Leonardo News

Infinite Jest: Caricature and Satire from Leonardo to Levine, on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art September 13, 2011, through March 4, 2012, will explore humorous imagery from the Italian Renaissance to the present.

This October, the Tony Award-winning Berkeley Repertory Theatre once again introduces a new script for the American theatre with the world premiere of How to Write a New Book for the Bible.

Having appeared in more than seventy films so far in his distinguished career, multi-talented leading man Dermot Mulroney is playing one of strangest and most memorable characters of his career in the new independent comedy THE FAMILY TREE, which opens in select cities this weekend. Talking all aspects of shooting THE FAMILY TREE and working with co-stars Hope Davis, Jane Seymour, Chi McBride and fellow InDepth InterView participant Shad 'Bow Wow' Moss, Mulroney also sheds some light on his many beloved past roles onscreen - from MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING with Julia Roberts to GEORGIA RULE with Lindsay Lohan to KANSAS CITY directed by Robert Altman to ABOUT SCHMIDT with Jack Nicholson and Hope Davis to ZODIAC with Robert Downey, Jr. to YOUNG GUNS and far beyond. Additionally, Mulroney and I discuss his little-known musical abilities and his desire to appear on GLEE, the life of the working actor and what he is most remembered for by fans, and he also kindly clues us all in on the spate of supremely exciting new films he is currently working on or about to shoot - among them: Clint Eastwood‘s J. EDGAR starring Leonardo DiCaprio; as well as STOKER with Nicole Kidman and Matthew Goode; ABDUCTION with Taylor Lautner; THE GREY with Liam Neeson; and, of course, his recent directorial debut, LOVE, WEDDING, MARRIAGE, starring Kellan Lutz and Mandy Moore. As if all of that were not enough, Mulroney also just finished shooting Emmy-winning GLEE star Chris Colfer's feature film screenwriting debut, STRUCK BY LIGHTNING, with fellow FAMILY TREE co-star Christina Hendricks, and he shares his experience shooting that this Summer and acting alongside Colfer in it. All of that and much, much more awaits!

The Broadway production of Catch Me If You Can will be closing on September 4th after almost six months at the Neil Simon Theatre. If you've been putting it off, now is your last chance to catch it (if you can.....OK, I'm gonna stop doing that now). The show, which-is-based-on-the-film-which-is-based-on-the real life story of legendary con artist Frank Abagnale Jr., is not a children's show and not your typical family musical, but I jumped at the chance to see it when I was invited to a special blogger night last week. I'm glad a went, because I do think that this is a great show for older kids and that should be good news to families who will get a chance to see the tour which is set to launch next year.

JERUSALEM has extended its limited engagement on Broadway for an additional four weeks. The critically acclaimed, award-winning production will now run through August 21 at the Music Box Theatre (230 West 45th Street).

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director) announced today the establishment of The Donna Perret Rosen Award, an annual cash prize to be awarded to a promising composer/lyricist. The $10,000 award was established at the off-Broadway company's annual gala to honor Second Stage Theatre trustee Donna Perret Rosen in recognition of her long-standing commitment to young artists and new works. The award will be chosen by Tony Award-winners James Lapine, Susan Stroman, and Jack Viertel. The first 'Donna Award' will be awarded in 2012.

Last night DoSomething.org celebrated young do-gooders, celebrities and organizations that have made a commitment to social change with the star-studded 'Do Something Awards' LIVE on VH1. Hosted by comedic genius and 'Glee' star Jane Lynch, the show featured musical performances by Natasha Bedingfield, Lifehouse, and Travie McCoy with special guest Bruno Mars and an all-star red carpet before the award show at The Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. The night concluded with revealing Jessica Posner as the grand prize winner of the $100,000.

Film and stage regular Ana Gasteyer recently performed 'Slap That Bass' on KTLA Morning News. Click below to watch her performance!

Film and stage regular Ana Gasteyer can be seen once again on the small screen in the upcoming ABC series 'Suburgatory,' reports Entertainment Weekly.

IFC announced today that Jon Hamm (Mad Men) will guest star in the second season of IFC's original comedy series, The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, which will premiere in January 2012. Hamm is featured along side stars David Cross and Will Arnett in five of the series' six brand new half-hour episodes. Additionally, musician Johnny Marr returns to score and perform the series' original music to compliment the existing original pieces he created for season one.

IFC announced today that Jon Hamm (Mad Men) will guest star in the second season of IFC's original comedy series, The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, which will premiere in January 2012.

From July 5 to 25, 2011, the 63rd season of Festival d'Aix-en-Provence will offer six new opera and musical theater productions including two world premieres; a concert series featuring symphonic works, chamber music and recitals; and the programs of the 14th Academie Europeenne de Musique.

As the country prepares to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks on New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania, SHOWTIME will premiere the highly-anticipated feature documentary THE LOVE WE MAKE, which chronicles Paul McCartney's poignant and cathartic journey through the streets of New York City in the aftermath of the World Trade Center's destruction. It also traces the planning and performance of the monumental benefit concert at Madison Square Garden, 'The Concert for New York City,' which took place less than six weeks after the terrorist attacks. Directed by iconic documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles (Gimme Shelter, Salesman, Grey Gardens) and his award-winning filmmaking partner, Bradley Kaplan (Muhammad and Larry, Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!, Sand and Sorrow), THE LOVE WE MAKE was shot in the signature cinéma vérité style that Maysles pioneered and made famous when he filmed the Beatles' first visit to America in the legendary 1964 documentary What's Happening! The Beatles in the U.S.A. Shooting once again in 16mm black & white, Maysles' camera intimately captures McCartney's personal journey to help heal the city that welcomed him with open arms in 1964. The announcement was made today by David Nevins, President of Entertainment, Showtime Networks Inc.

The Open Fist Theatre Company presents their third FIRST LOOK FESTIVAL OF NEW PLAYS, with new works written by D. Tucker Smith, Shoshana Bean, Eydie Faye, Laura Richardson, Rebecca Sue Haber, Philip William Brock, Richard Manley, Jesse Bernstein, Jim Bontempo.

Ian Rickson's Royal Court Theatre production of Jez Butterworth's Jerusalem will return to London's West End for a strictly limited 14 week engagement hot on the heels of a triumphant Broadway run. Mark Rylance will reprise his Olivier and Tony award-wining performance as Johnny 'Rooster' Byron, directed by Ian Rickson. Previewing at the Apollo Theatre from 8 October 2011, with press night on 17 October, Jerusalem is booking until 14 January 2012. Designs are by Ultz, with lighting by Mimi Jordan Sherin, sound by Ian Dickinson for Autograph and music by Stephen Warbeck. Jerusalem is produced in the West End by Royal Court Theatre Productions and by Sonia Friedman Productions.

World Without End, the sequel to Ken Follett's groundbreaking masterpiece, The Pillars of the Earth, has been optioned by TANDEM COMMUNICATIONS to be made into a television series. Ridley Scott and Tony Scott's Scott Free will be producing this worldwide bestseller together with Tandem. The Pillars of the Earth writer John Pielmeier is back to adapt World Without End for a possible eight-hour series. Starz is co-funding the writing portion with Tandem and is in first position to be the U.S. home for the new project, as it is for Pillars. According to published reports, the miniseries will feature stage veterans Ben Chaplin, Peter Firth, Cynthia Nixon, and Charlotte Riley. Also set to join them are Miranda Richardson and Tom Weston-Jones.

As previously reported by BroadwayWorld, Clint Eastwood is set to direct and produce an upcoming remake of A STAR IS BORN starring Beyonce. Will Fetters will pen the screen play, while Billy Gerber and Jon Peters will produce the film. A fourth version of the classic film has been talked about for quite a while.

Following a critically acclaimed season which included the World Premiere of Lynn Nottage's hit comedy, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark, Second Stage Theatre has announced three of the four mainstage productions in the company's upcoming 33rd season.

On Wednesday, June 22 at 7:30pm, as part of the adventurous YALE IN NEW YORK series, the Yale Percussion Group brings high-energy works by Steve Reich and David Lang to the stunning Galapagos Art Space stage in Brooklyn (16 Main Street).

Amongst the winners were several with Broadway backgrounds: Bill Sherman (composer) and Chris Jackson (lyricist) for Sesame Street's original song 'What I Am' and Willie Reale as a co-executive producer of The Electric Company on PBS.