Media Morsels 1.20.12

• Tony Update
  The 2012 Tonys now have a date. As I suspected, the 66th Annual Tony Awards will be handed out from the Beacon Theatre on Sunday, June 10. Several technical awards will be handed out (and not televised) at 7pm, and the CBS broadcast will begin at 8pm. Look for lots of shows to open this spring before the April 25 Tony eligibility deadline (see two examples below), and stay tuned for updates, like who will host. (Let's get Neil Patrick Harris to host for a third time!) Also, what do you think of this year's Tony logo, at right?
  
  
• Clybourne Park Finds a Home
  One of the productions aiming for Tony love will be Clybourne Park, a Broadway transfer of the Pulitzer Prize winning Bruce Norris play that premiered off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in 2010. (Here's my review of that production.) Clybourne Park will play at the Walter Kerr theatre, with previews beginning (probably) in late March in anticipation of an April 12 opening. The Playwrights Horizons cast, including Jeremy Shamos and Annie Parisse, are expected to reprise their roles.
  
  
• Starstuff Coming to Broadway
  Another show competing for Tony love will be Peter and the Starcatcher, the terrific Peter Pan prequel that ran off-Broadway at the New York Theatre Workshop last February. It was magical and inventive and wonderfully playful, and now it's coming to Broadway. It will play at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre beginning March 28, and will celebrate its official opening on April 15. Tickets go on sale on February 13. Casting has not been announced, but I'm hoping that NYTW cast members Adam Chanler-Berat, Celia Keenan Bolger and Christian Borle will reprise their roles. Stay tuned for details!
  
  
• Bruce Springsteen's New Record
  The Boss got back in the studio and recorded new music! As reported by Rolling Stone, his 17th studio album, Wrecking Ball, will "drop" on March 6th. You can listen to the first single, "We Take Care of Our Own," on his official website, brucespringsteen.net. (Or you can listen/watch below.) It's a great track - driving and powerful - and if it's any indication of the rest of the record, we can expect an amazing new set of songs.
  

• Do You Hear Aaron Tveit Sing?
  It's confirmed: the dreamy triple-threat also known as Aaron Tveit will star in the upcoming musical-film version of Les Miserables. Tveit (Next to Normal; Catch Me if You Can) will play Enjolras. Visit Playbill.com for more information.
  
  
• Award Season Update
  The Golden Globes are behind us, Oscar nominations come out on Tuesday the 24th and the SAG Awards are next Sunday (the 29th). But this week, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Film Award nominees were announced. The most notable thing about the list of nominees is that it's heavy on the British spy thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and leaves off Alexander Payne and Woody Allen in the directing category. BAFTA awards will be presented on February 12. (More across the pond awards: the London Film Critics' Circle name The Artist the film of the year. See the full list of winners at thewrap.com.)
  
  
• Now. Here. This.
  Team [title of show] is at it again. Now. Here. This., the latest collaboration between Hunter Bell, Susan Blackwell, Heidi Blickenstaff, Jeff Bowen, Michael Berresse and Larry Pressgrove, will return to the Vineyard Theatre this spring. Over the summer, it had a week-long lab run (it was amazing - and made my list of favorite things in 2011); this time, it will receive a full, multi-week run at the venerable off-Broadway venue, running from March 7 through April 15. (It may be extended, but there's no guarantee.) Visit vineyardtheatre.org to book your tickets today!
  
  
• Smash
  You can now preview the Smash pilot prior to its small screen debut in February. Visit the iTunes store or Amazon.com to download it for free. In addition to the Broadway and theatre veterans we'll see on a recurring basis (like Brian d'Arcy James (Time Stands Still)), look for these greats to pop up now and then: Norbert Leo Butz (Catch Me if You Can), the genius composer Tom Kitt (Next to Normal), producer Jordan Roth and Bernadette Peters (Follies).
  
  
• Win Tickets to Godspell
  Check in with me on Facebook and Twitter on Monday to find out how you can win a pair of free tickets to see Godspell on Broadway!
  
  
• Dig This
• Seminar star Hamish Linklater filled out the Playbill.com Cue & A
  
  
• From the queue: X-Men: First Class
  
  
• Susan Blackwell is back with another edition of Side by Side by Susan Blackwell. This episode features The Book of Mormon star Andrew Rannells.
  
  
• A Purple Summer: Notes on the Lyrics of Spring Awakening will provide insight into the poetic lyrics of the Tony Award-winning musical.
  
  
• Matthew Morrison will host the PBS special "Oscar Hammerstein II - Out of My Dreams" (Morrison starred as Lieutenant Cable in the 2008 revival of South Pacific)
  
  
• Check out the trailer for Friends with Kids, the latest from the talented and hilarious Jennifer Westfeldt (Kissing Jessica Stein and the terrific Ira & Abby):