Abigail Arnold - Page 18

Actor Seth Rogen is rumored to be in consideration to play Lonny in the upcoming film version of ROCK OF AGES, Toronto's thestar.com reports. Rogen attended the Toronto production of ROCK OF AGES on July 17, telling people that 'he was just there to enjoy the show.' Accorinf to the report, however, Rogan may have been taking in the production for more professional reasons. No casting informaiton of any kind for the film has been released to date.

FRECKLEFACE STRAWBERRY, a musical based on the children's books by Julianne Moore, will open Off-Broadway at New World Stages on October 4, the New York Times reports. Previews will begin on September 9. Moore tells the Times, 'It's really exciting and fun, and kind of amazing [and] given my history as a performer, super-weird to be in this other position.'

NPR's Michael Portantiere interviewed Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who is currently performing in Shakespeare in the Park's THE WINTER'S TALE and THE MERCHANT OF VENICE and who was recently nominated for an Emmy Award for his performance on 'Modern Family.' Ferguson talked about performing in Central Park ('it's honestly my favorite place to work'), the multiple Emmy nominations for actors playing gay characters ('I think we're all being recognized because the characters are well developed'), and which fellow Emmy nominee he would switch roles with ('Probably Jane Lynch on GLEE. That would be fun!'). To read the full interview, click here.

London's Southbank Centre has announced that it will present INTO THE HOODS: A LONDON FAIRYTALE and LE CIRQUE INVISIBLE this summer.

Annette Bening will receive this year's Will Award, presented by the Shakespeare Theatre Company, the Washington Post reports. Early in her career, Bening acted in Shakespeare's plays, as well as other classical theatre, at San Francisco's American Conservatory Theatre. More recently, she has appeared in MEDEA and THE CHERRY ORCHARD, as well as the 1995 film version of Richard III.

Tammy Blanchard and Chris Sarandon will join CBS's 'The Good Wife' for its second season, Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello reports.

International productions of American and British musicals are at an all-time high, The Wall Street Journal reports. Many productions are currently running in Japan, notably WICKED, while Disney's musicals, including THE LION KING, MARY POPPINS, and TARZAN, are playing throughout the world. BILLY ELLIOT: THE MUSICAL is soon to make its foreign language 'replica' production (major production, often utilizing a show's original production team) in Seoul, South Korea.

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival will host China's first English language musical, REEL TO REAL, The Stage reports. The show combines classic film footage from Hollywood and footage from Chinese films with live actors and features classic songs by such composers as Stephen Sondheim, Frank Loesser, and Irving Berlin.

A lawsuit filed by the ACLU on behalf of the Milwaukee Gay Arts Center against the city of Milwaukee has been settled, wispolitics.com reports. The city paid $20,000 to the Arts Center, whose suit alleged that the city 'violated the First Amendment by shutting down NAKED BOYS SINGING...after receiving complaints from a citizen who objected to its content,' wispolitics reports.

The Game Play Festival, which combines theater and video games, is currently running at Brooklyn's Brick Theater, the New York Times reports.

The Instant Shakespeare Company, which performs readings of Shakespeare's plays throughout Manhattan, is celebrating its 111th season, the New York Times reports. The company performs the complete works of Shakespeare, usually in libraries, each year, frequently without rehearsing. This season, the company is also including some plays that were not written by Shakespeare, including Aristophanes' LYSISTRATA.

Ticket prices in London's West End have more than doubled since 1995, The Stage reports. The Society of London Theatre recently released its Box Office Data Report for 2009, which stated that the average ticket price asked in 2009 was £43.07, more than twice the average price of £21.36 asked in 1995. According to the report, ticket prices have risen particularly quickly in the past three years.

All-male Shakespeare company Propeller has announced the lineup for its 2010-2011 season, whatsonstage.com reports. The season will include RICHARD III and THE COMEDY OF ERRORS in repertory, as well as POCKET DREAM, a shortened children's version of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. All three productions will be directed by company founder Edward Hall, the website reports.

The complete cast list for the third Harold and Kumar movie has been announced, collider.com reports. John Cho and Kal Penn will again play the title roles, while Neil Patrick Harris, as previously reported on BroadwayWorld, will again play a fictionalized version of himself. Other returning cast members include Paula Garcés (Maria), Danneel Harris (Vanessa), Bobby Lee (Kenneth Park), and Eddie Kaye Thomas (Rosenberg). Joining the cast are Tom Lennon, Danny Trejo, Amir Blumenfeld, David Burtka, Fred Melamed, Patton Oswalt, and Richard Riehle, Collider reports.

Kevin Bacon will appear in the film 'X-Men: First Class,' Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider reports. Bacon will play a villain who fights Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender). The film, which is a prequel to the previous 'X-Men' films, will begin filming in London this fall, the Hollywood Insider reports. It is set when characters Professor Charles Xavier and Erik Lenshaar/Magneto are in their late teens and early twenties. Alive Eve co-stars in addition to Nicholas Hoult, who reportedly plays the role of Beast orginally offered to BLOODY, BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON's Benjamin Walker. BroadwayWorld announced today that Walker will instead lead the cast of JACKSON to the Bernard Jacobs Theatre on Broadway beginning September 29, 2010.

Actor Sam Trammell will appear in the film 'Guns, Girls, and Gambling' along with Dane Cook, Gary Oldman, and Christian Slater, Variety reports. Trammell will play the role of a sheriff in the film, which tells of the hunt for a Native American artifact stolen during a casino poker game, Variety reports.

Tony Award winner Catherine Zeta-Jones is interested in playing Dame Elizabeth Taylor in an upcoming film based on Sam Kashner's and Nancy Schoenberger's book 'Furious Love: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and the Marriage of the Century,' Entertainment Tonight reports. Angelina Jolie is also interested in the role. Among those interested in the part of Richard Burton are Russell Crowe, Clive Owen, and Colin Farrell.

Jay-Z and Sade will perform at this year's Black Ball concert on September 30, billboard.com reports. The concert, which will be held at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, will benefit Alicia Keys' Keep a Child Alive Foundation, which aids children and families with HIV and AIDS in Africa and India.

The nominees for the 2010 Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre will be announced on August 10 at 4pm, the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia has announced.

Film distribution company Emerging Pictures and Royal Opera House subsidiary Opus Arte have come to a distribution agreement, Variety reports. Emerging Pictures will distribute live transmissions of the Royal Opera House's operas and ballets, as well as Shakespeare productions at the Globe Theater, in North America.