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‘Hairspray’ Hits Las Vegas!

It was a full house with the cast of Hairspray was on hand at ShoWest on Wednesday night — John Travolta, Queen Latifah, Michelle Pfeiffer, Zac Efron, Brittany Snow, James Marsden, Elijah Kelley, Allison Janney, Christopher Walken, and Nicole Blonsky as the lead.

HOLY HAIRSPRAY, TRACY! 20 minutes of footage from the film (out July 20) was previewed at ShoWest and the reviews are great! Read the first one at AICN. SOOOOOO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For 60+ pictures of the entire Hairpsray cast at ShoWest, CLICK HERE!

For Hairspray movie stills, CLICK HERE. More Here! »

Fantasia Joins ‘The Color Purple’

The rumors are true! American Idol Season 3 winner Fantasia Barrino joins the Oprah Winfrey-produced musical The Color Purple.

Fantasia will take on the role of the central character named Celie, a young woman who is sexually abused by her father and impregnated by her father (who, she later discovers, is her stepfather).

She joins other American Idol veterans who have made their way onto Broadway including Constantine Maroulis in The Wedding Singer and Diana DeGarmo in Hairspray.

‘Little Dog Laughed’ Review

Just caught The Little Dog Laughed on Broadway late last week. Check out the promo pics below; more after the jump! And here’s a mini-review:

Before the curtain rises, the atmosphere is set with series of sultry whispers, set to a modern lounge beat, that repeat (annoyingly) over and over and over.

Just four characters appear on stage in The Little Dog Laughed, a “good, naughty, laugh-out loud” funny comedy surrounding the serendipitously intermingled lives of Diane (Julie White), Mitchell (Tom Everett Scott of TNT’s Saved), Alex (Johnny Galecki—you know him as Darlene’s ex on Rosanne), and Ellen (Ari Gaynor).

Scenes between Ellen, Alex’s girlfriend, and Alex tended to be too over-the-top cool (though that might have been the intention), and dragged on a little until the story really picked up.

Scenes involving Mitchell, a schmoopy, dopey rising movie star and Alex, an impossibly hip and urbane callboy as the two go through the thrills and complexities of an hush-hush romance are played alternately humorously, with witty lines that usually get lots of laughs, but sometimes fall flat, and (sometimes too) seriously.

By far the best performer, because you did not feel that she was acting, was Julie White as Diane, Mitchell’s very modern, competent, thoroughly entertaining (and thoroughly Machiavellian) Hollywood agent. The character’s hilarious lines (on everything from Cobb salads to Hollywood contract negotiations to awards ceremonies) coupled with White’s sparkling performance add a dose of wit that turns The Little Dog Laughed into a can’t-miss comedy of modern manners.

Sidenote: Tom Everett Scott plays drinking games with his children. Umm…

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More Here! »

‘Grease’ Musical Promos!

New Grease: You’re The One That I Want promos!! Has anyone else been following this series? I don’t have an opinion on any of the girls yet. As for the guys: Max is too skinny, pass on Austin, and two thumbs up for Kevin. Anyone else have initial thoughts?

Pictured (l-r) top row: Kevin Greene, Jason Celaya, Ashley Spencer, middle row: Allie Schulz, Kate Rockwell, Chad Doreck, Juliana Hansen, Austin Miller, Derek Keeling, bottom row: Laura Osnes, Max Crumm, Kathleen Monteleone

Don’t miss the Grease: You’re The One That I Want special time live this Sunday @ 7PM ET/PT. Individual Grease contestant promos after the jump!

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More Here! »

‘Hairspray’ Movie Stills

Hairspray movie stills just surfaced and I cannot wait for this film to be released!

Pictured: John Travolta (Edna Turnblad), Queen Latifah (Motormouth Maybelle),
Amanda Bynes (Penny Pingleton), James Marsden (Corny Collins), Zac Efron (Link Larkin), Michelle Pfeiffer (Velma von Tussle), Christopher Walken (Wilbur Turnblad), Brittany Snow (Amber von Tussle), Allison Janney (Prudy Pingleton), Nicole Blonsky (Tracy Turnblad), Elijah Kelley (Seaweed J. Stubbs), Tabitha Lupien (Becky), Hayley Podschun (Tammy), and Kelly Fletcher (Lu Anne).

The movie version of Hairspray hits theaters nationwide July 20.

Fun Tidbit: Ricki Lake, who played Tracy Turnblad in the 1988 film version of Hairspray, will make a cameo as a William Morris talent agent who appears at the Miss Teenage Hairspray 1962 pageant.

If you haven’t seen the Broadway musical of Hairspray, you can catch Ashley Parker Angel, formerly of boy band O-Town, as Link Larkin, starting Jan. 19.

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If you’re not familiar with Hairspray or Broadway musicals at all, watch the video below of the original cast of Hairspray: The Musical on The Today Show in September 2002. One of the most fun songs ever!

Grease Talent Search

Check out these new promos for the new TV reality competition, Grease: You’re The One That I Want, a process in which voters will choose the next Sandy and Danny (the perfect girl and the greatest guy) to star in a Broadway revival of the hit musical.

Pop star Olivia Newton-John will revisit her famous role in the film — she will provide commentary for the show. Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush and British television host and stage actress Denise Van Outen will be hosting the series. The judges: David Ian, Kathleen Marshall, and Jim Jacobs.

Grease: You’re The One That I Want kicks off with a 90-minute premiere on Jan. 7 @ 8PM ET/PB on NBC. Watch the exclusive video preview below!

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Exclusive Grease: You’re The One That I Want Preview

‘High Fidelity’ Makes Top 5 Musicals

On Saturday, Audrey and I caught an afternoon matinée of High Fidelity, a musical version of the Nick Hornby book that was turned into a movie with John Cusack.

This musical version preserves key plot points from the original (music aficionado Rob, who makes top-5 lists throughout the show, loses girlfriend Laura and tries to come to terms with his life while friends Barry, Dick and Liz offer advice and tough love), while broadening the irony and losing the heavier parts. It’s become something like a light sitcom episode of the same story.

High Fidelity’s sets are amazing. They rotate, swivel, slide and recombine to form 5+ great locations: Rob’s Brooklyn apartment, a new age-y apartment, a rainy street corner, and Rob’s record store. Along with the saturated lighting, the sets make High Fidelity a very good-looking show. (Continued after the jump)

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More Here! »

Laura Lane Caused Jen/Vince Split?

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Annie: The Musical - Good Morning America, 12/6
“It’s the Hard-Knock Life”
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