Media Morsels 12.23.11

Dear Readers,
Please enjoy these last few Morsels of the year. Next week, Media Morsels will be dedicated to my Year in Review. Check back then to find out my favorite things of 2011.

• Show by Show
  When I took a musical theatre survey class in college, the Good Book was Broadway Musicals: Show by Show, by Stanley Green. It has since been my go-to for musical theatre tidbits. (For example, when my parents hear a song on the Broadway channel on XM and don't know what show it's from, I field their call and look it up in my Show by Show.) The edition I had, which was the newest at the time, only went through 1996; Rent was the last entry. This week I learned, from Playbill.com, that there's a seventh edition out, and it includes musicals up through 2010. (That means the recent Hair revival and American Idiot are in it!) This is a must-have for budding (or even established) musical theatre scholars and lovers. Pick up your copy today.
  
  
• More Year-End Lists
• AP's Top Theatre Picks, including The Book of Mormon, War Horse, Anything Goes, Venus in Fur, Seminar and Mark Rylance in both La Bete and Jerusalem.
  
  
• Forbes released its lists of 30 Under 30, movers and shakers who are blazing a trail in various fields. Highlights from its Entertainment list include Community's Donald Glover and Venus in Fur sensation Nina Arianda.
  
  
• Rolling Stone presented an In Memoriam photo essay chronicling the artists we lost this year, including Clarence Clemons and Jerry Leiber.
  
  
• Broadway.com named its picks for the Five Top Shows of the year, including The Book of Mormon and Seminar. The site also announced its picks for the Five Unforgettable Performances, including Bobby Cannavale in The Motherf**ker with the Hat, Sutton Foster in Anything Goes, Joe Mantello in The Normal Heart and Jan Maxwell in Follies.
  
  
• Last week, IFC.com named its favorite movie poster of the year. This week, New York magazine revealed its picks for best and worst movie posters. On its best list are The Ides of March (which was one of IFC's picks, too) and Martha Marcy May Marlene; on its worst list are Drive and J. Edgar, proving (or arguing) that sometimes good movies have bad posters.
  
  
• The New York Times offered two year-end lists: Patrick Healy bestowed his own superlatives, like Strangest Endorsement and The Law and Order Award for Employing Theater Actors; and a melange of NYT critics offer a melange of superlatives, like Bounciest Choreography.
  
  
• Playbill.com presented its picks for the Top Theatre Stories of 2011.
  
  
• Bonnie & Clyde Q&A
  TheaterAdvisor.com recently invited me to a post-show Q&A with the members of the cast and creative team of Bonnie & Clyde: A New Musical. At the discussion, I got to chat with director Jeff Calhoun, designer Tobin Ost and actors Claybourne Elder and Melissa van der Schyff. Head over to TheaterAdvisor.com to read what happened, and while you're there, leave a review of your favorite show!
  
  
• Award Season Update
• The London Film Critics released their nominations this week. Highlights including nominations for Drive (plus its director, actors and score), Shame (and star Michael Fassbender) and Christopher Plummer in Beginners.
  
  
• The Academy (as in Academy Awards) announced the songs eligible for nomination for Original Song at this year's Oscars. The list of 39 songs includes a few tunes from The Muppets, including "Life's a Happy Song." (Keep in mind that the Academy has botched this category - especially in the nominating stage - in the past. (Like when Bruce Springsteen wasn't nominated for "The Wrestler," written for The Wrestler. Or last year when John Legend wasn't nominated for "Shine" from Waiting for Superman.) All I'm saying is keep your fingers crossed but your hopes down.)
  
  
• Glee Scoop
  My Glee coverage has waned, as has my interest in the show, but I thought you might be interested in these two bits of info: Glee heads Inside the Actors Studio. Playbill.com reports that Chris Colfer, Jane Lynch, Lea Michele, Corey Monteith, Matthew Morrison and creator Ryan Murphy met with Actors Studio host James Lipton on December 18 to tape an episode that will air on Bravo this spring. And the other interesting tid-bit is that the fabulous Helen Mirren will make an appearance on Glee. Or, more accurately, her voice will. Mirren's voice will be heard in the January 17 episode; she's said to be providing the inner monologue of one of the gleeks.
  
  
• Dig This
• From the Queue: Beginners; Limitless; and Midnight in Paris
  
  
• Patti LuPone and Inigo Montoya Mandy Patinkin headed over to Broadway.com for another edition of Ask a Star.
  
  
• Betty White will be feted on the occasion of her 90th birthday. NBC will broadcast a special tribute to the star on January 16. Guests include Mary Tyler Moore and Ed Asner, of course, as well as Carol Burnett, Amy Poehler and Joel McHale.
  
  
• President Clinton and daughter Chelsea visited Anything Goes this week. (Secretary Clinton was reported there, though she's not pictured.)
  
  
• Florida peeps: Patti LuPone is coming for you at the end of January!
  
  
• Jamie Oliver (!) cooking in Nate Berkus's kitchen (!!) I want to go to there!!!