Nutty Professor To Become Broadway Musical

Rupert Holmes (Curtains, Say Goodnight Gracie, The Mystery of Edwin Drood) and songwriter Marvin Hamlisch (A Chorus Line, Sweet Smell of Success, They're Playing Our Song) are working on a new Broadway musical based on the classic Jerry Lewis film comedy The Nutty Professor. Lewis himself will direct the production of this Nutty musical, which is aiming to hit Broadway in the 2010-2011 season. Jerry Lewis is no stranger to the stage, having starred in the touring production of the musical Damn Yankees in the '90s. The 1963 movie The Nutty Professor, which Lewis starred in and co-wrote with Bill Richmond, is about Julius Kelp, a geeky genius who creates a potion that transforms him into smooth operator Buddy Love.

Cher and Christina Aguilera To Star in Musical

Variety has just announced that a new original film musical called Burlesque is in the works, and it will be starring music superstars Cher and Christina Aguilera. Directed and co-written by Steven Antin, Burlesque is about Tess, a former dancer and neo-burlesque club owner (to be played by Cher) and an aspiring young singer (Christina Aguilera). A music legend who has been dazzling Las Vegas audiences with her new solo show, Cher already has plenty of acting experience under her belt, having won an Oscar for her work in the movie Moonstruck. For Aguilera, though, Burlesque will mark her debut as a movie actress.

Broadway Bares It All For Charity

Broadway Bares 19.0: CLICK IT!, the latest installment of the annual charity event, brings Broadway performers together for a bawdy burlesque at the Roseland Ballroom in two performances at 9:30pm and midnight tonight. The theme of this year's event, which will feature more than 200 scantily clad Broadway dancers, is the information superhighway. And if anyone can actually succeed in making the internet sexy, it's director/choreographer Jerry Mitchell, the creator of Broadway Bares. Broadway stars who will also be participating include Daniel Reichard (Jersey Boys), Gavin Creel (Hair), Allison Janney (9 To 5), Sutton Foster (Shrek), and Ugly Betty star Michael Urie. The proceeds from the event will, as always, go to the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA) charity. Get more info at www.broadwaycares.org.

Special Theatrical Event Tony Eliminated

On the heels of the 63rd Annual Tony Awards ceremony, it has been announced that the Tonys will stop giving out the Best Special Theatrical Event award. This award was created to honor unusual, non-traditional, and limited run Broadway shows that didn't fit so neatly into the Best Play or Best Musical categories. Nominees in that category this year included Will Ferrell's limited engagement (almost) one-man show You're Welcome America: A Final Night with George W. Bush, the magical wintry clown show Slava's Snowshow, and winner Liza's at the Palace starring Liza Minnelli. The advantage of eliminating the category is that these Broadway shows are now eligible for other production element awards such as set design and costumes, which they previously weren't eligible for. To ensure that these special theatrical events can still be recognized, the Tonys will consider them for the Best Play or Best Musical categories. The Tony committee will also reserve the right to honor these types of shows with a Special Tony Award if deemed worthy.

Broadway Flop Glory Days To Get Recording

The Broadway musical Glory Days, which had an extraordinarily brief run, being one of those rare Broadway shows to both open and close on the same night, will be getting a cast recording to preserve its score. The short-lived show about four high school friends reuniting after some time away at college was written by James Gardiner (book) and Nick Blaemire (music and lyrics). They debuted the pop musical at the Signature Theatre in 2008, and then it was quickly transferred to the Circle in the Square Theatre on Broadway, but unfortunately largely negative reviews caused the show's producers to make the quick decision to shutter it. However, the show's original four-man cast - Steven Booth, Andrew Call, Jesse JP Johnson, and Adam Halpin - will reunite to record the cast CD for Ghostlight Records. With this new recording, and plans to license Glory Days for future productions, the musical should expect to continue having a life, despite its failure to find an audience on Broadway.

Four Broadway Shows Close Today

Four Broadway shows will be taking their last bows today. Two of the closures - Exit the King and Joe Turner's Come and Gone - were limited runs and therefore expected. However, two other closings - Reasons To Be Pretty and Guys and Dolls - were only announced days ago and likely due to their failure to earn any Tony Awards this past Sunday. Post-Tony closing announcements are something of a tradition on Broadway. Many struggling shows make the effort to continue running until Tony time, in the hopes that if they snag a win, it will result in an upswing in ticket sales. Unfortunately Reasons To Be Pretty, which has had a hard time selling tickets despite good buzz and positive reviews, lost the Best Play award to God of Carnage, and it didn't get any actor wins either. Although Guys and Dolls did fail to win Best Musical Revival, its closing announcement was far more surprising, considering it has done respectable (if not impressive) box office sales during its run.

Tony Awards Time

Attention theater fans: Tonight is your night! It's Tony Awards night, which is practically a national holiday for those who love Broadway. The 63rd Annual Tony Awards will air on CBS at 8pm Eastern time in a three-hour broadcast coming live from Radio City Music Hall in midtown New York City. Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) hosts the ceremony, which will feature musical numbers from the nominated shows, in addition to the awards. The impressive list of presenters will include Will Ferrell, Nicole Kidman, Jane Fonda, Kristin Chenoweth, Anne Hathaway, Angela Lansbury, Kevin Spacey, Susan Sarandon, James Gandolfini, and many more. For Broadway lovers who would like to enjoy the telecast in the company of fellow theater fans, there is going to be a simulcast of the ceremony in Duffy Square (home of the TKTS booth), right in the heart of Times Square. Hosted by Tovah Feldshuh (currently starring in the Broadway play Irena's Vow), this special broadcast of the Tonys will also include the untelevised pre-show Creative Arts Awards from 7pm to 8pm.