Newsmakers: ‘True Blood’ star on Broadway; maybe more from Rolling Stones; Liz Lampanellia sheds weight
From ‘True Blood’ back to Broadway
NEW YORK — “True Blood” star Chris Bauer is going to be sinking his teeth in a new play in New York.
The Atlantic Theater Company said Thursday that Bauer will star in a production of “What Rhymes With America” a new work by by Melissa James Gibson.
Bauer, who also was on NBC’s “Third Watch” and the Billy Crystal movie “61*,” said in a phone interview from Los Angeles that he was desperate to hit the stage again.
The cast also includes Aimee Carrero, who currently stars on the Cartoon Network live-action series “Level Up”; Seana Kofoed, on Broadway in “Proof” and “Night Must Fall”; and Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who earned a Tony Award nomination for “Ghost: The Musical.”
Previews of “What Rhymes With America” begin Nov. 19. The play opens Dec. 12.
More Rolling Stones shows possible?
LONDON — Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood says the legendary band could possibly play more new shows after they perform a series of concerts in Britain and the U.S.
Attending the premiere Thursday of “Crossfire Hurricane,” a new film documenting the band’s career, Wood said he couldn’t believe “how well the band is sounding” in rehearsals.
Shows are scheduled for Nov. 25 and 29 at London’s O2 Arena, followed by gigs on Dec. 13 and 15 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, just outside of New York.
The shows mark the first time in five years that the Stones have performed live.
Wood says “once this wheel is turning I don’t think it will be able to stop … We won’t be able to stop.”
Lampanelli drops weight, not crass
Lisa Lampanelli, the so-called “Queen of Mean,” is 80 pounds lighter thanks to gastric surgery.
The “Celebrity Apprentice” alum said it’s “a lot easier to move around” now that she’s trimmed the weight from her former 250-pound frame.
“But onstage I’m pretty much the same,” Lisa told the Track.
She will channel her yo-yo diets and battle of the bulge into a one-person show on Broadway next year.
“It’s a narrative that’s really about my life and my issues with men, food and comedy,” said Lisa. “It’s great.”
