TCM Celebrates Esther Williams with 24 Hours of Aquatics

When Esther Williams passed away last week, she remained the only movie star from MGM's Golden Age who'd parlayed swimming prowess into movie musicals. Johnny Weismuller became Tarzan, but Esther Williams became America's Mermaid, the centerpiece of technicolor extravaganzas set in and around swimming pools, where Busby Berkeley choreographed elaborate water ballets involving bevvies of beauties in bathing suits. Williams did appear on land occasionally -- most notably in Take Me Out to the Ball Game opposite Gene Kelly -- but she was most famous for her water work in movies like Million Dollar Mermaid. And when her career as a professional mermaid was done, Williams became an advocate of synchronized swimming and launched a line of swim suits.

To celebrate Esther Williams' unique place in Hollywood history, Turner Classic Movies is devoting 24 hours to her oeuvre, starting with 1944's Bathing Beauty at 7 pm Central time. In that one, Williams plays a swimming teacher at a girls' school whose boyfriend, played by Red Skelton, enrolls to be near her.

That will be followed by Neptune's Daughter, where she is paired with Ricardo Montalban, at 9 pm Central, Million Dollar Mermaid, perhaps her most famous film, at 10:45 pm, and Dangerous When Wet, with Williams cast opposite her future husband Fernando Lamas, at 12:45. Like Williams, Lamas had been a swimming champ in his youth. Dangerous When Wet also featured a number where Williams cavorted underwater with cartoon characters Tom and Jerry.

And after that, TCM is offering nine more movies, all the way through Texas Carnival, which starts at 5:30 pm Central Time on Friday. If you decide to stick around for the whole film fest, you'll get plenty of over-the-top aquatic hijinks, music and comedy from Williams and costars like Jimmy Durante, Howard Keel and Van Johnson. Check out the whole schedule here.

Tony Tony Tony!

The Tony Awards are a wonderful night for those who follow what's happening on Broadway, and pretty much of a mystery to everyone else. So while I was at home thinking that Laura Benanti looked lovely and OMG, Patina Miller's water-color dress was awesome, aren't Santino Fontana and Laura Osnes just the cutest Prince Charming and Cinderella ever, wow, Christopher Durang doesn't look like I remember, and how does Martha Lavey not know where stage right is, I'm sure most people who happened across the telecast while trying to find Game of Thrones or the NBA finals were all, WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE AND WHAT ARE THEY SHOUTING ABOUT?

There were non-whos, there, of course, like nominees Tom Hanks, the most A+++-list movie star of our time, Glee's Jane Lynch, David Hyde Pierce of Frasier fame, and Tony Shalhoub, TV's Monk. Some of the presenters -- Jesse Einseberg, Sally Field, Jake Gyllenhaal, Scarlett Johansson, Zachary Quinto -- also brought movie cred, while Mike Tyson brought... I don't know what he brought. But he was there.

And host Neil Patrick Harris brought his chutzpah, charm, TV icon status and Broadway connections back once again to shepherd the whole thing from beginning to end. The Tony Awards? Well, maybe more like *NEIL PATRICK HARRIS* presents the tony awards.

I know, I know. Everybody loved his opening number, built around the idea of the show going BIGGER this year, combining bits from each of the nominated musicals, with a little Pippin magic, some cheerleaders from Bring It On and a girl group from Motown, Kinky Boots booting their way on stage, waltzing couples from Cinderella, and more kids (Annie, Matilda, Christmas Story) than you can shake a stick at, plus some shoutouts to past winners like Once and Newsies and Billy Elliot. I thought it was okay, but found the lyrics less than connected to the idea of making the show bigger. And I could've done without Mike Tyson and the bit about Berry Gordy banging Diana Ross. I mean, really?

I preferred the second number, the one written by Michael John LaChiusa to lampoon all the Broadway stars who flock to TV shows and then kinda, sorta don't make it. In the wake of NBC slaughtering Go On, Smash, and The New Normal, amazingly talented stars Laura Benanti, Megan Hilty and Andrew Rannells were more than welcome center-stage, showing just how wasted they were playing second fiddles on TV, anyway. Plus they got to sing LaChiusa's funny lyrics to music from West Side Story, Gypsy and Company, with Benanti pretending to be drunk so she could sashay her way through a "Here's to the actors with shows" version of Stephen Sondheim's "Ladies Who Lunch" (fabulous!) and then all three joining NPH to sing a take-off on "What I Did for Love" from A Chorus Line that ended with Hilty singing about how she'd done TV not for love, but for "the chance for producers and directors and writers and casting agents and just, well, everybody to see me and love me because after all, that's essentially what we all crave. Because nobody ever hugged us as children which is how we got into this business in the first place. Especially you, Neil."

Y'all can keep your opening number. I'm sticking with THIS one as the best Tony number ever.

Other highlights included Steppenwolf Theater's production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf winning Best Revival, plus Best Director for Pam MacKinnon and Best Actor for Tracy Letts, doing Chicago proud and showing that Hollywood star power is not the be-all and end-all on Broadway. (Sorry, Tom Hanks. You're going to have to wait a little longer to get the T in your future EGOT.)

Surprisingly, the person who is now closest to filling out her EGOT is Cyndi Lauper, who added a T for Tony to the Emmy and Grammys she already owns by virtue of winning Best Score for the musical Kinky Boots. Kinky Boots also took Best Musical, edging out Matilda, even if the Kinky Franken-number we saw on the awards show seemed like a rehash of 9 to 5 stitched together with a little Full Monty, La Cage aux Folles and Pajama Game. Or, you know, nothing new here, even if its heart is in the right place and the crazy shoes are a lot of fun. Not that I am begrudging Kinky its Tonys. It certainly seemed more interesting than Matilda, which looked like Spring Awakening, Grammar School Edition.  Who puts a big sign that says "revolting" at the back of the stage when they don't want you to think their show is, I don't know, revolting?

Just to make for an overall dandy night for the Kinky crowd, the show also won for lead actor Billy Porter, who plays the main drag queen who helps restore the shoe factory at the center of the plot, Jerry Mitchell's choreography, Stephen Oremus' orchestrations and John Shivers' sound design.

The revival of Pippin, with its emphasis on the circus, acrobatics and a recreation of the original Fosse moves, took awards for Best Revival of a Musical, Best Director of a Musical Diane Paulus, leading actress Patina Miller (in the Ben Vereen role), and featured actress Andrea Martin (of SCTV fame), while Matilda the Musical took home awards for Best Featured Actor in a Musical Gabriel Evert, Dennis Kelly's book, Rob Howell's scenic design and Hugh Vanstone's lighting design. Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella picked up Best Costume Design for William Ivey Long..

Paulus and MacKinnon together make 2013 the first time since 1998, when Julie Taymor and Garry Hynes were honored for their direction of The Lion King and The Beauty Queen of Lenane, respectively, that female directors won both the big prizes.

The late Nora Ephron was the lone woman nominated for her writing, but the Tony voters went with playwright Christopher Durang, giving him his first Tony for the dysfunctional family comedy Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. Veteran Cicely Tyson was named Best Actress for her work in the revival of The Trip to Bountiful, while Lucky Guy's Courtney B. Vance won Best Actor in a Featured Role and Judith Light, last year's winner in the same category, took home Best Actress in a Featured Role for The Assembled Parties.

John Lee Beatty was honored for his scenic design, Ann Roth for her costume design and Leon Rothenberg for his sound design, all for The Nance, with Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer from Lucky Guy awarded the Tony for Best Lighting Design in a Play.

Check out the Tony site for complete info, lots of pictures and videos, and all the acceptance speeches, too. For the fashion report, Tom and Lorenzo are on top of it. My own Best Dressed award goes to Patina Miller and her big, beautiful gown, with Cicely Tyson's purple people eater and Debra Messing's Donna Reed dress from 1953 at the bottom of the list.

Tracy Letts Is Taking Over the Universe

Photo Credit: Michael Brosilow

Tracy Letts has been big news for Chicago and Steppenwolf Theatre for quite some time, what with his play August: Osage County tearing it up all over the place (Pulitzer Prize, five Tony Awards, six Jeff Awards) and then getting made into a movie starring Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts. Before that, plays like Killer Joe and Bug also did quite well, with lots of productions and movie versions of their own, Superior Donuts also made it to Broadway, and Man from Nebraska garnered him his first Pulitzer nomination.

Letts' playwriting is one thing, but he's also an actor to be reckoned with. His appearance opposite Amy Morton in the Steppenwolf production of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (shown above) that transferred to Broadway last year has earned him a Drama Desk Award and a Tony nomination in the Leading Actor category. A lot of pundits are assuming that Tom Hanks will win the Tony, but given the Drama Desk... I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Letts took home off that one, too.

And now he and actress Carrie Coon, who played Honey in that Virginia Woolf, have announced their engagement.

You might think there isn't anything else Mr. Letts could possibly fit into his schedule, but you would be wrong. Come September, Letts will be starring on Showtime's Homeland, the Emmy magnet about spies, moles and international terrorists. He'll be playing a tough United States Senator who heads up a committee trying to piece together what happened that blew the lid off U.S. intelligence in the previous season.

Amy Morton, Letts' costar in Virginia Woolf, also Tony-nominated, will appear on Homeland, as well, playing a lawyer assigned to represent Claire Danes' CIA agent Carrie Mathison. That should make for a very Steppenwolfy season of Homeland.

So far, Letts has the Pulitzer and a Tony as the playwright behind August: Osage County. All he needs is an Oscar for the August screenplay and an Emmy for Homeland, and he'll have scored EPOT status, which is a lot better than the usual EGOT, anyway, right? Or maybe Letts can pull a Grammy out of his pocket, too, and put himself in the lofty EPGOT category currently occupied by only Richard Rodgers and Marvin Hamlisch.

Tom Hanks, his rival for this year's Tony, is working on an EGOT from the other side, since he already has the Oscar and the Emmy. Maybe the two can collaborate on something Grammy-worthy together...

To find out which one gets the Tony for Outstanding Leading Actor in a Play, watch the Tony Awards airing Sunday.

Chicago's Jeff Awards Honor the Best in 2012 Non-Equity Productions

Chicago's Joseph Jefferson Awards for non-Equity productions were handed out earlier this week, with When the Rain Stops Falling, an Australian play produced by Circle Theatre, Under a Rainbow Flag, a Pride Films and Plays musical production, and Smokey Joe's Cafe, a revue from Theo Ubique Cabaret, coming away with Best Production honors in the play, musical and revue categories.

When the Rain Stops Falling, a 2008 play by Andrew Bovell that looks into family ties and troubles over a span of eight decades and four generations, also won for director John Gawlik and projection designer Kevin Bellie at Circle Theatre, while Theo Ubique director Brenda Didier and musical director Jeremy Ramey were honored for their contributions to Smokey Joe's Cafe, a celebration of the 20th century pop songbook of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.

Pride Films and Plays had a world premiere with Leo Schwartz's Under a Rainbow Flag, a musical look at the lives of gay soldiers during World War II performed at Profiles Theatre in March and April, 2012. In addition to the Best Musical prize, Rainbow Flag earned a Best New Work award for Leo Schwartz, who wrote the score and the book.

Paul Edwards won Best Adaptation for his version of Peyton Place created for City Lit.

Acting honors were spread around different theaters and productions, with Blake Montgomery singled out for his solo performance in Charles Dickens Begrudgingly Performs 'A Christmas Carol.' Again, which he created and performed at the Building Stage, Lindsey Pearlman taking Best Actress in a Principal Role in a Play for her role as the female half of a pair of twins with love troubles in Never the Bridesmaid at Polarity Ensemble Theatre, Kelli Harrington winning Best Actress in a Principal Role in a Musical for her role as a French actress with love troubles in Aspects of Love at Theo Ubique, Jeremy Trager named Best Actor in a Principal Role in a Play for playing the man accused of kidnapping the Lindbergh baby in Hauptmann at Bohemian Theatre Ensemble, and Peter Oyloe winning Best Actor in a Principal Role in a Musical for playing the title role in Hank Williams: Lost Highway with Filament Theatre Ensemble.

Supporting actor honors went to Walter Briggs as the Gentleman Caller in The Glass Menagerie at Mary-Arrchie, Jason Richards as one of the puppeteers in Avenue Q at NightBlue Performing Arts, Felisha McNeal as Lola, the middle generation in Cheryl West's family drama Jar the Floor at eta Creative Arts Foundation, and Danni Smith, who played multiple roles in Michael John LaChuisa's See What I Wanna See at Bailiwick Chicago.

The cast of Sideshow Theatre Company's production of Idomenus, a rewind and replay of Roland Schimmelpfennig's musing on the mythological tale of a King of Crete who made a terrible promise, was named Best Ensemble.

The Den Theatre's City of Dreadful Night picked up awards for its scenic design by Henry Behel, lighting design by Cat Wilson and incidental music composed by Mikey Moran, while Hell in a Handbag's Sexy Baby won Best Costume Design for Kate Setzer Kamphausen.

You can see the complete list of nominees and winners here. As always, the Non-Equity Jeff Awards paint a colorful picture of what's been happening at Chicago's creative, original small theaters.

FIDDLER Is Back on the Roof in Sullivan

Do you wish you were a rich man? Do you depend upon tradition? Is "Sunrise, Sunset" the theme song to all of your family videos and slide shows?

Fiddler on the Roof may be about a Jewish milkman and his five daughters in Tsarist Russia, but its themes are more expansive than that. Trying to survive and to hang onto a sense of family and joy in the midst of upheaval and change is pretty much what the world has always been about.

Tevye, our milkman, is faced with more upheaval than most, what with his daughters getting attached to increasingly unsuitable men, his village overrun with Cossacks, and his religion and dearly held traditions battered and besieged at every turn. But the basic theme underlying the show -- that time moves on and we must, too, no matter what the challenges -- survives, just like Tevye. Sunrise, sunset, swiftly fly the years. One season following another, laden with happiness and tears. That isn't just a lyric in a Broadway musical. It's reality, people.

Fiddler on the Roof won nine Tony Awards for its original 1964 Broadway production including Best Musical, with Tonys going to composer Jerry Bock and lyricist Sheldon Harnick for their score, Jerome Robbins for both his direction and his choreography, producer Harold Prince, Joseph Stein, author of the book, costume designer Patricia Zipprodt, and, of course, Zero Mostel, who played Tevye, and Maria Karnilova, who played his wife, Golde. Stars like Bea Arthur, Bert Convy, Leonard Frey, Julia Migenes and Austin Pendleton also appeared in that production, with Frey also showing up in the 1971 movie version of the show.

Sullivan's Little Theatre on the Square has done Fiddler a time or two every decade since the 70s, with stars like Tom Poston, Shelley Berman and Stubby Kaye headlining the cast. This time, Jack Milo and Therese Kincade will appear as Tevye and Golde, reprising roles they played in a recent production at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.

Karla Shook directs for the Little Theatre, with choreography by Sam Hay and musical direction by Kevin Long.

Fiddler On The Roof opens tonight at the Little Theatre on the Square, with performances continuing through June 16. You can call the box office at 217-728-7375 to purchase tickets, or get them online at www.thelittletheatre.org. The theatre is located on the square in "downtown" Sullivan, Illinois, at 16 East Harrison Street.

Joss Whedon's MUCH ADO Opens in Limited Release June 7

It created a brouhaha in the Buffy/Firefly universe when writer/director/producer Joss Whedon announced last year that he had wrapped on a mysterious film project starring several favorites -- including Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof and Nathan Fillion -- who had appeared frequently in Whedon's earlier work. This time, Whedon was talking an updated, black-and-white version of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, the one with witty lovers Beatrice and Benedick sparring over who might be in love with whom. Or not in love. Decidedly not. Except sort of.

Acker and Denisof are the lovers engaging in Shakespeare's most "merry war," with Fillion as the comic relief, a verbally impaired constable named Dogberry; Fran Kranz and Jillian Morgese as Claudio and Hero, the other pair of lovers; Clark Gregg as Leonato, Hero's dad; Reed Diamond as princely Don Pedro; and Sean Maher as bad boy Don John, the one plotting behind the scenes to screw up Claudio and Hero's love affair.

According to the LA Times, Whedon and his wife, Kai Cole, had hosted readings of Shakespeare plays at their Santa Monica home for some time, but for Much Ado, they went beyond just a reading, staging and filming Much Ado right inside the house. Filming in the Whedon/Cole kitchen and bedrooms was complete in a total of twelve days, accomplished while Whedon was on a break from the Avengers movie he directed.

Much Ado About Nothing by Whedon and friends premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last September to mostly good reviews, and it also acquired a distributor. Which meant everyone who was eager to see this most independent of independent features was champing at the bit to get a release date.

A TV spot showing off what it will look like was unveiled in May, with a June 7 date now announced for the film's initial, very limited release, which apparently means New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. When will anybody (or everybody) else get to see Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing? June 21 is the date it's supposed to go wide, but no one is sure yet how wide that will be or how many theaters it will be released to. I'm not banking on Bloomington-Normal, to be perfectly honest, but I'm going to guess there will be a Chicago venue, and maybe even Champaign-Urbana, if we're lucky.

On a personal note, I definitely hope to see it by my birthday in August, because Beatrice's line from the play -- There was a star danced, and under that was I born -- suits my Perseid meteor shower birthdate. In the meantime, a trailer has been released and you can see it at the movie's official site. It definitely looks intriguing. I'm a little worried about the language, which doesn't seem to come trippingly off those tongues, but advance word has been so good... Fingers crossed!

Jumping Into June!

When June hits, we usually begin to talk about summer theater options. This year, it feels a lot more like early spring around here, not summer, but I guess we'll cope. And I hope all the outdoor theater people have umbrellas!

Two notes about June that are different from previous years: The mainstage plays at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival won't start till July and the University of Illinois has benched its summer rep completely. But don't fret -- you'll still find plenty of June options to entertain you.

An Australian movie called The Sapphires is currently playing at Champaign's Art Theatre Co-op. Its "girl group goes to Vietnam" sounds a bit like Dreamgirls meets The Commitments meets Shirley Lauro's A Piece of My Heart, except not sad. Inspired by "an incredible true story," The Sapphires involves a girl group of aboriginal sisters from a small, remote mission town who take their act into the middle of a war to entertain American troops. Chris O'Dowd (The IT Crowd, Bridesmaids, Family Tree) plays their well-meaning manager, while Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy, Shari Sebbens and Miranda Tapsell are the Sapphires. Check out the trailer here. The Art has The Sapphires scheduled for performances tonight through Thursday at 7:30 pm.

Eureka College continues the Central Illinois Stage Combat workshop through June 7, plus Eureka's new high school play competition is underway, with a July 1 deadline. They're looking for ten-minute plays written by high school playwrights, with six winning scripts to be performed by Eureka College in conjunction with the Peoria Live Theatre League.

And speaking of ten-minute plays... Heartland Theatre's very popular annual 10-Minute Play Festival, this year centered on plays with packages, parcels and presents front and center, opens this Thursday, June 6, with a special pay-what-you-can preview performance. The festival continues through June 30, with all the details on the eight winning 10-minute plays here and the schedule of performances here. Call 309-452-8709 to reserve tickets.

Although Macbeth, The Comedy of Errors and Failure: A Love Story don't start till July, the Illinois Shakespeare Festival will offer its Theatre for Young Audiences choice -- The  Magical Mind of Billy Shakespeare, written by artistic director Kevin Rich -- on Wednesdays and Saturdays throughout June. Performances will take place either on the grounds of Ewing Manor, the Bloomington Farmers Market, Lincoln Park or the Children's Discovery Museum. The Improvised Shakespeare Company will also perform their spur-of-the-moment Shakespearean hijinks at 8 pm on June 6 and 13 in the theatre at Ewing Manor. More information on all the Festival goings-on is available here.

And even though U of I is no longer in the summer rep business, Urbana's Station Theatre is. You can see Tracy Letts' Superior Donuts and something called Evil Dead the Musical this month, with performances from June 6-15 for Donuts, directed by Thom Schnarre, and June 27 to July 13 for the Evil Dead, whose spoofy musical adventures will be directed by Aaron Kaplan for the Station. Click here for all the details.

 

New Route Theatre presents Dael Orlandersmith's The Gimmick from June 7 to 16, complete with a very nice "gimmick" of their own -- librarians and teachers get in free! New Route artistic director Don Shandrow directs local favorite Jennifer Rusk as Alexis, a young girl struggling with the life she's been handed, which includes an alcoholic mother and a very bad neighborhood. But Alexis's world is opened up by a librarian who reaches out to her. And that's why librarians and teachers get free admission to this play! The Gimmick will be presented at the McLean County YWCA located at the corner of Hershey and Empire. Call 309-660-2275 or visit New Route's Facebook page for details.

Area students will come out to play at the Connie Link Memorial Ampitheatre when Normal Parks and Recreation's summer musical season begins June 13. This year's June offering is The Secret Garden, a beautiful musical based on the children's book by Frances Hodgson Burnett, with book and lyrics by Marsha Norman and music by Lucy Simon (Carly Simon's sister). Normal's cast includes Caroline McKenzie as Mary Lennox, the girl who discovers the magical garden, Ryan Groves as her uncle, Archibad Craven, and Zachary Mikel as her cousin Colin.  For news about Normal Parks and Rec and their summer shows, check out their Facebook page here.

The Champaign-Urbana Theatre Company offers its summer student production of Urinetown from June 13 to 23 at the Parkland College Theatre in Champaign. Quinn Murphy stars as our hero, Bobby Strong, with Jenna Conway and Kate Meyers sharing the role of his sweet and adorable love interest Hope Cladwell. Urinetown is a very funny, very pointed satirical show, showing a neo-Brechtian dystopic world where water is scarce and "it is a privilege to pee." You can check out the whole cast list here and check in on the CUTC Urinetown blog here.