Now They're the Ones That We Wanted

Cuties Derek Keeling and Ashley Spencer, finalists in the talent/reality show Grease: You're the One That I Want, take over the iconic roles of Danny Zuko and Sandy Dumbrowski in the Tony nominated revival of Grease tonight. They replace the winners of the televised casting session, Max Crumm and Laura Osnes, whose final performance was this past Sunday.

Broadway.com has videos of the arriving and departing Dannys and Sandys.

Tony Tube 2008

Here's a video round up of the best of Broadway, as seen on the Tony Awards last week:

- Of course, what everyone was talking about the next day: Xanadu's Cheyenne Jackson brings the house down with a fierce rendition of "Don't Walk Away".
- The Cry-Baby boys are "A Little Upset" (especially since their show closed a week later).
- Another show that announced their closing in the past week: A Catered Affair.
- For the wholesome family crowd, Disney was on hand with both The Lion King and The Little Mermaid ...
- ... with Megan Mullally in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein there to scare them off later.
- Grease was the word ...
- ... but not the final word. That honor goes to Rent, reuniting the original cast for one last chorus of "Seasons of Love".

And for a little more Cheyenne, here's "All Over the World", as seen on Live with Regis and Kelly, plus a Tony red carpet interview from Broadway TV.

Dody Goodman: 1915-2008

Dody Goodman, the beloved character actress known for her daffy performances on stage, screen and television, passed away yesterday at the age of 93.

Goodman began her career on Broadway, finding fame for her dancing in the original productions of Call Me Madam and Wonderful Town. Jack Paar called, and she became a regular fixture on his Tonight Show, which led to an Emmy nomination and a string of television appearances on game shows and other talk shows.

She is best remembered for playing the mother of the title character in the TV soap satire Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and the bubble-headed Blanche, secretary to Eve Arden's high school principal, in the movie Grease and its sequel. In the 90's Broadway revival of Grease, she played Miss Lynch for a time, and was also a long-standing member of the Little Sisters of Hoboken of Nunsense fame.

Awards Watch: Broadway.com Audience Awards 2008

Young Frankenstein triumphed at the 9th Annual Broadway.com Audience Awards. The musical adaptation of the classic Mel Brooks comedy (which was more or less snubbed by the Tony Awards) was voted tops in five categories, including Favorite New Broadway Musical. Stars Roger Bart, Christopher Fitzgerald, Sutton Foster and Megan Mullally were also recognized.

Monty Python's Spamalot was voted Favorite Long-Running Broadway Show, while its stars Clay Aiken and Hannah Waddingham were named Favorite Replacements. Gypsy's Patti LuPone added two prizes to her ever-growing haul for this season, as Favorite Leading Actress and Favorite Diva Performance (naturally), and The Little Mermaid's Sierra Boggess was singled out as Favorite Breakthrough Performance (Female).

Other winners, who were voted on by readers of Broadway.com, include Tony nominees Patrick Stewart, Raúl Esparza, Laurence Fishburne and Lin-Manuel Miranda, plus Phylicia Rashad and the cast of Grease.

Awards Watch: Drama League 2008

It may have failed to get a Tony Award nomination for Best Musical, but A Catered Affair was just fine for the Drama League. The new tuner, based on the classic Bette Davis movie The Catered Affair, was named Distinguished Production of a Musical by the group, an association of theatre professionals and patrons dedicated to "encouraging the finest in professional theatre".

Winners, which also included August: Osage County, South Pacific, Macbeth and Gypsy's Patti LuPone (named the winner of the Distinguished Performance Award out of 70 (!) nominees), were announced at a luncheon yesterday, hosted by Affair's co-star/librettist Harvey Fierstein. Broadway.com has a report from the scene, which included an unexpected marriage proposal for one Cheyenne Jackson.

Cheyenne (and his Xanadu - which just announced its first national tour) are also among the nominees for the 9th Annual Broadway.com Audience Awards. Nominations have been announced for "the only theatrical award that honors the best of the season as chosen by regular theatergoers" and voting is currently underway. Other screen-to-stage favorites among the nominees (see the comments section below for a quick look) include A Bronx Tale, A Catered Affair, Grease, Hairspray, The Little Mermaid, Monty Python's Spamalot, Rent, The Ritz, The 39 Steps, Wicked and Young Frankenstein, which leads the pack with 10 nods.

Awards Watch: Tony Nominations

The nominations for the 62nd Annual Tony Awards were announced this morning, with lots of surprises among them. And while our favorites Cry-Baby and Xanadu were both nominated for Best Musical, other front-runners like A Catered Affair and Young Frankenstein were shut out in favor of original works In the Heights (which leads the field with 13 nominations) and Passing Strange. The 39 Steps, based on the classic Alfred Hitchcock film, was nominated for Best Play, where it faces tough competition from August: Osage County, Rock 'n' Roll and The Seafarer.

The 39 Steps leads the screen-to-stage nominees with six, followed by four each for Cry-Baby and Xanadu (including a Best Actress nod for Kerry Butler). A Catered Affair and Young Frankenstein did get three nominations each (including nods for actors Tom Wopat and Faith Prince in the former, and Christopher Fitzgerald and Andrea Martin in the latter), while The Little Mermaid netted only two, including a surprise nomination for Best Original Score.

Stephen Sondheim, currently represented on Broadway with the nominated revivals of Gypsy and Sunday in the Park with George, will receive a special Tony Award for "Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre". The Tony Award telecast, which will be hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, will be broadcast live on CBS from Radio City Music Hall on Sunday June 15. For a quick look at the nominations, see the comments section below.

Women We Love: Eve Arden

Movie Dearest continues a month long look at our favorite classic character actresses.

Object of our affection: Eve Arden, actress.

- Over her 60 years in show business, she did it all -- film, television, radio, theater -- receiving an Academy Award nomination and an Emmy Award along the way.

- Her film debut (under her given name, Eunice Quedens) as a wisecracking showgirl in Song of Love set the tone for her lasting screen persona; she perfected it in the classic Stage Door, followed by her Oscar nominated turn as Joan Crawford's pal in Mildred Pierce (in which she delivered the classic line "Personally, Veda's convinced me that alligators have the right idea. They eat their young.").

- Other film favorites on her résumé include At the Circus, That Uncertain Feeling, Ziegfeld Girl (which she actually was on Broadway in the 1930's), Cover Girl, Night and Day, One Touch of Venus, Anatomy of a Murder and The Dark at the Top of the Stairs.

- Her most famous (and Emmy winning) creation was as Our Miss Brooks, the witty high school English teacher she embodied on film, television and radio.

- Years later, she gained new fans as the put-upon Principal McGee of Rydell High in Grease; she was one of the few original cast members to repeat her role in the sequel Grease 2, her final movie appearance.