Media Morsels 3.18.11

  • On Sunday, original Broadway cast member Start Sands, who played Tunny, as well as Wallace Smith and Davey Havok, played their performance in American Idiot. On Tuesday it was announced that linebacker original Favorite Son Joshua Henry will return to the role he originated in Berkeley and Broadway. Henry will be joined David Larsen as Tunny and P.J. Griffith (through March 20) as St Jimmy. (Billie Joe returns on April 5 for the final three weeks of performances.) Make sure you catch all the Idiots over at the St James before the show closes on April 24. Visit americanidiotonbroadway.com for tickets.

  • Happy Opening, Arcadia!
    The revival of Tom Stoppard's
    Arcadia opened on Thursday night. (Ben Brantley mostly liked it.) Take a look at these production stills from the production, starring Billy Crudup and Raul Esparza, among many talented others (like the lovely Bel Powley), and then check out these stills from the 1995 production, which also starred Billy Crudup! I'll be reading the play this weekend before making plans to go back for a second viewing! Playbill.com has photos of some theatre notables arriving for Arcadia's opening and Broadwayworld.com has photos of Arcadia's opening night curtain call and the cast at its after party. Congratulations on a great, complex show!

  • Original Cast Recordings
    We learned this week that Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight Records will record the original Broadway cast albums for both The Book of Mormon and Catch Me if You Can. (Read the Playbill.com announcement of Mormon and Catch Me.) According to the respective announcements, the Catch Me album will be recorded on April 4 (orchestrations) and 18 (cast) and will be released in either late May or early June; Mormon has not set recording or release dates. You can visit sh-k-boom.com to sign up for alerts regarding either recording; while you're there, you can also order your copy of Things to Ruin: The Songs of Joe Iconis if you haven't already. And really, you should because you've "never heard nothing like this sh*t here!" Check out the Things to Ruiners:
  • Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Class of 2011
    On Monday night, the newest members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Neil Diamond, Alice Cooper, Darlene Love, Dr. John, Tom Waits and Leon Russell, were inducted. On hand to help honor them were legends and luminaries such as The Boss, Sir Elton John, John Legend, John Mayer, Neil Young and the Divine Ms. M. Visit rollingstone.com for full coverage, including an overview of the evening, photos (I like this one, in particular) and video. (The photo at the top of this post is from John Legend's Twitter feed!)

  • Grammar Has a Message for You
  • Tony Awards
    Dear readers, though we only just finished with movie award season, theatre award season is fast approaching. This week, the Tony award committee announced that Tony award nominations will be announced on May 3. This follows the April 28 eligibility cut off date. (And that's why so many shows opening this spring have their official open between April 20 and April 28 - it's a mad dash to the eligibility line!) Visit Playbill.com for the complete Tony time line. And don't forget to mark your calendar for June 12, when the Tony awards will be handed out at New York's Beacon Theatre and broadcast on CBS.

  • Glee Scoop
    Well, dear readers, it's been a while since I've mentioned Glee, and that's mostly because I feel like the show has jumped the shark, what with the 45-minute Britney Spears video and the other theme episodes that have nothing to do with the characters. (Plus, some of the guest "stars" bug me.) But I did enjoy this week's "Original Song" episode. I hope that it will inspire young people - or people of any age, for that matter - to do some soul searching and to express themselves, whether in song, in a short story, on a canvas... (Those interested in collaborative art should head over to hitrecord.org where you can repurpose other people's RECords into something really spectacular!)

    As for scoop: It seems Kristen Chenoweth is headed back to McKinley High. It also, unfortunately, seems Gwyneth Paltrow is headed back, as Ryan Murphy says she is "sort of the muse of the show." Gross. No wonder it's seemed off its game recently. (For the record, I've never met Paltrow. I'm sure she's a lovely person but something about her rubs me the wrong way and I cannot stand her character on Glee. I just want to slap Holly upside the head and remind her that trying to act like you're 15 when you're actually pushing 40 is not cool - it's pathetic.) Luckily, Broadway hunk Cheyenne Jackson is also headed back to Glee, joining Coach Sue's "Legion of Doom," which sounds diabolically wonderful. Visit Playbill.com for the full story.

    In other Glee news: not everyone wants to be covered on Glee. Dave Grohl, frontman of my beloved Foo Fighters, has made it clear that the gleeks will not cover any Foo Fighters material. E! Online is reporting that after the Foos' appearance at SXSW this week, Grohl had a message for Glee creator Ryan Murphy: "Dude, maybe not everyone loves Glee. Me included." I hear you, Dave. I've been loving it a little less lately. This doesn't disappoint me, though, as Glee hasn't really done such a great job with rock and roll of the non-glam/pop variety. ("Somebody to Love" was great but "One" was awful.) So no Foo for Glee. What do you think? Which artists should absolutely not be covered on Glee? Which artists or songs absolutely should be covered?

  • Memphis Live on Celluloid
    Memphis fans take note: The filmed version of the Broadway musical Memphis will be screened in movie theatres on April 28 and 30 and May 1 and 3. Find all the details on Playbill.com.

  • Dig This
    • New production still out this week: Anything Goes and Book of Mormon

    • Want more of the smooth stylings of Matthew Morrison? You're in luck. The triple threat recently recorded a solo album and the first single, "Summer Rain," was just released. It's perfect for a lazy Sunday morning! Check out this rehearsal video:

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