Writing to Andrea Chamberlain

So last month after I saw Andrea Chamberlain in "The Drowsy Chaperone" I wrote her a letter. I just told her how much I loved the show and that I'm a huge fan of hers now, and I asked her if she wouldn't mind sending me an autographed headshot. Well, today I received a little something from her in the mail!! She wrote me a letter back and was so sweet! Since she's on tour she doesn't have headshots with her, so instead she sent me an autographed playbill from the city she's performing in. She said she would be more than happy to send me an autographed headshot when she gets back to NYC. She's such a sweetheart!

"House" news!

Spring TV Preview: The Scoop on 26 Returning Shows

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HOUSE Omar Epps and Hugh Laurie

HOUSE
APRIL 28 · 9 PM · FOX
EPISODES LEFT: 4

WHERE WE LEFT OFF: ''Honestly, I can't quite remember,'' laughs Lisa Edelstein, who plays House's forever-beleaguered boss. ''What I know for certain is that it's nice to be working again.'' TV's nastiest M.D. (Hugh Laurie) had hired his new team of harried associates (Olivia Wilde, Peter Jacobson, Kal Penn) and was beginning to deal with a conundrum more perplexing than lupus: the romance between best bud Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) and associate wannabe Amber (Anne Dudek). ''One of my favorite moments in the last episode was House's realization that Wilson is, in essence, dating him,'' says exec producer David Shore. ''Amber's aggressive, pushy, controlling — just like House.'' Does that mean that Wilson and House are basically in love with each other? ''You know,'' laughs Shore, ''there's no good way to answer that question without creating all sorts of speculation.''

UP NEXT: The House/Wilson/Amber ''triangle'' will deepen. Shore says associates new and old will continue to have a presence, but won't reveal as much character development due to the loss of eight episodes. Still, says Edelstein, ''you'll see how everyone fits into the new structure.'' Look for Dr. Mean to treat a man afflicted with acute niceness and a season-ending two-parter in which House must battle through short-term-memory loss in order to solve a case. Will the finale bring a possible cast shake-up? ''Believe it or not,'' says Shore, ''that's not a simple question to answer.'' With House, it never is. —Jeff Jensen

Happy Easter

I hope everyone has a great Easter and don't eat too much candy!

Shrek the musical cast

Brian d'Arcy to play Broadway 'Shrek'

Much-anticipated adaptation rounds out cast

By GORDON COX

"Shrek" has finally found its ogre, with Brian d'Arcy James playing the big green guy in the upcoming legit adaptation of the DreamWorks Animation property.

Chester Gregory II ("Tarzan," "Cry-Baby") portrays sidekick Donkey, while John Tartaglia ("Avenue Q") will play Pinocchio.

Long casting process for the roles of Shrek and Donkey has provoked much speculation along the Rialto. When a preview event for the developing tuner was held in Gotham last month, the only three confirmed cast members were Sutton Foster ("The Drowsy Chaperone") as Princess Fiona, Christopher Sieber ("Monty Python's Spamalot") as evil Lord Farquaad and Kecia Lewis-Evans ("Drowsy") as the dragon.

James, whose Rialto CV includes "The Lieutenant of Inishmore" and "Sweet Smell of Success," most recently appeared on Broadway in the Roundabout revival of "The Apple Tree" last season.

Based on the 2001 CGI pic as well as the 1990 William Steig book that inspired it, "Shrek" has music by Jeanine Tesori ("Caroline, or Change") and book by David Lindsay-Abaire ("Rabbit Hole"). Jason Moore ("Avenue Q") directs.

Musical marks the first offering from DreamWorks Theatricals, the new legit arm of DreamWorks Animation. Org co-produces with Neal Street Prods., Ltd.

Tuner tries out at the 5th Avenue Theater in Seattle in August, in preparation for a Rialto run that begins previews at the Broadway Theater Nov. 8 ahead of a Dec. 14 opening.

Mamma Mia!

I cannot wait to see this movie. I'm so excited for this!

Sutton Foster is one of the cutest people ever

One of my sites that I check daily for news is Broadway.com. They posted a new Sutton video. She went back to her old high school for their opening night production of "Thoroughly Modern Millie." FYI, Sutton created the role of Millie in the Broadway production. She's just so adorable throughout the entire video. There's even a kid wearing a Flight of the Conchords t-shirt, which Sutton was also in =) Here's the video...check it!

Top Chef and Lost spoilers

Utensils down, hands up! The season premiere of Top Chef aired on Wed and it was awesome! I was stoked to see Anthony Bourdain on the first episode. I can't get enough of Tony, I love him! I'm really happy that Ted Allen is back. Was it just me or did anyone else think Nimma was going to be eliminated from the very first time we saw her? So far I like Dale, Antonia, Mark and Stephanie...but we'll see what happens.

Lost was awesome! Michael is back!! woohoo! I can't wait to find out what happens with him, Sayid and Desmond. Over the past few weeks, I've developed a huge crush on Desmond haha He's a cutie. "Watch what happens!"

I don't wanna show off no more...

So this weekend I saw "The Drowsy Chaperone" at Shea's on both Sat and Sun because it's one of my fave shows haha The last time I saw it was on Broadway with Sutton Foster a couple of years ago, so seeing it again after so long was very exciting. I forgot how much I love this show. It's one of the funniest musicals I have ever seen and it's just pure joy. The story and music are so much fun! I have to admit though, I enjoyed the Broadway production more than this one. It was still a great show though.

Jonathan Crombie played the "Man in Chair." He was really good. He was just as good as Bob Martin (the guy who wrote Drowsy and originated the role of man in chair). Andrea Chamberlain played "Janet Van De Graff." She was amazing! Her voice was flawless and made a perfect Janet. "Show Off" is still one of my fave songs in the show. It was so much fun watching Andrea sing it. She belted the shit out of "Bride's Lament." She gave me chills. I am now a huge fan of hers. I'm really happy I saw it twice because the first time I saw her, I didn't really know much about her. After the performance, I was just fascinated by her. She was fabulous. When I saw it the second time, I really focused more on her and watched her more closely. It was a treat seeing her perform it twice =) Anyway, Nancy Opel played "The Drowsy Chaperone." I have to say I was a little disappointed, but it's almost impossible to be as brilliant and funny as Beth Leavel. There's a reason Beth won the Tony. I'm sure anyone seeing Nancy for the first time would think she was hilarious. James Moye played "Aldolpho." Again, I was a little disappointed. He just wasn't as funny as Danny Burstein. He was ok, but just nowhere near as funny as Danny. Mark Ledbetter played "Robert Martin." He was really good and had a nice voice. Mark and Andrea had good chemistry and were really cute onstage together. Richard Vida played "George." He was good. The tap dancing number between Mark and Richard was awesome! Georgia Engel reprised her role as "Mrs. Tottendale." She got a lot of applause. She was just as good as when I saw her on Broadway. The rest of the cast was excellent, I know I'm forgetting people.

Overall, it was a fantastic show and I highly recommend seeing it! If you want to check out the tour site you can do it here. Also, I want to post this video of Andrea talking about the tour. She's so cute!!

The Drowsy Chaperone

So this weekend I'm seeing "The Drowsy Chaperone " at Shea's and I'm so freakin stoked! I cannot wait. I saw it a couple summers ago on Broadway. The main reason I wanted to see it was because Sutton Foster was in it, but I've never laughed so hard at a show before...ever. My face hurt from smiling and laughing too much! It's the funniest musical I have ever seen. If you get the chance to see it, I highly recommend you buy some tix. You'll have so much fun. Anyway, here's Sutton singing one of my fave songs from the show, "Show Off," at the Tony Awards.

Lipstick Jungle!

Everyone needs to watch it because of Kerry Butler. She's so cute!

Kerry Butler, currently starring on Broadway as Kira in Xanadu is featured tonight, March 6th, on NBC's hot new show "Lipstick Jungle" reprising her role as "Reese." BroadwayWorld caught up with Kerry to ask her a few questions about her role on the show...

BWW: Are you having fun playing Reese?
Kerry: I love playing Reese!! It's always fun to play the sweet girl, but to have something else going on underneath it!

BWW: How is she different or the same as other characters you've played?
Kerry: She is really good at hiding true intentions, she's glamorous, and she doesn't beakout into song...yet.

BWW: Do you see her as evil, opportunistic, or is some other way?
Kerry: I don't see her as evil, just desperate to get what she wants. She saw an opportunity to get ahead... and took it.

BWW: What's your experience been like on set?
Kerry: My experience on the set has been amazing!! Everyone is super nice!! I love working with Lindsey - she's such a great actress and person. Tim Busfield, our director, also gave me great advice about acting for the camera. Oh, and so many people from the cast came to see Xanadu - they're so supportive!

BWW: Have you seen your big scene that involved the stunt double yet?
Kerry: I haven't seen my scene with the stunt double, but don't get too excited... It wasn't really dangerous or anything. I just liked the fact that I had one!!


According to NBC's official website, tonight's episode (check local listings for time and channel) is described as:
FASHION FIGHT! — Victory (Lindsay Price) discovers that her work has been stolen from a competitive designer and must try to discover how he got his hands on her work. Upon hearing that her old assistant, Reese (Kerry Butler), is involved in the scandal, Victory must decide if she believes Reese’s story. Meanwhile, things heat up again between Nico (Kim Raver) and Kirby (Robert Buckley), but not without Nico setting some ground rules first. Nico helps Kirby get a job, but when she spots chemistry between Kirby and the lead actress, she can not help but wonder how deep her feelings really are for this guy? Wendy (Brooke Shields) and Shane (Paul Blackthorne) go to watch Shane’s old band play, and Shane gets back on the stage. After Wendy realizes how good Shane is, she tries to pitch his demo for an upcoming movie she is working on. Andrew McCarthy also guest stars.

Photo credit: (C) 2008 NBC Television

About Kerry Butler:
In addition to Xanadu, Kerry Butler has starred on Broadway as Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors (Outer Critics Circle Award nom.), the original Penny in Hairspray (Clarence Derwent Award; Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle noms), Belle in Beauty and the Beast (NY and Toronto), Eponine in Les Misérables and Ms. Jones in Blood Brothers. Off-Broadway, she originated the roles of Shelley in Bat Boy: The Musical, Maddy in Prodigal, Isabelle in Miracle Brothers and DeeDee in the musical The Opposite of Sex. Other: The “I” Word, The Folsom Head. Workshops include: The Man in the White Suit; Pandora’s Box; L’amore; and Bright Lights, Big City. On film she has been seen in Borough of Kings and Campfire Stories. On TV: CBS’s “Second Honeymoon”(with Roma Downey), “Another World,” “Sesame Street,” “Hometown” and “One Life to Live” (Claudia Reston). She is currently recording her debut solo CD on the PS Classics label entitled, "Faith, Trust and Pixie Dust." More information about Kerry can be found on her official website: http://www.kerrybutler.net

I spend way too much time on youtube...seriously

I found a cute Lisa Edelstein video...check it!

La Vie En Rose

So after watching Marion Cotillard win the Oscar for Best Actress, and being so freaking adorable, I just had to see the movie. I loved every minute! I love the scene where she's in a recording studio and sings "Milord." From that scene till the end, I was fascinated by Edith Piaf and Marion Cotillard. Marion was brilliant and absolutely deserved to win. As soon as the movie was over, I bought the soundtrack and an Edith album. Edith was an amazing singer and such a strong, bold woman. The tragedy and heartache she experienced is unimaginable and yet she found a way to make the most beautiful music. I'm so happy this film was made. If it wasn't, I may never have gotten the chance to know Edith Piaf and her music. I love movies!