Jon Hamm in Million Dollar Arm

MILLION DOLLAR ARM !!!I love my Jon Hamm and I love basebell looks like this one has both! I'd say just what I wanted for Christmas but it's not coming out till this Spring, so let's say just what I wanted for Easter.

It's the story of a once great sports agent (Jon Hamm) who needs to find his way back to the top, which is hard when no one will sign with you. Alan Arkin costars as a baseball scout who goes with Hamm to Mumbai to find a cricket player who can be the next great pitcher for American baseball, in a very basebally last ditch effort, to save his career.

New Years Eve at Knott's Berry Farm #KnottsNYE

I'm really excited to be invited  by Knott's Berry Farm to spend New Years Eve at their park with my family. It's difficult to find age appropriate activities for kids at New Years, and this has got to be the closest thing to a perfect New Years Eve for my 9 year old daughter and 11 year old nephew.

Knott's New Years Eve Celebration starts at 10am and runs right through the day and into the wee hours of the night to 1am! Extended park hours, live entertainment, and a fireworks display are all included in the price of regular park admission.

Special one-night-only entertainment serves up family fun for a variety of ages and interests, including the Midnight Party on the Midway! Count down the New Year with music, stilt walkers, party hats, and noisemakers for everyone. And new this year, the Knott’s Sky Cabin, adorned with special lighting effects, will dramatically rise to the top of the “K” tower to count down the final moments of 2013.  The cabin will reach the top at the stroke of midnight and the skies above Knott’s will be ablaze with colorful fireworks!

 There’s live entertainment everywhere you turn.  Adding to the line-up of can’t miss performers are:

• Krazy Kirk & The Hillbillies!  From the deep country hills of Anaheim, these boys will have toes tappin’ hands clappin’ and guts bustin’ during the best darn musical comedy show ever performed on the Wilderness Dance Hall stage.

 • The Reflexx, the ultimate 80’s party band, headlines the Calico Square Stage with a blast to the past of radical music from Depeche Mode, Flock of Seagulls, A-Ha, and more.  And before The Reflexx take the stage, DJ REESSO spins popular high energy music in the Calico Square.

• Comedy Magic of Dana Daniels will fill the Boardwalk Ballroom with uproarious laughter as he combines clean comedy, astounding magic, and a psychic parrot in his show.

• Sharp Turn Ahead will headline the Camp Snoopy Theater with the up-and-coming teen duo’s fresh combination of energetic acoustic guitar  and smooth keys, playing original tunes and covers of today’s pop hits.

 • Salsa Dancing with Louie Angon, DJ JC & Snoopy invite you to show off your dance movees at Fiesta Plaza and groove to the beat of this spicy music scene that’s Hot Hot Hot!

If you have a 2014 Season Pass the value is even better, because each 2014 Season Pass includes one FREE visit in 2013 that can be used on New Year’s Eve!

The Drowsy Chaperone Film News

I first saw The Drowsy Chaperone when it made it's US premiere at The Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles way back in 2005. With the original cast and Bob Martin in the role of Man In The Chair, he also co wrote the play with Don McKellar. The music is by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison. It had been playing at theatres in Canada since 1998 but some how took almost 10 years to come to the United States.

I've only ever seen it the once, but I still remember how much I adored it. So when Geoffrey Rush mentioned in passing, during an interview for his new film THE BOOK THIEF, that he was working on a film version I nearly swooned. I will definitely be dogging whichever studio is doing it to see the earliest possible screening.

THE DROWSY CHAPERONE begins with a man in a chair listening to his favorite cast album. Slowly the stage around him becomes the Broadway stage of this 1928 musical. Throughout the play the man in the chair narrates the mad cap goings on.

Geoffrey Rush was in the original Australian cast in 2010, I feel for them having to wait an additional 5 years after us to get this play, as the Man In The Chair. He is now working on a film and I have heard some noise about Hugh Jackman signing on to play the Latin Lover character in the play within the play, pictured above from another production. I can totally see Jackman doing this character.

This is all the news I have at the moment but I'll keep updating as I get more info. In the mean time go see, the amazing film, THE BOOK THIEF. Maybe if Geoffrey gets lots of money from it we'll see THE DROWSY CHAPERONE that much quicker.

Based on various interviews it sounds like it will be going into production in early 2014. If you're not convinced here's a commercial for the New York  production.

Mary Poppins Blu-ray Release and Tea with Jane Banks

I was invited to celebrate the Blu-ray release of the 50th anniversary edition of Mary Poppins last week. A small group of us were invited to have tea with none other than Jane Banks herself, Karen Dotrice. She had so many great stories to share about the making of the film.

While she didn't recall ever having met the writer P.L. Travers, whom will soon be amazingly portray by Emma Thompson, in Saving Mr. Banks (theatrical release Dec. 20). She thought perhaps after seeing the new film that they kept her away as she was "challanging" to deal with. She did have many warm memories of Walt Disney and his kindness to her and her family. One particularly sweet story she told us was of being taken somewhere in Walt's private plane. She was uneasy about flying and he had the entire plane made out like a candy story for her and her sisters.

On the other hand, she regretted not having any nice tales to tell about her costar and often on screen brother Mathew Garber. Seems he was a bit of a handful. But, she kept those stories to herself.

She did share that she had prepared all her songs in England with a coach before coming to Los Angeles to film the movie. The coach had instructed her to sing them all in an operetta style which, to put it nicely, surprised everyone. Julie Andrews took her aside and retaught her all the songs. Can you imagine getting singing lessons from Julie Andrews. It must have been AMAZING! Then Julie also stood by her while she did her recordings with the live orchestra.

Finally, she gushed about Dick Van Dyke. How lovely he was. I dared asked about the famously terrible accent and she said that he was such a great performer you forgot in the moment that he was suppose to be putting on an accent. Then she side stepped into what a fun person he was to be around then and now (they're neighbors today).

We only had about an hour and a half with Karen, but I wish we could have sat there all day. She was really funny in her story telling. I got the feeling she could  have gone on and on. I wish she had.

Special Features Included on Blu-ray

• INCLUDES BLU-RAY™, DVD AND DIGITAL COPY
• MARY-OKE:
• Spoon full of sugar
• Supercalafragilisticexpealidocious
• Step in time
• Chim chim cher-ee
• DISNEY’S SONG SELECTION:
• “A Spoonful of Sugar”
• “Jolly Holiday”
• “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"
• “I Love to Laugh”
• “Feed the Birds”
• “Chim Chim Cher-ee”
• “Step in Time”
• “Let’s Go Fly a Kite”
• SING-ALONG WITH THE MOVIE
• AUDIO COMMENTARY
• MARY POPPINS FROM PAGE TO STAGE
• STEP IN TIME
• DELETED SONG: CHIMPANZOO
• A MAGICAL MUSICAL REUNION FEATURING JULIE ANDREWS, DICK VAN DYKE AND RICHARD SHERMAN
• SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS: THE MAKING OF MARY POPPINS
• THE GALA WORLD PREMIERE
• THE GALA WORLD PREMIERE PARTY
• “THE CAT THAT LOOKED AT A KING” FROM “MARY POPPINS OPENS THE DOOR” BY P.L TRAVERS
• MOVIE MAGIC
• DECONSTRUCTION OF A SCENE: JOLLY HOLLIDAY
• DECONSTRUCTION OF A SCENE: STEP IN TIME
• DICK VAN DYKE MAKE-UP TEST
• ORIGINAL THEATRICAL TEASER TRAILER
• ORIGINAL THEATRICAL TRAILER
• JULIE ANDREWS’ PREMIERE GREETING
• ORIGINAL TV SPOT #1
• ORIGINAL TV SPOT # 2
• 1966 RE-ISSUE TRAILER
• RE-ISSUE TRAILER #1
• 1973 RE-ISSUE TRAILER #2

The Blu-ray releases December 10th, just in time for all that pesky Christmas shopping!

Peter And The Starcatcher at The Ahmanson

I'm very excited to be invited by the Center Theatre Group to opening night of the 5 time Tony award winning musical Peter And The Starcatcher tonight at The Ahmanson Theatre , here in LA. It's a prequel to Peter Pan and is based on the book by Dave Berry and Ridley Pearson.

Here's the synopsis:

The imaginative play tells the tale of an orphan who climbs aboard the good ship Neverland and heads to a faraway place, where he finds love, friendship, and, ultimately, himself. “Peter and the Starcatcher” is comprised of a company of 12 actors playing more than a hundred unforgettable characters, all on a journey to answer the century-old question: How did Peter Pan become The Boy Who Never Grew Up?

 

All that and a musical too! Hoping it's a fun show. Based on the picture below, I think that's a pretty safe bet.

My Review- This was a really fun show. The set is minimalist and amusingly plays with what it has to represent rooms, door ways, the ocean, etc... I was under the impression this show was only for adults, because of the posters that read "A grown up prequel to Peter Pan" But that is incorrect. The play would be fun for kids too. I will say that like must children's film these days it has many references that would go over the kids heads, but as far as content it is totally appropriate for all audiences.

I can definitely recommend this as a great romp!

The show runs at The Ahmanson Dec 4th through January 12th.

Ticket Prices: $20 - $110 (Ticket prices are subject to change.) Tickets are available by calling Center Theatre Group Audience Services at (213) 972-4400, in person at the Center Theatre Group box

office or online at www.CenterTheatreGroup.org. Hot Tix: $20 each may be purchased in advance or, subject to availability, on the day of performance at the box office (no checks). Groups: (213) 972-7231. Deaf community: Information & charge, TDD (213) 680-4017. 

In celebration of "Talk Like a Pirate Day," save 50% on "Peter and the Starcatcher" tickets in the front mezzanine (Rows C-G) for performances from December 3-5, 2013 (including opening night) at the Ahmanson Theatre.

Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre

At the Music Center, 135 N. Grand Avenue in Downtown L.A. 90012