Glenn Close, it seems, is not taking a bullet on Broadway.
Photo by Mike Sharkey
No sooner was the ink dry on the Shubert Alley rumor that Close might play Broadway diva Helen Sinclair in Woody Allen’s musical version of Bullets Over Broadway comes word she passed. Seems she wasn’t thrilled with the songs selected from the 1920s for her character to sing. Allen, in turn, has passed on Patti LuPone and Bernadette Peters and is now said to be leaning towards Tony-nominee Marin Mazzie. Now, Mazzie has a fine voice and is a wonderful actress but is just not on the same star level as the aforementioned ladies (although she is not as expensive, either). Oh well, this is like rejecting ham for Spam when a healthy dose of ham is much needed. Don’t cry for Close-she is said to be Jerry Herman’s current favorite choice for his 50th anniversary revival of Mame.
Overheard at Sardi’s: disappointed theatregoers who thought Betrayal by Harold Pinter on Broadway was the same sexy story as the TV series with the same name. Hixs from the stixs, what would Broadway do without them?
Blind Items:
Which lady investor-producer (these types, male or female, rarely know the difference between ham and Spam) of said Betrayal was overheard apologizing to friends at a recent Park Avenue cocktail party that she invested in the play only to meet star Daniel Craig at the opening night party. Hope the dear lady got her money’s worth and discovered Rent Boy. The friends, of course, still want tickets despite those critical brickbats and the lady will still make a tidy sum to invest again another day in another turkey.
Which Broadway musical will soon be swimming with the fishes — all $12.5 million of it?
Which producer of another critically drubbed new show was overheard trashing the dubious talents of the play’s director as “a hack not fit to park cars in the Gobi Desert”? Well, you picked him, honey-or did you just write a check? Shame that with all the capable directors out there, this onetime wunderkind continues to garner top assignments.
After all, why choose Spam when there so much ham?
