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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2006 > October > 05
Thursday, October 5, 2006
Leon ready for full set of August Wilson plays
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kenny Leon says August Wilson has been on his mind this week. Monday was the first anniversary of the Pulitzer Prize-winning dramatist’s death, and on Wednesday, the Kennedy Center in Washington announced that it will stage the entirety of Wilson’s 10-play cycle in 2008.
Leon will serve as artistic director and also stage some of the works.
“It’s been a year since he passed away,” Leon said Wednesday from New York, where he is mounting a show at the Public Theater. “I went by the August Wilson Theater and said a prayer for him, to him. It’s ironic that we are finally doing all 10 of his plays under one roof.”
The artistic director of Atlanta-based True Colors Theatre says he’s figured out a way to do the entire opus with a core repertory group of about 20 actors.
Meanwhile, Leon’s production of “Radio Golf,” the final play in Wilson’s epic cycle, just opened at Boston’s Huntington Theatre and begins its Broadway run May 3. On Nov. 23, Leon starts filming his Tony Award-winning revival of Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun” in Toronto. Broadway cast members Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, Phylicia Rashad, Audra McDonald and Sanaa Lathan will star in the three-hour ABC special.
Beyond Santa’s budget
If you want to buy a holiday gift that’s truly out of this world, look no further than the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book, which hits mailboxes this week.
The 2006 übercatalog offers a cool $1.76 million space charter flight for six that includes a view of Earth and a chance to experience weightlessness. It’s courtesy of Virgin Galactic airline, owned by billionaire Richard Branson.
Or buy your kids their own backyard water park from Waterplay, starting at $100,000. And if you have a fashionista in the family, opt for the archives of the late French couturier Jacques Fath. For $3.5 million, a lucky recipient receives 26 volumes of original sketches, plus three original dresses.
Not everything in this wish book will break the bank. A tin of chocolate chip cookies is $20. A Scottie salt and pepper set is $35, while a Burberry golf cap for him goes for $50.
Didn’t get a Christmas Book? Go online to www.neimanmarcus.com and order your gifts directly from the site. Or you can order the catalog for $15 by calling Neiman Marcus at 1-800-634-6267.
A different kind of tony
Buckhead could soon be in the same neighborhood as “The Sopranos” — on HBO.
The cable network and playwright Beth Henley (“Crimes of the Heart”) are teaming to create a half-hour pilot called “Buckhead Betties.” According to the Hollywood Reporter, the show will focus on four women raising their families in the upscale Atlanta neighborhood. Executive producer Gary Randall described the project as a “social satire comedy.”
“We’ll be dealing with the debutante set and country club charity balls and all of the whimsy, romance and humor of the upper crust of Atlanta society,” Randall told the trade paper. “Beth has a terrific perspective on the world of Southern gentility. We want to shine a spotlight on the fun and insanity of that life.”
And in this corner …
Can Travis Barker really have this effect on women? His estranged wife, Shanna Moakler, was involved in a Los Angeles nightclub fracas with Paris Hilton early Wednesday.
Barker, the drummer for Blink-182, filed for divorce in August from Moakler, a former beauty queen who was recently voted off “Dancing With the Stars.” In September, Barker was videotaped kissing Hilton.
Then Hilton encountered Moakler at the Hyde club in Hollywood. The following is based on reports by police and publicists for both women:
Hilton says Moakler walked up to her, “used the most vile of language” and punched her in her jaw.
Moakler contends she exchanged mere profanities with Hilton, at which point Hilton’s ex-boyfriend Stavros Niarchos emerged, bent Moakler’s wrists, poured a drink on her and shoved her down some stairs.
Hilton, 25, and Moakler, 31, both filed police reports alleging battery. Officer Karen Smith said police took pictures of Moakler and Hilton at the station, and police plan to speak with witnesses at the club.
AC/DC and Air Supply?
For an hour Wednesday, the usually tightly formatted Dave FM took on the slightly more rebellious nature of a noncommercial college radio station. When midday host Mara Davis and Indigo Gal Emily Saliers teamed up for the “Radio Free Lunch” show, listeners didn’t know what to expect next.
Before previewing “I Believe in Love,” from the new Indigo Girls album “Despite Our Differences,” Saliers confessed to writing the love song on the ukulele. Saliers also managed to persuade Davis to play her fave AC/DC track, “Back in Black,” and her cheesy pick, “Lost in Love” by Air Supply. The two then began singing along.
Celebrity birthdays
Cartoonist Bil Keane (“Family Circus”) is 84. Comedian Bill Dana is 82. Singer Richard Street (the Temptations) is 64. Singer-guitarist Steve Miller is 63. Singer Brian Johnson of AC/DC is 59. Actor Jeff Conaway (“Taxi”) is 56. Actress Karen Allen is 55. Author Clive Barker is 54. Singer Bob Geldof is 52. Comedian Bernie Mac is 49. Actress Parminder Nagra (“ER,” “Bend It Like Beckham”) is 31. Actress Kate Winslet (“Titanic”) is 31.
Contributing: Wendell Brock, Marylin Johnson, Tom Sabulis and news services. If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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