News

A new rock musical featuring the hits of Zz Top is in development. The Las Vegas-based Caesars Entertainment, led by Michael Gruber and Jason Gastwirth, are developing the show, titled Sharp Dressed Man, set to premiere in 2020. It will include Zz Top members Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard as executive producers.

“Sharp Dressed Man is an outrageous, bawdy musical romp about a Lone Star auto mechanic who becomes a modern-day Robin Hood, stealing hearts — and car parts — with the help of his merry band of beer drinkers and hell raisers,...

Summer: The Donna Summer Musical will dance its last dance on Broadway Sunday, Dec. 30, producers announced today, but disco isn’t dead: A North American tour will kick off Sept. 30, 2019.

The jukebox bio-musical opened April 23 (after beginning previews March 28) at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre and will have played 27 previews and 289 regular performances when it closes. The Broadway production stars Lachanze, Ariana DeBose and Storm Lever as the disco queen at three different points in her life.

Both Lachanze and DeBose were Tony-nominated for their performances.

Summer is the third Broadway production – after the struggling Head Over Heels and the acclaimed Once On This Island – to announce closing notices in the annual post-Thanksgiving end-of-year clearing.

The Summer musical, which opened to mixed-to-negative reviews, has been dragging its feet at the box office more than ever recently, grossing a small $462,727 over Thanksgiving week, just 32% of its potential.

The hit-packed musical might fare better on the road though,...

If that’s Donna Summer, then this must be the late 70s and early 80s, the era of disco dancing in the clubs and roller skating at the Roxy. (And let’s not even talk about the fashions.)

But you won’t get much of a sense the times in “Summer: The Donna Summer Musical,” a narrow-minded jukebox musical that views its titular heroine in a vacuum. The great songs are pretty much all here: “Love to Love You Baby,” “White Boys,” “MacArthur Park,” “Heaven Knows,” “Bad Girls,” “She Works Hard for the Money,” “Hot Stuff” and “Last Dance,” to skim a few titles off the top. Lachanze is here, too, and in glorious voice, along with a thin biographical book that hardly does justice to Summer’s life or her music.

There’s no sense of what Summer represented to the boys and girls madly dancing the night away...

Harry Potter and The Cursed Child: Parts One and Two, Angels in America, the Denzel Washington-starrer The Iceman Cometh and the Tina Fey-penned Mean Girls were among the Broadway productions scoring nominations for this year’s New York Drama League awards.

The 2018 Broadway and Off-Broadway nominees were announced in the categories of Outstanding Production of a Play, Outstanding Revival of a Play, Outstanding Production of a Musical, Outstanding Revival of a Musical, and the Distinguished Performance Award. The nominations were announced this morning by Tony Award winners Harriet Harris, Julie White and nominee Christopher Sieber.

The 84th Annual Drama League Awards, the oldest theatrical honors in America, will be held Friday, May 18, 11:30 am at the Marriott Marquis Times Square.

Here is the complete list of nominees:

Outstanding Production Of A Broadway Or Off-broadway Play

Animal

Written by Clare Lizzimore

Directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch

Atlantic Theater Company...

Tickets are now on sale for Summer The Donna Summer Musical on Broadway through Ticketmaster.com. Summer features a book by Colman Domingo, Robert Cary and Des McAnuff, with songs by Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, Paul Jabara and others and will be directed by Des McAnuff and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo, with music supervised by Ron Melrose and scenic design by Robert Brill, costumes by Paul Tazewell, lighting by Howell Binkley, sound by Gareth Owen and projections by Sean Nieuwenhuis.

Summer The Donna Summer Musical featuring a book by Colman Domingo, Robert Cary and Des McAnuff, with songs by Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, Paul Jabara and others, will be directed by Des McAnuff and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo, with music supervised by Ron Melrose and scenic design by Robert Brill, costumes by Paul Tazewell, lighting by Howell Binkley, sound by Gareth Owen and projections by Sean Nieuwenhuis.

La Jolla Playhouse's world premiere of Summer The Donna Summer Musical, featuring songs by Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder and others book by Robert Cary, Colman Domingo and Playhouse Director Emeritus Des McAnuff Jersey Boys with direction by Des McAnuffchoreography by Sergio Trujillo Memphis and musical direction by Ron Melrose, is running through December 24. Let's see what the critics had to say...

Due to popular demand, La Jolla Playhouse announces another week-long extension for its world premiere of Summer The Donna Summer Musical, featuring songs by Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder and others book by Robert Cary, Colman Domingo and Playhouse Director Emeritus Des McAnuff Jersey Boys with direction by Des McAnuffchoreography by Sergio Trujillo Memphis and musical direction by Ron Melrose. The production will now run through December 24. BroadwayWorld has an exclusive first look at the cast in action below...

Hanukkah will be part of A Christmas Story Live!, Fox’s upcoming live musical event.

“They’ve written a really fun Hanukkah number. The music is fantastic,” Ana Gasteyer told Et at the Double Standards concert in New York City on Sunday benefiting women's rights, health and empowerment. “Even though A Christmas Story is clearly a Christmas story -- it’s fun to have a Hanukkah song join the ranks of the Christmas songs in the musical. I think everybody felt like it can really be a holiday experience.”

The Saturday Night Live alum will play Mrs. Schwartz in the production, inspired by the 1983 holiday classic feature film A Christmas Story and Ben Pasek and Justin Paul’s 2012 Broadway adaptation. It follows the exploits of youngster Ralphie Parker, who spends most of his time dodging a bully and dreaming of his ideal Christmas gift: a "red Ryder air rifle." Gasteyer appears alongside her former SNL co-star, Maya Rudolph ([link...

Maya Rudolph is heading to Fox!

The Saturday Night Live alum will star in Fox’s live holiday musical production of A Christmas Story, Fox announced Tuesday during the Fox portion of the summer Television Critics Association press tour.

Related: 'Rent' and 'A Christmas Story' Live Musicals Coming to Fox

Rudolph will play the mother of 9-year-old Ralphie Parker. The 45-year-old actress is no stranger to singing. She was a backup singer for several years before SNL, performed with The Rentals and is in a Prince cover band with her friend, Gretchen Lieberum.

A Christmas Story: The Musical is based on the 1983 classic film, which was written by Jean Shepherd, Leigh Brown and Bob Clark, and the 1966 novel, In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash by Shepherd. The musical takes place in 1940s Indiana and centers on a child named Ralphie, who wants a Red Ryder Bb Gun for Christmas.

Tony and Oscar...

Fox has its latest live musical and it’s set to arrive just in time for the holidays.

The network announced Tuesday that Maya Rudolph is set to star in “A Christmas Story,” a live performance of the Broadway musical that premiered in 2012, based on the beloved film of the same name.

Read MoreHow ‘The Wiz Live!’ and ‘Grease Live!’ Revitalized the TV Musical

Rudolph will star as Ralphie’s mom, the role made famous by countless Christmas Day marathons by Melinda Dillon. In addition to her longtime tenure on “Saturday Night Live” and as the co-host of “Maya and Marty,” Rudolph led the 2014 variety special “The Maya Rudolph Show.”

This live event will serve as a reunion of sorts, as “La La Land” songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul and producer Marc Platt will both reprise their roles from shepherding the “Christmas Story” Broadway musical to the stage.

This...

A version of this article originally appeared on EW.com.

Fudge yeah! A modern classic holiday film is becoming a live musical on Fox: The 1983 film A Christmas Story is getting a TV makeover for a three-hour telecast this December with new songs from the team behind La La Land. The production will be adapted from both the film and the Tony Award-nominated Broadway production of A Christmas Story: The Musical.

Marc Platt (Fox’s Grease: Live as well as La La Land) will executive produce the show. Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who won an Oscar for “City...

Fox has added two more shows to its live musical lineup.

The network announced on Friday its plans for live versions of Rent and A Christmas Story, following January 2016's successful Grease: Live.

Watch: Find Out Everything That Is Going Into Making 'Grease: Live'

Fox's production of A Christmas Story is set to air this December, and will be based on the Broadway musical version of the 1983 film, about a Midwestern boy named Ralphie who wants nothing more than a Red Ryder Bb gun for Christmas.

Grease: Live's Marc Platt will executive produce along with Adam Seigel, with Jonathan Tolins and Robert Cary co-executive producing and writing. Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who wrote La La Land's "City of Stars," and also scored A Christmas Story: The Musical, will compose several new songs for the Fox production.

“A Christmas Story is one of the most beloved holiday films of all time -- audiences have made...

Fox Broadcasting Company and Warner Horizon Unscripted Television have partnered with award-winning film, television and theater producer Marc Platt (Grease: Live, La La Land) on the live musical event A Christmas Story, inspired by the holiday classic feature A Christmas Story and the Tony Award-nominated Broadway production A Christmas Story: The Musical. The three-hour live television production of A Christmas Story will air this December on Fox.

Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, recent Tony Award nominees for the musical Dear Evan Hansen, and lyricists of La La Land's Academy Award-winning song, "City of Stars," also scored A Christmas Story: The Musical, and will compose several new songs for the Live television event, with Jonathan Tolins and Robert Cary (Grease: Live) adapting the book. Here's what David Madden, President, Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company, had to say in his statement.

"A Christmas Story is one of the most beloved...

Fox is joining the holiday season live musical derby, announcing plans to mount a live three-hour musical version of “A Christmas Story” this December.

“A Christmas Story” will become Fox’s first musical event since last year’s “Grease: Live!,” which was executive produced by Marc Platt. Platt is once again on board for “A Christmas Story,” and the news comes just days after NBC announced that Platt would help mount “Jesus Christ Superstar Live!” for the Peacock network next Easter.

Fox’s “A Christmas Story” will take elements from both the 1980s feature, which has become an annual TV staple, as well the Tony Award-nominated Broadway production “A Christmas Story: The Musical.”

Read More: ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ Live TV Event Comes to NBC Next Easter

Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who scored “A Christmas Story: The Musical,” and will compose several new songs for the Live television event,...

Fox is giving fans of A Christmas Story a gift wrapped up in a box and stamped with the word “Fragile” (“It must be Italian!”): The network announced Friday that it’s planning to broadcast a live musical based on the 1983 holiday movie.

The film follows Ralphie (played by Peter Billingsley, Sullivan & Son) whose only wish for a Christmas gift is an air rifle, despite the fact that all of the adults in his life warn him that “You’ll shoot your eye out.”

PhotosTV’s 15 Best Musical Episodes, Ranked (Plus the One Absolute Worst)

Marc Platt (Grease: Live,...

Fox’s lighting department is gonna have to invest in some leg lamps: the broadcaster has set “A Christmas Story” as its next live musical. The three-hour television event will air this December. The over-the-air network and Warner Horizon Unscripted Television have partnered with Marc Platt (“Grease: Live”) to adapt the 1983 holiday movie of the same name, which also inspired a Tony Award-nominated Broadway production. “A Christmas Story: The Musical” stage scorers Benj Pasek and Justin Paul will compose several new songs for the small-screen production, with Jonathan Tolins and Robert Cary (also of “Grease: Live”) adapting the book.

It wouldn't be Christmas without A Christmas Story, and now viewers will get even more of the classic movie with live broadcast of musical version of A Christmas Story based on the movie and the Broadway production. The three-hour production will air in December on Fox. Marc Platt will executive produce the special and Dear Evan Hansen veterans (and Oscar winners for La La Land) Benj Pasek and Justin Paul will write several new songs. Grease: Live's Jonathan Tolins and Robert Cary will adapt the book. "A Christmas Story is one of the most beloved holiday films of all time—audiences have made a yearly ritual of re-watching it—and we are so thrilled to have Marc leading the charge in bringing...

From the first chord of Grease: Live, which aired last night on Fox, the powers that be behind the production seemed to be shouting: “Don’t worry! We listened to you!” With the inclusion of a live audience, source material that is iconic yet still very digestible for a young and modern audience, and a refreshingly diverse cast, the special seemed to be getting ahead of the negative reviews that plagued its TV musical predecessors, The Sound Of Music Live! and Peter Pan Live!

Unfortunately, despite Grease: Live’s stunning vocal performances and outstanding direction, lackluster performances from its lead players and a bland script left the special unable to truly set itself apart from the ever-growing crowd of modern TV musicals.

With an updated book by Robert Cary and Jonathan Tolins, Grease: Live told the familiar story of Danny (Aaron Tveit) and Sandy (Julianne Hough) – two teens who have a kinda-sorta star-crossed courtship,...

Back in April 2014, Fox announced Grease: Live, a live three-hour musical special. Today, Fox, via TV Line, has released the first three photos from this highly-anticipated event, giving us our first look at Julianne Hough as Sandy, Vanessa Hudgens as Rizzo and Aaron Tveit as Danny. Fox will air this three-hour event on Sunday, January 31 from 7 Pm to 10 Pm.

Grease Live will reintroduce and reimagine some of the show's most memorable moments, great music and timeless love story to an entirely new generation. In this live television adaptation of the musical classic, the beginning of senior year means the end of Danny and Sandy's summer romance - until Sandy unexpectedly transfers to Danny's high school. With their friends pulling them in different directions, it's up to Danny and Sandy to stay hopelessly devoted as they make their way from Rydell High to a new frontier.

Based on the 1971 Broadway musical...

The cast of Fox's "Grease: Live" is growing. Keke Palmer has joined the Pink Ladies.

Keke will play Marty Maraschino.

The star joins previously announced cast members Vanessa Hudgens, who is playing Rizzo, and Julianne Hough, who is playing Sandy.

Photos: ‘Scream Queens’: Deadly Season 1 Photos!

"Grease: Live," penned by Robert Cary and Jonathan Tolins airs on Sunday, January 31, 2016 on Fox.

Before that, Keke will appear in the upcoming "Scream Queens," from Executive Producer Ryan Murphy.

-- Jolie Lash

Copyright 2015 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved.

This material may ...

Keke Palmer is the one that Fox wants. The “Masters of Sex” star is set to play Pink Lady Marty Maraschino on the network’s “Grease: Live” event this January. She’ll sing and dance with Julianne Hough (as Sandy) and Vanessa Hudgens (as Rizzo). Broadway writers Robert Cary and Jonathan Tolins are set to pen the script. Palmer recently became the first African-American and youngest actress to star in “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella” on Broadway. Her film credits include “Ice Age: Continental Drift,” “Joyful Noise,” “Brotherly Love” and “Imperial Dreams.” Her television credits include “A Trip to Bountiful,...

Keke Palmer has landed a role in Grease: Live, Fox's upcoming live production of the popular musical, set to air on January 31, 2016. She’ll play the sassy Pink Lady “Marty Maraschino”, alongside Julianne Hough and Vanessa Hudgens. Broadway writers Robert Cary (Anything but Love, Ira & Abby) and Jonathan Tolins (Buyer & Cellar, The Last Sunday In June) will pen the adaptation. Palmer will next be seen in Fox’s comedy horror series Scream Queens, set to debut this fall…...

He may not have had a lot of success with critics on Parental Guidance, or with reviews or audiences on You Again, but director Andy Fickman is shrugging off past disappointments and looking ahead. He’s currently at work on Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 and has just signed on for a new, original comedy called My Owner’s Wedding.With a script by Robert Cary and Jonathan Tolins, Wedding imagines the rom-com from a slightly unusual perspective. We’re introduced to two women who are both interested in the same man. But it’s his dog that sets about making sure his owner ends up with the lady he prefers. Yes, we’re getting some nightmare flashbacks to the likes of Look Who’s Talking Now, but no one has explained how the canine cupid will work his magic (no one say doggy style, please), so it could turn...

Exclusive: Andy Fickman has been set by Millennium Films to direct My Owner’s Wedding, a romantic comedy about two eligible young women, the guy they both want, and his dog. The latter will go to any length to make sure his owner winds up with the right girl. Fickman is coming off Parental Guidance and helmed the hits Race To Witch Mountain and The Game Plan. He is also exec producer and is directing the Disney Channel’s series Liv And Maddie and is producing and directing the Off-Broadway production Heathers The Musical, based on the cult teen movie. Fickman is directing Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, with Kevin James reprising for Sony, and Fickman’s producing the self-explanatory Scouts Vs. Zombies for Paramount. My Owner’s Wedding was scripted by Robert Cary (Anything But Love) and Jonathan Tolins, whose Buyer And Cellar is playing off-Broadway. The film is produced by Cary,...

New York -- The stage adaptation of the 1983 hit movie "Flashdance" has taken a slight stutter step on the way to Broadway.

Citing an inability to find a theater, producers said Thursday that the show, originally intended to reach New York by August, will make it next season instead.

Said producer Tom Viertel: "We will take this time to refine the production."

A version of the musical about a working-class Pittsburgh steel mill welder with dreams of becoming a ballet dancer has been touring the U.S. It's now in Portland.

It features a book by Robert Cary and Tom Hedley, music by Robbie Roth and lyrics by Cary and Roth. The score includes the hits "Flashdance – What a Feeling" and "Maniac" as well as 16 new songs.

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Online: http://flashdancethemusical.com...

New York — Dig out those leg warmers and headbands – "Flashdance" is coming to Broadway.

Producers said Tuesday that the stage adaptation of the 1983 hit movie about a working-class Pittsburgh girl with dreams of becoming a professional ballet dancer hopes to boogie into New York in August 2013.

Sergio Trujillo, the choreographer of "Jersey Boys," "The Addams Family" and "Memphis," will direct and choreograph "Flashdance – The Musical."

It features a book by Robert Cary and original screenplay co-writer Tom Hedley, music by Robbie Roth and lyrics by Cary and Roth. The film starred Jennifer Beals.

Producers say it has been "substantially rewritten and completely restaged" following its short-lived debut in London in 2010. A separate company will begin a national tour in January 2013 in Pittsburgh.

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Online: http://flashdancethemusical.com...

Hear the music, close your eyes, feel the rhythm — Flashdance is Broadway-bound.

Flashdance –The Musical, based on the iconic 1983 movie, is coming to the Great White Way in August 2013, producers confirmed today. This is in addition to the already-announced national tour that will kick off in January in Pittsburgh (of course).

The show was first mounted in the U.K. in 2008 and 2010, but the Broadway version will be completely re-written and restaged for the move stateside, producers said.

Flashdance –The Musical features a book by Tom Hedley (co-writer of the original screenplay with Joe Eszterhas) and Robert Cary, with music by Robbie Roth,...

Exclusive: Millennium Films has acquired My Owner’s Wedding, a Robert Cary and Jonathan Tolins script, and the producer-distributor is in early talks with Jessica Biel to play one of the leads. My Owner’s Wedding is a romantic comedy about two eligible young women, the man both of them want, and his dog. The latter will go to any length to make sure his owner ends up with the right girl. Cary directed and co-wrote Anything But Love and directed Ira & Abby and Save Me. Tolins co-wrote New Line’s Martian Child and Twilight Of The Golds, based on his Broadway play. He also wrote multiple episodes of Queer As Folk and has written for the Academy Awards and the Tonys. Cary and Tolins will produce with Mark Gill. Avi Lerner, Trevor Short, Boaz Davidson, John Thompson and Alan Gasmer will be executive producers. Millennium heads to Cannes with The Expendables 2,...

"It seemed that perhaps the Lord was in this," Kirk Cameron (not Kurt Cameron) told Baptist Press. The Lord was in on what? From the beginning: A couple of weeks ago, Cameron landed in ungodly hot waters after making several anti-gay remarks on Piers Morgan's CNN talk show. While chatting with Morgan, he referred to homosexuality as "unnatural" and affirmed that it is "ultimately destructive to so many of the foundations of civilization." Following his comments, Cameron was taken to task by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and several of his fellow show-businessmen and women, including former Growing Pains co-stars Alan Thicke ("I'm getting him some new books. The Old Testament simply can't be expected to explain everything.") and Tracy Gold ("I am a strong supporter of the #Lgbt Community, and I believe in equal rights for all. #NOH8 #Love.") Though not thrilled that he is now widely perceived as a bigot,...

It’s a surprisingly eventful week for moderately successful ’80s romantic dramas. Flashdance – the Musical, the stage adaptation of the hit 1983 film, is set to launch its first national tour in January 2013 in Pittsburgh, where the original film was set, after beginning a run on Broadway in the fall of 2012. It will play 25 markets in North America, with additional cities and casting Tba.

The musical, which tells the story of an aspiring ballet dancer who works at a steel mill by day and a “flashdancer” at a local bar by night, will include songs from the film’s famous soundtrack,...

Kim Cattrall has been nominated for a coveted theater award. The "Sex and the City" star's turn as Amanda in "Private Lives" sees her considered for the Best Actress in a Play prize at the 11th Whatsonstage.com Awards.

She will face competition from "End of the Rainbow" star Tracie Bennett, Helen McCrory for her role in "The Late Middle Classes", "Ruined" star Jenny Jules, Nancy Carroll from "After the Dance" and "All My Sons" actress Zoe Wanamaker.

The Best Actor in a Play award will be contested by Benedict Cumberbatch from "After the Dance", Kim's "Private Lives" co-star Matthew Mcfadyen, "Hamlet" and "Measure For Measure" star Rory Kinnear, "Deathtrap" and "London Assurance" actor Simon Russell Beale, "The Real Thing"'s Toby Stephens and "All My Sons" star David Suchet.

"All My Sons" received more nominations than any other production, being considered for accolades in six different categories. The most...

Actress, comedienne, and cabaret star Alix Korey, whose Broadway credits include All Shook Up and Chicago, is set to join the cast of Abingdon Theatre Company's 2009-10 season opener -- the world premiere of Inventing Avi (and other theatrical maneuvers), a new Off-Broadway comedy by Robert Cary and Benjamin Feldman, set to begin previews on October 2, prior to an official press opening October 14, at Abingdon Theatre Complex's June Havoc Theatre (312 West 36th Street) in Manhattan.

Actress, comedienne, and cabaret star Alix Korey, whose Broadway credits include All Shook Up and Chicago, is set to join the cast of Abingdon Theatre Company's 2009-10 season opener -- the world premiere of Inventing Avi (and other theatrical maneuvers), a new Off-Broadway comedy by Robert Cary and Benjamin Feldman has official press opening October 14, at Abingdon Theatre Complex's June Havoc Theatre (312 West 36th Street) in Manhattan.

Actress, comedienne, and cabaret star Alix Korey, whose Broadway credits include All Shook Up and Chicago, is set to join the cast of Abingdon Theatre Company's 2009-10 season opener -- the world premiere of Inventing Avi (and other theatrical maneuvers), a new Off-Broadway comedy by Robert Cary and Benjamin Feldman, set to begin previews on October 2, prior to an official press opening October 14, at Abingdon Theatre Complex's June Havoc Theatre (312 West 36th Street) in Manhattan.

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) have announced their selections for the 20th Annual GLAAD Media Awards, Tuesday, January 27. Among the nominees were the 81st Academy Awards' contenders, Gus Van Sant's biopic "Milk" and Woody Allen's drama comedy "Vicky Cristina Barcelona".

The two movies were recognized under the category of Outstanding Film for Wide Release. They will go head-to-head with Julian Jarrold's provocative drama "Brideshead Revisited", Guy Ritchie's crime thriller "RocknRolla" and Peter Sollett's romantic-teen-comedy "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist".

Putting the Wide Release category aside, GLAAD have also unveiled the nominees for the Outstanding Film for Limited Release category. Fatih Akin's "The Edge of Heaven", Patrik-Ian Polk's "Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom", Robert Cary's "Save Me", Jonah Markowitz's "Shelter" and Lucia Puenzo's "Xxy" were the limited released movies up for the title.

The 20th Annual GLAAD Media Awards...

As a Christian with a very compassionate stand on the issue of homosexuality, I often get flak from gays because of my religious beliefs, and more often flak from Christians because of my liberal views on the issue. But still, I always get a little nervous when the media tackles the subject of homosexuality and Christianity. The discussion usually falls into stereotypical finger pointing, with Christians coming off looking evil and gays as the victims. So when I heard about the new film "Save Me," directed by Robert Cary, I assumed it would be a film celebrating homosexuality amidst the horrors of Christianity. Thankfully, I was wrong. The film stars Chad Allen as Mark, a sex and drug addicted young gay man who hits rock bottom and enters a treatment program at Genesis House, a Christian ministry that promotes healing from "sexual brokenness." The ministry is run by Gayle (Judith Light...

As a Christian with a very compassionate stand on the issue of homosexuality, I often get flak from gays because of my religious beliefs, and more often flak from Christians because of my liberal views on the issue. But still, I always get a little nervous when the media tackles the subject of homosexuality and Christianity. The discussion usually falls into stereotypical finger pointing, with Christians coming off looking evil and gays as the victims. So when I heard about the new film "Save Me," directed by Robert Cary, I assumed it would be a film celebrating homosexuality amidst the horrors of Christianity. Thankfully, I was wrong. The film stars Chad Allen as Mark, a sex and drug addicted young gay man who hits rock bottom and enters a treatment program at Genesis House, a Christian ministry that promotes healing from "sexual brokenness." The ministry is run by Gayle (Judith Light...

Save Meby Joanne Brokaw, Writer     As a Christian with a very compassionate stand on the issue of homosexuality, I often get flak from gays because of my religious beliefs, and more often flak from Christians because of my liberal views on the issue.   But still, I always get a little nervous when the media tackles the subject of homosexuality and Christianity. The discussion usually falls into stereotypical finger pointing, with Christians coming off looking evil and gays as the victims.   So when I heard about the new film "Save Me," directed by Robert Cary, I assumed it would be a film celebrating homosexuality amidst the horrors of Christianity. Thankfully, I was wrong.   The film stars Chad Allen as Mark, a sex and drug addicted young gay man who hits rock bottom and enters a treatment program at Genesis House, a Christian ministry that promotes healing from "sexual brokenness." The ministry...

As a Christian with a very compassionate stand on the issue of homosexuality, I often get flak from gays because of my religious beliefs, and more often flak from Christians because of my liberal views on the issue. But still, I always get a little nervous when the media tackles the subject of homosexuality and Christianity. The discussion usually falls into stereotypical finger pointing, with Christians coming off looking evil and gays as the victims. So when I heard about the new film "Save Me," directed by Robert Cary, I assumed it would be a film celebrating homosexuality amidst the horrors of Christianity. Thankfully, I was wrong. The film stars Chad Allen as Mark, a sex and drug addicted young gay man who hits rock bottom and enters a treatment program at Genesis House, a Christian ministry that promotes healing from "sexual brokenness." The ministry is run by Gayle (Judith Light...

Andre Soares over at the Alternative Film Guide briefly interviewed Robert Cary, director of “Save Me,” which is currently touring around the country.

In the film, a Christian couple runs a retreat at which they run a program that’s supposed to help cure young men of their “gay affliction.” Robert Grant, Judith Light and Stephen Lang star. More about the synopsis can be found at the official site.

“Yes, several people who had been involved in conversion therapy were consulted, and they certainly believed it would work at one time in their lives,” Cary wrote in response to what kind of research he did for the film.

Click right here to read Andre’s entire interview with Cary.

Also, if you’re interested, make sure to check out Kevin Thomas’ quick review of “Save Me” in the Los Angeles Times.

“This is a modest, thoughtful, independent production of exceptional insight and quietly devastating power,...

By Neil Pedley

This week's trip to the multiplex offers a jaunt around the globe where, amongst other things, there's a case of mistaken ethnicity in Boston, Nic Cage gets another wig fitted in Thailand, there's whimsy and surrealism in Scotland and Matthew McConaughey is right at home in Malibu, where he might finally have found something he does well, maybe.

"August Evening"

Strained emotional bonds and the transitory nature of the life of an illegal immigrant provide the backdrop for Chris Eska's quietly affecting family drama that stars Pedro Castaneda as an aging farmhand who loses his job at a chicken farm in a sleepy Texas town, forcing he and his devoted daughter-in-law (Veronica Loren) to relocate to San Antonio to stay with his older children and the grandchildren he never knew he had. As Alison Willmore pointed out in last week's Lunchbox, Castaneda is a first-time actor...

• The deals still fly at Cannes as 2929 Entertainment's sub Magnolia Pictures snatches Us distribution rights for the latest Jennifer Westfeldt project Ira and Abby. Westfeldt made a name for herself with her 2001 work Kissing Jessica Stein, which she penned and headlined.The actress/writer is best known for her television appearances, enlists the talent of many of her TV cohorts to co-star in her latest work. Ira and Abby is another nearly sole Westfeldt jaunt as she again handles scribe and actor duties, and picks up exec producer for good measure. The pic, helmed by Robert Cary (Save Me), focuses on a neurotic New Yorker (tv vet Chris Messina) who falls in love with free spirit Abby (Westfeldt). The rest of the cast reads like an issue of TV Guide, with Frances Conroy, Judith Light, Robert Klein, Jason Alexander, Fred Willard, Chris Parnell and Darrell Hammond rounding out the ensemble group.

...

CANNES -- Magnolia Pictures has acquired U.S. distribution rights to Jennifer Westfeldt's romantic comedy Ira & Abby.

Westfeldt, who made a name for herself writing and starring in 2001's Kissing Jessica Stein, served as exec producer and writer of Ira, which was directed by Robert Cary (Standard Time).

Westfeldt also stars in Ira, the tale of a neurotic New Yorker (Chris Messina) who falls in love with a free spirit (Westfeldt).

The cast includes Frances Conroy, Judith Light, Robert Klein, Jason Alexander, Fred Willard, Chris Parnell and Darrell Hammond.

"We are thrilled to be able to work on this film," said Ray Price, marketing chief at Landmark Theaters, Magnolia's sister company under the 2929 Entertainment banner. "Staking out the comedic travails of sex, love and misunderstanding, Jennifer Westfeldt continues to establish herself as a chronicler of her generation."

The deal was negotiated by Magnolia head of acquisitions Tom Quinn and head of business affairs Jason Janego with Rena Ronson and Phil Alberstat of William Morris Independent and producer Brad Zions.

NEW YORK -- Jason Alexander and Judith Light have joined Robert Cary's Ira and Abby: A Divorce Comedy, which also will feature cameos from Saturday Night Live vets Darrell Hammond and Chris Parnell. Alexander plays Abby's therapist in the screwball comedy from writer-star Jennifer Westfeldt and producer Brad Zions of Breakout Pictures, the team behind the indie hit Kissing Jessica Stein. Light plays the mother of Ira (Chris Messina, Six Feet Under) opposite Robert Klein as Ira's dad. After a chain of infidelities among the characters, a climactic scene brings the parents of Abby (Fred Willard, Frances Conroy) and Ira and the impulsively wed couple together with their six therapists (including Alexander, Parnell and Peter Hirsch). "It's all pretty loony," said Westfeldt, who recruited her Our Town stage partner Donna Murphy and Stein co-stars Ilana Levine and Peter Hirsch to play therapists.

Actress-writer Jennifer Westfeldt is reteaming with her Kissing Jessica Stein producer Brad Zions of Breakout Pictures on her script Ira & Abby: A Divorce Story. Director Robert Cary (Anything But Love) will start filming the neurotic screwball comedy, budgeted at around $2.5 million, on Nov. 12 in Manhattan. As the title characters, Westfeldt and Chris Messina (Road) marry on the spur of the moment, leading to a chain of affairs involving their parents (Frances Conroy, Fred Willard and Robert Klein), exes and therapists. Additional casting is expected before the 26-day shoot, said Westfeldt, who executive produces with Jennifer Todd and Ilana Levine, along with co-producer Declan Baldwin. Westfeldt said she hopes to cast other members of the Stein cast as well as six celebrity therapists for cameos in the film's finale.

Samuel Goldwyn Films

Yet another film seeking to pay homage to 1950s American cinema, "Anything but Love" earns an A for effort but a much lower grade in the entertainment department.

Shot in what the filmmakers call "an approximation of Technicolor" and using optical techniques of '50s comedies, director Robert Cary and his star and co-writer Isabel Rose get the look right more often than not. Lacking the budget for a period piece, they opt instead for a contemporary story in the '50s mode. The clash in sensibilities is somewhat jarring, but much more problematic are two halting and ultimately dull love stories that form not so much an eternal triangle but an infernal drag on viewers' good will. Audience response will probably be as tepid as its story.

What links the '50s to the present-day tale is its heroine, Billie Golden (Rose), who insists on living her life to a '50s beat. She dresses like Audrey Hepburn and Rita Hayworth and sings '50s torch songs in a dismal JFK Airport lounge. She chooses to ignore, as much as she can, her mother's alcoholism and her family's past failures whenever any one attempts to follow their dream.

Her '50s mind-set also interferes with a developing love relationship with a rich high school classmate-turned-Manhattan attorney (a stiff Cameron Bancroft). When Billie needs to improve her piano skills to maintain the lounge act, she hires a disheveled but similarly dreamy pianist (Andrew McCarthy), then finds herself torn romantically between the two men. The final key cast member is none other than ageless chanteuse Eartha Kitt, who provides words of wisdom that make Billie face the music.

We, of course, know who her true soulmate is. Bancroft is encouraged (and dressed) to play a smug suit with little tolerance for his lover's retro sensibilities. McCarthy, on the other hand, is comfortably rumpled with a filthy baseball cap and passion for '50s tunes.

Cary lacked the money to stage musical numbers with any flair, and he and his cohorts are such slaves to the '50s models that they forget to be original in any way. "Anything but Love" ends up little more than a vanity piece for Rose and an exercise in style over substance for Cary. Technical credits are not nearly good enough for such an ambitious film.

Samuel Goldwyn Films

Yet another film seeking to pay homage to 1950s American cinema, "Anything but Love" earns an A for effort but a much lower grade in the entertainment department.

Shot in what the filmmakers call "an approximation of Technicolor" and using optical techniques of '50s comedies, director Robert Cary and his star and co-writer Isabel Rose get the look right more often than not. Lacking the budget for a period piece, they opt instead for a contemporary story in the '50s mode. The clash in sensibilities is somewhat jarring, but much more problematic are two halting and ultimately dull love stories that form not so much an eternal triangle but an infernal drag on viewers' good will. Audience response will probably be as tepid as its story.

What links the '50s to the present-day tale is its heroine, Billie Golden (Rose), who insists on living her life to a '50s beat. She dresses like Audrey Hepburn and Rita Hayworth and sings '50s torch songs in a dismal JFK Airport lounge. She chooses to ignore, as much as she can, her mother's alcoholism and her family's past failures whenever any one attempts to follow their dream.

Her '50s mind-set also interferes with a developing love relationship with a rich high school classmate-turned-Manhattan attorney (a stiff Cameron Bancroft). When Billie needs to improve her piano skills to maintain the lounge act, she hires a disheveled but similarly dreamy pianist (Andrew McCarthy), then finds herself torn romantically between the two men. The final key cast member is none other than ageless chanteuse Eartha Kitt, who provides words of wisdom that make Billie face the music.

We, of course, know who her true soulmate is. Bancroft is encouraged (and dressed) to play a smug suit with little tolerance for his lover's retro sensibilities. McCarthy, on the other hand, is comfortably rumpled with a filthy baseball cap and passion for '50s tunes.

Cary lacked the money to stage musical numbers with any flair, and he and his cohorts are such slaves to the '50s models that they forget to be original in any way. "Anything but Love" ends up little more than a vanity piece for Rose and an exercise in style over substance for Cary. Technical credits are not nearly good enough for such an ambitious film.

Samuel Goldwyn Films has struck a deal to distribute director Robert Cary's modern musical "Anything but Love", which stars Isabel Rose and has a fall release date planned. A celebration of the style and sensibility of the 1950s Technicolor musicals, "Love" tells the contemporary love story of a young woman choosing between the life she wants and the dreams she can't live without. In addition to Rose, the film stars Cameron Bancroft, Andrew McCarthy and Eartha Kitt. It was written by Cary and Rose and produced by Aimee Schoof and Isen Robbins. "The film takes me back to the era of great Samuel Goldwyn musicals," Goldwyn Films president Meyer Gottlieb said. "If you like musicals with a happy ending, you'll love this movie. The beautiful Isabel Rose is a real charmer."...