Patina Miller Is Broadway's Beyoncé, Ramin Karimloo Doesn't Need Hollywood Glam & More Lessons of the Week

As 2014 begins on the Great White Way, we’ve learned some pretty interesting lessons from our favorite stars! From Carly Rae Jepsen stepping into Laura Osnes’ princess pumps to Jarrod Spector dreaming of wailing “Born in the USA,” check out the thrilling (and strange) morsels we’ve gleaned from the holiday season headlines.

Carly Rae Jepsen Is More Than a Pop Princess
Pop star Carly Rae Jepsen, the culprit behind “Call Me Maybe” becoming stuck in your head for most of 2012, is more than the sum of her bubblegum parts. The Canadian-bred singer is headed to her own little corner to replace Laura Osnes in Cinderella and show off her acting chops. We're assuming she won't tell Prince Topher at the ball, "This is crazy, but here’s my glass slipper, call me maybe."

Jarrod Spector Wants to Be “Boss”
Beautiful star Jarrod Spector has made a name for himself playing real life musicians, and he may not be stopping just yet. The former Jersey Boys headliner recently told us he would love the chance to play another Jersey legend, Bruce Springsteen, in a Broadway musical. Jarrod, you were born to run as “The Boss” in his glory days dancing in the dark on Thunder Road! Okay, we're done.

August: Osage County Was Like Summer Camp
We can’t confirm Julia Roberts was catching Abigail Breslin in trust falls during the filming of August: Osage County, but the starry cast lived in the same complex while filming, which made bonding easy. Oscar winner Chris Cooper told us they spent their time off “making family,” which begs the question: Did they make s’mores and skinny dip? We’re certain Meryl Streep gives a great a ghost story!

Shirley MacLaine Makes Broadway Supergroups
Move over Lou Pearlman: Hollywood legend Shirley MacLaine may be the next supergroup impresario. The Oscar winner sat back at the Kennedy Center Honors as Anna Kendrick, Sutton Foster, Patina Miller and Karen Olivo joined voices for a tribute. Woot! Let’s get these four together on stage again immediately. It’s like Broadway meets the Spice Girls—hey, wait a minute...

It’s Not Easy F**kng a Corpse
The Glass Menagerie star Zachary Quinto had a holiday sleepover with Broadway.com correspondent Susan Blackwell and revealed that the weirdest thing he’s done while filming American Horror Story was f**k a corpse. And apparently a lot goes into making it work—like prosthetics, stunt doubles and lots of slime. Good grief! That makes living with Amanda Wingfield sound like a dream.

The Phone Book Is Next for Nikki M. James
Les Miserables star Nikki M. James sang a list of Tony-winning actresses’ names in a song called “The Ladies Who Tony” at a recent performance at Joe’s Pub. James confirmed our impression that we'd be willing to hear her sing just about anything. Maybe she should take a crack at the telephone book, from A to Z. Wait: Do phone books still exist?

The Bard Can Calm a Stutter
Jeremy Hays is making a splash right now as Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera but it was Shakespeare that cured him of a speech impediment. In a recent chat with Broadway.com, Hays said it was performing in a high school production of Much Ado About Nothing that “dramatically improved” his stutter. All's well that ends well, right, Jeremy? 

Megan Hilty Gives Seasons Greetings Better Than You
Sean Saves the World and Broadway fave Megan Hilty knows how to make the best of the worst (Hi, Smash!) and now she’s doing the same for ugly Christmas sweaters. Hilty and her Broadway vet husband Brian Gallagher brought good tidings in the form of ridiculous holiday-themed photos, flat out shaming our Christmas card attempts. (Well most of us!)

Ramin Karimloo Is Dreamier Than Hollywood Stars
Les Miz’s Ramin Karimloo will make his Broadway debut in a spring season featuring some Hollywood heavyweights, but the hunky Canuck is all our Facebook commenters were talking about. No matter how many Emmys, Oscar noms, TV shows or superhero franchises you have, sometimes it’s just talent that the fans want! (The fact that he is a babe is also a plus.)

Patina Miller Is the Jennifer Lawrence, Beyoncé & Kim Kardashian of Broadway
Pippin’s Patina Miller had a very good year rivaling some of pop culture’s other current "it" ladies. Sorry, J.Law but Patina also stars in The Hunger Games. All hail Beyoncé, but Patina also recorded an album! And palllease, Kim Kardashian—Patina also put a ring on it. Oh yeah, and she won a Best Actress Tony and Broadway.com Star of the Year honors, too. Booyah!