Media Morsels 1.29.10

• Get Your Idiot Now
  Tickets for the Broadway run of American Idiot are now on sale for American Express cardholders so of course yours truly has her ticket for the first preview on March 24. (Tickets for opening night, April 20, aren’t on sale yet – but I’m checking every day!) Tickets will go on sale to the general public on February 14 and they are booking through September. Right now, there are no discounts available and the physical box office at the St James isn’t open yet, but I’ll let you know when those things happen so you can rock out with me!
  
  
• It’s Official: Johnny Gallagher is an Idiot
  Goodness – I almost couldn’t write that because I adore Johnny so much, but it’s true: The full cast of the Broadway run of American Idiot has been announced and John Gallagher, Jr., will reprise the role of Johnny, which he originated in Berkeley. Joining him from the Berkeley production will be Michael Esper, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Tony Vincent and Mary Faber, among others. (Some of those others include Spring Awakening alums Gerard Canonico and Brian Charles Johnson, and Hair alum Theo Stockman.) One notable newbie is Tony nominee Stark Sands who will take over the role of Tunny, played by Matt Caplan in Berkeley. (Caplan and one other Berkeley cast member are the only two Berkeley Idiots not joining the ensemble on Broadway.) Moreover, the entire ensemble will join Green Day at this Sunday’s Grammy award show to perform “21 Guns”, which is Grammy nominated from 21st Century Breakdown and also appears in the show. Tune in to CBS on Sunday night (don’t worry – the Pro-bowl isn’t going to be that exciting) to catch the Idiots.
  
  Visit the show’s official website, americanidiotonbroadway.com for all the updates and a video sneak peek prominently featuring one John Gallagher, Jr.
  
  
• You Can’t Handle the Revival!
  It was reported in the NY Times that Aaron Sorkin’s breakout play, A Few Good Men, will be revived in the 2010-2011 theatre season. (The theatre season runs from May through April, though few Broadway shows open in the summer so it usually feels like theatre’s in season from September through April.) You know I have a huge, ridiculous, off-the-charts crush on Aaron Sorkin’s writing and having quite enjoyed the film version of this I’m very excited about this development. Sorkin was last on the boards in the 2007-2008 season with The Farnsworth Invention, which I saw in previews in October 2007. (Fun Fact: Bono was sitting a few rows behind me in the orchestra for that performance!) Lead producers say they’re looking for a marquee name to take on the lead role, originated on Broadway by Tony winner (and Spring Awakening and American Idiot producer) Tom Hulce, and brought to life on film by Tom Cruise. Are they going to get another Tom to play the lieutenant in this production? Who knows, but producer Ken Davenport said he’s looking for a James Franco caliber actor for the role. Franco himself would probably be very good – and may in fact be interested in the project since he’s all about the intellectual exercises involved in artistic expression and Sorkin’s writing is definitely cerebral. In addition, Aaron Sorkin will be closely involved in the revival, affording him the opportunity to revisit and rewrite the material. I can’t wait to hear Sorkinese live on the boards!
  
  
• Glee Scoop
  Glee creator Ryan Murphy revealed that in the second season of Glee, three new characters will join the club. A rival for Rachel (the star diva played by Lea Michele), a jock/boyfriend for Kurt (the gay soprano played by Chris Colfer) and an R&B male teen to complement Mercedes (the sassy black girl played by Amber Riley.) While I can’t wait for the second season, I’m going a little nuts just waiting for the rest of the first!
  
  
• Great Actors Not Acting Out
  In light of the goings on at Sundance, IFC posted an article on its website this week warning that we are losing this generation’s best actors. Writer Vadim Rizov lamented the fact that great young actors, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Franco and Ryan Gosling in particular, are slowly removing themselves from the acting world because they aren’t finding interesting or stimulating or challenging roles and are instead channeling their energies elsewhere. Rizov’s tone suggests he sees this as a bad thing, but I don’t. To be sure, I want those three actors to continue acting because they’re good – but it’s not like when they don’t take on a role there is suddenly a glut of good, well-acted films being made without them. They are being more judicious with their role choice because they are artists who want to challenge themselves and not just put some money in the bank (though one could argue that they have done the latter on occasion). Joseph Gordon-Levitt, for example, is still acting in movies – he’s promoting his movie Hesher at Sundance – but he wants to express his art in other ways so he is doing exactly what my former theatre professor told us all to do: Create your own opportunities. Gordon-Levitt began Hit RECord about five years ago as a venue for his creativity while the stimulating options from studios were few and far between. Now, Hit RECord is a full fledged production company in which an online collaborative creative community comes together to release, remix and record. Anyone can join and put a “record” out into the world and other recorders, as they’re called, can take that record, remix it and build upon it to create a different, richer record. I think this is a beautiful thing and a wonderful way of embracing technology and the grassroots sensibility of our generation. I hope that Joseph Gordon-Levitt and James Franco and Ryan Gosling continue to do what excites them and what is meaningful to them, knowing full well that they don’t have to act in some trite movie just to get their kicks. Kudos to them for expressing themselves and beating their own drums.
  
  
• Oh, God!
  God of Carnage will welcome an almost new cast on March 2. The current cast, which includes former President Santos, Jimmy Smits, will take their final bow on February 28. On the 2nd, Dylan Baker and Lucy Liu will star as Alan and Annette, who were originally played on Broadway by Jeff Daniels and Hope Davis. Taking over the Marcia Gay Harden role of Veronica will be Janet McTeer, reprising the role she originated in London. And, in an interesting twist, Jeff Daniels will return to the play, this time as Michael, who was played by James Gandolfini. No word yet on how long this cast will be treading the boards but when they do leave, look for more stunt casting to replace them.
  
  
• Ann Curry, You’re Fired
  This week on Today, Ann Curry, during a news segment focusing on the stock market, was interviewing Jim Cramer (who, you might remember, was bested by Jon Stewart last year after Cramer gave irresponsible advice on his CNBC finance show) and she asked the following question: “The Jets lost last night and there are a lot of Jets fans on Wall Street. Do you think that will affect the market?” Ms. Curry, thanks for playing but you can leave you credentials at the door.
  
  
• How We Gonna Pay Rent in LA?
  The seminal musical Rent will play for three performances at Los Angeles’s Hollywood Bowl this summer, August 6-8. The famed Bowl has presented several other special engagement performances in the past, including Les Miserables, starring Lea Michele as Eponine (singing "On My Own", just like on Glee) and last summer’s Guys and Dolls. Casting will be announced later and in the past, these productions have been star studded. So all you Angelinos: Light (your) Candle, go for the Glory and embrace the Season(s) of Love.
  
  
• J.D. Salinger Passes Away
  Reclusive author J.D. Salinger (the J.D. stood for Jerome David) died on Wednesday, passing away at age 91. His son released a statement saying his father died of natural causes at his home in Cornish, NH.
  
  
• Greed is Back
  The first trailer for the upcoming Wall Street sequel, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, is making its away around the internet. It’s a great trailer, making the movie look cool and slick, but it doesn’t necessarily make it look good. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a little skeptical about this sequel but given the talent behind it, namely Oliver Stone, and the talent in it, Shia LaBeouf, Susan Sarandon, Frank Langella, Eli Wallach, Josh Brolin and Michael Douglas, it just might be spectacular. Or, spectacularly awful. We’ll find out on April 23.