James Corden Is a Naked Strummer, Susan Blackwell Readies for a Royal Licking and Other Lessons of the Week
The sun has set on another eventful week on the Rialto, and Broadway.com is ready to recall the top stories of the seven days. From cheeky cheerleaders to wayward Mormons, it’s been an eye-opening week. Read on to find out what made this week’s top 10 lessons.
James Corden Thinks Once Has a Nude Scene
During Tom Eddens’ hilarious backstage tour at One Man, Two Guvnors, Edden stumbled upon a naked James Corden strumming a guitar. “I’ve got a recall [Brit for callback] for Once, taking over for Steve Kazee,” Corden explained. “And I’m just looking at my body making sure I look all right and I think I look kind of perfect for it.” Wait, did they add a nude scene for Steve Kazee in Once, because if so, we’re going back tomorrow! P.S. James, you are so perfect for it. Trust us!
Taylor Louderman Likes To Be On Top
As the star of the new musical Bring It On, Taylor Louderman finds herself center stage but where this newcomer would really like to be is on top…of the cheerleading pyramid. “There’s a line in the show, ‘You’ll never hit the ground.’ That’s a big motto in the cheerleading world because you don’t let the top girl fall,” Louderman told Broadway.com. “Once I started trusting, there was no place I’d rather be.” Get it, girl!
Rory O’Malley Doesn’t Need Your Judgment
Rory O’Malley let Book of Mormon fans in on the cast’s pre-show rituals during the latest episode of his Broadway.com video blog, The Book of Rory. O’Malley preps the jawdropping footage by asking audiences not to judge and explains, “This is what happens when a cast does a show almost 600 times.” If this is what happens when a cast does 600 shows, then we shudder to think what kind of shenanigans are going on at The Phantom of the Opera.
Jekyll & Hyde Gets Even More Wicked
Wicked vet Teal Wicks will fly into the Broadway-bound national tour of Jekyll & Hyde. As Emma, Wicks will go up against diva Deborah Cox for the affection of Constantine Maroulis’ Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde. This sounds like a cage match for the any Broadway fan: Aida vs. Elphaba. Let the betting begin!
Woody Harrelson Feels Like a Hot Girl
Bullet for Adolf’s director/writer, Woody Harrelson is no stranger to the spotlight thanks TV fame, three Oscar nominations and now the popular Hunger Games movie franchise. In his Q&A with Broadway.com, Harrelson explained what it feels like to be famous. “You can call [fans] “friendly strangers,” Harrison said. “It’s like being a hot girl: A lot of people come up and want to talk to you.” Add in wolf whistles on the street and phone numbers in bars, and it's an excellent comparison. By the way, can we borrow your lip gloss, Woody?
Susan Blackwell Is Out to Lick the Royal Family
Watch out, Susan Boyle, there’s a new Susan coming to town! Broadway.com hostess with the mostess Susan Blackwell, along with Hunter Bell, Jeff Bowen and Heidi Blickenstaff, are aiming to reunite in London to perform their musical comedy [title of show] on the West End. Susan, we fully expect you to tell us what Kate Middleton tastes like. Happy London licking!
Former Mormons Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells Have Moved onto Shady Dealings
My, how quickly the mighty fall. Just yesterday it seems Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells were smiling, dancing Mormons, and now one will be peddling booze and the other is getting ready to strip. Gad will play a seductive beer delivery guy on TV's The New Girl and Rannells is taking it all off as a stripper in the film adaption of Leslye Headland’s off-Broadway hit Bachelorette. And to think they were such nice boys…
Sutton Foster Knows How to Work a Stripper Pole
Broadway darling Sutton Foster has gone from leg warmers to fishnets on the latest episode of her TV series Bunheads after her mother-in-law (played by Kelly Bishop) installs a stripper pole in her dance studio. Foster may have had a few clumsy moments on the pole at first, but the two-time Tony-winning hoofer proved she's a quick study. Should camp classics like Showgirls or Striptease ever be adapted for the Broadway stage, Sutton will be ready.
Cheyenne Jackson Gets Raunchy with The Fonz
It’s official, Broadway audiences are in for some truly Happy Days as hunk Cheyenne Jackson joins Henry Winkler in the new porn-themed play The Performers. Jackson will play an up-and-coming adult film star to Winkler’s established Ron Jeremy-type. So the hunkiest guy in the biz is doing porn and the Fonz trading in his signature leather jacket for God knows what one wears to an adult film convention? Exactamundo!
Even After Five Tonys, Audra McDonald Can't Clean Up Her Act
Porgy and Bess star Audra McDonald says she doesn’t feel any different after winning five Tony Awards. “Life is still life,” McDonald said on Show People. “I have five Tonys now and my house is still so dirty. I still can’t organize my closet." McDonald, who apparently lives among "mounds of laundry" also explained that winning did not magically transport her to "Disneyland where the birds come and float on my finger in the morning." Maybe that will happen when she wins her sixth Tony. Fingers crossed!