Blog Stage - Acting in Film, TV, Theatre - Backstage

'Little Mermaid' Closing August 30, Tour Planned

Disney's Broadway musical The Little Mermaid is closing Aug. 30. A national tour is planned to launch Fall 2010.

Thomas Schumacher, producer and president of Disney Theatrical Productions, said in a statement today:

"Director Francesca Zambello, our creators, designers and cast conjured a world unlike any Broadway has seen before, and audiences have been captivated by it at every explosive performance. We are tremendously proud of the show and are confident we'll have an excellent summer but it would be fiscally irresponsible to our shareholders to risk operating losses with such a big show in the historically challenging fall months. We are closing the Broadway production to concentrate on the long future life of this title — beginning with next year's national tour and upcoming international productions."

'Web Site Story' Spoofs Broadway, Internet

CollegeHumor.com unveiled its original "Web Site Story" video today -- "CollegeHumor's first Broadway musical since (LOL)cats!" Take the famous ballads and duets of West Side Story, insert a dozen mentions of famous social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, and this is what you get...

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

-- Daniel Lehman

Academy's Newest Members Include Jackman, Rogen and Cera

On Tuesday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences invited 134 members of the film community to join the group, including last year’s Academy Awards show host, Hugh Jackman.

Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, James Franco, and Michelle Williams were among those invited to join the group responsible for picking the Oscar winners. The list even includes a number of comic performers like Michael Cera, Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd -- further proof that the Academy, perennially criticized as out-of-date and conservative, is attempting to alter its reputation. 

Jeff Goldblum Responds to Reports of Jeff Goldblum's Death

On last night's Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert tried to offer his remembrances of the late actor Jeff Goldblum, whose untimely death in New Zealand was announced via Twitter last week at the same time that news of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson's passing was spreading across the world.

But Jeff Goldblum got in the way when he interrupted Colbert to give his own perspective on the reported death of Jeff Goldblum:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Jeff Goldblum Will Be Missed
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Jeff Goldblum

-- Daniel Lehman

Lincoln Center Screening Classic Movie Musicals this Weekend

The Lincoln Center is hosting a musical movie marathon this weekend starting Friday, July 3rd and ending Sunday, July 5th, which will include classic movie musicals like Singin' in the Rain, Grease, and Cabaret. 

The Film Society is offering the screenings in tribute the the Lincoln Center on its 50th anniversary and has scheduled a full weekend of movie musicals reflecting the richness of Lincoln Center music, dance, and theater. 

Vital Theatre Offers Free Tickets Via Twitter

To celebrate its new production of Perfect Wedding, the Vital Theatre Company will be giving away free pairs of tickets to several preview performances of the show next week. The catch? You have to follow the Vital Theatre Company on Twitter to find out how to get your free tickets.

The morning of July 6, Vital Theatre will "tweet" the code for free tickets, and Twitter followers will have all day Monday to reserve their complimentary tickets (or until allotted tickets are gone). Tickets will be given away for performances July 8, 9, 10 & 11 at 7 p.m. at The Bleecker Street Theatre in NYC.

'Rock of Ages' Takes Aim at Air Guitar Guinness World Record

After tomorrow's 2:00 P.M. matinee showing, Tony-nominated Rock of Ages will attempt to break the Guinness World Record for "largest air guitar ensemble" with the help of audience members and crew. 

Here is the best part: you don't have to be a ticket holder to participate.  Anyone interested in being a member of air guitar history is invited to join the attempt in breaking the record.  Just be sure to arrive at the Brooks Atkinson Theater no later than 4:20 P.M. with fingers warmed.  

The musical is teaming with US Air Guitar, creators of the United States Air Guitar Championships, and Andrew "William Ocean" Litz, the 2007 National Air Guitar champion, in its attempt to overcome the current record, which stands at 440 faux-rockers.  

Ocean, a five-time air guitar champion, will take the stage alongside the Rock of Ages cast at 4:30 P.M. to inform the audience how to properly play air guitar. And, after the final chord is invisibly strummed, the cast will stick around for a talk back, which will include giveaways. Check out the Rock of Ages promotional page to see more details.

'Hair' Star Gavin Creel Taking August Vacation

Tony Award nominee Gavin Creel will be taking a one-week vacation from the Broadway musical Hair in August. According to the actor's website:

"GAVIN’S VACATION: Time for Gavin to 'tune in, turn on, and drop out'  on vacation! Anyone out there looking to see the GC in HAIR: the week of August 10-17, he will be off with the Creel Clan chilling by a lake in Michigan."

Casting News -- June 30, 2009

Amy Adams is in final negotiations to star in The Fighter opposite Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg. David O. Russell is directing the film about the life of boxer "Irish" Mickey Ward (Wahlberg) and his trainer-brother Dick Eklund (Bale). Melissa Leo will play their mother. Adams will play Charlene, a "tough, gritty bartender and former college high-jumper... who ends up dating Mickey."

Jason Lee and Michelle Trachtenberg have joined the cast of A Couple of Dicks, a buddy cop comedy directed by Kevin Smith in which Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan star as a pair of cops who track down a stolen baseball card, rescue a Mexican beauty, and must deal with gangsters and laundered drug money. Trachtenberg will play Willis' daughter; Lee will play her stepfather.

Tatar on the Top

Actor-singer Daniel Tatar, a native of suburban Chicago, has made impressive career strides in multiple mediums and is clearly on a fast-track to  greater things. Among his notable stage accomplishments since he settled in Los Angeles have been stellar performances in leading roles in high-profile musicals such as Ray Charles Live!, Kiss of the Spider Woman, and The Last Five Years, produced by some of the Southland's finest companies.

Those who caught Tatar's terrific showcase at Sterling's Upstairs at Vitello's in Studio City, on June 28, must have had a hard time believing he was making his solo cabaret debut. He seemed perfectly at home in the genre--as if he was born for it--and he wowed the capacity crowd with his relaxed and captivating presence, but above all, for his incomparable way with a song. The splendid musical evening was enhanced by the fine efforts of Marc Macalintal on piano.