Evan Rachel Wood Walks Out Of Spider-Man Stage Spectacular

Filed under: Bono, Evan Rachel Wood, Stage News

The much-anticipated Spider-Man musical has been hit with another major blow – the project’s star, Evan Rachel Wood, has quit.

The Broadway stage show, titled Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, has been hit with a series of problems and delays in the past six months – and now Wood has walked over a scheduling conflict, forcing producers to find a new Mary Jane.

Previews were expected to begin last month, but now the production is not expected to make its debut until the end of the summer.

A financial problem temporarily shut down production in August, just two months after Wood confirmed she’d be playing Spider-Man’s love interest in the Julie Taymor musical, which features music from U2’s Bono and The Edge.

Alan Cumming has been cast as the musical’s villain, the Green Goblin, while newcomer Reeve Carney will play the superhero’s alter-ego Peter Parker in the production.

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Carrey & Gyllenhaal Set For Damn Yankees

Filed under: Movie News, Stage News

Jim Carrey and Jake Gyllenhaal are teaming up for a big screen version of Broadway’s baseball musical Damn Yankees.

Stage star-turned-moviemaker Todd Graff is set to direct the movie, which will be produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron – the men behind Oscar-winning film Chicago.

Graff will adapt Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel’s screenplay.

Damn Yankees opened on Broadway in 1955 and ran for well over 1,000 performances.

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Lucy Liu Is Broadway Bound

Filed under: Stage News

Lucy Liu is set to grace the New York stage – the Charlie’s Angels star has landed a role on Broadway.

The actress will make her Broadway debut in God of Carnage on 2 March, joining Dylan Baker, Jeff Daniels and Janet McTeer, in the comedy about two couples who clash over a fight between their children.

Daniels was in the comedy’s original cast, but will return to tackle a new role, according to the Associated Press.

The play’s current castmembers, including Jimmy Smits and Annie Potts, will take their final bow on February 28.

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George Lucas Working On Fairy Musical

Filed under: Stage News

George Lucas is set to tackle another new genre – the Star Wars director is developing his first musical.

The untitled computer-animated film is in pre-production at Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch production facility in Marin County, California, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The musical marks a rare step outside the Star Wars universe for the filmmaker, who last directed Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith in 2005.

Elf writer David Berenbaum wrote the screenplay, which is tightly under wraps but is rumored to feature fairies.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Kevin Munroe is directing the project, which is expected to feature songs from a variety of sources.

A Lucasfilm spokesperson says it is “too early to comment on the details of the project”.

You know whatever this guy does will be a huge success. It’s almost a giveme!

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Scarlett Johansson’s Enchanting Broadway Debut

Filed under: Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson, Stage News

Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson has enchanted theatre critics with her Broadway debut – reviewers have labeled her performance “perfect.”

Johansson is currently starring in Arthur Miller’s A View From The Bridge opposite Liev Schreiber, playing a 17-year-old girl in 1950s New York.

The opening night at the Cort Theatre on Sunday was a star-studded affair with celebrities including Hugh Jackman, Naomi Watts and Heroes actor Zachary Quinto filling the aisles.

And Johansson has emerged triumphant, garnering a swathe of glowing reviews for her turn.

USA Today critic Elysa Gardner writes, “Johansson – in a brunette wig – (makes) an enchanting Broadway debut in Arthur Miller’s sobering fable… Only afterward will you likely realize the actress’s youthful sensuality and capacity for good-natured goofiness constitute a perfect fit for this (role).”

The New York Times’ Ben Brantley compared Johansson’s performance to other stars who have appeared on Broadway in recent years, insisting the 25 year old outshone all her contemporaries.

[Image via WENN.]

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Scarlett Johansson Auctions Herself For Haiti

Filed under: Celebs Do Good, George Clooney, Scarlett Johansson, Stage News

Scarlett Johansson is auctioning herself off to raise funds for the Haiti earthquake relief effort.

Four fans will get the chance to hang out with the actress after her opening night in Broadway play A View From The Bridge on Sunday at the Cort Theatre.

Proceeds from the auction will go to Oxfam’s Haiti Earthquake Response Fund.

Johansson will also be part of George Clooney’s Haiti telethon on Friday night.

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Maura Tierney Cast In Play

Filed under: Maura Tierney, Stage News

Cancer-stricken actress Maura Tierney is returning to work next month after joining the cast of the satirical play North Atlantic.

The former ER star will appear alongside Frances McDormand in the bi coastal production, making her debut in Los Angeles on February 10 and her first appearance in the New York show in March.

The production takes place on an aircraft carrier in the North Atlantic during the Cold Wa.

Tierney, 44, was forced to pull out of the upcoming TV series Parenthood after she was diagnosed with breast cancer last year.

Hope this is a sign she is doing well and moving forward.

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Ashlee Simpson-Wentz Forgets Chicago Co-star

Filed under: Ashlee Simpson Wentz, Stage News, Tool

Boy Ashlee Simpson-Wentz continues to endear herself to her Chicago cast. They already didn’t like her so this should really seal the deal.

The TOOL was left red-faced on live TV on Thursday – after forgetting the name of her leading man in Broadway musical Chicago.

And, after almost a month of performances, Simpson-Wentz was tongue-tied when asked to recall her co-star Brent Barrett, the actor who plays Billy Flynn, during a segment on breakfast program, The Today Show.

Embarrassed, the star appeared desperate to remember the name, but instead excused herself: “Oh my god! Names, names, names, names, names.”

What an ass!

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Pacino Set For New York Stage

Filed under: Al Pacino, Stage News

Al Pacino is set to wow theatergoers in his native New York – with a series of live performances in the city’s Central Park next summer.

The Oscar winner is the headline act at 2010’s Shakespeare in the Park series, playing Shylock in The Merchant of Venice – a role he played on the big screen back in 2004.

Pacino will be joined by Law & Order stars Jesse L. Martin and Ruben Santiago-Hudson, No Reservations’ Lily Rabe and actors actors Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Max Wright.

The Merchant of Venice will alternate on the Central Park stage with a production of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale.

The Public Theater series will run from 9 June to 1 August.

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Ashlee Simpson Already Hated By Fellow Castmembers

Filed under: Ashlee Simpson Wentz, Jessica Simpson, Papa Joe Simpson, Pete Wentz, Stage News

Ashlee Simpson is the hottest new thing on Broadway – and not all of her “Chicago” cast members are happy about it.

The starlet, who made her debut at the Ambassador Theatre on Monday night, may have upset some of her fellow thespians when she sat in a “makeshift VIP section” in the Time Hotel at an after-party for the show. “It’s not like this is a club in L.A.,” one cast member grumbled of her diva-esque move. “She has to perform with us for two months.”

But Simpson didn’t seem to care – hubby Pete Wentz, older sis Jessica and dad Joe were all toasting her performance at the Svedka fete. Jess liked the show so much, in fact, she tweeted she was going back the next night.

What a bunch of tools, the whole family including Wentz. Leave to Asslee to alienate her cast opening night. I hope they hang her out to dry with her Diva bullshit!

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