Media Morsels 2.25.11

• American Idiot on Tour
  As announced a few weeks ago, American Idiot will hit the road this fall. Producers made the official announcement this week, though no dates or cities have been announced. But the exciting part is that producers are holding open casting call for all the roles for the touring production. According to the Playbill.com announcement, open calls will be held in LA on March 5; in Toronto on March 26; in Boston on April 9; and in Chicago on April 23. Thespians in their early to late 20s hoping to become an Idiot should visit the show's Facebook page, facebook.com/americanidiotbroadway to learn the specific locations and times of the calls. The show is still playing here in New York, so visit americanidiotonbroadway.com for more information and to purchase tickets.
  
  
• New Foo For You
  A brand new Foo Fighters song, "Rope," from their upcoming record, Wasting Light, is now available for streaming on foofighters.com! It has a delicious opening guitar lick and has a terrific loose feel to it. (Listen below!) The record will "drop" (as the kids say) on April 12 but you can pre-order it now. On March 1, "Rope" will be available as a single for digital download (and if you pre-order the album on iTunes, you'll receive a free download of "Rope"). This record is going to rock!!! (Visit the Foo site for the track listing.)
  

• The Oscars!
  
  Ladies and gents, the Oscars are this Sunday! Here are some things to help you prepare and have fun during the broadcast (with the most important part first):
• Oscar Cocktails (my favorite (based on the description!) is the James Franco shot)
  
• Your complete Oscar ballot
• Oscar Bingo
• Oscar Odds
• Oscar Ballot Tabulating Procedure
• Oscar Presenters and Performers (including Ms. Reese Witherspoon and JTims!)
  
• Hosting Advice, from Judd Apatow to James Franco:
  

How Do You Host? with James Franco and Judd Apatow from James Franco

• Things to Ruin
  Dear Readers, I've gushed before about Joe Iconis and his merry band of badassians but I'll gush again because they're about to cause a beautiful ruckus at Le Poisson Rouge here in New York. Things to Ruin, which previously played at Ars Nova (by the way, did you know Jesse Eisenberg wore his own Ars Nova shirt in The Social Network?) and Second Stage Theatre, is back! In celebration of the release of the original cast recording (order it now at sh-k-boom.com) of these honest, raw and rocking songs, the gang is getting together to blow the roof off of this downtown venue. This is a limited, four-show engagement, with the first show this Monday night at 9:30. These shows will be legendary so book your tickets now! (Update: Check out this awesome video of the song "Head Shot.")
  

• Spirit Awards
  While the Oscars are on Sunday, don't forget that the Film Independent Spirit Awards, which honor films created on a very limited budget, will be presented the night before in a laid back ceremony hosted by snark-master Joel McHale. The ceremony will be broadcast on the IFC channel so tune in to find out if Black Swan will take down (the undeserving) Winter's Bone. Plus, Rent's original Mimi, Daphne Rubin-Vega, is up for an award. You have to tune in! (Here, IndieWire readers make their picks.)
  
  
• Spiderman Smackdown
  Writer Justin Moran is launching Spiderman Smackdown, "a guerrilla theatre project to write, rehearse and perform a fully realized musical based on the character Spider-man in under 30 days with a budget of $0." Naturally, this will open one day before Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark (which recently brought on a consultant and which, rumors assert, may delay its opening once again). Interesting challenge - which do you think will be better? (Late this week, we learned that a third Spidey will swing into New York! Has Spidey jumped the shark?)
  
  In other Spider-Man news, the cast of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark will perform on Dave Letterman next week, on Tuesday, March 1. Tune in for your first look at the spectacle.
  
  
• Catch Me on Broadway
  Broadwayworld.com is offering readers a series of backstage vlogs from the upcoming Catch Me if You Can. This first video, "hosted" by Kerry Butler (who makes me cry every time I hear her sing "Fly, Fly Away") introduces us to some of the cast, including leading man Aaron Tveit.
  

• Rent
  After many more than 525,600 minutes off the New York boards, Rent will return to New York this summer. The Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning seminal Jonathan Larson musical will call off-Broadway's New World Stages home, with previews beginning July 14 in anticipation of an August 11 opening. No details on how this production will differ from the original (if at all); also no casting announcement or on-sale dates, but I'll definitely keep you posted!
  
  
• Dig This
• The Drama Desk Awards will be broadcast on Ovation this June. (Awards will honor excellence on and off-Broadway in the 2010-2011 season.)
• Dig these photos of the cast of Arcadia, including the boyishly good looking Billy Crudup, the handsome and talented Raul Esparza and Grace Gummer, who looks just like her sister, Mamie, and mother, Ms. Meryl Streep.
  
• Pee-wee on Broadway is coming to HBO on March 19. Check out this trailer.