‘Bus Stop’ at Palm Coast

William Inge’s Bus Stop gets another revival in Florida, at the Palm Coast City Repertory Theatre (inside Hollingsworth Gallery), with Annie Gaybis as Cherie, through to Sunday, February 26:

‘City Repertory Theatre in Palm Coast is presenting this Inge classic as a full-bodied simulated radio broadcast, enhanced with costumes, theatrical lighting, limited action and a full range of sound effects.
Show times are 7:30 p.m. Feb. 24-25, and 2 p.m. Feb. 26 in the theatre inside Hollingsworth Gallery, 160 Cypress Point Parkway, Palm Coast, at City Market Place behind Walmart.

Directors John Sbordone and Bobbi Fouts have assembled a terrific cast of veteran actors: Annie Gaybis stars as Cherie. Ancient City theatergoers were recently treated to her stage craftsmanship as Maggie in last years’s “Cat On a Hat Tin Roof.” Here, (no surprise) she blows the roof off the place with a dynamite performance that culminates in her all-stops-out rendition of “That Old Black Magic.”’

Full review at Compass

MAC to Launch MM Autumn Line

According to Harper’s Bazaar, MAC cosmetics have teamed up with ABG to create a ‘nostalgic collection, which will be showcased in custom-designed display units…It’s early days for the collection, which won’t launch in stores until October, but you can expect the most opulent red lipsticks, vintage nail lacquers, inky eyeliners and gorgeous pressed powders.’

Smash 3: ‘Enter Mr DiMaggio’

Episode 3 of Smash focuses on the casting of Joe DiMaggio. Here’s a snippet from the Wall Street Journal‘s review:

“I like how they’re showing the writing process in this episode, because before it seemed like songs were being written one a day. Now we see what’s something actually goes into it, Julia is trying to picture what Joe and Marilyn yearned for. Tom says they wanted privacy, a nice little house, a home-cooked meal. Julia says that’s not what they wanted – they wanted a simple life together, uncomplicated.”

Eagle-eyed MM fans will notice that Megan Hilty’s blue dress is similar to one worn by Marilyn in 1957, when Sam Shaw photographed her with another husband, Arthur Miller.

This attention to detail is winning over viewers at the Everlasting Star forum, though the New York Times reports that ratings have dipped.

Marilyn on Broadway

Marilyn at a Broadway premiere, 1956

The Bowery Boys blog takes a look at Monroe movies with a Broadway connection – including All About Eve, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, The Seven Year Itch and Bus Stop. Her most succesful film, Some Like it Hot, was later adapted for Broadway.

I would add to that list Clash by Night (based on a play by Clifford Odets), and The Prince and the Showgirl (based on a London theatrical hit by Terence Rattigan.)

Because Marilyn played a showgirl so often, you could also count There’s No Business Like Show Business and Let’s Make Love. And her last film, The Misfits, was the first screenplay by playwright husband Arthur Miller.

‘Mad About Marilyn’ Goes to Print

My review of Michel Schneider’s psychological novel, Marilyn’s Last Sessions (originally posted here) features in the latest Mad About Marilyn fanzine, alongside a vintage Tatler article about the young Norma Jeane, and an interview with Jay Margolis, author of the investigative study, Marilyn Monroe: A Case For Murder.

If you’re interested in joining the Mad About Marilyn fanclub, please contact [email protected]

Marilyn in 2012: To Be Read Again

So many books are being published this year to tie in with the 5oth anniversary of Marilyn’s death that it’s hard to keep up with them all. In addition to Marilyn by Magnum, mooted sequels to Fragments from Marilyn’s estate, and a new biography by Lois Banner, here are a few I may not have covered before:

Marilyns Are a Guy’s Best Friend by Joseph Clough, Teresa Winston. Examining the lookalike phenomenon, out now.

They Knew Marilyn Monroe: Famous Persons in the Life of the Hollywood Icon, a ‘biographical dictionary’ compiled by Les Harding, due out on May 15.

Marilyn Monroe: Murder on Fifth Helena Drive by Keya Morgan, due out on May 15 (a documentary is also planned.)

A Brief Guide to Marilyn Monroe, a fully revised version of Michelle Morgan’s 2007 biography, due out in the UK on May 17. A US edition, Marilyn Monroe: Private and Confidential, will follow on June 1.

Marilyn at Rainbow’s End: Sex, Lies, Murder and the Great Cover-Up by Darwin Porter, due out on June 16.

Marilyn in Fashion: The Enduring Influence of Marilyn Monroe by Christopher Nickens, George Zeno, due out on June 21.

Joe and Marilyn by C. David Heymann, due out November 6.

Smash: The Callback

‘The Callback’, Episode 2 of Smash, has aired on NBC.

“Everyone we’ve spoken to seems to heavily favor the Ivy character — she’s more real, she seems fit for the stage, she drinks wine in her apartment alone (relatable!) — over the pure-and-pretty-as-cornsilk Karen. Maybe this dynamic will change, it would be interesting to watch that Black Swan/White Swan flip-flop a little, but we are nervous that they’ve given Ivy the early lead just so we can watch her stumble and crumble as the season goes on. Not that she’s being painted as a sadsack villain or anything, far from it, and not that we don’t necessarily trust the writers to trade in a lot more gray than black and white. It’s just, c’mon. We need a hero to root for here. And we’re worried they’re going to push for McPhee in a big way.” The Atlantic