Will Ferrell News

With the holiday season right around the corner, its always fun to gather the family and revisit those classically timeless productions. While its not Miracle of 34th Street or A Christmas Carol, ELF certainly provides families with a little bombastic humor to help get through the stress that always seems to accompany the holidays. The latest production to delight St. Paul audiences is ELF, the musical adaptation of the popular Will Ferrell film, which opened last night, Dec. 7 at The ORDWAY CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTS.

I'll admit I was one of the first to roll their eyes in disdain when I heard they made a musical of the Will Ferrell movie "Elf", back in 2010. "Oh Good," I thought, "another overly sweet yet bland movie adaptation designed to get families in the theater and sell merchandise (in this case, elf hats)." And so even more eye rolling occurred when the 5th Avenue Theatre announced they would be putting up a production of it this year. And while the show may be most of those things I mentioned (especially the elf hats) what it isn't is bland. More importantly what the production at the 5th Avenue manages is a super engaging and absolutely adorable evening of elfish fun.

'Extra's' AJ Calloway was backstage with Michael Strahan for his Broadway debut in ELF. Michael has two roles in the show - he plays a cop and a bell-ringing Santa. Despite playing in front of hundreds of thousands of fans during his football career, Strahan told AJ that he had some pre-performance jitters before going out in front of the 1,200 person audience. Watch the interview below!

Fuse, the national music television network of The Madison Square Garden Company, announced today that FUNNY OR DIE'S BILLY ON THE STREET will return to Fuse tonight, December 7 at 10pm EST.

Ken Davenport of Davenport Theatrical Enterprises presented a reading of the new play Schooled, written by Lisa Lewis and directed by Jules Ochoa, as part of the Davenport Developmental Reading Series. Schooled stars Tony nominee Peter Friedman (Playwrights Horizon's Circle Mirror Transformation), Sarah Steele (Lincoln Center Theatre/LCT3's Slowgirl), Harry Zittel (Lincoln Center Theatre/LCT3's All-American) and Zoe Winters (Lincoln Center Theatre/LCT3's 4000 Miles). The reading took place on Monday, December 3rd at The Davenport Studios, located at 250 West 49th Street, Suite 304, in New York City. Check out photos from the reading below!

Lip Addyct approached Lisa Wu about becoming the face of the brand, as founder Adrienne Owens has been a fan of the actress since her debut with the Real Housewives franchise in the fall of 2008. 'Lisa embodies what I believe our 'Addycts' are - intelligent, beautiful women of elegance and sophistication,' says Owens. 'She's a go-getter and, like myself, a mother who continues to press forward and achieves the goals she's set for herself.'

Ken Davenport of Davenport Theatrical Enterprises presents a reading of the new play Schooled, written by Lisa Lewis and directed by Jules Ochoa, as part of the Davenport Developmental Reading Series. Schooled stars Tony nominee Peter Friedman (Playwrights Horizon's Circle Mirror Transformation), Sarah Steele (Lincoln Center Theatre/LCT3's Slowgirl), Harry Zittel (Lincoln Center Theatre/LCT3's All-American) and Zoe Winters (Lincoln Center Theatre/LCT3's 4000 Miles). The reading will take place tonight, December 3rd at 8pm at The Davenport Studios, located at 250 West 49th Street, Suite 304, in New York City.

ABC Family's '25 Days of Christmas,' cable's biggest programming event of the year, returns with 25 continuous days of holiday-themed entertainment for the whole family. From today, December 1 - 25, viewers can ring in the holidays with original movies, holiday specials and returning favorites.

Comedy Works has announced that Fortune Feimster will perform four shows at Comedy Works South at the Landmark tonight, November 30 and Saturday, December 1. Showtimes are 7:15PM and 9:45PM on both nights.

Matt Kopec brings real charm and charisma to the role of Buddy, making the role his own creation rather than a re-hashing of the infamous Will Farrell's film performance.

Ken Davenport of Davenport Theatrical Enterprises presents a reading of the new play Schooled, written by Lisa Lewis and directed by Jules Ochoa, as part of the Davenport Developmental Reading Series. Schooled stars Tony nominee Peter Friedman (Playwrights Horizon's Circle Mirror Transformation), Sarah Steele (Lincoln Center Theatre/LCT3's Slowgirl), Harry Zittel (Lincoln Center Theatre/LCT3's All-American) and Zoe Winters (Lincoln Center Theatre/LCT3's 4000 Miles). The reading will take place on Monday, December 3rd at 8pm at The Davenport Studios, located at 250 West 49th Street, Suite 304, in New York City.

Upright Citizen Brigade presents The 2017 Tony Awardz, a musical parody by Stephanie Streisand and Rocco Privetera. Evan Greenspoon directs a cast of seven including Stephanie Streisand, Michael Hartney, Richard "Big Rich" Armstead, Adam Bozarth, Caroline Cotter, Matthew Frazier, and Douglas Widick. The 2017 Tony Awardz will run at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, 307 West 26th Street, in New York City Monday, December 17th at 9:30pm with future dates to be announced shortly.

NFL Network will air THE RICH EISEN THANKSGIVING SPECIAL today, November 23 at 10:00 PM ET, featuring conversations with some of the biggest names in the world of sports and entertainment.

WHITNEY'S GOT COMPANY! With Whitney Cummings returning to her stand-up roots in her new E! show 'Love You, Mean It With Whitney Cummings,' celebrity guests are sending in their RSVPs to join her. Mindy Kaling, star of the hit series 'The Mindy Project,' will team up with Whitney for her inaugural show, airing Wednesday, November 28 at 10:30 pm ET/PT. Kaling, who rose to the top of the industry for her work on 'The Office,' went on to create 'The Mindy Project,' for which Fox has already ordered 24 episodes.

Talk Show Listings For Today, November 21

THERE IS NO MRS. SANTA CLAUS!, with words and music by Michael E. Dansicker (BMI), will receive its West Coast premiere with The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus. The 275-member ensemble, under the direction of Dr. Timothy Seelig, will feature the song in their annual Santa Concert at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco on Thursday, December 6 at 8 pm.

Autism Speaks, the world's leading autism science and advocacy organization, announced today the launch of "Sound Off For Autism Speaks". This exciting fundraising effort will give fans the opportunity to order a limited number of custom-recorded messages from Ed Asner, Will Ferrell, Morgan Freeman, Carrie Fisher, Tom Hanks, Derek Jeter, Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, Patrick Stewart and Betty White in return for a $299 donation. All proceeds will support autism research and advocacy efforts.

Check out the recently released commercial for the show below and meet the cast with videos of them from past productions and roles!