Pick A Little Talk A Lot

Hot time, summer in the city . . . As summer kicks off I have to scramble to see the shows that are soon closing after the recent Tony awards and I am wondering what we will be watching on TV. Showtime has very thoughtfully arranged season four of Weeds featuring New Yorker Mary-Louise Parker who is often seen roaming the West Village in person and now in larger than life sized posters on the sides of New York buses. I read some mixed reviews of the first episode but found it fascinating myself as the house, setting and town for the series went up in a blaze. Obviously, a Hollywood face lift this season.

Law & Order Criminal Intent has finished its season of shooting on the streets of New York and is running new episodes. I may have to check out NBC-TV’s Nashville Star to see if it compares to American Idol.

I am eagerly awaiting A & E’s The Cleaner featuring Brett De Buono as Benjamin Bratt’s son. I first met Brett when he attended the TVI Actors Studios Young Actors Professional Intensive which we have each summer. He is an extremely talented young man with a supportive family.
Above all, I want to know how I can get my fellow workers on “The Singing Office” the new TLC show hosted by Mel B and Joey Fatone of “Dancing with the Stars” fame.

All in all, it looks like a fairly decent television summer.

Sundance is happening! Award Shows are Not! It is most definitely an election year as we follow the candidates from state to state! Everyone is waiting to hear when and if favorite TV shows are returning! “American Idol“ is back on TV with a kinder, gentler Simon Cowell and the same, boring pre performance format! How many times can we make fun of bad singers and get high ratings? Clay Aiken of Idol fame is joining the cast of Broadway’s “Spamalot” tomorrow–hmmm? Perfect timing! Think it was planned? Above all I want to take advantage of the many cultural offerings in New York that I often miss–I recommend a new blog at The New Yorker Magazine: Goings On - Cultural happenings in New York and elsewhere. to help you keep up with Manhattan’s happenings.

I am resolving to attend more plays, ballet, art shows, openings, book signings etc. and am starting with an Off Broadway show and a workshop presented by two actors this weekend. Two new shows that are at the top of my list to see: “39 Steps” at the Roundabout Theatre. I had lunch with UK Casting Director Simone Reynolds, who cast the UK original version, and found out all about this hilarious spoof on Alfred Hitchccok’s movie thriller. 4 actors play about 100 roles which I would think makes for a really creative piece! Also, I hope to soon see Steppenwolf’s “August: Osage County” since I have been hearing raves about it since Chicago. As the writer’s strike continues it is good to have Broadway up and running. Having just returned from Los Angeles (where it is very quiet for actors right now) it is good to have a new year of theatre revving up!

One of the most enjoyable things about New York is how there is always a so-called “secret” place (that, of course, everyone actually knows about) where all the stars of stage and screen and other members of the “in crowd” hang out. The current in-spot is the Waverly Inn in the West Village. Mandy Stadtmiller wrote about it in the New York Post article “Secret Scene of ‘Inn’ Crowd! (Pun intended) Graydon Carter of Vanity Fair is one of the owners of this latest difficult to get into (no phone for reservations or actually a phone but they don’t give out the number) and even harder to “get a good table at” place. If you want star sightings it is the place to be lately! Of course, by the time the restaurant is officially open the “stars” will have moved on!

Last night, my daughter and I watched the season premiere of AMERICAN IDOL. We have been fans for four seasons but last night the negativity of the show took us both by surprise. What in past seasons had been a bit of laughter at the expense of “would be Idols” who seemed to play along with the judges escalated into a focus on the untalented and at times pathetic. Suddenly, it all seemed cruel because we were witnessing the humiliation of people who seemed to have emotional problems. Paula and Randy seemed exceptionally cruel to me. Simon, who we love to hate, seemed the kindest at times. So much of the show seemed mean-spirited. Maybe I am wrong but I felt like the total emphasis of the show switched to finding “bad” auditioners, the odd or crazy or the insecure and then ridiculing them. If the show’s point is to find the best, new talent then it should focus on that with just a few of the outrageous auditions. I think that auditioning as an actor is so difficult. Putting yourself out there on the line is never easy. Everyone has dreams and whether or not they are realistic, or the person is attractive, their particular dream has validity. For a show that is supposed to make a “dream” come true, it certainly crushed many dreams to get good ratings!

<p>ENOUGH! This week Barbara Walters, eminent newswoman and interviewer of world leaders, is trapped in the middle of this repugnant feud. What are <a href=”http://www.rosie.com/blog/”>Rosie O’Donnell</a> and Donald Trump doing? Is this a publicity ploy to promote <em>The View</em> and <em>The Apprentice</em>? If so, it is backfiring with me. These two are singlehandedly turning the talk show circuit into a Jerry Springer style cat fight! I watched <a href=”http://www.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/”>Late Night with David Letterman</a> in disbelief as Donald Trump called Rosie a “degenerate.” David Letterman said, “You can’t call her a degenerate.” But, guess what he just did! We all know that Barbara Walters is one tough lady but does she have to be subjected to the indignity of this? Not to mention, Rosie’s kids! When asked his advice on acting, John Wayne replied, “Talk low, talk slow and don’t talk too much.” These two have definitely talked too much!</p>

i heard today and then read in Variety that two new pilots from Denis Leary’s Apostle Pictures were greenlighted! Canterbury’s Law, a one-hour drama centering on a rebellious female attorney will be produced by Denis Leary and Sony Pictures for FOX-TV. Meanwhile, NBC-TV ordered Fort Pit, “a drama with some comedy” (hmm a dramedy?) about an NYPD precinct that sounds like the last stop for career cops and the first stop for rookies, also from Denis Leary and Apostle Pictures. Here’s hoping that both of these will be cast and shot in New York like another Apostle favorite of mine, Rescue Me starring Denis Leary and cast by Julie Tucker Casting. Who does police and lawyers better than New York?

An actor friend Paul Valley is portraying a character on Guiding Light this month. I remember Paul as Ryan Harrison on the daytime drama, Another World, and it is good to see him back on the small screen in a role as a cancer survivor playing opposite Kim Zimmer’s character Reva. In all my years of watching soaps off and on, I have never watched Guiding Light and have now become a fan! So add this to my tivo list!