Musical Based on 1970s Classic Comedy Movie ‘Animal House’ in the Works

I’m thinking of starting a betting pool: take a list of 200 or so popular movies, have everyone pick ten, and whoever picked the one that is made into a musical first wins the money. 

After all, it seems like every Broadway season brings a new musical adapted from a classic movie, especially since the runaway success of Mel Brooks‘ The Producers.  Some are great (Spamalot), some crash and burn (Brooks couldn’t pull it off again with Young Frankenstein), but it seems like a given that Broadway producers will keep trying.  Heck, there is a Rocky musical and a Back to the Future musical in the works!

You can now add Animal House to the list.  The classic 1978 college comedy classic, which is to be directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw with music by late 1990s pop-rock band Barenaked Ladies, with Michael Mitnick writing the libretto. Read more

Raven-Symone To Take Over The Lead in Broadway’s ‘Sister Act’

That’s so… Sister Act-y.

Raven-Symone will take over the leading role of Deloris Van Cartier in the Broadway musical, Sister Act, beginning on Tuesday, March 27.

Symoné will take over the role from Tony and Olivier Award nominee Patina Miller, who will give her final performance on Sunday, March 18.

The show, which will celebrate its one-year Anniversary on Broadway on April 20, is playing at the Broadway Theater (1681 Broadway).

“Finding an actress who can play Deloris in Sister Act is no easy feat,” states producer Whoopi Goldberg. “She’s got to sing like an angel, dance her heart out, and land some really big laughs – and, trust me, doing it all in a habit is not easy! Luckily for us, Raven is more than up to the challenge and I think audiences are going to be wowed by her performance – we couldn’t be more excited that she’s joining the company.” Read more

Listen to the Original Cast Recording of ‘Once’. Now!

Loved this!

The cast album for Once, the new musical is now featured on NPR’s “First Listen.” Click here to hear to listen!

The recording will be released on March 13 and you can pre-order it on Amazon.

Once is based on the 2007 Academy Award-winning film will open on Broadway at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (242 West 45th Street) on Sunday, March 18, 2012.

The cast of features Steve Kazee as ‘Guy’ and Cristin Milioti as ‘Girl.’ Also in the company are David Abeles, Will Connolly, Elizabeth A. Davis, David Patrick Kelly, Anne L. Nathan, Lucas Papaelias, Ripley Sobo, Andy Taylor, Mckayla Twiggs, Erikka Walsh, Paul Whitty, and J. Michael Zygo. Read more

Mike Nichols: “I’ve learned, over the years, to be honest with actors. If you don’t know something, tell them. Don’t fake it”

One of the few plays that is universally recognized as a masterpiece, Arthur Miller‘s Death of a Salesman has had numerous Broadway productions, starring iconic actors like Lee J. Cobb, George C. Scott, Dustin Hoffman, and Brian Dennehy as Willy Loman.  The latest production stars another acting luminary, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and is directed by legendary director Mike Nichols. 

Nichols spoke to the New York Post about directing a play full of “fights, seductions and negotiations,” what he learned from his idol Elia Kazan, and how Hoffman helped him overcome a crisis of confidence.

Though this is a new production, Nichols has retained some elements of the original 1949 Broadway production directed by Elia Kazan, which Nichols himself saw as a young man. Nichols has a long history of idolizing Kazan, who he later studied under.  Nichols explains, “Kazan was my hero.  When I came to New York, I studied at Strasberg and all these directors had different definitions of acting and directing. Harold Clurman said acting is reacting to imaginary circumstances as though they were real, which is very good.  And Kazan said directing is turning psychology into behavior, which is also very good.  I didn’t even know I was getting interested in directing. I was acting. But I remember thinking that Kazan is someone I can learn from.” Read more

David Alan Grier: “I never wanted to be a comic. I wanted to be a leading man — the black lawyer, the black doctor, the black policeman”

If you’re like me you remember David Alan Grier for his years on In Living Color, so I was definitely surprised when I found out that Grier — who I usually think of in the hysterical roles of Antoine Merriweather and Calhoun Tubbs on the early 1990s sketch show — is a Yale-trained actor. 

He is currently utilizing his more dramatic skills in the role of the drug dealer Sporting Life in The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, which is now on Broadway.  Grier spoke to the New York Times about his role in the play and his career-long ambition to be seen as a dramatic actor.

Grier admits that his tenure on the show is hard for people to ignore and they often expect him to be funny.  However, Grier reveals that he never expected to be seen as strictly a comedian, saying, “Some people think I play for laughs, that I’m just In Living Color.  But I never wanted to be a comic. I wanted to be a leading man — the black lawyer, the black doctor, the black policeman.” Read more

Topher Grace and Olivia Thirlby to Star in Paul Weitz’s Play, ‘Lonely, I’m Not’

Topher Grace and Olivia Thirlby will co-star in Second Stage Theatre’s production of Paul Weitz’s world premiere comedy, Lonely, I’m Not, directed by Trip Cullman.

Both Grace and Thirlby have previously worked with writer/director Paul Weitz: Grace starred in Weitz’s 2004 romantic comedy, In Good Company, opposite Dennis Quaid and Scarlett Johansson. Thirlby will soon be seen opposite Robert DeNiro and Paul Dano in Weitz‘s upcoming film, Being Flynn, which opens Friday, March 2. Read more

Jim Parsons on Returning to Theater: “Let the universe know what you want, and you just may get it”

Despite being best known for his starring role on The Big Bang Theory, like most actors Jim Parsons began his career in theater.

He’ll return to theater this summer when he stars in the Broadway revival of Harvey as Elwood P. Dowd, a friendly man who claims to have a best friend named Harvey — though Harvey happens to be a six foot rabbit.  Parsons spoke about his reasons for his recent return to theater and why he chose Harvey with Time Out New York.

After finally breaking through with television — which Parsons didn’t do until he was well into his thirties — why return to theater, which began with his appearance in 2011′s revival of The Normal Heart? 

He explains, “I’ve had this hankering for a while now. A little over a year ago, [my reps] and I were talking about what was going to happen over hiatus, and I said I really wanted to do theater. I said I’d even work for free! A couple of days later, they called and asked if I wanted to do The Normal Heart. I nearly fell out of my chair. It was a reiteration of that old lesson: Let the universe know what you want, and you just may get it.” Read more

The Cast of ‘Sister Act’ Perform on ‘Late Night with Jimmy Fallon’

Due to a handful of auditions and going out of town last weekend, I’m a bit backed up on these Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Broadway posts. But, better late than never, right?

The cast of Sister Act performed a medley of songs from the hit show closing out Late Night with Jimmy Fallon‘s Broadway Week. 

And what a great week it was. Glad to see they did that!

Featuring original music by 8-time Oscar winner Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Little Shop of Horrors), Sister Act, based on the movie of the same name, tells the story of Deloris Van Cartier, a wannabe diva whose life takes a turn when she witnesses a crime and the cops hide her in a convent.

Check it out below. Read more

Sutton Foster and the Cast of ‘Anything Goes’ Perform on ‘Late Night with Jimmy Fallon’

Due to a handful of auditions and going out of town last weekend, I’m a bit backed up on these Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Broadway posts. But, better late than never, right?

Sutton Foster and the cast of Anything Goes tapped their way onto the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon stage last week to perform the title song of the show, ‘Anything Goes.’

If you’re planning to see Foster in the show, you ‘d better make it quick, her last performance is March 11th!

Anything Goes is directed & choreographed by 2011 Tony Award winner Kathleen Marshall. Read more

‘Ghost the Musical’ on ‘Late Night with Jimmy Fallon’

Due to auditions and going out of town last weekend, I’m a bit backed up on these Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Broadway posts. But, better late than never, right?

Richard Fleeshman and Caissie Levy, the leads in Broadway’s newest show, Ghost the Musical, sang ‘Here Right Now.’

Ghost is  adapted from the film by its Academy Award-winning screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin and directed by Tony Award winner Matthew Warchus (God of Carnage). The original score is by Grammy Award winners Dave Stewart (the Eurythmics) and Glen Ballard, and, yes, it will include “Unchained Melody” by The Righteous Brothers.

Check it out below! Read more

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