Bridget Jones is Coming to London

First, there were the newspaper articles.  Next came the books and, later, the movie adaptations.  What they all had in common were the urban, luckless in love career girl who had her own off beat sense of style.  No, I'm not talking about Sex and the City's Carrie Bradshaw, but Bridget Jones, who will soon be the star of her very own West End musical, complete with a score by British pop star Lily Allen.  Helen Fielding, author of the newspaper columns and novels is set to write the book to go with Allen's score in anticipation of a 2011 opening.

3rd Tony Predictions

I've been going back and forth on a few of the more up-in-the-air categories and have updated my predictions.  I'll update again, likely, once a week or so until the actual awards on June 13th.

Best Play: Red (potential surprise: Time Stands Still)

Musical: Memphis (potential surprise: Fela!)

Play Revival: Fences (potential surprise: A View From the Bridge)

Musical Revival: La Cage Aux Folles (potential surprise: Finian's Rainbow)

Actor in a Play: Alfred Molina, Red (potential surprise: Liev Schreiber, A View From the Bridge)

Actress in a Play: Laura Linney, Time Stands Still (potential surprise: Viola Davis, Fences)

Actor in a Musical: Douglas Hodge, La Cage Aux Folles (potential surprise: Chad Kimball, Memphis)

Actress in a Musical: Montego Glover, Memphis (potential surprise: Catherine Zeta-Jones, A Little Night Music)

Featured Actor in a Play: Stephen McKinley Henderson, Fences (potential surprise: Eddie Redmayne, Red)

Featured Actress in a Play: Scarlett Johansson, A View From the Bridge (potential surprise: Jan Maxwell, Lend Me A Tenor)

Featured Actor in a Musical: Christopher Fitzgerald, Finian's Rainbow (potential surprise: Levi Kreis, Million Dollar Quartet)

Featured Actress in a Musical: Katie Fineran, Promises, Promises (potential surprise: Angela Lansbury, A Little Night Music)

Book of a Musical: Everyday Rapture (potential surprise: Memphis)

Score: Memphis (potential surprise: Fences)

Director of a Play: Kenny Leon, Fences (potential surprise: Michael Grandage, Red)

Director of a Musical: Bill T. Jones, Fela! (potential surprise: Marcia Milgrom Dodge, Ragtime)

Choreography: Rob Ashford, Promises, Promises (potential surprise: Twyla Tharp, Come Fly Away)

Orchestrations: Fela! (potential surprise: Memphis)

Set Design of a Play: Fences (potential surprise: Present Laughter)

Set Design of a Musical: Fela! (potential surprise: Ragtime)

Costume Design of a Play: Fences (potential surprise: The Royal Family)

Costume Design of a Musical: La Cage Aux Folles (potential surprise: Fela!)

Lighting Design of a Play: Red (potential surprise: Fences)

Lighting Design of a Musical: Ragtime (potential surprise: Fela!)

Sound Design of a Play: Red (potential surprise: Enron)

Sound Design of a Musical: Ragtime (potential surprise: A Little Night Music)

Avenue Q to Honor Gary Coleman

Following the death yesterday of Gary Coleman, the off-Broadway transfer of Avenue Q, which features Coleman as a character, honored the former child actor at the end of their Friday night performance yesterday.  The actress portraying Gary, Danielle K. Thomas, gave a speech at the curtain call honoring Coleman, in addition to a statement from the show's producers saying that, "the creators, producers, and company of Avenue Q are terribly saddened to hear of the death of Gary Coleman, whose tremendous gifts brought delight and inspiration to audiences around the world."  So far, no creative changes have been announced to the content of the show.

Child Star Gary Coleman Dead at 42

Gary Coleman, who starred as Arnold in Diff'rent Strokes between the ages of 10 and 18, has died of an intracranial hemorrhage after being rushed to the hospital following a seizure a few days ago.  Though the former child actor didn't follow Diff'rent Strokes with any other roles to maintain his public profile, he was known to Broadway audiences for the Avenue Q character based loosely on him.

Lend Me A Musical?

Lend Me A Tenor, the farcical comedy by Ken Ludwig currently playing in revival at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway, is getting the musical treatment in the West End.  The new musical, to be directed by Ian Talbott, will have a book and lyrics by Peter Sham and music by Brad Carroll and will play the West End starting this fall.

The West End Gets Its Hair Cut

The London transfer of the Broadway revival of Hair, the tribal love rock musical, will close on September 4th.  The production, currently starring Tony-nominated Broadway leads Will Swenson and Gavin Creel, was supposed to last through January, but the producers decided not to continue the show past the expiration of the American company's contracts.

Celebrity Tony Presenters Announced

The presenters for the 2010 Tony Awards have been announced.  The list includes friend-to-this-blog Lea Michele, Matthew Morrison, Cate Blanchett, Denzel Washington, Antonio Banderas, Justin Bartha, Michael Douglas, Kelsey Grammer, Scarlett Johansson, Laura Linney, Lucy Liu, Helen Mirren, Bernadette Peters, David Hyde Pierce, Tony Shalhoub, Liev Schreiber, and Raquel Welch.

Next to Normal to Start National Tour

Next to Normal, the Broadway smash hit starring 2009 Best Actress Tony winner Alice Ripley, will be going on a 36-stop beginning on November 23rd with a six week stop at Los Angeles' Ahmanson Theatre.  In preparation for the tour, Alice Ripley, who has signed on to appear as Diana in all 36 cities, will play her last Broadway performance in the role on July 18th.  After Los Angeles, the show will make stops in San Diego, Seattle, Des Moines, Providence, Hartford, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, St. Paul, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Charlotte, and Washington, DC.  More cities will be announced soon.

Audience Award Winners

Broadway.com's 2010 Audience Award winners have been announced, with some surprising wins and some expected ends.  To see the full list of who they chose, follow the link below.  In the mean time, I'd still love to hear from you all about your pics for the best of Broadway in all the major categories.  Who would you have nominated that the Tony Committee didn't?  Who did they pick that you wouldn't have?  Any nominations that you're really hoping to see go for the gold?  I'd love to hear your thoughts!  Feel free to comment on this (or any) post!


http://www.broadway.com/buzz/awards/tony-awards/152488/2010-broadwaycom-audience-award-winners-announced/

Tony Awards Host Announced

Sean Hayes, best known for his Emmy winning portrayal of Jack McFarland on TV's Will and Grace and a Tony nominee this year for his leading performance in the revival of the Hal David and Burt Bacharach musical Promises, Promises, will be hosting this year's Tony Awards.  Hayes said in a statement, "I am absolutely thrilled to be hosting the Tony Awards.  As the new guy on Broadway, it's an honor to be included in the established Broadway alumni."