Rialto Chatter - Page 15

Today, one day before the first performance of Green Day's American Idiot, Berkeley Repertory Theatre announced that it will extend the show due to record-breaking sales and unprecedented demand for seats.

The New York Times is reporting that producers are considering changing the opening night of the new Broadway musical FELA! in order to accommodate the schedules of contributing celebrities, including rapper Jay-Z and movie and television stars Will and Jada Pinckett Smith. Producers want to include Jay-Z and the Smiths in order to increase publicity for the show and to allow them to be recognized for their investment.

World of Jewtopia, the Bryan Fogel and Sam Wolfson play, will be making it's Philadelphia debut at the Perelman Theatre at the Kimmel Center from December 24 - December 27. According to the show's official billing by the Kimmel Center, this will be the last production prior to a Broadway 2010 opening. No official announcement on a Broadway run has been made.

The New York Times has confirmed that the financially malnourished Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark is now expected to begin previews and open in the Spring of 2010 due to the weeks of production delays and financial difficulties that have plagued the multi-million dollar mega project for months.

It is something no artiste would like to admit, but according to a report in the London Evening Standard today, West End box offices may have reality television to thank for its swelled intake.

In the Chicago Tribune yesterday, theater critic Chris Jones reports that Shrek originals Brian D'Arcy James (Shek), Sutton Foster (Princess Fiona) and Christopher Sieber (Lord Farquaad) are scheduled to attend a preview event later this month surrounding the announcement of the Shrek National Tour, reported to be kicking off at Chicago's Ford Center for the Performing Arts in June 2010.

Kelly Osbourne sure is determined to play Roxie Hart in Broadway's Chicago. And, she is letting everyone know it. During a live broadcast of Dancing With The Stars on Monday, on which Osborne is currently competing, the reality star openly expressed her interest in the role several times.

The London Times is reporting that a computer program used to bust college students for plagiarism may have helped confirm that Shakespeare penned an unattributed play about Edward III entitled 'The Reign of King Edward III,' The London Times is reporting.

Whatsonstage.com is reporting that Michael Ball may be in talks to star in Sam Mendes' Neal Street Productions' stage adaptation of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Reports are circulating that William Gibson's classic, THE MIRACLE WORKER, will get a Broadway resurrection in the near future at the hands of Finnian's Rainbow producer David Richenthal.

Scarlett Johansson's next project very well may be in a musical after-all (as previously reported, she was rumored to be the new star of Broadway's upcoming Promises Promises). That, turned out to be just rumor, her reps confirmed, however, reports are now circulating that Johannson is in search of the next big movie musical in which to star. The actress apparently grew up with big dreams of becoming the next Judy Garland, and she is reportedly letting the Hollywood executives know, according to IMDB News.

Courthouse News is reporting that the verdict is still out on actress Patty Duke's claims that Golda's Balcony producers are in breach of contract for firing - or rather, not officially hiring - the star from the international tour of Broadway's wildly successful Golda's Balcony, the one-woman show about Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir that starred Tovah Feldshuh on Broadway. Golda's Balcony stands as the longest-running one woman show to play Broadway.

Despite numerous reports picked up on the rumor patrol, it seems that the particularly juicy one suggesting that Scarlett Johanssen will be starring in the upcoming Broadyway production of Promises Promises is in fact just that: rumor.

'Tis been the season of exciting news. RENT and IN THE HEIGHTS are setting out on National Tours. Angela Lansbury and Catherine Zeta Jones have finally been confirmed for the Broadway revival of A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, and celebrity imports like Hugh Jackman, Daniel Craig and Jude Law are hanging around town while staring in A STEADY RAIN (Jackman and Craig) and HAMLET (Law). But alas, every industry has its underbelly, which was clearly manifested in actor Randy Quaid's arrest in Malfa Texas last Thursday for skipping out on a California hotel bill in excess of $10,000, the Texas cops are reporting.

The gossip blogs are abuzz this morning with news that Lily Allen has decided to retire from singing. The singer has 'confirmed' that she will be taking time off from music indefinitely and will thus not be recording a follow-up album to her wildly successful 'It's Not Me, It's You' or tour any further with this current record.

According to the New York Daily News, David Mamet originally tapped comedian Chris Rock to star in his production of RACE, premiering on Broadway this fall. David Alan Grier is cast in Rock's alleged 'would-be' role.

The Clyde Fitch Report addresses today a nasty he-said-she-said between the Washington Times on the one side and the lobbyist group Americans for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts on the other.

WhatsOnStage.com is reporting that the hit Broadway revival of HAIR is eyeing a West End transfer. The site indicates the show is hoping for a run at either the Piccadilly or Cambridge Theatre.

Theatre favorite Liev Schreiber talks about fatherhood and his children in a new PEOPLE article.

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, the first masterpiece from the legendary writing team of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, is to have a new big screen transfer. According to the Risky Biz blog, Universal Pictures is keen to follow-up the phenomenal success of last year's 'Mamma Mia!' film, and is turning to 'Superstar' to make that happen.