Media Morsels 4.15.11


  • The Muppets
    The Muppets are coming! The Muppets are coming! As you probably know, dear readers, our beloved Muppets - Kermit, Dr. Teeth, Statler & Waldorf and the whole gang - are heading back to the big screen, courtesy of funny dude Jason Segel and his Forgetting Sarah Marshall director, Nick Stoller. The film is set to hit theatres this Thanksgiving (thanks, Thespis!) and is reported to include lots and lots and lots of celebrity cameos. To help tide you over until then, check out this recent New York Times article detailing the franchise's revival.

  • Bloody Bloody Good News
    That sexypants POTUS could pop in to a town near you. Music Theatre International (MTI) acquired the licensing rights to Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, making it possible for regional theatres to put on their own dirty sexy emo rock show! Though shows could spring up as early as this fall, MTI expects the first productions to begin sometime next spring. Read more on Playbill.com, and as always, you can go to sh-k-boom.com to order a copy of the Bloody Bloody cast recording and visit MTIShows.com for licensing information. Populism's back, baby!

  • Crazy, Stupid, Love
    Just caught the trailer for a new flick hitting multiplexes later this summer and it looks fun. Crazy, Stupid, Love stars Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell, Marisa Tomei, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone and, just to beef up his six degrees status, Kevin Bacon. What do you think?

  • Hair is Back!
    That's right, dear readers, Hair: The American Tribal Love Rock Musical is coming back to Broadway for a summer of love!!! Can you guess how excited I am? The current touring Tribe will decamp at the St James (current home to American Idiot, which closes on April 24. Boo.) from July 5 through September 10. After that, they'll continue on their tour, hitting San Diego, West Palm Beach and other locales across the US. Don't you think it'll be a blast to dance with the Hippies again? A buddy of mine from high school is in the tour so I'm particularly looking forward to saying hello to him at the stage door. The Hippies are taking over once again, starshines. Be in at the St Jimmy this summer!

  • Netflix at the Movies?
    I recently read with interest an article in which blogger Chris Dorr posits that "movie theaters should think like Netflix." He suggests movie goers buy a monthly pass to their favorite movie theatres and would then be able to go to the movies anytime without paying per ticket. I think this is a reasonable idea and while paying $10/month versus $12-15/ticket is appealing, the cost isn't the only factor keeping me from seeing movies in the theatres. The two biggest obstacles are... Visit my tumblr to read more!

  • American Idiot...on Celluloid?
    Speaking of the movies, it appears Universal Studios is interested in adapting American Idiot for the big screen. A film adaptation has been rumored before, when Tom Hanks and his Playtone Productions seemed interested. This latest development has Milk scribe Dustin Lance Black writing a book for the musical (or, in film terms, a script) and Michael Mayer directing. I'm having mixed feelings about a new script being written and (possibly) excessive dialogue being interpolated. But, it's just chatter at the moment (and I thoroughly enjoyed Milk) so I'm withholding judgment for the moment. What do you think, dear readers? And how would you feel about American Idiot being a movie without John Gallagher, Jr., starring in it, as is possible?

    Speaking of Johnny, check out this brief article from his hometown paper, promoting John's latest venture, Jerusalem. (I'm seeing on Sunday!)

  • Be a Broadway Star
    I won three Tony awards, dear readers. Yes, not one, not two but three! And I won my family Tony for playing Roger in Rent. Actually, that all happened on Tuesday when I played a rousing round of Be a Broadway Star, a fun new board game from Ken Davenport. Visit my Tumblr to read about my Tony-terrific time!

  • Awards Updates
    Dear readers, Tony season is fast approaching. (Tony noms will be announced on May 3 by Matthew Broderick and Anika Noni Rose.) While the last of the spring shows race to open before the end of this month, the Tony committee released the logo for 2011 (at right). What do you think? I like the clean lines and that it's not too fastidious, but it's also a little plain. No color. Nothing terribly visually interesting. How would you spruce it up?

    In some follow up news, the latest issue of Vanity Fair has lots and lots of photos from their famed Oscar party. While those exact photos aren't available online, VF does have several other after-party photos and I've added a few (along with color commentary) to my tumblr.

  • Dig This
    • Best and only thing to dig this week: New Foo for You. Wasting Light dropped this week and it's phenomenal. Check out Foo Fighters performing "Walk" on SNL last Saturday, as well as the fellas performing "Bridge Burning" and "Arlandria" on The Daily Show on Monday.



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