Broadway Bares XXI

Last night Father Tony and I attended the 21st annual edition of Broadway Bares, the bawdy and deliciously raunchy fundraiser by Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS in which dozens of buff chorus boys and girls writhe and expose it all to the delight of several thousand gay men. See Tony's possibly NSFW slideshow here. Among last night performers were Tony winner and the evening's emcee, Beth Leavel, as well as David Hyde Pierce and Judith Light. It really is one of the most spectacular events on Broadway.

Broadway Friday

- Hugh Jackman will star in a new musical titled Houdini, scheduled to open sometime in 2012. Aaron Sorkin is doing the book, Danny Elfman (!) is writing the music, lyrics by Glenn Slater.

- The musical version of Women On The Verge just opened and the reviews are scathing.

- Kiefer Sutherland will make his Broadway debut this March in the revival of Jason Miller's Tony-winning That Championship Season. Chris Noth and Jason Patric to co-star.

- Soap opera stars will join Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS for their spring gala at Town Hall. Scheduled to appear: Cameron Mathison, Anthony Geary, the cast of The View, others. Get tickets here.

- Rosie O'Donnell plays Town Hall tonight as part of the New York Comedy Festival. Get tickets here.

- The delay-plagued Spider-Man has pushed back opening day yet again, this time to January 11th, missing the entire (and very lucrative) holiday box office.

- The Off Broadway revival of Tony Kushner's Tony and Pulitzer-winning Angels In America is earning rave reviews. Who here has seen it?

VIDEO: Here's the trailer for the Pee-Wee Herman Show, which is now in previews.

RECAP: Broadway Bares XX

Last night's 20th annual installment of Broadway Bares was nonstop gay gay gay insanity. Performers included Euan Morton, Kevin Chamerlin, Charles Busch, Lucy Lui, Cheyenne Jackson, Kristen Chenoweth, Katie Finneran, Alan Cumming, Bruce Vilanch, Vanessa Williams and about two hundred mostly-naked chorus boys (and gals). I never thought I'd see the Roseland Ballroom even more packed than during a Black Party. The first clip below is Dr. Jeff's, taken from the balcony during the big finale. Below that is a clip I shot from the dance floor (hence the borked audio) during the final moments as the dancers worked the crowd for extra donations to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. (Possibly NSFW: boobies.) And as nice bonus, last night I finally met longtime JMG participant Band! Dr. Jeff's sexy slideshow (NSFW) is here. Father Tony's slideshow (NSFW) is here. More photos and video over at Boy Culture.

Broadway Friday

-Neil Patrick Harris will be among 30 celebrities to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Other honorees: Joe Mantegna, Gwyneth Paltrow, Donald Sutherland, Penelope Cruz, Bruce Dern, Laura Dern, Diane Ladd, The Muppets, Kenny Ortega, Ridley Scott, Sissy Spacek, Reese Witherspoon, Danny DeVito, Tina Fey, Simon Fuller, John Langley, Ed O'Neill, John Wells, Oprah Winfrey, Melissa Etheridge, Los Tigres Del Norte, Rascal Flatts, Go-Go's, Slash, Will i. Am, and Bebe & Cece Winans. Whew!

-GLAAD will host an evening at the Tony winning revival of La Cage Aux Folles on June 24th. Tickets are almost half-off with 10% of sales going to GLAAD.

-Finally? Rehearsals for the long-delayed Spider-Man: The Musical are said to be starting on August 10th. The show is said to be the most expensive in Broadway history.

-The Tony Awards will need a new home next year after 13 years at Radio City. Under consideration: the Apollo, the Beacon, and Madison Square Garden. Too small, too small, and way too big. Where's the Goldilocks house?

-The 2010 cast of Broadway Bares is releasing a CD from the show titled Openings. Get it here. Performers include Jane Krakowski, Tituss Burgess, Euan Morton, Mo Rocca, Christopher Sieber, and many others. Great CD review here. Broadway Bares XX: Stripopoly takes place this Sunday at the Roseland Ballroom. I'll be at the extra-raunchy midnight show!

-Broadway legends Elaine Strich and Bernadette Peters will replace Angela Lansbury and Catherine Zeta-Jones (respectively, of course) when Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music resumes on July 13th. The show with the current cast concludes this Sunday.

Broadway Friday

-Don't cry for him, Puerto Rico. Ricky Martin will star in a revival of Evita slated to open in the 2012 season. Martin will play narrator Che (based on Che Guevara) opposite West End veteran Elena Roger in the title role. Evita last ran on Broadway from '79-'81. Martin made his Broadway debut in 1996 as Marius in Les Miserables.

-Knowing when to leave: Kristen Chenoweth will depart the smash Promises, Promises on September 26th. No word on who will replace her opposite Sean Hayes.

-Hair will close on July 27th. Attendance has been down ever since much of the original cast left for the new West End production.

-T.R. Knight will star opposite Patrick Stewart in the Broadway premiere of David Mamet's A Life In The Theater. Previews begin on August 23rd.

-Spoiler alert! Playbill has the list of songs, performers, and presenters slated for this Sunday's Tony Awards. Peek if you must.

-The eternal argument continues: Are the best theater experiences in NYC on Broadway or Off-Broadway? The more recent argument: Has Broadway gone too Vegas?

-Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS presents the 20th annual Broadway Bares spectacular on Sunday, June 20th at the Roseland Ballroom. Even if you can't attend, you can check out the 21 super hot Broadway dancers in the show and make donations to Broadway Cares in the name of the dancer that most tickles your....fancy.

Broadway Friday

-I know you are but what am I? The Pee-wee Herman Show will transfer from its wildy successful Los Angeles revival to Broadway for a six week run to start on October 26th. The show debuted in 1980 as a for-adults act before morphing into the kids friendly TV show that ran from 1986-1990.

- Beefcake-O-Rama! Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS will stage Broadway Bares: Classic on June 6th at Splash Bar. Scheduled to perform: Jerry Mitchell, Jennifer Cody, Steve Geary, Sebastian LaCause, and others. Tickets for Broadway Bares 20: Strip-Opoly are on sale now.

-The password is "Dirty Sanchez." Saved By The Bell's Dustin Diamond will join the cast of Off Broadway's Awesome 80's Prom beginning tonight.

-Probably not loverly. Sony Pictures is moving forward with the fifth remake of My Fair Lady. Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan is set to star.

-She's bringing sexy back. Jessica Biel has been cast to star in the musical version of Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown, which begins previews at the Belasco on October 2nd.

-Dolphins are just gay sharks. The first season of Glee will be released on DVD on September 14th. The set will feature sing-along karaoke, behind-the-scenes extras, and several unaired editions of Sue's Corner.

-I love that dress every time you wear it. The revival of Ragtime has been stripped of its 2010 Tony nomination for Best Costumes because the designs are essentially the same as those used in the 1998 production. There will be no replacement nominee.

-But who will play Ping Pong Lady? Will Swenson and Tony Sheldon will star as Mitzi and Bernadette (respectively) for the Broadway transfer of the West End smash musical version of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Felicia has not yet been cast. The show will run in Toronto beginning in October before opening in the spring on Broadway.