McG, the man behind Charlie’s Angels and this weeks opening movie This Means War has become attached to the Broadway adaptation Spring Awakening and he’s hoping that Glee star Lea Michele will consider taking on the leading role in the Broadway hits movie to the silver screen.

He sat down to talk with E! Online and revealed:

“We’re talking to Lea Michele because she made the role of Wendla famous and we’ll see if that pans out and works with the timing of her schedule on ['Glee'].”

Choosing Lea Michele for the lead role in Spring Awakening is a no-brainer after she originated the role of Wendla in the 2006 Broadway hit and received a Drama Desk Award.

If you’re unfamiliar with “Spring Awakening” the musical takes place in 1892 German and features a group of teenagers who discover sex for the first time. The play has been controversial because it portrays acts of homosexuality, rape, suicide and teen sex.

It’s been a busy time for Lea Michele in the world of music, not only is she an uber-star on Glee, she was also recently tied to Tom Hooper’s adaptation of Les Miserable, a role that eventually went to Samantha Barks.

If you want to check out her singing chops from the original Spring Awakening here’s her rendition of “Mama Who Bore Me” during the Drama Desk Awards

Do you think casting Lea Michele in the big screen adaptation of Spring Awakening is the right decision for the films producers?

McG Wants Lea Michele To Star In Film Version Of ‘Spring Awakening’ Broadway Hit is a post from: The Inquisitr

Back to the Future fans might soon be able to catch Marty McFly on the Broadway stage, that is if Robert Zemeckis has his way.

The famed Hollywood director is currently in talks with film co-writer Bob Gale and film composer Alan Silvestri to adapt the 1985 classic into a stage production.

At this time very few details have been revealed since Zemeckis is only in the early stages of creating the show, however it’s believed that his company ImageMovers will play a big part in adapting the movie for Broadway.

In the meantime it’s still unclear how they will pull off the show, everyone knows you can’t get a DeLorean up to 88MPH over the short distance of a stage and I wouldn’t trust a car flying over my head given the troubles Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark has had just hoisting actors.

On a positive note those Marty McFly self-lacing shoes from Nike are now a reality which should add some reality to the show.

Would you be willing to pay what will likely be quite a bit of cash to see Marty, the Doc and your other favorites in Back to the Future Broadway edition?

Here’s what the show might look like (unlicensed production ahead):

I’m ready to head to the theater to see what the Back to the Future team has in store for us, even if it sucks it still has to be more true to the original store then Spiderman: Turn off the Dark considering Zemeckis is intimately involved with the production.

Back To The Future Broadway Edition? If Robert Zemeckis Has His Way It Will happen is a post from: The Inquisitr

The wait is over, Glee fans- Blaine hits Broadway tonight- or, more accurately, Darren Criss, the actor who plays Kurt’s first big-deal boyfriend, will be making his debut on the Great White Way.

Criss is starring- as you probably know if you love Glee- as J. Pierrepont Finch in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and the former theater major is part of a pretty impressive celebrity arc in the show. Preceded by Harry Potter‘s Daniel Radcliffe, Criss is going to be followed up by singer Nick Jonas. (And interestingly, prior to his Glee fame, Criss was known in the Potter fandom for A Very Potter Musical, a viral hit on the web in which he played a singing Harry.)

As Radcliffe finishes up his ten-month-long stint in the musical, Criss talks about his debut on Broadway, along with producer Craig Zadan, to Entertainment Weekly. Of choosing Criss, Zadan says:

“We asked Darren if he was interested in doing a limited run in the show, and he got on a plane and snuck into the theater one matinee to check out the part. He called when he got out and said, ‘I have to play this role!’”

Criss chimes in:

“It seemed too good to be true, so I made it a priority.”

The actor also confirms he’s only missing a single episode of Glee (saying the show was “surprisingly supportive” of his Broadway gig), but adds that he is a bit nervous about taking over for Radcliffe:

“Everyone’s like, ‘Oh, I gotta go to your opening night!’ But I’m terrified. I’m like, ‘No! See it at, like, two and a half weeks.’ Theater is a -living creature. It takes a while to break in, like a new pair of shoes.”

Below is a clip of ahead of the show- did you manage to snag tickets to see Darren Criss in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying?

Darren Criss Talks About Broadway Debut in ‘How to Succeed’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

Stockard Channing underwent arthroscopic surgery on her right knee last week and on Friday she returned to the Booth Theater stage to perform her role as Polly Wyeth in the Jon Ronbin Baitz play Other Desert Cities.

Channing, 67, missed seven performaces after she injured her knee backstage on Nov. 18.

While Channing will return for her role during one performance on Wednesday her understudy Lauren Klein will kick off the day by taking over the role for the matinee performance.

Also starring in the play about a dysfunctional family are actresses Rachel Griffiths, Stacy Keach and Judith Light.

Speaking about her injury Channing said of her return:

“Obviously, I’m not out here playing football. I’m just out here walking around in high heels. So blame it on the Manolos.”

She goes on to say of her injury:

“This is maybe stupid. I don’t know. But if it doesn’t blow up or get painful, I’m doing the right thing,” and “I think I will be OK. I hope it will be OK.”

Only time will tell how well her knee has healed, in the meantime ticket buyers will have the chance to see the star in her role, a likely part of the reason they purchased tickets in the first place.

Other Desert Cities became a huge success when it debuted at the Lincoln Center Theater this past fall, since that time it has won the Outer Critics Circle Award for outstanding off-Broadway play and it has also been nominated for multiple Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel Awards.

Have you seen Other Desert Cities or do you plan to in the future?

Stockard Channing Returns To Stage Performances Just One Week After Surgery is a post from: The Inquisitr

We are currently celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the smash broadway hit West Side Story and in celebration of that milestone a Flash Mob took to New York City’s Times Square this week to perform a number from the show.

While no singing was involved there was an impressive 50 New York City Dancers taking part in the show of support for the musical.

Here’s the Flash Mob dancing to West Side Story in high-definition:

What did you think of the flash mob’s performance?

Flash Mob Takes To New York City’s Times Square, Celebrates West Side Story is a post from: The Inquisitr

After appearing on the Broadway stage in a rather boring cop drama alongside Daniel Craig actor Hugh Jackman has returned with a new act titled “Hugh Jackman Back on Broadway.”

Currently playing at the Broadhurst Theater the X-Men star sings various tunes including “Between the Moon and New York City” and I Go to Rio” which Bloomberg says left audience members in a state of between ecstasy and delirium

The show also includes half-a-dozen back-up singers and is backed up by movie clips along with photos of Hugh as a little boy.

In it’s most basic of terms the show is a Las Vegas revue taking place in New York City with an 18-piece orchestra. As Bloomberg points out it teeters between  “On Broadway” to “Lullabye of Broadway” to “Over the Rainbow.”

The play features Jackman banter which crowds seem to love along with personal tales and various musicians from Hugh Jackman’s homeland of Australia.

The show is two hours and if you’re a Hugh Jackman fan all signs point to “buy a ticket” for this review while it’s still playing.

I have a feeling this show will follow the typical Broadway crowd of women and gay men.  Are you willing to pay for a review show hosted by Jackman?

[Image via Christopher Halloran / Shutterstock.com]

Hugh Jackman Returns To Broadway In “Hugh Jackman Back On Broadway” is a post from: The Inquisitr

After various on-stage and off-stage gaffs, including one incident in which a stuntman was put in the hospital after a cable snapped Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark director Julie Taymor was fired and replaced and now she’s suing the producers of the show.

According to her lawsuit Taymor feels that:

“The producers’ actions have left her no choice but to resort to legal recourse to protect her rights.”

The former director of the hugely successful Lion King show filed the suit after the show began making a profit despite injuries and bad reviews that have plagued the production. In order to make a profit the Spider-Man production needs to make $1.2 million per week, a number the show is reaching handily thanks to sold out and near sold-out shows.

Taymor’s attorney told the Associated Press:

“Producers have failed to compensate Ms. Taymor for their continued use of her work to date, despite the fact that the show has consistently played to capacity or near-capacity houses.”

The lawsuit comes just days after the Tony Awards Administration Committee ruled that only Taymor could be considered for a director award for work she performed.

The Spider-Man production cost more than $75 million to produce after Taymor’s production completely fell apart repeatedly, a fact that will likely be brought up if the court moves to trial.

Do you think Julie Taymor should be further compensated for her work despite the lack of a finished product that was going even further down hill at the time of her firing?

Original Spider-Man Broadway Director Julie Taymor Sues Producers is a post from: The Inquisitr

Actress Megan Fox will make her Broadway debut this November when she stars alongside other Hollywood celebrities in the hit “24 Hour Plays” project.

In the production 24 stars team up with six writers, six directors and two musical guests to produce six plays, one day later the actors perform them in front of a live audience.

Produced by the 24 Hour Company and Freestyle Picture Company for Urban Arts Partnership the project is an annual fundraising event which this year includes the likes of Tracy Morgan, Jack McBrayer, Jesse Eisenberg, Sarah Silverman, Jason Biggs, Julia Stiles, Woody Harrelson, John Krasinski and others.

24 Hour Plays will be performed live on November 14 at American Airlines Theater in New York City with tickets costing $250 each. Proceeds from the production go to support the Urban Arts Partnership which aims to advance ”the intellectual, social and artistic development of underprivileged  public school students through arts-integrated education programs to close the achievement gap.”

Fox who rose to fame for her role in the first two Transformers movies recently wrapped work on the movie Friends with Kids for which she stars next to Mad Men’s Jon Hamm.

I can’t take Fox seriously after she “acted” in Jonah Hex and Jessica’s Body, this is definitely not a Broadway play I would be willing to pay a premium to watch.

Would you be willing to see Megan Fox perform live on Broadway?

Megan Fox To Make Broadway Debut In ’24 Hour Plays’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

Singer/songwriter Sheryl Crow has been tapped to write music and lyrics for the upcoming Broadway musical Diner an adaptation of the 1982 film of the same name.

The shows book will be written by Barry Levinson who wrote and directed the movie which followed a group of friends in 1959 Baltimore.

According to the New York Times it was Levinson who approached Crow about the project.

Crow told the times:

“I was already a huge fan of ‘Diner’ when Barry first approached me about writing a score for a theatrical retelling of his film,”  while she added,  ”I knew exactly who these men and women were and I feverishly began writing.”

Crow has never collaborated on a Broadway musical however she has worked on various soundtracks, providing music for Bee Movie, Cars and Point Break.

Diner received an Oscar nomination when it debuted and the movie is considered a major launching point in Levinson’s career, after which he went on to direct such hits as Good Morning Vietnam and Rain Man.

The original movies actors included Kevin Bacon, Mickey Rourke, Paul Reiser and Ellen Barkin.

The Diner will begin with out-of-town previews next summer and Tony Award-winner Kathleen Marshall has been tapped to take care of directing and choreography.

Are you willing to give Diner a listen when it’s ready for the masses? It will be interesting to see what Sheryl Crow can do with the great white way stage.

Sheryl Crow To Write Lyrics And Music For Broadway Show ‘Diner’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

Next month Michael C. Hall will be back in contract negotiations with Showtime over his hit serial killer series Dexter and in the meantime rumors are circulating that Hall is already in negotiations to star in the Big Fish musical which will open in the Spring of 2012.

Hall actually appeared on stage before his breakout role in Six Feet Under and continuing career in Dexter. Michael’s stage credits include off-Broadway productions of Cymbeline and Macbeth.

According to BroadwayWorld.com:

 “Susan Stroan will direct the stage adaptation of the Tim Burton film, which will feature music by Andrew Lippa. Hugh Jackman was originally rumored to star in the production, but ‘his movie schedule got in the way and the producers turned to Hall.”

The move comes after Michael battled cancer in 2010, a disease even his own agents didn’t know he had at first, after being given a clean bill of health Hall returned to his hit series.

It’s still unclear at this time if the Broadway production is a sign that Dexter will soon be coming to an end or if Hall simply plans to work on his craft during the off-season of Dexter production.

Do you want to see Michael C. Hall take on the lead role in Big Fish? I personally close my eyes and picture him as Dexter, perhaps other fans of the show will have better suspension of disbelief.

Dexter’s Michael C. Hall Heading To Broadway [Rumor] is a post from: The Inquisitr

I have to hand it to the Spider-Man Broadway team, they sure have managed to spend a whole lot of money for a show we could have done without.

Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark Gets Broken Down Cost-By-Cost [$75 Million Spent] is a post from: The Inquisitr

It took a record 183 preview performances, numerous accidents (one severe enough to put a stuntman in the hospital) and the largest budget in Broadway history but Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark finally opened on Broadway Tuesday night.

The show, keeping true to form, managed to debut one hour later than scheduled and in the audience were show creators U2′s Bono and The Edge along with Bill and Chelsea Clinton.

According to the Wall Street Journal, during the intermission Bill Clinton said:

“It works,” while adding, “The sets are great, the choreography is great. I love it. The story really hangs together.”

During the curtain call the shows cast brought ousted original director Julie Taymor onto the stage, Taymor was released from the project in March after the shows problems spiraled out of control.

Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark Finally Debuts, No One Injured is a post from: The Inquisitr

U2 frontman Bono and his partner Edge may have written the score for the oft-delayed Broadway musical Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark but that doesn’t mean Bono doesn’t think the musical is awful.

Speaking with Nightline Bono said of the show:

“It might have been a little hard for some other people around here to take that, but we don’t disagree with The New York Times. That’s the sort of stuff we were saying backstage.”

Bono continued his criticism of the show when speaking to Billboard about former show director Julie Taymor:

“Julie would not accept this . . . She got very close to it, so close, perhaps, that she couldn’t see it. And we were going out and coming back and we could see very clearly what we thought were the problems and she didn’t think they were as big a problem as we did.”

With the new version of the play Bono says, “this time you have a really clear story line.”

Hopefully with that clear story line they don’t also end up with more injuries and an even bigger budget than the more than $60 million they have already thrown into the fire and turned into ashes.

Bono Agrees: ‘Spiderman Turn Off The Dark’ Sucks is a post from: The Inquisitr

After 25 seasons hosting the Oprah Winfrey Show it looks like Oprah could be taking a smaller gig, this time on the Great White Way.

Oprah told The Chicago Tribune that she was thinking about taking a turn on Broadway once her shows production ends on May 25:

“I have a stack of plays in my bag right now that I am reading. And just this past weekend, I was in New York meeting with producers. We were just talking about what would be the best route to take. But yes, this is really going to happen. … Life is too short.”

Oprah has always been a fan of Broadway and in 2006 she produced the musical for The Color Purple the same show she earned an Oscar nomination for when she portrayed Sofia in the 1985 Steven Spielberg film.

Oprah Winfrey Headed To Broadway After Show Ends is a post from: The Inquisitr

Arthur Laurents was a legend on Broadway and in Hollywood, writing such classics as West Side Story, Gypsy, The Way Were and The Turning Point, unfortunately we have learned that he died on Thursday at the age of 93.

According to his agent Jonathan Lomma, Laurents died peacefully in his sleep at his New York City home.

During his career he won two Tony Awards for his 1968 book “Hallelujah, Baby!” and for best director of a musical in 1984 for “La Cage aux Folles.”

His biggest hits West Side Story and Gypsy were both turned into movies and were nominated but never won Tony Awards.

Playwright Legend Arthur Laurents Dead At 93 is a post from: The Inquisitr

The band members of Green Day took to their shows Broadway stage on Saturday to help close down a successful run on the great white way.

The group jumped up on stage and for an encore they decided to play a full set of music for nearly an hour.

Included in their show closing numbers were 10 songs that included; ”Longview,” “Burnout,” and “Welcome to Paradise” — as well as “Holiday” and “Letterbomb” from the “American Idiot” score.

Nothing like closing down a Broadway show by having the band that created the music for it perform the songs that made it all possible.

The show will kick off with a traveling tour starting in Toronto, Ontario on December 28 with various performances throughout North America, you can find tour dates HERE.

Green Day Closes Down Broadway Show With Awesome Encore is a post from: The Inquisitr

Neil LaBute’s play Fat Pig was scheduled to debut on Broadway for the 2011-2012 season, however the play starring comedian Dane Cook and actress Julia Stiles has been delayed.

According to the L.A. Times:

The play was scheduled to open at the Belasco Theatre this spring, but its producers cited the “last-minute fallout of a key investment” as the reason for the delay.

Even if producers scrambled to find the money needed to debut the play close to immediately, it was unlikely they could secure the necessary capital in time to debut the show for Tony Awards consideration.

If you’re unfamiliar with Fat Pig it surrounds a man who falls in love with an obese woman, leading his friends to backlash against the female.

In 2004 the play was shown off-broadway while starring Jeremy Piven.

Ticket holders can now get a full refund or choose tickets for a later date. The official opening was originally set for April 26.

‘Fat Pig’ Broadway Debut Starring Dane Cook and Julia Stiles Has Been Delayed is a post from: The Inquisitr

1989′s twisted black teen comedy Heathers is being turned into a musical.

The movie started Winona Ryder and Christian Slater as a murderous pair who slowly kill off the ruling clique at their high school.
According to THR, Andy Fickman, director of “Race to Witch Mountain,” is developing Heathers the musical, along with Kevin Murphy and composer Larry O’Keefe, who earned a Tony nomination for best score for the Broadway version of “Legally Blonde.”

Readings for Heathers the musical took place this week (sort of like an audition for musicals) with Kristen Bell playing the lead and Christian Campbell as J.D.

The musical is hoped to be ready for a regional production in 2010, followed by a Broadway run.

I must confess, this was one of my favorite movies as a teen, and although I haven’t seen it for years, I still remember it vividly. If you’ve never seen it before, here’s the original trailer:

They’re turning film classic Heathers into a musical is a post from: The Inquisitr

Page Six pointed out that “Poster also produced the screen version of  Chicago.” Even though Jennifer’s rep said that she wasn’t “Broadway bound” in response to the rumors, who knows? It does seem like a good step for her!

Jennifer Lopez Reaching New Broadway ‘Heights’? is a post from: The Inquisitr