Joel Schumacher News

Grace Gummer, Corey Stoll, and Treat Williams join Tony and Emmy Award-winning actress, Ellen Barkin, in The Parisian Woman. Commissioned by The Flea Theater, Beau Willimon has adapted Henry Becque's La Parisienne, now set in contemporary Washington D.C. To what lengths will a woman go to advance the political career of her husband? The Parisian Woman tears the veil off adultery in this modern retelling of the scandalous affairs of a bored and intelligent wife left to her own devices. Directed by Joel Schumacher.

The Flea Theater commissioned Academy Award nominee Beau Willimon to adapt Henry Becque's La Parisienne for The Flea. Directed by Joel Schumacher and starring Ellen Barkin, The Parisian Woman is now set in contemporary Washington D.C. To what lengths will a woman go to advance the political career of her husband? The Parisian Woman tears the veil off adultery in this modern retelling of the scandalous affairs of a bored and intelligent wife left to her own devices.

The Netflix original series, from Media Rights Capital, HOUSE OF CARDS starring Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey ('Horrible Bosses,' 'American Beauty'), Golden Globe nominee Robin Wright ('The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,' 'Forrest Gump') and Kate Mara ('American Horror Story') will be available for members to watch instantly beginning February 1, 2013.

Actress Debi Mazar and husband Gabriele Corcos, return to Cooking Channel for the third season of food, family and friends in EXTRA VIRGIN, premiering Wednesday, November 7th at 9:30pm ET/6:30pm PT.

The 16th Annual Hollywood Film Awards, presented by the Los Angeles Times, has announced that two-time Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro will be honored with the 'Hollywood Supporting Actor Award' at the festival's Hollywood Film Awards Gala Ceremony for his fantastic performance in David O. Russell's 'Silver Linings Playbook.'

After several previous run extension announcements, the international touring production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's mega musical THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, playing at the main theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), must finally close on Sunday, October 14.

Lookingglass Theatre Company will open its 25th Anniversary Season with Metamorphoses, based on the Myths of Ovid, written and directed by Lookingglass Ensemble Member Mary Zimmerman. The show will play tonight, September 19 - September 28, 2012. The return of Lookingglass' seminal production, coinciding with the 10th Anniversary of the Broadway run, will open at Lookingglass in the fall of 2012 and will then move to Washington D.C.'s Arena Stage.

Lookingglass Theatre Company will open its 25th Anniversary Season with Metamorphoses, based on the Myths of Ovid, written and directed by Lookingglass Ensemble Member Mary Zimmerman. The show will play September 19 - September 28, 2012. The return of Lookingglass' seminal production, coinciding with the 10th Anniversary of the Broadway run, will open at Lookingglass in the fall of 2012 and will then move to Washington D.C.'s Arena Stage.

Jim Simpson, artistic director and Carol Ostrow, producing director, announced today the line up for the upcoming 2012/2013 season at The Flea. Says Ostrow, "We are incredibly excited to unveil a season of astonishing World, American and New York City premiere productions."

The broadcast network premiere of the new half-hour special on the history and evolution of the Batmobile - THE BATMOBILE - will air tonight, July 16, 8:00-8:30pm ET on The CW. An encore of the special will air from 8:30-9:00pm ET.

Artistic Director Robert Falls announced today that he will direct a major revival and new adaptation of Measure for Measure, Shakespeare's darkly comic collision of vice and virtue, in Goodman Theatre's 2012/2013 season, March 9 - April 14, 2013. Also, director David Cromer announced partial casting for his production of Sweet Bird of Youth: Oscar, Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award-nominee Diane Lane appears as Princess Kosmonopolis and Finn Wittrock, who recently appeared in Broadway's Death of a Salesman with Philip Seymour Hoffman, is cast as the young-actor-turned-gigolo Chance Wayne. Complete casting to be announced soon. The production opens the Goodman's new season, September 15 - October 21; a September 24 Season Opening Benefit will take place at The Standard Club. Tickets available only on subscription; call 312.443.3800 or visit www.GoodmanTheatre.org. Individual tickets to Sweet Bird of Youth go on sale August 10; Abbott Fund, Fifth Third Bank, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP and PwC LLP are the Corporate Sponsors Partners. Call 312.443.3811, ext. 586 for more information about the Season Opening Benefit.

The broadcast network premiere of the new half-hour special on the history and evolution of the Batmobile - THE BATMOBILE - will air on Monday, July 16, 8:00-8:30pm ET on The CW. An encore of the special will air from 8:30-9:00pm ET.

For the first time ever, Warner Bros. Entertainment will present EXTRA AT COM-CON(R), a free outdoor entertainment festival happening in San Diego's Bayfront Park July 12-14 during Comic-Con International: San Diego. Bayfront Park is located between the San Diego Convention Center and the Hilton San Diego Bayfront hotel.

SPARKLE will be released in theaters on August 17th by Sony Pictures, starring Jordin Sparks, Derek Luke, Mike Epps, Carmen ejogo, Tika Sumpter, Omari Hardwick, Cee-Lo Green, and the now late Whitney Houston. Directed by Salim Akil and written by Mara Brock Akil, the movie might soon be heading for Broadway, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

In honor of this week's US release of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL on DVD/Blu-ray - PHANTOM 25 for short - today we are focusing on the multitude of attributes that have made Andrew Lloyd Webber's unforgettable gothic musical the most successful entertainment of all time, now in its 25th year onstage and about to reach 10,000 performances on Broadway, where it is the reigning longest running show of all time. The gargantuan excitement generated by and the enthusiastic reception enjoyed by PHANTOM for audiences worldwide is unprecedented, yet, the new ultimate presentation of the show - PHANTOM 25 - is even more spectacular and thrilling than any iteration of PHANTOM on any stage or screen thus far. Bringing together the cast of a lifetime with the electricity of a live audience, the HD preservation of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL is positively peerless in its sleekness, precision and polish of presentation. Never before - not even in the vaunted hands and cords of original show stars Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford - has the show been this contemporary, sexual and hypnotizing. Ramin Karimloo as the Phantom brings a rawness and austerity to the role that commands attention and Sierra Boggess is, in a word, supreme, as the young ingenue under the Phantom's watchful musical tutelage. So, too, does Hadley Fraser's perfectly painted Raoul hit the right mark, as do the rest of the exceptional cast in their commitment to making clear-cut, strong and colorful impressions in their roles. The LED-enhanced set is an imaginative reworking of the designs by Maria Bjornson and the musical staging is smooth and assured thanks to original show choreographer Gillian Lynne. Yet, the star of PHANTOM 25 is, unquestionably, Andrew Lloyd Webber's rapturous, rich and enveloping score. Bringing together an impressive and inspired assortment of genres in creating the quintessential pop opera, Lloyd Webber employs elements of grand opera, opera bouffe, operetta and musical theatre, as well as incorporates a diverse range of musical styles - even a little heavy metal guitar in the title song, as we shall see (and hear). The score of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is one of Andrew Lloyd Webber's finest achievements and stands tall alongside his other classic scores for JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, EVITA, CATS, SUNSET BOULEVARD among many other international hit shows. Indeed, the story and score of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is so very complex and decadent as to allow for a continuation of the story, score, characters and overall themes in the form of the new musical, LOVE NEVER DIES, which premiered in a new version in Australia last year and whose story traces the relationship of the Phantom, Christine and Raoul from the end of the original show all the way from Paris to Coney Island ten years later where PHANTASMA is the show everyone must experience thanks to a mysterious figure lurking in the shadows beyond the carousel. In today's celebration of PHANTOM 25, we will take a look at the original music videos, the legendary Hal Prince production on Broadway and in the West End, the forthcoming LOVE NEVER DIES - coming to Fathom-equipped theaters nationwide later this month - all with a special spotlight on the most phantastic anniversary concert of all time, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL.