Lauren Ambrose News

Today in 1968, Exit the King opened at the Lyceum Theatre where it ran for 47 performances. The revival opened on Broadway in a limited engagement at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, with previews starting March 7, 2009, opening March 26, and closing June 14. Directed by Armfield, the cast stars Geoffrey Rush (who won a Tony Award for his performance), Susan Sarandon, William Sadler, Andrea Martin, Lauren Ambrose and Brian Hutchison. It had previously been produced on Broadway by the APA-Phoenix Repertory Company, directed by Ellis Rabb and starred Richard Easton as the King, Patricia Conolly as Queen Marie, Eva Le Gallienne as Queen Marguerite, and Pamela Payton-Wright as Juliette.

Casting controversies, the role of reviewers and another Broadway great turning 80 were among the stories that fired up theatre chat boards and fueled cocktail conversations at Sardi's during the past twelve months. Here are ten of the big issues theatre lovers talked about in 2011.

Richard Dreyfuss, Ellen Burstyn, James Woods, Geena Davis, Lauren Ambrose ('Six Feet Under') and Steven Pasquale ('Rescue Me') are set to star in A&E Network's four-hour epic mini series 'Coma.'

Hosts of the CBS Daytime talk show THE TALK are traveling across the country to present a week of special episodes shot on location in New York City, to air Monday, Dec. 12 through Friday, Dec. 16 (2:00 PM, ET / 1:00 PM, PT) on the CBS Television Network.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Broadway veterans Steven Pasquale and Lauren Ambrose are set to lead Tony and Ridley Scott's COMA miniseries for A&E. As descried by THR, the show is about 'a doctor who begins to suspect that something is amiss when healthy patients begin to fall into comas.'

In a recent interview with E! Online, Lea Michele, who previously expressed interest in starring in a Broadway revival of FUNNY GIRL, is still interested in starring in the show. A new revival was originally scheduled to open on Broadway in Spring 2012 with Lauren Ambrose in the lead role, but was postponed because of the 'economic climate.'

The 2012 Film Independent Spirit Award nominees have been announced, and the complete list is as follows:

The 2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards nominees have just been announced. Check out the full list below:

WANDERLUST is coming to theaters on February 24, 2012 from Universal Pictures. The romantic comedy is directed by David Wain, and co-written by Wain and Ken Marino. The cast includes Wanderlust Jennifer Aniston, Justin Theroux, Paul Rudd, Malin Akerman, Ray Liotta, Lauren Ambrose, Kathryn Hahn, and Alan Alda.

FUNNY GIRL, which was recently announced to return to Broadway in April 2012 following an engagement at Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, has been postponed.

Folding Chair Classical Theatre presents Shakespeare's first tragedy, a bloodthirsty tale of a decorated war hero and a defeated queen locked in an increasingly lurid cycle of violence and vengeance. Murder, rape, cannibalism, betrayal, beheading and behanding are served with a sickly smile and a slice of pie.

With one of the most refreshingly unique career trajectories in recent show business history, the quirky late-80s/early-90s film star known for her outlandish John Waters comedies - HAIRSPRAY, CRY-BABY and SERIAL MOM included - parlayed her big screen success to a decade-long running eponymous talk-show in the 90s and early 00s that is still talked about to this day - look no further than Nicki Minaj's verse on the remix of Britney Spears' "Hold It Against Me" for proof - and, now, with news of the 2012 syndicated return of a new iteration of her show, a new memoir, as well as her current compelling casting on the new season of DANCING WITH THE STARS, Ricki Lake has clearly reached a new career high. Imparting her contagious energy and enthusiasm and amply displaying why she is the foremost queen of gab, Lake generously shares her thoughts on a range of topics - Broadway, Hollywood, GLEE, Sondheim, BOOK OF MORMON and much more included - and reveals details about her many upcoming projects and passion, as well as her ongoing star turn on TV's hottest reality competition, DANCING WITH THE STARS. While in rehearsal on Friday night, talking to me from the backstage costume fitting for DANCING/STARS - tutu included - and on the road back to her LA home - before attending Chaz Bono's party later that evening - Lake and I cover it all and she shows why she has been a TV fixture in millions of homes for twenty years and most likely will continue to be so for the next twenty or more - if we are lucky, that is. Plus, she also happens to be a big BroadwayWorld fan, to boot! Who could ask for anything more?

Fountain House, an internationally recognized organization dedicated to improving the lives of people living with mental illness, last night hosted a staged reading of Daughter of the Queen of Sheba, headlining celebrated actresses Joan Allen and Lauren Ambrose, with appearances by noted actor and screenwriter Dan Futterman and theatre, film and television actor David AaRon Baker. The one-night-only performance, based upon the acclaimed memoir by NPR'sJacki Lyden that recounts her experience growing up with a colorful and dramatic mother living with manic depression, drew a full house to the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College, located at 68th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues in New York City. Lyden served as Narrator of the performance, which employed slides to illustrate the action. The evening benefitted Fountain House, with support from NPR. Check out a photo from the event below!

Fountain House, an internationally recognized organization dedicated to improving the lives of people living with mental illness, will present a staged reading of Daughter of the Queen of Sheba, with theatre, film and television actor David AaRon Baker.

Fountain House, an internationally recognized organization dedicated to improving the lives of people living with mental illness, released news today that the cast is now complete for a staged reading of Daughter of the Queen of Sheba, with the addition of theatre, film and television actor David Aaron Baker. He will join previously announced headliners Joan Allen, Lauren Ambrose and Dan Futterman for the one-night-only performance based upon the acclaimed memoir by Jacki Lyden that recounts her experience growing up with a colorful and dramatic mother living with manic depression. The event will take place on Monday, October 17, 2011, from 6:30 to 10:00 pm, at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College, located at 68th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues in New York City. Proceeds will benefit Fountain House, with support from NPR.

Today, in an extension of the FLASH FRIDAY column, we are sharpening our focus on the six upcoming revivals of musicals that are soon to hit the boards in the next few months (post-FOLLIES) and battle it out for the Best Revival as the Broadway season heats up just when the weather begins to cool: the classic Jule Styne/Bob Merrill musical that originally starred that star-of-stars, Barbra Streisand - FUNNY GIRL; the groundbreaking rock opera that rewrote the theatrical rulebook thanks to young creators Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice - JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR; the hippie, flower child take on the Christ story covering some similar Biblical ground to that of SUPERSTAR, with this one being the composing debut of WICKED songwriter Stephen Schwartz - GODSPELL; another Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice collaboration that won seven Tony Awards and acted as the vehicle for Patti LuPone's blazing Broadway debut in a starring role - EVITA; the significantly reworked, revised and rewritten new version of the beautifully scored time-travel musical by Burton Lane and Alan Jay Lerner, this time starring a male movie star crooner - ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER; and, the landmark American opera composed by the Gershwins with DuBose Haywerd - PORGY & BESS. While each and every one of these entities has a huge hit song or two that nearly everyone on the planet knows by heart - "Don't Rain On My Parade", "I Don't Know How To Love Him", "Day By Day", "Don't Cry For Me Argentina", "On A Clear Day…" and 'Summertime' included - each of these revivals also comes after a film version (or two) that, in more than a few of these cases, will be relatively difficult to top as far as expectations of many audience members undoubtedly will go. So, by taking a listen to the smash hit crossover songs from these musicals as well as looking at their respective film version's trailers - as well as a couple of surprises, too - perhaps we can glean some insight into what makes these generally pretty terrific properties so well worth reviving on Broadway, here, now, today, in 2011. Furthermore, all of this crystal ball commentary is not even taking into account the starry assortment of performers that have already been announced for these productions so far - especially with FUNNY GIRL's Lauren Ambrose and Bobby Cannavale, GODSPELL's Hunter Parrish, SUPERSTAR's lauded Josh Young, EVITA's Ricky Martin and Michael Cerveris, PORGY's Norm Lewis and Audra McDonald, as well as the leading man in what was once a leading lady's role (that of Barbara Harris) in ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER, Harry Connick, Jr.! What a tight race it is turning out to be for these new productions, particularly come Tony time in June! With rock to rhumba and borscht belt comedy to messianic hosannas and even full-out opera, seemingly every conceivable customer base is more than covered by this packed, potentially, well, awesome, season of shows - and many Broadway babies around BroadwayWorld are undoubtedly looking most forward to these six forthcoming revivals - with particularly good reason given the relative dearth of new musicals announced so far. So, let these revivals revive your flagging spirits as we leap into the 2011-2012 season with this comprehensive prospective and retrospective all about what makes them work so well in the first place and so worthy of another look!

Folding Chair Classical Theatre presents Shakespeare's first tragedy, a bloodthirsty tale of a decorated war hero and a defeated queen locked in an increasingly lurid cycle of violence and vengeance. Murder, rape, cannibalism, betrayal, beheading and behanding are served with a sickly smile and a slice of pie.

Fountain House, an internationally recognized organization dedicated to improving the lives of people living with mental illness, released news today that noted actor and Academy-Award nominated screenwriter Dan Futterman will join celebrated actresses Joan Allen and Lauren Ambrose in the previously announced staged reading of Daughter of the Queen of Sheba, the acclaimed memoir by Jacki Lyden that recounts her experience growing up with a colorful and dramatic mother living with manic depression. The one-night-only event will take place on Monday, October 17, 2011, from 6:30 to10:00 pm, at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College, located at 68th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues in New York City. Proceeds will benefit Fountain House, with support from NPR.

FUNNY GIRL, starring two-time Emmy Award nominee Lauren Ambrose as Fanny Brice and two-time Tony Award nominee and Emmy Award winner Bobby Cannavale as Nick Arnstein, will open on Broadway in April, 2012 at the Imperial Theatre (249 West 45th Street), following its engagement at Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles from January 15 through February 26, 2012, it was announced today by producer Bob Boyett. Additional casting, preview and opening dates will be announced shortly. It will be the first time FUNNY GIRL will be on Broadway since the 1964 original production.