Dumbo, the Musical?

3/5/10 In other cartoons-becoming-musicals news, A Broadway musical is in the works based on the 1941 Disney classic movie Dumbo. This is according to The New York Post. No creative team has been announced, although The Post says that Billy Elliot director Stephen Daldry had been approached about the project. This could be really interesting, but who can possibly play Dumbo?  And Broadway hasn't seen any singing and dancing crows since The Wiz, so maybe it's time.

Garfield, the Musical?

3/4/10 There is a new musical headed to the world of theater and it is based on the lazy cartoon cat, Garfield. Yep, the creator, Jim Davis, has said it has always been his dream to move the cartoon to the stage and it is finally going to happen. The show will begin in January, 2011 in Muncie, Indiana because that's where all the big musicals start out. Really, it's where Davis is based so there you have it. Michael Dansicker and William Meade have created 14 songs (to date) for the project, and it will be directed and choreographed by Ray Roderick. Hey, if You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown can do it, why not Garfield?

DVR Alert:

3/2/10 On March 25th the hilarious Dame Edna will be co-hosting on ABC's The View. She will be joining the other ladies serving up hot topics and discussing who knows what...it will be a hoot. I have seen Dame Edna perform two times and her shows are among the funniest things I have ever seen. Of course she will be promoting her recent Broadway engagement, All About Me, which co-stars Michael Feinstein. The two will sing a song from the show for The View's audience. All About Me is written by Christopher Durang, Barry Humphries (aka Dame Edna) and Feinstein, and conceived by Feinstein and Humphries, with Lizzie Spender and Terrence Flannery. The cast also includes Gregory Butler, Jodi Capeless, and Jon-Paul Mateo. It is currently in previews at Broadway's Henry Miller's Theatre and will open on March 18th. Casey Nicholaw directs.

And the Tony Award Goes To...

2/27/10 The Tony nominations will be announced on May 4 for the award ceremony which will take place on Sunday, June 13.  They will again be happening at Radio City Music Hall and aired on CBS. 

The cut-off for nomination eligibility on the 2009-2010 Broadway Season will be April 29, 2010, so if you have plans on getting nominated you better get cracking on that one-person show you've been talking about writing.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Sondheim

2/27/10 We know that the New York Philharmonic's star-studded Sondheim: The Birthday Concert, will be presented March 15-16 at Avery Fisher Hall. What we didn't know until now is that PBS' "Great Performances" will film it and air it sometime in the fall. The Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer-lyricist celebrates his 80th birthday March 22. 

Tony Award winner David Hyde Pierce (Curtains, Spamalot) serves as host. Longtime Sondheim collaborator Paul Gemignani will conduct, with Lonny Price as director. Choreography is by Josh Rhodes.

The cast features Laura Benanti, Matt Cavenaugh, Michael Cerveris, Victoria Clark, Jenn Colella, Jason Danieley, Joanna Gleason, Nathan Gunn, George Hearn, Patti LuPone, Marin Mazzie, Audra McDonald, John McMartin, Donna Murphy, Gillian Murphy, Laura Osnes, Mandy Patinkin, Bernadette Peters, Bobby Steggert, Ethan Stiefel, Elaine Stritch, Jim Walton and Chip Zien.

Don't Cry For Me, Ricky Martin

2/26/10 Rumor has it there they may be a revival of Evita heading to Broadway. The London's production that opened at the Adelphi Theatre in June 2006 starring Argentine actress Elena Roger in the title role may be here next year. That's the good news. The bad news (to me) is that they are looking for a name to play Che and they are trying to get Ricky Martin to do it. He was in Les Mis many years ago, but him as Che? May as well ask George Lopez to do it. Still, it is very exciting that this great show making a return. It may be Andrew Lloyd Webber, but I love it.

High Flying Adored

2/25/10 Patti Lupone wrote her memoir and you know it's going to be chock full of juicy information. The lady has been around. The only thing she hasn't written yet is the title and she is asking her fans to write it for her. Maybe it's a huge publicity stunt, but it's still kinda cool. All she asks is that the title be suitable and fabulous. If she picks your title, you will get a signed copy of the book, two tickets to see her next Broadway show or a concert and she will even congratulate you personally at the theater. The contest ends on March 30, so head on over to her website and throw a few titles at her. http://www.pattilupone.net/

Bali H'ai is Calling

2/22/10 If you want to get your corny as Kansas kick on for South Pacific, you better hurry, because the Lincoln Center show is closing on August 22.  It won seven Tony Awards in 2009, including Best Musical Revival. The current cast of South Pacific includes Laura Osnes as Ensign Nellie Forbush, David Pittsinger as Emile de Becque, Danny Burstein as Luther Billis, Loretta Ables Sayre as Bloody Mary and Andrew Samonsky as Lt. Joe Cable. A lot of the original cast is still in the show so it's a great opportunity to see a classic musical in a top notch production. The show will have played 37 previews and 1,000 regular performances. That's a lot of washing that man right outta her hair.

Tallulah, Darling

2/21/10 You know I love me some classic television and when I heard that Valerie "Rhoda Morgenstern" Harper was coming to off-Broadway, I got a little thrill inside. She will be playing the legendray Tallulah Bankhead in a new show Looped, a comedy by Matthew Lombardo. The show will open March 14. The scenario is that Tallulah is called into the a sound studio in 1965 to re-record some dialogue for her last film "Die! Die! My Darling." I must admit that I fell in love with the Bankhead from her appearance on I Love Lucy and with Valerie Harper playing her now, my relationship for each of these women has been solidified.

More Carol Brady News

2/13/10 Florence Henderson is toying with my soul because she says she is in talks to make her triumphant return to the Great White Way.  Although no official announcement has been made, she has said she will start rehearsals in July for a September opening. The show is called MerryGoRound and is written by the Sherman brothers (Mary Poppins).  On Broadway Henderson was seen in Wish You Were Here, Fanny and The Girl Who Came to Supper, and she also starred in the national tour of The Sound of Music. Florence Henderson will also be hosting the Broadway Backwards 5 at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater on Monday, February 22 at 8pm. The event features Broadway performers singing songs that are usually associated with the opposite gender. Can we say comeback?