Billy Crystal News

According to The Hollywood Reporter, comedian and Broadway vet Billy Crystal has inked a deal with Henry Holt and Company publishers for $4 million to write a humor book on aging. The book's release will coincide with Crystal's 65th birthday in March of 2013.

The University of Houston's School of Theatre & Dance has a long tradition of producing successful show business professionals. This fall, six esteemed alums are returning to the university to pay tribute to the program that helped launch their careers.

Tickets to THE PERFORMERS -- the new Broadway comedy by David West Read -- will go on sale via Telecharge on Monday, August 13 it has been announced by the play's producers Robyn Goodman, Scott M. Delman and Amanda Lipitz. Patrons can purchase tickets by calling Telecharge at 212 239 6200 or online at www.telecharge.com.

La Jolla Playhouse presents the next production in its acclaimed Without Walls (WoW) series this fall, featuring award-winning actor Luke Macfarlane (ABC's Brothers and Sisters) in Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir, by Keith Bunin, directed by Mark Rucker.

Landmark on Main Street has announced its 2012-13 season. Tickets and information at the box office phone516-767-6444 or www.landmarkonmainstreet.org.

THE PERFORMERS -- a new comedy by David West Read (THE DREAM OF THE BURNING BOY) -- will open on Broadway this fall with a cast starring Cheyenne Jackson, Ari Graynor, Daniel Breaker, Jenni Barber and Henry Winkler, it has been announced by the play's producers Robyn Goodman, Scott M. Delman and Amanda Lipitz.

Emmy Award-winner Peter Lefcourt's new play makes its World Premiere debut at the Odyssey Theatre, opening tonight, July 21, 2012 at 8pm. Mutually Assured Destruction runs 8pm Fridays and Saturdays, and 3pm Sundays through August 26, 2012.

Merging local star power with nationally-recognized artists, the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County announced today the creative team collaborating on this summer's blockbuster - THE DONKEY SHOW.

Bay Street Theatre is presenting THIS IS SPINAL TAP, a classic rock "mock"umentary film tonight, July 9 at 8 pm. Tickets are $10 at the door with open seating.

Merging local star power with nationally-recognized artists, the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County announced today the creative team collaborating on this summer's blockbuster - THE DONKEY SHOW.

La Jolla Playhouse has just announced casting for its upcoming production of An Iliad, a one-man adaptation of Homer's classic tale, adapted by Denis O'Hare (Tony Award-winning actor in Take Me Out) and Lisa Peterson (director of the Playhouse's Surf Report and Be Aggressive), based on a translation by Robert Fagles, directed by Lisa Peterson. A co-production with Berkeley Repertory Theatre, An Iliad features Henry Woronicz as the "Poet," with Brian Ellingsen as the "Musician" and runs August 11 - September 9 in the Mandell Weiss Forum.

In light of this week's news of the passing of noted author, playwright, producer and director Nora Ephron, today we are highlighting some of the most memorable moments from her accomplished and versatile career onscreen and onstage. Ephron's artistic output consisted of collections of essays, memoirs, novels, screenplays, feature films, plays and producing duties on projects close to her heart, as well as a considerable amount of awareness raising for women's causes and general charitable work for the arts. While perhaps best known for her much-loved trio of romantic comedies WHEN HARRY MET SALLY…, SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE and YOU'VE GOT MAIL, Ephron also penned the screenplay for the Mike Nichols biopic SILKWOOD about whistleblower Karen Silkwood, as well as wrote and directed the recent hit comedy JULIE & JULIA, re-teaming with her friend and consistent collaborator, three-time Oscar-winner Meryl Streep. Incidentally, Streep actually played Ephron - or at least a thinly-veiled version of her - in the 1986 Mike Nichols film HEARTBURN, based on her novel of the same name. While BEWITCHED, LUCKY NUMBERS and HANGING UP may have failed to ignite, Ephron created fine films with the angelically-themed John Travolta starrer MICHAEL and the Julie Kavner vehicle THIS IS YOUR LIFE, as well as crafted indelible characters in screenplays such as COOKIE, MIXED NUTS and MY BLUE HEAVEN. Closing out her career, Ephron showcased Streep once again and rising star Amy Adams shone brightly in the fun and frothy JULIE & JULIA, ending Ephron's film output with a hit to go along with her successful early beginnings as an essayist, humorist and cultural commentator - having penned essay collections in the 1970s such as WALLFLOWER AT THE ORGY, CRAZY SALAD: SOME THINGS ABOUT WOMEN, SCRIBBLE, SCRIBBLE: NOTES ON THE MEDIA, and, more recently, I FEEL BAD ABOUT MY NECK: AND OTHER THOUGHTS ON BEING A WOMAN and I REMEMBER NOTHING: AND OTHER REFLECTIONS - who famously parlayed those skills into TV writing, and, then, her Oscar-nominated work on SILKWOOD - arguably her finest dramatic work of all in film. As far as Ephron's stage ventures are concerned, besides the forthcoming musical adaptation of SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE currently being developed under director Lonny Price and her writing of next season's purportedly Tom Hanks-headlining Broadway bow in LUCKY GUY, Ephron penned the 2002 Jack O'Brien play with music (by no less than Marvin Hamlisch and Craig Carnelia) IMAGINARY FRIENDS, starring Cherry Jones and Swoozie Kurtz, as well as the recently-closed Off Broadway smash, LOVE, LOSS AND WHAT I WORE, co-written with her sister, Delia Ephron. JFK White House intern to New York Post columnist to celebrated essayist to Oscar-nominated screenwriter, director and producer, Ephron left a significant mark on society and also crafted some heartwarming - or, should that be: heartburning - stories along the way.

Bay Street Theatre is presenting THIS IS SPINAL TAP, a classic rock "mock"umentary film on Monday, July 9 at 8 pm. Tickets are $10 at the door with open seating.

Emmy Award-winner Peter Lefcourt's new play makes its World Premiere debut at the Odyssey Theatre, opening on Saturday, July 21, 2012 at 8pm. Mutually Assured Destruction runs 8pm Fridays and Saturdays, and 3pm Sundays through August 26, 2012.

Disney has released the first teaser trailer for Pixar's Monsters, Inc. prequel, MONSTERS UNIVERSITY. Get a first look at the upcoming animated film below!

Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, Neal Street Productions and Kevin McCormick today announced that their production of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will open at the London Palladium in June 2013 after a preview period. The new stage musical will be directed by Sam Mendes, with a book by David Greig and new songs from Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman.

Now scaring up laughs at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood through June 17, THE ADDAMS FAMILY: THE MUSICAL is a charmingly corny, ghoulishly droll musical comedy that features hummable music and a made-for-TV-ready story that is genuinely hilarious from top to bottom. What a pleasant, wonderful surprise it was, then, to go into a show that had me and the audience literally LOL-ing throughout. This insanely funny touring production is a definite must-see!

Broadway Theatre of Pitman presents Murder at the Oscars, today, June 15 through June 17, Friday at 8:00 pm, Saturday at 8:00 pm, Sunday at 2:00 pm, at 43 S. Broadway, Pitman, New Jersey.