O Say Can You See! 1962 - Articles Page 27

Acing the tailor-made lead role in GLEE creators' Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk's new supernaturally-themed FX series AMERICAN HORROR STORY, the former FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS star Connie Britton is finding herself at a career peak (look no further than the cover of this week's Entertainment Weekly that just hit newsstands yesterday). Britton's bright beginnings at the Neighborhood Playhouse and study under acclaimed acting instructor Sanford Meisner - as well as her Off-Broadway and stage work - have clearly prepared her well for the tricky ROSEMARY'S BABY-esque role of a lifetime that Murphy, Falchuk and company have devised for her on the star-studded nighttime soap thriller - which also features TV heavyweight Dylan McDermott, as well as two-time Oscar-winner Jessica Lange and Tony-winner (and TRUE BLOOD's King of the Vampires), Denis O'Hare. Discussing all aspects of the first three episodes of the surprise hit horror series, as well as offering some hints as to what we can expect from the forthcoming two-part Halloween special and upcoming episodes (including a Rubber Man tease), Britton and I dissect the complex inter-workings of the Harmon family and the house from Hell that they now reside in - as well as its ghostly inhabitants. Will they somehow make it out alive? And, who exactly is the new ghost in house, revealed just this week, played by previous InDepth InterView participant Lily Rabe? What can we expect from Zachary Quinto's first appearance coming up this week? And, what about The Infatata? As Murphy's original pitch's tagline states, "The House Wins," but, as far as AMERICAN HORROR STORY goes, the actors do, too. In addition to all about AMERICAN HORROR STORY, Britton and I also discuss her passionate dedication to Bono's ONE charity, as well as her participation in supporting the African Children's Choir, who will be performing at a gala raising awareness and funds on Monday at The Highline Ballroom.

Four long acts long, with casting challenges, bedeviled by attitudes modern audiences likely will not share, and, it must be said, self-indulgent as regards some of O'Neill's great weaknesses, Moon for the Misbegotten requires more than most companies and audiences can summon to put it across successfully. I say "successfully" but perhaps "successfully as possible" might be the more accurate phrase. Washington's Heritage-O'Neill Theatre Company's current production partly but not fully meets these challenges.

Tonight's the night! Just in time for the season finale of DROP DEAD DIVA on Lifetime at 9 PM, we have an exclusive, extensive conversation with the show's stupendous star, Brooke Elliott, in which we talk all about the first three seasons of the hit Lifetime dramedy as well as what we can expect from tonight's highly-anticipated finale and the just-announced fourth season of the show coming in 2012, in addition to casting a look back at her favorite moments so far, backstage stories and guest star dish. Plus, Brooke shares reminiscences of her time starring in the Broadway production of TABOO and working with Rosie O'Donnell and Raul Esparza on it and some of her aspirations for the future as well as much, much more!

Today we are continuing the male-centric portion of our ongoing series of interviews with the stars of Lifetime's DROP DEAD DIVA with the boss of the legal practice on the show and the main love interest for Kate Levering's character, Kim: the affable and charming stage and screen star Josh Stamberg. In addition to dishing all about Season 3 of DROP DEAD DIVA and the future for Parker, Kim and company at the legal firm, Stamberg and I also discuss many of the various guest stars on the show this season and seasons past - Liza Minnelli, Sharon Lawrence and Faith Prince included - as well as how he sees Parker himself, his own insights into the complex character and what he feels the future holds for his relationships on the show - Kim, Jane and beyond. In addition to all things DIVA-related, Stamberg and I also discuss his many past stage and screen appearances, including: his unforgettable work as Sarge on SIX FEET UNDER and what it was like working with creator Alan Ball, as well as his role on the Aaron Sorkin-scripted series STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP, plus: working at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and Atlantic Theatre Company, doing the workshop of A STEADY RAIN (and eventually getting replaced by Hugh Jackman), doing FRACTURED with Ryan Gosling and Anthony Hopkins, acting alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Naomi Watts in Clint Eastwood's forthcoming film J. EDGAR, his favorite work experiences so far, roles he is yearning to essay in the future both near and far and much, much more! Over the course of the last several weeks, we have been taking an extensive look at the sights and sounds both onscreen and onset of the hit TV dramedy series DROP DEAD DIVA - new episodes airing Sunday nights at 9 PM on Lifetime - featuring exclusive interviews with the leading lady divas and stalwart supporting men on the LA-based supernatural legal series. Featuring a memorable collection of musical performances and Broadway guest stars over the years - Paula Abdul, Rosie O'Donnell, Delta Burke and many more included - DROP DEAD DIVA is the quintessential TV series for Broadway babies looking for some laughs and levity - the latter available in many more ways than one, given the show's heavenly aspirations. DROP DEAD DIVA centers on a legal eagle named Jane whose body acts as the means for the indomitable spirit of a model, Deb, who loses her life, to make a second chance and how the girl inside must learn to adjust to looking like the woman on the outside that she is now. In other words, a model finds out what it means to look like everybody else in a delightfully quirky twist of fate - and learns to be a lawyer along the way, as well. Season Three picked up with the cliffhanger car crash that closed last season in a dark and shocking way. Questions and posed and answered so far: What will Grayson remember of the conversation he had with Jane pre-crash? What will Jane do to save him? What about his engagement (to somebody else)? What will happen back at the office with Teri, Kim and Parker? What about Stacy and Fred? Indeed, all of these questions and many more will most assuredly be answered come the next two Sunday nights! Plus, as always, there's always a musical number or two not too far off if you stay tuned - such as last month's BroadwayWorld exclusive world premiere of "Lean On Me"! Will there be a musical grand finale after all? We shall soon see! Also, don't forget to check out the past interviews in this BRIDGING TV & THEATRE series - Margaret Cho, Kate Levering, April Bowlby, Sharon Lawrence, Faith Prince and Jackson Hurst included! There are only a few episodes of Season Three left - airing Sundays at 9 PM on Lifetime, as always, throughout September until the finale on September 25 - so be sure to check back here in coming weeks for chats with Ben Feldman and the titular diva herself, plus maybe even a surprise or two, too!

A near-perfect blend of story, lyrics, score and movement, the terrific 2009 Broadway revival of WEST SIDE STORY--now playing at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Orange County through September 18--bursts forth with a kind of style and intelligence that arguably reiterates its place as one of the greatest musicals of all time. This stirring, energetic reboot--spearheaded by the late original book author Arthur Laurents--has been smartly touched up with an awareness of current sensibilities and a healthy dose of heightened reality. Do yourself a favor and see this important stage musical while it's still here.

Never more apparent than at this very moment in history, the operatic emotions, over-the-top theatrics and outrageous outspokenness of the 1983 SCARFACE, new on Blu-ray this week, burst forth from screens both large and small, depending on your preferred venue. And, with the fiery, ferocious fearlessness that Brian DePalma so astutely and assuredly weaves his web of debauchery and demons of the soul, heart and mind with - its apotheosis residing in Al Pacino's legendary essaying of the title role - the world finally seems ready to see SCARFACE for what it really is: a classic American film. No, there are not many modern day classics and there certainly have not been over the last thirty years since its release, but SCARFACE is unquestionably now part of the great pantheon of American films - just as much as CITIZEN KANE, CABSABLANCA and THE GODFATHER before it - and with Fathom's re-release of the film in movie theaters for one night only last week, the impact of the film as felt in its true artistic home was something akin to transcendental. Indeed, I was lucky enough to check out the HD print in a showing in Ithaca, NY, last week, which was also accompanied by an ultra-informative and revealing behind-the-scenes look at the production and subsequent legacy of the near-thirty-year-old film which is also available in an even more expanded form on the new Blu-ray - including new interviews with Brian DePalma, Al Pacino, Steven Bauer, Robert Loggia, Martin Bregman, as well as comments from fellow filmmakers and fans like Eli Roth (who shares a particularly hilarious anecdote about reciting Lopez's monologue for classmates in sixth grade). The new Blu-ray is packed to the brim with Special Features - including this brand new hour-long making-of documentary to go along with the hours of bonuses ported over from many of the prior DVD releases. Yet, above all of these other virtues, the reason you must own SCARFACE on Blu-ray is not just because the HD remastering of the image is pristine, the 7.1 sound is perfect and the Special Features are overwhelmingly enjoyable, but - most of all - it is because SCARFACE is American movie-making at its finest - and most emotionally, visually and outwardly operatic. It sings. And stings. And zings. And, bring it - all.

Today we are talking to the man who makes all of the magic available to see in the Shakespeare's Globe Film Series actually happen onstage in the first place - such as this week's stunning showing of HENRY IV: Part 2 on August 18 -Shakespeare's Globe Artistic Director, Dominic Dromgoole. In addition to a thorough discussion of all aspects of the unprecedented series of performance captures that have taken place at Shakespeare's Globe so far - seven and counting - we also discuss many aspects of the Bard himself and what productions like HENRY IV: Parts 1 & 2 - both of which he directed - have to say to a twenty-first century audience. Besides that, Dromgoole sheds some light on some of the most memorable moments of his tenure at the Globe, as well as sharing his individual insight into everything from GLEE to Chekhov and, of course, we dissect a number of Shakespeare's most instructive, innovative and unforgettable scenes from many of his finest histories and latter plays, with a focus on HENRY IV and the future for the Shakespeare's Globe Film Series.

On August 18, Fathom Entertainment continues their unprecedented live stage-on-film series begun earlier this summer - in the form of movie theater showings of THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR and HENRY IV: Part 1 in June and July, respectively - with Dominic Dromgoole's conclusion of the epic Shakespearean historical saga featuring the most beloved character in the entire canon, Falstaff - Shakespeare's Globe new production of HENRY IV: Part 2. For those who were lucky enough to witness the first part of HENRY IV last month, you are most assuredly intimately familiar with the sumptuously detailed and microscopically sensitive production on view and how sensitively it has been captured in these stupendous HD movie theater showings, and, HENRY IV: Part 2, I am glad to report, is much more of the same - and with even bigger stakes and higher drama!

Today we are talking to DROP DEAD DIVA guest star Sharon Lawrence and discussing her long-awaited return to the series as Bobbie Dobkins in Sunday's "Mother's Day" episode as well as taking a look at her long and varied film and theater career with thoughts on everything from CABARET and CHICAGO onstage to DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, LAW & ORDER: SVU, CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM on the small screen and the new Theresa Rebeck play she stars in opening next month at the Mark Taper Forum in LA, POOR BEHAVIOR and much, much more! Over the course of the next several weeks, we are going to be taking an extensive look at the sights and sounds both onscreen and onset of the hit TV dramedy series DROP DEAD DIVA - new episodes airing Sunday nights at 9 PM on Lifetime - featuring exclusive interviews with the leading lady divas and dashing supporting men on the LA-based supernatural legal series. Featuring a memorable collection of musical performances and Broadway guest stars over the years - Paula Abdul, Rosie O'Donnell, Delta Burke and many more included - DROP DEAD DIVA is the quintessential TV series for Broadway babies looking for some laughs and levity - the latter available in many more ways than one, given the show's heavenly aspirations. DROP DEAD DIVA centers on a legal eagle named Jane whose body acts as the means for the indomitable spirit of a model, Deb, who loses her life, to make a second chance and how the girl inside must learn to adjust to looking like the woman on the outside that she is now. In other words, a model finds out what it means to look like everyone else, in a delightfully quirky twist of fate - and learns to be a lawyer, too. Season Three picks up with the cliffhanger car crash that closed last season in a dark and shocking way. What will Grayson remember of the conversation he had with Jane pre-crash? What will Jane do to save him? What about his engagement (to somebody else)? What will happen back at the office with Teri, Kim and Parker? What about Stacy and Fred? All these questions and many more will most assuredly be answered come Sunday night! Plus, there's always a musical number or two not too far off if you stay tuned - such as this week's BroadwayWorld exclusive world premiere of "Lean On Me" available here! Be sure to check back often because in the following weeks, we will also feature conversations with DROP DEAD DIVA stars Josh Henderson, Jackson Hurst, Ben Feldman and definitely stay tuned for next week's exclusive chat with featured guest star and Tony-winner, the one and only Faith Prince! Continuing the BRIDGING TV & THEATRE: DROP DEAD DIVA series, here is my extended conversation with DROP DEAD DIVA guest star Sharon Lawrence in which we discuss her many Broadway credits - CABARET, CHICAGO, ZORBA and FIDDLER ON THE ROOF included - as well as her extensive and varied theater career and acting alongside the likes of Cherry Jones, Marian Seldes and DROP DEAD DIVA guest star and fellow Broadway baby Faith Prince. Additionally, Ms. Lawrence shares her fascinating insights into the art of acting and the role of the actor in society as well as provides detailed insight into her own process and musical theatre versus straight drama - plus, comments on SMASH, GLEE, Weill, Brecht, feminism and much, much more!

On Twitter Watch, Rosie O'Donnell wrote ' KChenoweth Kristin Chenoweth @rosie done. I will b there. I love u Ro! I love u SO MUCH! @KChenoweth - ok - first week of my show 10. 10. 11. -- pick the day - u me one hour ------ say yes please - bring mom - xxx 20 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone'

Triple-threat Nicolas Dromard seems to be on a roll. Already a burgeoning performer since his days as a toddler in his native Ontario, Canada, the charming actor-singer-dancer is currently wowing audiences across the country playing Bert in the National Tour of MARY POPPINS. The stage version of the beloved Disney film is now in the middle of its four-week extended engagement in Orange County, California at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa through August 7. Before arriving in the O.C., Dromard--while literally driving down the coast of California on the 4th of July--chatted for a bit with BroadwayWorld's Michael Lawrence Quintos about his early theater history, his influences, and how he morphed quickly from Chimney Sweep to WICKED's Winkie Prince then back again.

Over the course of the next several weeks, we are going to be taking an extensive look at the sights and sounds both onscreen and onset of the hit TV dramedy series DROP DEAD DIVA - new episodes airing Sunday nights at 9 PM on Lifetime - featuring exclusive interviews with the leading lady divas and dashing supporting men on the LA-based supernatural legal series. Featuring a memorable collection of musical performances and Broadway guest stars over the years - Paula Abdul, Rosie O‘Donnell, Delta Burke and many more included - DROP DEAD DIVA is the quintessential TV series for Broadway babies looking for some laughs and levity - the latter available in many more ways than one, given the show's heavenly aspirations. DROP DEAD DIVA centers on a legal eagle named Jane whose body acts as the means for the indomitable spirit of a model, Deb, who loses her life, to make a second chance and how the girl inside must learn to adjust to looking like the woman on the outside that she is now. In other words, a model finds out what it means to look like everyone else, in a delightfully quirky twist of fate - and learns to be a lawyer, too. Season Three picks up with the cliffhanger car crash that closed last season in a dark and shocking way. What will Grayson remember of the conversation he had with Jane pre-crash? What will Jane do to save him? What about his engagement (to somebody else)? What will happen back at the office with Teri, Kim and Parker? What about Stacy and Fred? All these questions and many more will most assuredly be answered (or beginning to be answered) come Sunday night! Plus, there's always a musical number or two not too far off if you stay tuned!

Continuing the BRIDGING TV & THEATRE: DROP DEAD DIVA series, today, here is my extended conversation with Tony-nominee and Broadway star Kate Levering about starring in seven Broadway shows - CHICAGO and 42nd STREET included - by the time she was twenty-two, as well as working with Harry Connick, Jr. and Norbert Leo Butz on THOU SHALT NOT and auditioning for legendary dancer and choreographer Ann Reinking (and her words of wisdom), plus all about Levering's work on DROP DEAD DIVA and what we can expect in the surprising twists for her feisty character in season two as well as her other television work - including co-starring with Taye Diggs, Idina Menzel, Christina Hendricks and Craig Bierko. Additionally, we discuss the charitable organization that is closest to Kate's heart, Purse of Hope [www.PurseofHope.org].

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN captures the astonishing true story of Frank Abagnale, Jr., a world-class con artist who passed himself off as a doctor, a lawyer, and a jet pilot-all before the age of 21. With straight-arrow FBI agent Carl Hanratty on Frank's trail, we're off on a jet-setting, cat-and-mouse chase, as a jazzy, swinging-sixties score keeps this adventure in constant motion. In the end, Agent Hanratty learns he and Frank aren't so very different after all, and Frank finds out what happens when love catches up to a man on the run. See what Abagnale had to say about the high-flying musical adaptation of his true story, currently playing at The Neil Simon Theatre, below!

Coming quick on the heels of last month's extensive acting-based discussion in BroadwayWorld's SPOTLIGHT ON THE NY POPS series, today we are again highlighting one of the brightest stars on Broadway and talking about all aspects of her stupendous and multi-faceted new album, ALWAYS - online and in stores next week - and, also, all about her solo concert at The Town Hall this Friday night, what surprises may be in store, and, additionally, what we can possibly expect from her onstage in the near future. BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY? FINDING NEVERLAND? What about Encores!? GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES? MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG? All are possibilities - just not Bartlett Sher's FUNNY GIRL! One thing is for sure: whatever Kelli O'Hara is doing, Broadway babies will be watching intently! In addition to tomorrow's gig at The Town Hall, Ms. O'Hara will also be a part of a benefit at Le Poisson Rouge on June 7 and featured on the A CAPITOL FOURTH PBS special alongside GLEE star Matt Morrison on July 4.

Though the current tenants at the Eugene O'Neil claim to be presenting 'God's Favorite Musical,' the new gang moving into Circle In The Square this October may have something to say about that as the first Broadway revival of Godspell gears up for a November 7th opening.

In a very short time since his Broadway debut roughly ten years ago, Aaron Lazar has crafted a particularly impressive career consisting of a striking series featured and leading roles in everything from LES MISERABLES and A TALE OF TWO CITIES to THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA - and the sensational PBS Live From Lincoln Center telecast of it - to his superb turn as Count Carl Magnus in the recent revival of Stephen Sondheim's A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury to, most recently, Lonny Price's rapturously received presentation of Sondheim's COMPANY: IN CONCERT starring Neil Patrick Harris and Patti LuPone at Lincoln Center - which will soon be seen in 500+ movie theaters nationwide starting in June. In this revealing conversation we discuss all of the aforementioned peformances, as well as what we can expect from the forthcoming Clint Eastwood film J. EDGAR starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Josh Lucas, written by Dustin Lance Black, with Lazar in a featured role, as well as his upcoming dates premiering his new show at Feinstein‘s in June. Before all of that, you can catch Aaron live and in person May 2 at the NY Pops Tribute to Bob Hope, which will also feature performances by Kelli O'Hara, Tom Wopat and many more in addition to a special presentation by Angela Lansbury. More information about the event - and tickets - is available here.

From her creation of the pivotal roles of Susan in Marvin Hamlisch & Craig Carnelia's simply smashing (if underappreciated) SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS and Clara in Adam Guettel & Craig Lucas's five-time Tony-winning THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA, to her effortless essaying of two of the most beloved female roles in the musical theater canon, opposite two of the biggest leading men on Broadway - THE PAJAMA GAME with Harry Connick, Jr. and SOUTH PACIFIC with Matthew Morrison (and Paulo Szot) - in addition to her work in Frank Wildhorn's JEKYLL & HYDE and DRACULA, Stephen Sondheim's FOLLIES and SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, along with her stunning studio albums - all of these are just some of the reasons why Kelli O'Hara is in a very special class of performers. In this all-encompassing conversation we discuss all of the aforementioned shows, as well as working with all of her fabulous co-stars and collaborators, and we also take a look at her recording studio work with Harry Connick, Jr. and take a look ahead to her sophomore solo album, ALWAYS which will be released on June 3. Plus, we have first news on her new roles in the musical versions of THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, written by Jason Robert Brown, and FINDING NEVERLAND by Scott Frankel. We even have dish on working with Liza Minnelli and shooting SEX & THE CITY 2! This is all coming in anticipation of the tribute to Bob Hope at the NY Pops gala on May 2, which will also feature performances by Tom Wopat and Aaron Lazar - both of whom we will continue our SPOTLIGHT ON NY POPS series with later on this weekend. Don't miss them or a special presentation by theatre legend Angela Lansbury! Further information about the NY POPS event - including tickets - is available here.

Today we are taking an up-close and personal critical look at last night's super-sized episode of Fox's hit musical comedy series GLEE, titled after Lady Gaga's newest #1 song up until this last Easter weekend - of course 'Judas' sits atop the iTunes charts now - and featuring an especially rousing rendition of that German techno/'Express Yourself'-esque anthem, in addition to a mellifluous mash-up of TLC's 'Unpretty' and WEST SIDE STORY's 'I Feel Pretty' by Lea Michele and Dianna Agron, and, even, an Andrew Lloyd Webber diva moment made famous by Patti LuPone and, in concert, by Barbra Streisand - 'As If We Never Said Goodbye' from SUNSET BLVD, ably attended to by Golden Globe-winner Chris Colfer. We also take a look at the dramatic side of McKinley High in this episode and trace the journey we all have taken over the season so far as GLEE ramps up the excitement, emotion and energy for the final five episodes coming in the next number of weeks - and, also, a look ahead to next Tuesday's Fleetwood Mac-themed show with all songs from 1975's RUMOURS featuring the grand return of Tony-winner and Broadway baby Kristin Chenoweth as once-boozy bowling-alley barmaid/now-born-again gospel singer April Rhodes. Plus, 'Prom Queen' on May 10! Also, is that really the last we'll ever see of Season Two all-stars Darren Criss and Gwyneth Paltrow? GLEE is getting on the right track - and getting better - just in time (and right to the beat).

Last weekend marked the opening of his new vampire-centric horror film STAKE LAND, and you can catch him every week on FOX's hit series FRINGE, but Michael Cerveris is certainly best known for his series of stunning performances in some of the finest musical theatre productions of the 21st century - John Doyle's SWEENEY TODD and Joe Mantello's ASSASSINS chief among them - as well as for originating the title role in Pete Townshend's singular Broadway foray, The Who's TOMMY. With a captivating new double-disc concept album - NINE LIVES - out now, it seems that Cerveris has found a way to juggle it all. In this extensive two-part conversation, we take a look back at his experiences in the aforementioned Sondheim musicals, as well as his series of performances in Sondheim shows under the direction of Lonny Price at the Ravinia Festival co-starring Audra McDonald and Patti LuPone, and also touch upon his work in plays, such as his recent Kent in Kevin Kline's KING LEAR at The Public, HEDDA GABLER opposite Mary Louise Parker, and Sarah Ruhl's IN THE NEXT ROOM (OR THE VIBRATOR PLAY) with Laura Benanti. Additionally, he shares his Tony memories, singing SWEENEY TODD at the recent SONDHEIM! Celebration, HEDWIG & THE ANGRY INCH, TITANIC and much, much more in this compelling and comprehensive conversation - plus, first news on his upcoming TREME appearance and FRINGE renewal confirmation. His new feature film STAKE LAND is in selected cities now!

The 'Sas' is back. Rachelle Rak (better known to the Broadway community as 'Sas'), has had a career as a Broadway dancer to be envied. Having worked on Broadway for ten straight years in the original companies of Cats, Fosse, Starlight Express, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (among others) and the revival company of monster hits such as Oklahoma!, it seemed Rak had not only 'made it,' but found a home as the consumate chrous girl. Until 2006.

This weekend marks the opening of his new vampire-centric horror film STAKE LAND, and you can catch him every week on FOX's hit series FRINGE, but Michael Cerveris is certainly best known for his series of stunning performances in some of the finest musical theatre productions of the 21st century - John Doyle's SWEENEY TODD and Joe Mantello's ASSASSINS chief among them - as well as for originating the title role in Pete Townshend's singular Broadway foray, The Who's TOMMY. With a captivating new double-disc concept album - NINE LIVES - out now, it seems that Cerveris has found a way to juggle it all. In this extensive two-part conversation, we take a look back at his experiences in the aforementioned Sondheim musicals, as well as his series of performances in Sondheim shows under the direction of Lonny Price at the Ravinia Festival co-starring Audra McDonald and Patti LuPone, and also touch upon his work in plays, such as his recent Kent in Kevin Kline's KING LEAR at The Public, HEDDA GABLER opposite Mary Louise Parker, and Sarah Ruhl's IN THE NEXT ROOM (OR THE VIBRATOR PLAY). Additionally, he shares his Tony memories, singing SWEENEY TODD at the recent SONDHEIM! Celebration, HEDWIG & THE ANGRY INCH, TITANIC and much, much more in this compelling and comprehensive conversation. His new feature film STAKE LAND opens in selected cities this weekend and Part II arrives next week!

Legends aren't born, or merely made - they are created; and, so very, very carefully crafted. In equal parts due to her incomparable stage work creating roles in musicals by Stephen Sondheim and Jerry Herman, to her film work encompassing John Frankenheimer and Vincente Minnelli, to name but two, as well as a smash-hit television series - MURDER SHE WROTE - and hosting duties at various Tony Awards and Academy Awards broadcasts over the last half century, have certainly cemented her place in our hearts, minds and entertainment history itself - I am speaking, of course, of the simply exquisite Ms. Angela Lansbury. In this enlightening discussion conducted yesterday we dissect many of her most treasured roles and performances, and Ms. Lansbury provides many warm and wonderful recollections of her astonishingly varied and accomplished tenure onstage and onscreen over the course of her sixty-year-plus career. ANYONE CAN WHISTLE to SWEENEY TODD; MAME to GYPSY; BEDKNOBS AND BROOM STICKS to SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE to the forthcoming MR. POPPER‘S PENGUINS co-starring Jim Carrey - plus, acting with Bette Davis in DEATH ON THE NILE - and much, much more in this special interview! This is all coming in anticipation of Ms. Lansbury's tribute to Bob Hope at the NY Pops gala on May 2, which will also feature performances by Kelli O'Hara and more - whom we continue our SPOTLIGHT ON NY POPS series with later next week. Don't miss them! Further information about the NY POPS event - including tickets - is available here.

Today we lost one of the greats: the gentle giant of directors, Sidney Lumet. What a resume! Just to pick seven of perhaps the best known of the bunch, the bunch in question being over 100 titles strong: 12 ANGRY MEN, LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT, SERPICO, DOG DAY AFTERNOON, NETWORK and BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD - the films spanning fifty years from MEN in 1957 and DEVIL in 2007 - it is clear to see why Lumet was one of the most cherished and celebrated directors in Hollywood, especially known for his tough, gritty New York stories and his pristine stage-to-screen transfers. For an excellent example of the latter (in addition to LONG DAY'S JOURNEY and the others) check out DEATHTRAP - based on Ira Levin's play, the longest-running thriller in Broadway history - featuring Michael Caine in one of his best roles and Christopher Reeve and Dyan Cannon in their finest performances on film. For an example of the former genre, look no further than NETWORK, containing one of the strongest screenplays ever penned, from the fiery and ferocious pen of Paddy Cheyefsky, and Faye Dunaway in her Oscar-winning performance for all the ages. As far as theatrical screenplays on screen, Lumet would be hard-pressed to even come close to the power, prescience and transformative brilliance at the core of the conceit of that film - yet he did just that; with his final, 2007 film no less. I am speaking, of course, of the underrated and riveting BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei, with Albert Finney and Rosemary Harris. Taking an original screenplay that could just as well have been written for the stage - shades of 12 ANGRY MEN, DOG DAY AFTERNOON, NETWORK and SERPICO, certainly - Lumet made a bristling, biting brilliant work of staggering craft and ingenuity - all with verve, energy and drive of a man a quarter of his age at the time (80). His films were classics in his own time and, now, in his passing, they are just as timeless - if not more so. With each passing year, new layers of truth, beauty, sadness and soulfulness can be found in the countless frames in the innumerable unforgettable scenes in his many masterpieces.

To accrue all the characters, characteristics and components of a career as diverse and varied as that of stage and screen star John Leguizamo would be near-impossible for even the most gifted performers in the galaxy. Having appeared in nearly ninety films so far in his twenty-five year career - including a musical, MOULIN ROUGE, and an adaptation of Shakespeare, ROMEO + JULIET, both for noted directed Baz Luhrmann - as well as five off-Broadway and Broadway solo shows - MAMBO MOUTH, SPIC-O-RAMA, FREAK, SEXAHOLIX and, now, GHETTO KLOWN - Leguizamo is consistently challenging himself and revealing new sides to his personality and skills as an actor and performer with his daring choices of roles and searing performances. In this comprehensive career retrospective, we cover Broadway, Hollywood and much more and we even have his first comments on his new feature film opening this weekend, THE LINCOLN LAWYER. From Todd Haynes' POISON to Brian DePalma's CASUALTIES OF WAR and CARLITO'S WAY, to Spike Lee's SUMMER OF SAM, to TO WONG FOO, SUPER MARIO BROS. and more; singing Sondheim's 'Send In The Clowns'; plus, stories on his recently departed co-stars Dennis Hopper (LAND OF THE DEAD) and Brittany Murphy (SPUN), and first news on the David Koresh biopic WACO co-starring Kurt Russell and Adrien Brody, and FUGLY with Radha Mitchell - Leguizamo‘s performances speak (and sing) for themselves. King, cartoon, criminal, artist, clown or klown - Leguizamo can play them all. And play them damn well, as well.