Rialto Chatter - Page 16

This morning on a Today Show appearance, Angela Bassett revealed that she's 'weighing coming to New York to do a Broadway show' to the show's hosts, Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb.

According to published reports, stage and screen star Matthew Broderick will replace Harry Connick Jr. in the upcoming Broadway production of the Gershwin musical Nice Work If You Can Get It. Additionally, Tony winner Kathleen Marshall, who left the project a while ago, is back on board to direct.

THE MOTHERF**KER WITH THE HAT may be extending its Broadway run for a second time. Although there's no official word just yet, Telecharge has released a new block of tickets for the Tony nominated play, which was set to close on July 17th following a first extension earlier this month; tickets are now being sold through September 10th.

Broadway producer Darren Bagert has just revealed that there are plans to bring both PICNIC and KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN back to the Great White Way. The Tony-winner mentioned in a recent statement that a revival of PICNIC will arrive on Broadway in the 2011-12 season, featuring direction by Sam Gold. Additionally, Jose Rivera and Allan Baker are working onA new adaptation of SPIDER WOMAN, which is also scheduled to make it to Broadway in the 2011-12 season. Peter DuBois is on board to direct the production.

Michael Riedel reports in the New York Post this morning that Carole King is at work on a new musical showcasing tunes from her legendary songbook entitled Natural Woman. The show, which has its sights on Broadway, according to the report, had an industry-only reading on Monday and features hits such as 'Chains,' Crying in the Rain,' 'Tapestry,' and 'Will You Love Me Tomorrow.' Interestingly enough, 'Will You Love Me Tomorrow' was the song that put the Shirelles on the map, yet that song is noticebly absent from Broadway's current Baby It's You, as King refused to license the rights for inclusion in her own show. Music giant EMI is the show's backer.

As BroadwayWorld has previously reported, Broadway producer Bob Boyett is planning to revive FUNNY GIRL on Broadway with famed director Bartlett Sher (South Pacific, Awake and Sing, The Light in the Piazza) at the helm. Though no official comment has been made on production plans, it has been reported that the pair are currently planning a six week out-of-town tryout in late 2011 prior to a swift Broadway transfer thereafter. This would be the first revival of the show on Broadway. Boyett currently secures the rights.

According to the London Times, Elton John and his partner David Furnish are considering bringing THE NORMAL HEART, which opens tonight at the John Golden Theatre, to London's West End.

Sylvester Stallone was an unexpected guest at the SISTER ACT opening last night. Not one to frequest the Broadway red carpets, Stallone revealed on The View this morning that part of the reason for his attendance was because he's thinking about bringing one of his movies to the stage. Though no announcement has been made regarding a new stage adaptation, back in 2007, Stallone was busy developing ROCKY: THE MUSICAL. Could Rocky Balboa on the Great Way Way be a reality once again?

Anne-Marie Duff will star in Terence Rattigan's final play, Cause Celebre, opening for previews on 17 March 2011 with a press night on 29 March 2011.

It is 1942. At the Falcon Hotel, on the edge of an airfield in Lincolnshire, Teddy, a young bomber pilot is celebrating a reunion with his actress wife Patricia. Events take an unexpected turn, when Peter a famous heartthrob film star arrives, and an urgent bombing mission over Germany is ordered.

In what The Daily Mail calls 'very serious' negotiations, producers are in talks to bring AFTER THE DANCE to the Great White Way with Benedict Cumberbatch.

BroadwayWorld has learned that just before the 2010-2011 season comes to a close, Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart will open on Broadway at the Golden Theater starring Cheyenne Jackson, Joe Mantello and Ellen Barkin. Following an Actor's Fund benefit performance of the show starring Mantello and Glenn Close this past fall, rumors began swirling that Daryl Roth was hot to ressurect the property into a full-scale production - it's first on Broadway. Securing an available theater had apparently held up her efforts. it is believed that Mantello will reprise his role as Ned Weeks. Jackson will play his lover Felix Turner and Barkin will assume the role of Dr. Emma Brookner.

According to a report byBaz Bamigboye for Daily Mail, THE CHILDREN'S HOUR, starring Keira Knightly and Elizabeth Moss has brought in £1.8?million. With a successful run at the Comedy Theatre, now the show might be heading to the Great White Way by early next year.

Former American Idol runner up and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown alum Justin Guarini revealed at the Drama League Gala last night that he will be joining the cast of American Idiot in March. Guarini did not reveal which role he would be assuming.

According to MTV, James Franco is planning a stage adaptation of ABC's old sitcom, 'Three's Company.' Last month, Franco presented an ode to the sitcom at the Sundance Film Festival, re-creating old episodes and projecting them on four walls while audience members sat in a reconstruction of the show's set.

Showbiz411 reports that James Cromwell has just signed on to star in the Moss Hart-George S. Kaufman play, You Cant Take It With You. Cromwell reveals few details of the production, only that it will open out of town this summer and is aiming for Broadway as early as the fall. Cromwell was last seen on Broadway in 1992 when he performed in the Royal Shakespeare Company's Hamlet. Prior to that, he performed with the RSC in Broadway's Othello in 1970.

Michael Reidel reports in the NY Post today that the Shubert Organization is considering renaming one of its theaters after legendary producer/director Hal Prince in the near future. As Riedel quotes, Prince collaborator Stephen Sondheim has said of the honor: 'I find it astonishing, especially now that directors play so central a role in the success -- or failure of -- Broadway shows. Harold Prince is very much alive and well, and seeing as how he has won more Tony Awards than any other individual, I'd say . . . he deserves the nod.'

Lincoln Center Theater production of Jon Robin Baitz' OTHER DESERT CITIES, directed by Joe Mantello, opened on January 13 at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater. The cast features Stockard Channing, Stacy Keach, Linda Lavin, Elizabeth Marvel and Thomas Sadoski. Today, the New York Times suggests that the show is looking to transfer to Broadway, however, a full house on the Great White Way will prevent the show from making a spring move.

The New York Philharmonic will present Stephen Sondheim's groundbreaking Company, with an all-star cast led by Neil Patrick Harris, star of the hit television series, How I Met Your Mother, on April 7-9, 2011. The award-winning musical will be produced and directed by Lonny Price, who directed and co-produced last season's SONDHEIM: The Birthday Concert!, and will be conducted by Sondheim specialist Paul Gemignani, with the original orchestrations for a 35-piece orchestra by Jonathan Tunick. More details will be announced at a later date.

According to Ology.com, David Fincher recently expressed interest in creating a stage adaptation of his 1999 film, FIGHT CLUB. The Social Network director is currently in talks with Trent Reznor, who wrote the score for the 2010 hit film, to possibly get the musical started.