Steve Kazee Loves a Good Gay Bar, James Corden Bathes with David Beckham & More Lessons of the Week
With temperatures hitting the 100 degree mark in New York City over the last few days, it's no wonder so many of this week's lessons have a bit of a steamy side to them. Take a look below for our round-up of the hottest stories from this past week.
Steve Kazee Loves a Good Gay Bar
On his night off from making audiences at Once swoon, Tony winner Steve Kazee went to check out pal Will Swenson in Priscilla Queen of the Desert. “Drag shows are one of my favorite things in the world,” Kazee gushed on Show People. “As a straight man I love going to gay bars. People at gay bars just LOVE to dance." If you’re fishing for an invite Steve, there are plenty of gay guys who’d love to take you out for a night on the town.
Jennifer Tilly Has Bedtime Fantasies of Hugh Jackman
When Susan Blackwell headed backstage at this year’s fairy tale-themed edition of charity burlesque show Broadway Bares, the funny lady asked performers which Broadway star they’d like to have read them bedtime stories. Don’t Dress for Dinner alum Jennifer Tilly imagined having Tony winner Hugh Jackman recite Goldilocks and the Three Bears at her side. “I’d like to hear him use a little voice for Goldilocks and a rough voice for the three bears,” Tilly said. Getting rough with Hugh Jackman? That sound’s just right.
Harvey Saved Tracee Chimo from Living with Prostitutes
In Harvey Tracee Chimo plays a socialite fed up with her unusual housemate: a 6-foot invisible rabbit. Harvey however rescued her from an even stranger living situation. In the “twisted” Santa Monica beach house Chimo had recently moved into, her “surfer dude” roommates frequently let prostitutes in to use the bathroom in the middle of the night! After snagging the role in Harvey, Chimo hightailed it back to NYC. Surfer dudes and prostitutes? Move back in Tracee and you’ve got one hell of a reality TV show!
James Corden is Bathtime Buddies with David Beckham
One Man, Two Guvnors' James Corden is living the dream: he just won a Tony Award, has a beautiful fiancée, an adorable baby and he’s seen David Beckham naked! During a visit to Piers Morgan’s chat show Corden dished about bathing with the soccer icon for a photo shoot and joked he couldn’t decide “whether to shake his hand or lick his face.” Lick! Lick! Lick! With apologies to all the world’s rubber duckies, David Beckham is officially the coolest bath toy ever.
Helen Mirren Really Likes Playing Queen Elizabeth
When you’re Dame Helen Mirren, you can return to Broadway in any role you want— even if it’s one you’ve already won an Oscar for! Mirren is eyeing a return to the New York stage in 2013 as Queen Elizabeth II in the new play The Audience. Mirren must have a soft spot for England’s matriarch as she previously won an Academy Award in 2007 for her stellar turn in The Queen. Hey, if Carol Channing could play Dolly Levi for decades, there’s no reason Mirren should hesitate to put the crown back on.
Tony Contenders Now Have to Impress Nancy Botwin
With Weeds coming to an end this summer, Tony winner Mary-Louise Parker will be spending lots of time back inside Broadway theaters. Parker is among the recently announced crop of new members on this season’s Tony-nominating committee. Also weighing in on this year’s contenders: Cheyenne Jackson and John Leguizamo. We’re not saying anyone should bribe their way to a Tony nod, but if Parker’s anything like her TV character, providing her with lots of Diet Coke and iced coffees at intermission definitely might help your chances.
Wood Harris Used to Gush About Paul Newman in His Diary
A Streetcar Named Desire’s Wood Harris may be best known for playing hardcore drug kingpin Avon Barksdale on TV’s The Wire, but deep down the talented actor is a total fan boy. While starring in an off-Broadway show directed by Joanne Woodward, Harris had a run in with Woodward’s late hubby Paul Newman and his pal Sidney Poitier. When Newman paid Harris a compliment he freaked out. “I was like, ‘I need to write that shit in my diary!’” Wood recalled. “I don’t even have a diary. It’ll have one page and it’ll be from Paul Newman!” And just how many XXOO’s did you sign the entry with, Wood?
Mike Tyson is Ready to Rumble on Broadway
Face-tattooed, headline-making boxing champion Mike Tyson is bringing his one-man show, Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth, to the Great White Way later this summer! With Oscar nominee Spike Lee directing him, the former heavyweight champ of the world is ready to bare it all. “It’s about me being on stage and being pretty raw,” Tyson said during a recent press conference. “I’m just naked and I’m vulnerable.” A softer, friendlier Tyson? Now that’s what we call a knockout.
Benjamin Walker Is Too Sexy For Old Ladies’ Teeth
Most women would love a lap dance from Benjamin Walker, right? Think again. During a visit to the Late Show, the Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter star recalled a hilarious mishap during his Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson run. Walker decided to straddle an elderly woman in the audience who had fallen asleep. “I wake her up with my pelvis, at which point she screams and her teeth fall right out in her lap!” he reminsced. Yikes! Feel free to walk your pelvis over this way, Benjamin. We promise to drop our dollars, not dentures.
Bobby Cannavale is Afraid of Being Murdered by Woody Allen
Bobby Cannavale will spend his summer filming the latest movie from legendary director Woody Allen. While Cannavale told Broadway.com he’s a “huge Woody Allen fan,” the actor admitted he’s nervous to work with the Oscar winner…because he’s afraid of getting killed! “They’re very secretive,” Cannavale said of the hush-hush policy surrounding filming. “Penalty of death if I say anything!” With films like Bullets Over Broadway, Manhattan Murder Mystery and Crimes and Misdemeanors on Allen’s resume, Woody doesn’t sound like a guy to mess with!
