Academy Award winner Jane Fonda will return to Broadway for the first time in 46 years. Fonda will star in “33 Variations,” a play by Moises Kaufman about a present-day musicologist and her study of Beethoven’s fascination with a particular piece of music. The play, which is being directed by Kaufman, will feature an on-stage pianist and is described as “a feast for the senses and the spirit.”
“I am very excited about being in Moises’ new play,” Fonda said in a statement. “I can’t wait to get back on stage with him in this role that I understand so well. It’s been 40-some years.”
Fonda made her Broadway debut in 1960 in the play “There Was a Little Girl,” for which she earned a Tony Award nomination. Her last appearance on Broadway was in the 1963 drama “Strange Interlude.”
“33 Variations” will open this winter at a theater and date to be determined.
An Austrian art collective who created a giant pink rabbit in the Alps were amazed to find their creation is so huge, it can be seen from space via Google Earth.
The bunny, which is located in a rural spot called Artesina near Cuneo, Italy is made of soft, waterproof, materials and stuffed with straw to make it comfortable to rest on. Visitors are encouraged to climb all over the 200ft toy sculpture and even sleep on it.
Christine Ebersole will play ghostly Elvira in the spring 2009 Broadway revival of Noel Coward’s “Blithe Spirit”. The Tony Award-winning actress, who played dual roles in the musical “Grey Gardens”, will be joined by four-time Tony Award winner Angela Lansbury as psychic Madame Arcati and film star Rupert Everett, who will be making his Broadway debut playing the part of Elvira’s former husband, Charles Condomine.
In Blithe Spirit, one of Coward’s biggest successes, novelist Condomine, living with his second wife, Ruth, invites a local medium, Madame Arcati, to his house. His intention is to do some research into the spirit world for his new book. But he gets more than he bargained for when Arcati conjures up the ghost of Charles first wife, Elvira. Caught between one live wife and one dead wife — both jealous of the other — Charles thinks matters couldn’t be worse.
The original Broadway production starred Clifton Webb as Charles, Peggy Wood as wife Ruth and Leonora Corbett as Elvira. Mildred Natwick was eccentric medium Madame Arcati. The play originated in London, with Coward starring as Charles.
Michael Blakemore will direct “Blithe Spirit” which is scheduled to begin preview performances on February 26, 2009, with regular performances starting in March at the Shubert theater.
Truman Capote’s former Hamptons saltbox home, which he purchased for $800,000 in 1993 from the Nature Conservancy, has been put on the market for $14.6 million by it’s current owner, Artist Ross Bleckner.
“The artist restored and enlarged the home, which is in Southampton’s hamlet of Sagaponack and sits on four acres near the beach, adjacent to a nature preserve. The main house, now 2,000 square feet, has a view of the ocean. There’s also a 1,900-square-foot studio, a two-bedroom guest house, a detached garage and a pool. The author of “In Cold Blood” and “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” Mr. Capote purchased the Sagaponack home in the early ’60s and was a high-society fixture until he published ‘Answered Prayers,’ an expose of his wealthy friends, provoking a scandal. He died in 1984 and left the house to his longtime companion, Jack Dunphy, who died in 1992 and left the property to the Conservancy.”
“Capote commissioned the two-story, flat-roofed, saltbox studio near Gibson Beach in 1961. He liked to emphasize that he decorated the home himself: ‘For me it’s a bore to use a decorator…I just don’t care to have someone come in and tell me what I need to live with. I know.’ He would remove his shoes upon entering the house, trying to preserve the highly-polished floor coated with blue boat-deck paint. ‘Truman had his own style,’ continues Clarke, ‘he liked to combine very elegant things with sort of absurd bric-a-brac that caught his fancy. It was characteristically eclectic.’”
Controversial British film maker Ken Russell will make his New York stage debut this fall, when he directs the Off Broadway thriller “Mindgame.”
Russell (”Women in Love,” “Tommy,” “Altered States”) will stage a new production of Anthony Horowitz’s play, which premiered in London’s West End, in 2000.
“Mindgame” centers on a pulp crime novelist who visits an asylum to interview an infamous serial killer, “but when he arrives at the asylum, he finds nothing can be trusted, not even his own eyes. Through a series of lies, manipulations and memories, dark secrets are revealed”. Keith Carradine (”Deadwood”, “Dexter”) plays a doctor at the institution, with Lee Godart portraying the scribe.
In a statement director Russell said, “After reading Mindgame, I was convinced that I had to direct this play in New York. Anthony has written a fascinating thriller with a new surprise every five minutes. I am delighted and honored to have this intriguing play as my off-Broadway debut.”
“Mindgame” is set to open in previews at the SoHo Playhouse October 28 with a November 9th general opening.
Andy Roddick auctioned off a very private tennis lesson at Sir Elton John’s 16th Annual Advanta World Team Tennis Smash Hits AIDS benefit this past weekend, which included an added incentive one very lucky bidder found hard to refuse.
“He originally was going to auction a private, hour-long tennis lesson to the highest bidder. Then, to sweeten the deal, he offered to take off his shirt for the ‘one-on-one instruction.’ Finally, the recently engaged Roddick offered to give the lesson — fully nude! Winning bid: $15,000 from a female fan.”
Whether Roddick was serious about his offer or just jokingly spicing things up remains to be seen, but if he does stick to his guns, one has to wonder if Andy’s fiance, swimsuit model Brooklyn Decker, will be present during the tennis lesson to keep “little Roddick” in check.
Secretive British street artist Banksy has unveiled his latest project, a mock pet supply store at 89 Seventh Avenue South (near Bleecker Street) in Greenwich Village. “The Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill”, is Banksy’s first official exhibition in New York and his first to make the use of animatronics.
The New York Times reports on the installation: “Open for Pet Supplies/Rare Breeds/Mechanically retrieved meat” says a sign in front of the shop. Bales of hay dot the sidewalk, along with a kiddie dolphin ride, wrapped in a fishing net like the day’s catch. But it is the leopard in one of the storefront windows that stops passers-by first. ‘Is that — real?’ a woman asked on Wednesday, peering at a large furry object perched on a tree branch, its tail swinging. It’s not: it is an ingeniously arranged fake fur coat. The robot monkey is more lifelike: it sits, breathing, in a cage inside the store, wearing headphones, holding a remote and watching a television clip of some fellow monkeys in an amorous moment.”
Said Banksy in a statement: “I wanted to make art that questioned our relationship with animals and the ethics and sustainability of factory farming.”
the exhibit it will be open to the public daily through Oct. 31.
Tina Fey returned to Saturday Night Live this past weekend to parody Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. SNL regular, Jason Sudeikis, steps in as Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden and Queen Latifah cameos as debate moderator, Gwen Ifill.
The McCain campaign released this photo of Sarah Palin training for her Thursday night Vice-Presidential debate debut. The dress rehersal took place at McCain’s ranch in Sedona, Arizona, where foreign policy adviser Randy Schuemann stood in for tomorrow night’s host, Meredith Vieira. Wagers have Sarah going home at about the $10,000 mark.
32-year-old Michele Allen of Middletown, Ohio was arrested Saturday night and charged with chasing after children, blocking traffic and yelling at police, all while sporting a cow costume.
Officials said Allen “chased children” in the city’s 3100 block of Wilbraham Road and “urinated on a neighbor’s porch.” Police ordered Allen to go home and stay there, but around 11 p.m., they received a report that a woman in a cow costume was causing a disturbance in the 2400 block of North Verity Avenue.
Sure enough, when police arrived they found the rebellious bovine blocking traffic. When confronted, officials said Allen “had alcohol on her breath, slurred her words, was belligerent and swore at the officer.”
Allan pleaded guilty Monday in Middletown Municipal Court to one count of disorderly conduct. She was sentenced to a month in the County Jail where she will be forced to produce Velveeta and Cheez Whiz…well, where exactly did you think that stuff came from?
