Media Morsels 8.31.12

The Newsroom
What an incredible season finale. All the humor, all the heart, the master class in storytelling... I loved every minute of it. From Maggie's diatribe about what it's really like to be single in the city, to Will, Charlie and Mackenzie's showdown with Reese and Leona, to the title and explanation of "The Greater Fool" and back to the beginning of the series... Aaron Sorkin sure knows how to end a season. The only downside is that there's no new Sorkinese for almost a year! But, you can rewatch the season on HBO Go, which is what I'm sure I'll be doing...several times :) And now, some final bonuses:

2012-2013 Theatre Season Update
  • Jake Gyllenhaal, who began previews last week for Roundabout's off-Broadway production of If There is I Haven't Found it Yet, spoke with dramaturg Ted Sod about the play, which marks Gyllenhaal's New York stage debut.

  • Virginia Kull (Assistance) joins Jessica Chastain, Dan Stevens and David Strathairn in The Heiress. The play begins previews on October 7 at the Walter Kerr Theatre. Tickets are now on sale to the general public, and Playbill has full casting details.

  • The newly vacated Lunt-Fontanne Theatre (most recently home to Ghost) will welcome Motown, a new musical about the life and career of Berry Gordy. Previews begin March 11, 2013, in advance of an April 14 opening night. Gordy himself has written the book for the jukebox musical, and tickets go on sale on October 1, 2012. Visit Playbill for details.

  • A revival of Jekyll and Hyde is coming to Broadway. The Frank Wildhorn (Bonnie and Clyde) musical will play the Richard Rodgers Theatre (currently home to Porgy and Bess) in April 2013, and will star Constantine Maroulis, Deborah Cox and Teal Wicks. I'm not encouraging you to go so much as giving you fair warning. Broadway.com has details.

  • Broadway.com offers its handy guide to the 17 shows opening on Broadway this fall, including the new musical Chaplin, the new plays Grace and Dead Accounts, musical revival Annie and play revivals The Heiress and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? 
That's Entertainment to Feature Seth MacFarlane
The wonderfully creative guy who brought us Family Guy and Ted, Seth MacFarlane, is also an accomplished singer. (Check out his debut album of standards, Music is Better than Words.) So it's no surprise that world-renowned conductor John Wilson tapped MacFarlane to appear on That's Entertainment: A Celebration of the MGM Film Musical. The album, set for release on September 25, is filled with some of the greatest tunes of Hollywood's musical era. Visit Broadwayworld.com for more information, including the track listing. And below watch MacFarlane and the John Wilson orchestra perform "Singin' in the Rain," one of the tracks on That's Entertainment. (Bonus: Check out footage from this year's BBC Proms, featuring MacFarlane and others singing Mame, and find even more from the concert on the BBC's website.)


Saturday Night Live Hosting News
Great news: Seth MacFarlane and Joseph Gordon-Levitt will be hosting the first two episodes of the 38th season of SNL! (The season premiere, hosted by MacFarlane, airs September 15; Gordon-Levitt will host the following week, September 22.) I am so excited by this - aren't you?!? You may recall that Gordon-Levitt was fantastic the first time he hosted, back in November 2009. I'm stoked to watch what the versatile actor does this time around. And though Family Guy has parodied the show in the past, this will be MacFarlane's first time hosting the late-night sketch comedy show. With his intellect, wit and knack for voices (and singing, see above), I'm confident he's a great choice to begin the season. (MacFarlane's thoughts on the hosting gig, "Very excited to be hosting the season premiere of SNL - all I want is to do as well as Joe Montana did.") Visit Rolling Stone for more details, including musical guests.

We Kickstarted Now. Here. This.!
Dear readers, we did it - we helped fund the Now. Here. This. original cast recording! You may have noticed throughout the month the widget to the right (which I've since removed) imploring you to help preserve musical theatre history by contributing to the Kickstarter campaign for the recording. Well, you and many other passionate fans rose to the challenge and helped the Now. Here. This. team exceed their goal, funding the project at 119%. That means the original cast recording will be made!!! Stay tuned for details about ordering your copy. "What are the odds?!?"

TV Updates
  • Bunheads, starring two-time Tony winner Sutton Foster (Anything Goes) will be back for a fall/winter season, and Broadway.com checked in with Foster to find out how she's spending her hiatus, and whether or not she's breaking up with Broadway! 

  • Abbey Elliott, who was very funny, if underused, on SNL in recent years, will be appearing on How I Met Your Mother. TV Line has details.

  • The hilarious Parks and Recreation will welcome Senators John McCain (R-AZ), Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) in its upcoming season. E! Online has all the details.

  • There will be a Psycho prequel TV series on A&E, and Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air, Higher Ground) will star as Norma Bates, Norman's mother. This kind of show isn't usually my thing, but with Farmiga on board, I might be, too. The Wrap has details.
Director Ryan Gosling
Following in the footsteps of many talented actors who came before him (including his The Ides of March co-star, George Clooney,) Ryan Gosling is set to make both his writing and directing debut. Teaming up with his Drive producers (and one of that film's co-stars, Mad Men's Christina Hendricks), Gosling has written a modern fairytale called How to Catch a Monster. According to the announcement from Entertainment Weekly, the movie focuses on "a single mother 'swept into a macabre and dark fantasy underworld while her teenage son discovers a secret road leading to an underwater town.'" Gosling is such a talented actor and always chooses fascinating roles, so I'm definitely interested in seeing what happens when he goes to work on the other side of the camera.

Election Update
On the heels of the Republican National Convention, Matt Taibbi exposes the "Greed and Debt: The True Story of Mitt Romney and Bain Capital" in Rolling Stone's newest cover story. The issue is on newsstands now. (And check out this companion blog post, which clarifies a point made in the cover story.) In addition, Rolling Stone points out - with the government documents to prove it - all ways in which Mitt Romney lied or misled people in his speech on Thursday night. Read "The Federal Bailout that Saved Mitt Romney," then head over to Rock the Vote for information about registering to vote and other Election Day miscellanea.

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