In response to the criticism aimed at the New Group's Broadway production of The Starry Messenger this week -- after star Matthew Broderick relied heavily on a prompter to remember his lines during the show's first preview performance Monday night -- the New York Times has shed more light on the topic of professional actors using prompters, earpieces, or other tricks to recall their lines and cues mid-performances.
In defense of Broderick, according to the Times, Angela Lansbury, Mary Martin, Vanessa Redgrave, Jessica Tandy, Marian Seldes, and even Laurence Olivier are some of the theater royalty who have admitted to needing help remembering bits of dialogue at some point in their careers. As New Group artistic director Scott Elliott said after Monday and Tuesday night's performances of The Starry Messenger, there is no
shame in using a prompter. “It happens now and then,” he said, “but
people simply don’t know about it.”
The “Today” show played with the line between Halloween tricks and sinister meddling when supposedly intoxicated Ewoks wreaked havoc on the Better Homes and Gardens segment.
Dressed as “Star Wars” characters, the hosts charged through finger food recipes while Al Roker (a.k.a Han Solo) attempted to maintain order with no avail. The Ewoks snagged martinis, pelted mini-candy, smashed deviled eggs, and jumped over the boundary of decency by dry humping Mr. Roker’s leg. What a mess. However, the moon walk was fairly impressive.
The following "Auditions at a Glance" calendarconveniently organizes projects by the date and day-of-the-week that the projects' auditions are taking place, to help you schedule your plans.
Click on any of the following links to see the casting and job notices related to the dates and project titles highlighted below.
The following "Auditions at a Glance" calendarconveniently organizes projects by the date and day-of-the-week that the projects' auditions are taking place, to help you schedule your plans.
Click on any of the following links to see the casting and job notices related to the dates and project titles highlighted below.
The following "Auditions at a Glance" calendarconveniently organizes projects by the date and day-of-the-week that the projects' auditions are taking place, to help you schedule your plans.
Click on any of the following links to see the casting and job notices related to the dates and project titles highlighted below.
Everyone has something they just can't live without, right?
For some, it might be a morning cup of coffee or a trip to the gym, and for
others, maybe something more dangerous.
In the case of young Leo
Ruspoli, his insatiable need to live life on the edge nearly landed him in
prison. Leo's brother Tao explores this recklessness in his first narrative
feature film "FIX," which tells the story of the day he had to scrape
together $5,000 by 8 p.m. in order to check his brother into rehab to avoid three
years in prison. Tao's real-life wife, actress Olivia Wilde, stars along
with newcomer Shawn Andrews as Leo.
In advance of the movie's November 14th premiere in New York City, the makers
of "FIX" are asking you to make a short video describing your daily fix, with some pretty snazzy
prizes up for grabs. As Ruspoli describes in the video below, the fix can be
something as benign-seeming as playing the flamenco guitar (as in his case).
First place wins you two round-trip tickets to the film's premiere, two nights hotel stay in New
York, a walk on the red carpet with Olivia Wilde and
the director, a chance to screen your video at the premiere, and a digital camera or iPod. Second and third place also
feature some lovely rewards, as outlined on the contest's website. The contest
runs now through November 10th.
The latest in the string of jukebox musicals that have popped up in recent years makes its world-premiere debut in Pasadena on November 13, following two lengthy preview periods in West Hollywood.
The new show was recently added to the Pasadena Playhouse season, and is presented by special arrangement with American Pop Anthology and Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, in association with Universal Music Group. Baby It's You, by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux, is about New Jersey housewife Florence Greenberg, who discovered the sensational Shirelles singing group in the early 1960s. She also built Scepter Records, one of the most successful independent record companies, along with African-American songwriter Luther Dixon. The score will derive from chart-topping hits of the 1960s, such as the title tune, "He's So Fine," "Soldier Boy,' "Dedicated to the One I Love," and "Twist and Shout."
Broderick had to ask for several of his lines from a prompter,
who was sitting in the front row with a script in case any of the
actors needed to call out for a line. Actor Merwin Goldsmith even used
a script on stage to read his lines. (But to be fair, Goldsmith joined
the production only last
week as a last-minute replacement.) The confusion was caused by recent
rewrites after the cast had rehearsed an earlier version of Lonergan's
script for about a month. As a result, Gatecrasher reports today that the play will now open Nov. 23, a week later than originally planned.
Lonergan has never directed a major production of a play before, although he wrote and directed the films You Can Count On Me and Margaret.
The playwright said in an interview last week that he was "alternating
between great hope and total despair about the show." Lonergan added,
"I know it will come together, but my inexperience
with the production elements of staging a play has made me nervous.
Being responsible for the whole thing is a challenge emotionally."
Last night, high winds swept through Los Angeles, disrupting electricity in the city -- including the television studio where comedian Craig Ferguson was busy filming The Late Late Show. The power went out near the end of Ferguson’s interview with actress Alicia Silverstone, causing the studio to suddenly become pitch black. The lights came back only briefly, allowing Ferguson enough time to make it through one more interview before having to sign off with just his improv skills and a flashlight.
