DRAMA CLUB

Nathan Lane Does Camp, Jesse Tyler Ferguson Does Shakespeare, And Simon Cowell Does A Musical?

NathanLaneTheNance003NANCE ABOUT THE HOUSE

The promo poster for the upcoming Broadway play The Nance has us intrigued: Written by Douglas Carter Beane and starring out actor Nathan Lane, the show follows a burlesque star whose shtick is playing a trés gay fop. Although these sorts of performers existed in real life, they were usually hetero off-stage. But Lane’s character is gay—and hiding it in an intolerant world.

Beane, who wrote the stage version of Xanadu, is a master of one-liners which Lane, dolled up like a modern Pierrot, should be able to turn into tragicomedy gold.

Performances of The Nance start March 16. We’ll be mincing right up for a ticket. [Broadway World]



X MARKS THE SPOT

Former American Idol host Simon Cowell will get theater’s greatest honor: being portrayed in a Broadway musical! The brusque Brit is a character in a stage version of his music-talent show, The X-Factor. The heroine, a poor black girl from a trailer park, auditions for the reality competition and becomes a star. The  $16 million parody features hunchback contestants, Wagnerian opera and Cowell being beamed up into a spaceship! Sounds awful, we know, but a recent workshop at London’s Soho Theater had the audience in stitches. Even the real Cowell gave it a rare thumbs up, reportedly saying, “In case you’re wondering, I am behind this show 100% and will put my money in it.”

Only Simon Cowell would bankroll a show about himself.

If it’s a hit when it opens in the UK next spring, the show will move to Broadway in two years. [New York Post]

 

IN THE (JACKSON) HEIGHTS

For those not in the know, the borough of Queens is a hotbed of gayness. At least according to Jackson Heights 3am it is. Presented by Theater 167, the show is a collaboration between seven playwrights and profiles characters who stalk the streets in the wee hours: a closeted sex-hunting cop, a local drag queen, a nearly naked meth head, a loveable transsexual, and a twink who wants to be a star.

If this is really what the neighborhood is like, Bravo better start filming a new reality series there, stat!
Jesse_Tyler_FergusonSHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK WITH JESSE

This summer, Modern Family star Jesse Tyler Ferguson is going back to his theatrical roots with a production of Comedy of Errors at Shakespeare in the Park. Ferguson will play opposite Hamish Linklater (The New Adventures of Old Christine) in the classic Shakespearean tale of two pairs of twins living as masters and servants. If you ever wanted to see Mitch play the Bard, the time is now.[EW]

 

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