Rialto Chatter - Page 10

According to the NY Times, there is a chance that the Colin Firth film, 'The King's Speech' might make an appearance on a Broadway or West End stage, depending on how well the movie does this awards season.

As BroadwayWorld reported last week, Ian Rickson will direct Keira Knightley and Elisabeth Moss in Lillian Hellman's The Children's Hour due to open in the West End in early 2011 for a limited run that will shutter in the spring. The New York Times suggests today that the production could be bound for Broadway in the fall of 2011, taking a hiatus to accommodate Knightley and Mosses respective filming schedules next summer.

According to a report by Baz Bamigboye for Uk Daily Mail, LOVE NEVER DIES lyricist Charles Hart has made some changes to the lyrics in the show, that will be implemented during their previously reported four-day break in November.

The New York Post reports on Page Six today that Jenna Jamison may be the next celebrity to be making her Broadway debut in the near future. The former adult film star is reportedly in talks to take the stage as 'Justice' in ROCK OF AGES, the Las Vegas strip club owner.

Last night, October 18, the Joel Grey-directed, 25th anniversary staged reading of Larry Kramer's ground-breaking play, The Normal Heart, earned a heartfelt standing ovation at the Walter Kerr Theatre. The reading starred Glenn Close, Victor Garber, Jason Butler Harner, John Benjamin Hickey, Joe Mantello, Jack McBrayer, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Patrick Wilson in the one-night-only event that raised $150,000 for The Actors Fund and Friends in Deed.

As BroadwayWorld reported back in July, Le Journal de Montreal broke the news that the musical, Mambo Italiano, may be headed to Broadway in 2013. Today, Pat Donnelly of the Montreal Gazette reveals that confirms that plans are very real and very much in the works.

Producers Whoopi Goldberg and Stage Entertainment announced today that the new Broadway musical, SISTER ACT, will play the Broadway Theatre (1681 Broadway) this spring. Preview performances are scheduled to begin on March 24, 2011. Opening night is confirmed for Wednesday, April 20, 2011. Casting and on sale date will be announced shortly.

According to a report by Baz Bamigboye in UK Daily Mail, Rachel Weisz will appear in the upcoming revival of David Hare's Plenty. Robert Fox will produce the show, while David Leveaux is set to direct.

According to report by Michael Musto for Village Voice, Michael Andrew will star in the upcoming Broadway production of THE NUTTY PROFESSOR'. Director Jerry Lewis said, 'I've got Michael Andrew. He's great.' He added, 'He found me, but that's another story.'

The New York Times reports today that Nathan Lane may be teaming up with Douglas Carter Beane following his run in The Addams Family for The Nance, a new play 'about a performer who played the role of the nance in burlesque shows in the early 20th century.' The play centers on a nance (or 'nancy boy'), who performs at the downtown burlesque club, The Irving, 'during the era when Mayor Fiorello La Guardia was moving to ban burlesque in New York City.'

BroadwayWorld.com has learned from a Broadway insider that in talks to join the film alongside Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts are none other than Jack Nicholson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Natalie Portman and Mary Louise Parker. We'll bring you more information as it becomes available.

According to Deadline.com, both Edie Falco and Ben Stiller will be joining the Broadway revival of John Guare's of THE HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES. The production, which is to open in the Spring, will play at the Walter Kerr Theatre. Stiller will play Artie Shaughnessy, a zookeeper who dreams of being a songwriter, and Falco his schizophrenic wife named 'Bananas'.

BroadwayGirlNYC has revealed via a blog entry that Twisted Sister's Dee Snider may be joining the ROCK OF AGES cast on Broadway for a 10 week stint. Writes BroadwayGirlNYC: 'I have it on good authority that Dee Snider, lead rocker of Twisted Sister, will be joining the Rock of Ages cast...It isn't permanent, but this is no one night stand. Dee is in the final stages of talks to be a Broadway Rocker for 10 weeks!...My sources also tell me that Tuesday nights will be extra special - Dee Snider will be doing something special for fans after the show along the lines of Q&As and talk-backs.'

According to the Internet Movie database, Academy Award nominee Carey Mulligan has always wanted to play Shakespeare's Juliet while she is still young enough for the role. The 25 year old is aiming to star in Romeo & Juliet within the coming year.

PopEater.com is reporting that a musical inspired by the life and career of Cher is currently in the works. The mastermind behind the project is producer-director-writer Andy Fickman. Says Fickman of the project: 'We'll be making announcements about that project coming together shortly. She's a fairly phenomenal character, Cher -- as a human being I think she's one of the great icons of all time, a force to be reckoned with. The way she looked onstage with Lady Gaga, well, it's one for the books.'

New York Magazine is reporting that Robin Wright has pulled out of Broadway's TALLEY'S FOLLY. Reportedly, her would-be co-star Richard Schiff reportedly told the mag yesterday at fashion week: 'Robin just had to drop out right now for personal reasons.' Undeterred, Schiff has been hard at work trying to recruit Sally Hawkins, currently starring in Mrs. Warren's Profession. He says of his efforts: 'I'm trying to convince her to do Talley's Folly. I think she'd be great in it.

As BroadwayWorld has previously reported, producers Jeffrey Seller and Kevin McCollum, resurrected the infamous flop musical CARRIE for an Equity reading that had a notoriously short 3 night, 5 performance run on Broadway in 1988. The reading took place on November 20, 2009. The hope is to bring 'Carrie' and her supernatural powers back to the Broadway stage.

Michael Riedel reports in the New York Post this morning that Al Pacino's star power has earned The Merchant of Venice the winners spot for the fall's highest advance generating show. The production, which opens at the Broadhurst Theatre on November 7, 2010, has reportedly taken in approximately $4M, beating out all incoming fall plays and musicals.

WONDERLAND: A New Alice. A New Musical Adventure will open on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre on Sunday, April 17, 2011 and performances will begin Monday, March 21.Michael Musto reveals in The Village Voice today that Kate Shindle (Legally Blonde, Cabaret, Jekyll & Hyde) has been offered the role of the female Mad Hatter in Frank Wildhorn's Wonderland, opening at the Marquis Theatre on April 14, 2011 (previews begin March 21).

As BroadwayWorld previously speculated, Brendan Fraser, who's film career includes The Mummy, G.I. Joe, Encino Man, Journey to the Center of the Earth and other films will make his Broadway debut in the Simon Bent play - Elling, Variety reports. The play, which will begin previews at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on November 2, will open officially on November 21. The production will also star Denis O'Hare, Jennifer Coolidge, and Richard Easton and will be directed by Dough Hughes and produced by Howard Panter.