratings guru, here are some cumulative stats for the show’s fall episodes based on the most recent data, including “Live + 7 day” DVR numbers for the earlier episodes of the season (DVR data take several weeks to generate and are unavailable for the most recent airings).
Amy Asch, a Playbill staffer and editor of “The Complete Lyrics of Oscar Hammerstein II,” will introduce a screening of the 1936 film “Show Boat” (the musical’s film version preferred by fans) at Film Forum in Manhattan on Dec. 9.
Paul Robeson in the film "Show Boat"
Asch will talk about Hammerstein’s script, screenplay and lyrics at the 6:20 PM screening. There are also screenings at 2:35 PM and 10:05 PM.
Directed by James Whale, who is the focus of a retrospective at Film Forum, this “Show Boat” is not yet on DVD. It boasts arresting images (”Ol’ Man River” and its African-American stevedores and workers), original 1927 Broadway cast members (Helen Morgan and her piano) and songs written especially for the film (”I Have the Room Above Her,” “Ah Still Suits Me” and the blackface number for Magnolia, “Gallivantin’ Aroun’”).
The movie stars Irene Dunne (Magnolia), who played the part during a national tour; Paul Robeson (Joe), who was not able to appear in original Broadway production, but played the part in London and in the 1932 Broadway revival; Allan Jones (Ravenal) and Hattie McDaniel (Queenie), plus original Broadway cast members Helen Morgan (Julie), Charles Winninger (Cap’n Andy), Sammy White (Frank).
Film Forum is at 209 W. Houston St. For details see www.filmforum.org or call (212) 727-8110.
The “Glee” playlist is getting bigger and bigger. A recent Billboard article reveals that Billy “The Piano Man” Joel, who’s a fan of the show, has encouraged the creators to use songs from his catalog. An episode featuring original music is also in the works.
After selling over 1.8 million digital tracks, “Glee” is swiftly becoming more than a television show; for many gleeks it’s a way of life, and for others, it’s a highly lucrative franchise. With the “Glee: The Music Volume 1″ recording on track to be released Nov. 3, the creators also announced that a second album will arrive in time for the holidays on Dec. 8.
Speaking of the holidays, an exclusive Christmas track will be Wham’s “Last Christmas,” which will not be included on the series, but will be released as a digital single next month.
“Glee” is also working on an episode entitled “Original Song,” where the kids will be asked to write their own songs. “If I Could Turn Back Time” and “Because You Loved Me” hit-maker Diane Warren has been enlisted to pen two ballads for the episode.
It looks as though Lea Michele, who offered a breakout performance in Spring Awakening, is in talks with Columbia Records (the label releasing the “Glee” soundtrack) to create a rock album. “Glee” creator Ryan Murphy told Billboard, “Her album is not going to be Broadway stuff. She’ll sit with producers and come up with her own concept.”
Off-Broadway audiences can experience an Elizabethan take on the Trojan War story for the price of a movie ticket. In an ongoing effort to make theatre more accessible to all audiences, Classic Stage Company announced its new Audience Development Initiative, offering $10 tickets to all preview performances of the upcoming production The Age of Iron, which begins Nov. 6.
Underwritten by the Angelson Family Foundation, this special ticket offer extends through Nov. 22. For the regular run, tickets will be $60-$65.
The Age of Iron — billed as “an epic retelling of the Trojan War,” drawn from Shakespeare’s Troilus & Cressida and Thomas Heywood’s The Iron Age — will play a limited engagement though Dec. 13.
The production is adapted and directed by Brian Kulick, CSC’s artistic director. CSC is at 136 E. 13th Street in Manhattan. Visit www.classicstage.org.
