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The Roundabout Theatre Company tonight renamed its Broadway venue – a 104-year-old building that began as the Selwyn and most recently went by the prosaic American Airlines Theatre – to honor its late artistic director Todd Haimes.

The 42nd Street venue officially became the Todd Haimes Theatre in a dedication ceremony tonight. The name change was announced last June, and becomes official just in time to welcome its first tenant: The revival of John Patrick Shanley’s Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning play Doubt: A Parable, directed by Scott Ellis and starring Tyne Daly and Liev Schreiber, begins previews this Friday ahead of a February 29 opening night.

The venue’s name change was made to honor, in the words of the company, the “extraordinary dedication to the institution [Haimes] called home, and his enormous contributions to Roundabout and the entire theatre community.”

Haimes, the Roundabout’s artistic director and chief executive for nearly 40 years,...

About halfway through Nia DaCosta's new superhero film "The Marvels," Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) takes her new super-powered compatriots Monica (Teyonah Parris) and Kamala, a.k.a. Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani) to a distant planet called Aladna, a blissful ocean-covered paradise overseen by the ultra-handsome Prince Yan (Park Seo-joon). Aladna is in trouble and Captain Marvel has come to warn the Prince of an approaching supervillain. The good Captain also failed to mention to her companions that she is, in fact, married to Prince Yan, making her a very famous member of this planet's royal lineage.

The joke about Aladna is that its citizens speak only in song. All of their conversations seem to be presented in rhyming couplets and are set to music that bleeds in from the walls whenever they wish to start speaking. Yes, Captain Marvel sings her intentions to Prince Yan. Indeed, the entire introductory...

Things are looking more exciting for Doctor Who than they have in a very long time. Yes, we’ve got David Tennant and Catherine Tate back for the specials, but that’s already old news. What we’re excited about is what happens next. Russell T Davies at the helm of the show he brought back from the dead, not just celebrating anniversaries or reliving past glories, but taking the show in a bold new direction with the 15th, that’s right 15th Doctor Ncuti Gatwa holding the Tardis keys.

Davies is in a position to take the show to places it has never been before. To tell stories in exciting new ways. And as far as we are concerned, there is one way to use that opportunity that simply cannot be passed up.

Yes, it is time for Doctor Who: The Musical Episode.

The Tardis, by design, is...

Kit Hesketh-Harvey was one of those surprisingly rare performers whose personality was the same on stage as off. When I saw him in the many revues he would write and perform, the audience basked in his humour and genuine warmth.

You could say that Hesketh-Harvey was the last of the old-style Vaudevillians, keeping alive the spirit of Noël Coward, while unafraid to surprise his audience by stepping into the caustic territory of Barry Humphries. He always revelled in that quintessentially English humour, self-deprecating but biting, drawing on a world of shared references from British culture, while at the same time carving out its own originality.

His version of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “A Policeman’s Lot Is Not a Happy One” turned the jolly jape of a song into a critique of modern-day policing. “They want evidence that can’t be circumvented. So, invent it.” Delivered with such a smile,...

With her bright eyes and deep well of talent, Angela Lansbury means something different to everyone you meet. To some, she was a treasured nostalgic figure, thanks to a collection of work that spanned eight decades and touched on nearly every major genre. To others, she was a master of the stage who originated some of the most memorable theater roles. To most of the world, of course, she was a TV staple who solved weekly mysteries with spunk and charisma. But no matter how you first discovered Lansbury, it's hard to ignore the incredible impact this multi-award winner left on pop culture.

As the world honors this entertainment legend, it seems only fitting to discuss Angela Lansbury's cinematic legacy. From the movies that brought her into the public spotlight to the ones deserving of more attention, this ranking serves as a tribute to what made Lansbury one of the greats.

Jonathan Pryce, who has done memorable work for 40-plus years, hits a career high in “The Two Popes,” a complex look at Francis, played by Pryce, and Benedict, portrayed by Anthony Hopkins. Though Pryce has played well-known figures before, such as Juan Perón in the 1996 “Evita,” he was hesitant to take on Pope Francis because “it was a great responsibility,” but he liked Anthony McCarten’s script and wanted to work with director Fernando Meirelles. The Wales-born actor has appeared in high-profile projects including the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series, Bond film “Tomorrow Never Dies” and “Game of Thrones,” as well as smaller-scale works like last year’s “The Wife” opposite Glenn Close. Variety first reviewed him Aug. 20, 1975, in a National Theatre revival of W.S. Gilbert’s “Engaged.” In conversation, Pryce is thoughtful about his influences while also exhibiting self-deprecatory humor. He is starring on Broadway in Florian Zeller’s “The Height of the Storm,...

John Landis was the natural choice to talk about this middling post-Thalberg Marx Bros. movie. Can you guess why? Because it has Charlie Gemora in a Gorilla Suit! Groucho introduces the now iconic, W.S. Gilbert-inspired song “Lydia the Tattooed Lady”. This is the one where the boys save a circus from bankruptcy. Kinda topical, except for the circus part.

The post The Marx Brothers At The Circus appeared first on Trailers From Hell.

Today on Trailers from Hell, John Landis revisits the 1939 Marx Brothers gem "At The Circus." John Landis was the natural choice to talk about this middling post-Thalberg Marx Bros. movie. Can you guess why? Because it has Charlie Gemora in a Gorilla Suit! Groucho introduces the now iconic, W.S. Gilbert-inspired song “Lydia the Tatooed Lady." This is the one where the boys save a circus from bankruptcy. Kinda topical, except for the circus part.

John Landis was the natural choice to talk about this middling post-Thalberg Marx Bros. movie. Can you guess why? Because it has Charlie Gemora in a Gorilla Suit! Groucho introduces the now iconic, W.S. Gilbert-inspired song "Lydia the Tatooed Lady". This is the one where the boys save a circus from bankruptcy. Kinda topical, except for the circus part.

The post The Marx Brothers At The Circus appeared first on Trailers From Hell.

"Groucho, Woody and... Chevy?" week kicks off at Trailers from Hell, with director John Landis introducing the Marx brothers' "At the Circus," featuring Groucho's iconic song, "Lydia the Tatooed Lady." John Landis was the natural choice to talk about this middling post-Thalberg Marx Bros. movie. Can you guess why? Because it has Charlie Gemora in a Gorilla Suit! Groucho introduces the now iconic, W.S. Gilbert-inspired song "Lydia the Tatooed Lady". This is the one where the boys save a circus from bankruptcy. Kinda topical, except for the circus part.

The Muny presents the sixth show of its 94th season, Pirates or, Gilbert and Sullivan Plunderd, through August 5, directed by Gordon Greenberg and choreographed by Denis Jones. Conceived by Gordon Greenburg, Nell Benjamin and John McDaniel, Pirates or, Gilbert and Sullivan Plunderd features lyrics by W.S. Gilbert, and music by Arthur Sullivan. Revised book and lyrics are by Nell Benjamin, and music supervision, new arrangements and orchestrations are by John McDaniel.BroadwayWorld brings you photos from opening night below...

The Muny presents the sixth show of its 94th season, Pirates or, Gilbert and Sullivan Plunderd, through August 5, directed by Gordon Greenberg and choreographed by Denis Jones. Conceived by Gordon Greenburg, Nell Benjamin and John McDaniel, Pirates or, Gilbert and Sullivan Plunderd features lyrics by W.S. Gilbert, and music by Arthur Sullivan. Revised book and lyrics are by Nell Benjamin, and music supervision, new arrangements and orchestrations are by John McDaniel.BroadwayWorld brings you highlights from the show below...

The Muny has announced principal casting for the sixth show of its 94th season, Pirates or, Gilbert and Sullivan Plunderd, July 30 - August 5, directed by Gordon Greenberg and choreographed by Denis Jones. Conceived by Gordon Greenburg, Nell Benjamin and John McDaniel, Pirates or, Gilbert and Sullivan Plunderd features lyrics by W.S. Gilbert, and music by Arthur Sullivan. Revised book and lyrics are by Nell Benjamin, and music supervision, new arrangements and orchestrations are by John McDaniel.

Though 36-year-old standup Guy Branum is a familiar face in familiar formats for gay humor (panel talk shows like Chelsea Lately, fun ensembles comedies like No Strings Attached), he's a true anomaly in gay comedy: His professorial smarts, respect and knowledge of homo culture, and cutting, observational humor make him a fresh voice and an elder statesman. Case in point: His new web venture "The Factuary" combines droll commentary, pop culture awareness, and hard textbook knowledge in one compact clip. In the series' debut episode, he explains the Sri Lankan civil war by way of its preeminent celebrity voice, M.I.A.

We caught up with the Northern California native to discuss what's missing from TV nowadays, the problems with Ellen and Win a Date with Tad Hamilton, and the time he saw Ashton Kutcher naked in person. You can follow him on Twitter at @guybranum.

AfterElton: I love how...

Reviewer: Glenn Heath Jr.

Rating (out of 5): ****½

Mike Leigh's rapturous Topsy-Turvy, now on a lovely new DVD from Criterion (supervised by cinematographer Dick Pope), isn't so much an argument against auteurism, but a concurrence for the beauty of collaboration. Over the course of the sweeping multi-character narrative, Leigh mixes performance, practice, and discourse with effortless precision, showing the "symptoms of fatigue" concerning the artistic process, but also the power of sudden inspiration.

W.S. Gilbert (Jim Broadbent), Sir Arthur Sullivan (Allan Corduner), the troupe of actors led by Richard Temple (Timothy Spall), the costume designers, set decorators, choreographers, producers, and couriers all make a substantial impact on the gloriously textural production of "The Mikado", yet no one artist can claim sole ownership. Leigh's methodical pre-production methodologies (often made up of months of rehearsals) literally appear in front of the camera, and avenues of disappointment and possibility seem organically woven into the mise-en-scene.

A week ago I took my pal Justin to a preview of U.S.S. Pinafore, a new stage show that's a musical marriage of Star Trek with Gilbert & Sullivan's classic British operetta H.M.S. Pinafore. I warned him, this could be the worst show ever -- unless somebody really knows what he's doing. Well, somebody does, and his name is Jon Mullich, the man who adapted and directed this delightful romp. 

Last Friday I returned with my dear friend Nichelle Nichols (Uhura from the original Enterprise crew), and she loved it too. After the performance, which generated laughter throughout and a standing ovation at the end, we met the amazing cast and production team and posed for photos with them (see pic on my Facebook). Nichelle pronounced the show "brilliant." Obviously I agree. It's rare that such a bold and original concept is so professionally executed. 

I cannot recommend it too much.

Today's stars! Well not literally today's but November 18th. Get a little history. Celebrate one of these cinematic entities today in whatever way occurs to you.

Senors Gilbert, Hemmings and Infante

1836 W.S. Gilbert of 'Gilbert & Sullivan' legend. If you've never seen Mike Leigh's exceptional biopic of this creative giant, Topsy-Turvy, drop everything right now and do so.

1908 Imogene Coca beloved comic actress, mostly known for TV roles

1917 Pedro Infante Mexico's biggest movie star ever. Here he is singing. Pedro Almodóvar fans will recognize this one immediately

1939 Margaret Atwood, best-selling much-awarded author. Strangely Hollywood doesn't seem to have taken to her in a big way. The Handmaid's Tale (1990) starring Natasha Richardson is one of the few adaptations

1939 Brenda Vaccaro, Midnight Cowgirl and she of one of the oddest Oscar nominations of all time... seriously, have you seen Once Is Not Enough? Here's StinkyLulu's look at that Oscar year.

1941 David Hemmings,...