Media Morsels 12.16.11

• Venus in Fur: Back Before it's Gone
  The incredible, sexy power play Venus in Fur, which is set to conclude it's limited run on Broadway (via the Manhattan Theatre Club) on Sunday, will be back in the spring for a commercial run. (MTC is a not-for-profit theatre company.) Current stars Nina Arianda and Hugh Dancy will return for the limited commercial engagement, set to run at the Lyceum Theatre, February 7-June 17. (I think it's smart to do this and not just because it's a phenomenal play. That spring run will include Tony season; this is sure to garner several Tony nominations so now this show will have an opportunity to enjoy a Tony bump.) Read my review of the current production, and visit VenusInFurBroadway.com for tickets. (Bonus: Check out this Hugh Dancy edition of Broadway.com's Ask a Star.) Take a look at the "trailer" below.
  

• Award Season Update
  This week, the Golden Globe, SAG and Critics Choice Movie Award nominations came out, and over the weekend, several critical contingents handed out honors. Keep an eye on those nominees and these honorees as Oscar approaches. (Also, Seth Rogen (50/50) will host the Independent Spirit Awards on February 25, 2012.)
  
• New York Online Critics, top honor for The Artist
  
• Los Angeles Film Critics Association, top honor for The Descendants
  
• AFI Top Ten Films of the Year, including J. Edgar, Moneyball and The Descendants
  
  
• American Idiot on Tour
  Broadway.com recently checked in with the touring company of American Idiot. The company is currently in rehearsal for their first national tour, which kicks off this month in Toronto. Watch the video to hear from cast members as well as the show's orchestrator, Tony and Pulitzer Prize winner Tom Kitt (who is a genius!), and check out these rehearsal photos from Broadwayworld.com. Visit americanidiotthemusical.com for tour dates and to purchase tickets.
  
  
• More Year End Lists
  This week, the New York Times' theatre critics, Ben Brantley and Charles Isherwood, announced their picks for the best of 2011, as did the folks at Time Out New York. All the critics chose Jerusalem, and all but Isherwood chose The Book of Mormon. Here, some other highlights of their lists:
  
• Brantley, including The Normal Heart and The Cherry Orchard
  
  
• Isherwood, including Venus in Fur (Isherwood also assembled a list of miscellaneous but noteworthy theatre goings on.)
  
  
• TONY, including The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures, Seminar, The Cherry Orchard, War Horse and The Normal Heart

Plus, IFC got in on the year-end act. They released their picks for the best movie posters of the year, including the poster for The Ides of March.


• Newsroom
  Aaron Sorkin's new HBO show, which, at the moment is being called Newsroom (the show's title has changed more times than The West Wing cast members did walk and talks) has a new cast member: Jane Fonda. Fonda joins the cast in the recurring role of Leona Lansing, a corporate executive. She joins John Gallagher, Jr., Jeff Daniels, Thomas Sadoski and others. (In reading the description of the show in the Playbill.com announcement, I couldn't help but draw connections between Newsroom characters and their Sport Night counterparts. What connections are you making?)
  
  
• Dig This
• All aboard! Anything Goes will kick off a national tour in October 2012 at Playhouse Square in Cleveland. Visit anythinggoesonbroadway.com for specific dates and additional cities.
  
  
• The Broadway run of Michael Mayer's On a Clear Day You Can See Forever opened this past Sunday. Broadwayworld.com has photo coverage of the red carpet arrivals, the curtain call and the after party. Here's my review. (And on Broadway.com, the sensational Jessie Mueller talks about her road to Broadway.)
  
  
• The Godspell cast recording will be released digitally on December 20. (It will hit stores January 31, 2012.)
  
  
• Comedy Nerds Unite cast some of our favorite comedians as some of our favorite Muppets!
  
  
• The glorious revival of The Cherry Orchard has been extended an extra week. The play now runs through January 8, 2012.
  
  
• The Foo Fighters' frontman Dave Grohl thanks the fans for an incredible ride with Wasting Light.