Thoms Pays the Rent

Tracie Thoms, who played lesbian lawyer Joanne in the movie version of Rent, will take to the Broadway stage tonight in that role in the long-running Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning musical hit.

Thoms, who was one of the two film Renters who wasn't in the original cast of the show, will stay with the production through its closing date, September 7.

Fierstein on Getty

Harvey Fierstein pays tribute to his Torch Song Trilogy co-star and longtime friend Estelle Getty.

Sonny and Sal, Together Again

Then and now.

Dog Day Afternoon, a new play based on the events that inspired Sidney Lumet's Academy Award winning film, makes its world premiere tonight at the Studio Theatre at Theatre Row Theatres in Manhattan.

If anything, the actors cast in the roles played by John Cazale and Al Pacino in the film sure have the right look. "Attica! Attica!"

Broadway Gets Kinky

Following in the fabulous footsteps of Zaza, Victor and the Priscilla gang, Lola will be the next movie drag queen to transfer to the stage as a full-fledged musical. That's right: Kinky Boots is coming to Broadway.

Based on the 2005 British comedy (which itself was based on a true story), Kinky Boots starred Chiwetel Ejiofor (in a Golden Globe nominated performance) as Lola, who does what every good movie drag queen does: help straight people, in this case, a down-on-his-luck shoe maker who needs to revitalize his family business. (You can order some real kinky boots from the real Kinky Boot Factory at their NSFW website.)

The production is very much in its infant stage at this point (so should we call it Kinky Booties? And that's the last time I'll say "kinky" in this post, I swear); no librettist or composer are attached as of yet. Legally Blonde: The Musical's director/choreographer Jerry Mitchell, who knows his drag shows thanks to his Tony Award winning revival of La Cage aux Folles, is currently being wooed for the project.

Speaking of Mitchell, his next confirmed production also has ties to the movies. He is helming the new musical Going Hollywood, itself not based on a movie but Kaufman and Hart's non-musical play Once in a Lifetime. The tuner, set (à la Singin' in the Rain) during the dawn of the talkies, was recently work shopped in New York starring Christine Ebersole, Matthew Morrison and Julie Halston and is expected to have its world premiere at San Diego's Old Globe in January 2010.

The Latest on TV: GLAAD Media Awards 2008

Although we've known the actual winners for months now, Bravo will air the 19th Annual GLAAD Media Awards (honoring the "fair, accurate and inclusive" representations of the GLBT community in film, television, theater, print and other media) tomorrow night at 7:00 PM EST. The program will be a condensed version of the group's events in New York, South Florida, Los Angeles and San Francisco held earlier this year.

So why bother tuning in if we already know who won? To star watch, of course. Celebrity presenters, winners and guests who may appear on the telecast include Calpernia Addams, Kevin Bacon, William Baldwin, Bryan Batt, Jennifer Beals, Candis Cayne, Kate Clinton, Wilson Cruz, Alan Cumming, Ellen DeGeneres, Portia de Rossi, Loretta Devine, Sally Field, Tom Ford, Balthazar Getty, Christopher Gorham, Kathy Griffin, Rachel Griffiths, Tim Gunn, Van Hansis, Mariska Hargitay, Cheyenne Jackson, Janet Jackson, Leslie Jordan, T.R. Knight, Sharon Lawrence, Alec Mapa, Garry Marshall, Becki Newton, Graham Norton, Anthony Rapp, Matthew Rhys, Ron Rifkin, Anika Noni Rose, Zoe Saldana, Kyra Sedgwick, Jake Silbermann, Sharon Stone, Michael Urie and Rufus Wainwright.

Next Stop, Wonderland

Another reason for theater geeks (especially gay theater geeks) to rue not living in New York: the annual burlesque-for-a-cause Broadway Bares was presented this past Sunday night, with the best bods on Broadway (male and female) on display to raise money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. This year's sold-old event was a resounding success, taking in $874,372 for the charity and beating last year's record by over a hundred grand.

Themed after Lewis Carroll's classic Through the Looking Glass stories, Wonderland featured such hot talent as Mary Birdsong (as Alice), Tituss Burgess (as the White Rabbit), Nathan Lane, Andrea Martin, Matthew Morrison (as Humpty Dumpty), Christopher Sieber and Jerry Mitchell, who created the show 18 years ago.

For photographic coverage of all the naughty fun that took place, visit AfterElton.com, Broadway.com, BroadwayWorld.com and Playbill.com (may be NSFW).

UPDATE: CBS News on LOGO's Jason Bellini takes a look backstage at this year's proceedings, as does Broadway.com.

Mountain an Opera

Maybe those rumors weren't so far off after all: in what appears to be a growing trend, the New York City Opera has commissioned an opera based on Annie Proulx's short storyBrokeback Mountain, which of course was also the basis for the Academy Award winning film of the same name.

If you can't quite picture Jack and Ennis belting out an aria or two, remember that most operas are tragic love stories, and Brokeback certainly fits that description. In any event, we'll have plenty of time to get used to the idea, as the new work won't be mounted until 2013.

UPDATE: Per Playbill.com: due to "budgetary constraints", New York City Opera has dropped plans to produce this piece.

Rent This Theater

The Tony Award winning musical sensation Rent is returning to movie theaters ... sort of. The final performance of the long-running Broadway show (scheduled for September 7) will be filmed for future screenings in movie theatres around the country.

Per Playbill.com: "The filming is part of a new business venture launched by Sony Pictures Releasing, which is entitled The Hot Ticket. The Hot Ticket, according to a press release, will "distribute event programming, including popular music concerts, the performing arts, and sporting events in high definition digital projection to select movie theaters nationwide."

Original and past cast members of the groundbreaking rock opera are expected to return for the final curtain as well. These special closing night extras will also be included in the "Hot Ticket" screenings.

Spider-Woman to Kiss Broadway Again

Manuel Puig's Kiss of the Spider Woman is returning to Broadway, but not the way we saw it last time.

No, this is not a revival of the John Kander/Fred Ebb tuner that starred Chita Rivera (see her here in the title number) and won the Tony for Best Musical. Instead, it will be a production (scheduled for this fall) of the Puig's own stage play version.