Win Tickets to Spend Mother's Day with 'Mommie Dearest'

If you're a fan of the 1981 camptacular classic, Mommie Dearest, starring the scenery-chewing Faye Dunaway as Joan "No wire hangers!" Crawford, then you definitely don't want to miss the 4th Annual Mother's Day with Mommie Dearest at Chicago's Music Box Theatre (3733 N. Southport Ave) on Sunday, May 8.

Hosted by the delightful Dick O'Day and Hell in a Handbag's David Cerda, this 30th anniversary screening of the infamous film will begin with a pre-show at 1:30 pm featuring a Mother/Daughter matching outfit contest, prizes, a Sing-A-Long, and a music video of "Joan Crawford Goes to Hell" by The Joans, the world's first band dedicated to "giving Joan Crawford a rock-n-roll voice." And if you arrive by 1 pm, you can have your picture taken in the lobby with Joan and her darling daughter, Christina (see pic below), with all photo proceeds benefiting Vital Bridges. Also, the first 300 patrons will receive souvenir wire hangers!

So today Deep Dish is giving away a pair of general admission tickets (with preferred seating) for this fabulous screening to the first two readers who correctly complete the following quotes from Mommie Dearest. Please send your answers to deepdishdrama@aol.com or via a private Facebook message (DO NOT post your answers on here where everyone can see them or they will be deleted).

1. Joan: "Why can't you give me the respect that I'm entitled to? Why can't you treat me like I would be treated by any _______ on the street?"

2. Christina: "Because I am NOT one of your _______."

3. Joan: "Helga, I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at the _______."

4. Joan: "Don't _______ with me, fellas. This ain't my first time at the _______."

5. Joan: "Tina! Bring me the _______!"

Next to Normal in Chicago: WOW!

Two years ago while visiting New York City, I had to choose between two Broadway shows that were both playing on a Sunday evening - the revival of the 1968 rock musical, Hair, featuring such groovy tunes as "Aquarius" and "Easy to Be Hard", and a brand new rock musical, Next to Normal, about how a mother's bipolar disorder affects her family. Since it was my last night in the Big Apple, I played it safe and went to Hair, which I knew I would enjoy. And I still do not regret my decision.

However, last night I finally saw the Pulitzer Prize-winning Next to Normal, which is currently on a national tour - and I can best describe my feelings about it in one simple word: WOW! Yes, the show is that good - and I can already predict that it will make my Top 10 list of the best theatrical productions I've seen this year.

The 25 Grooviest Broadway Stars of the 1940s

In honor of the 65th Annual Tony Awards, which will be presented on Sunday, June 12, I thought it would be fun to list my 25 favorite Broadway stars of every decade, beginning today with the 1940s (in order of preference). Please note that any date from 1947 on reflects the year that a show was eligible to win a Tony rather than its opening night:

1) Ethel Merman
Musicals: Panama Hattie (1940), Something for the Boys (1943), Annie Get Your Gun (1946)

Dish of the Day #640: Vote for your Favorite

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning today you can vote for your favorite Dish this week in the sidebar poll. Today's Dish is Michael Churchill.



Last week #635 won with 39.4% of the 127 votes cast. #633 came in second with 27.6%, followed by #634 with 12.6%, #632 (11.0%) and #631 (9.4%).

Dish of the Day #639 (in glorious black & white)

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning on Friday you can vote for your favorite Dish of the week. If you haven't voted for last week's Dish yet, choose your man in the sidebar poll.

Of Glee I Sing: The Gayest Show in the History of Television

"Glee is the gayest show in the history of television."

That is what my partner said last night when Kurt began singing "As If We Never Said Goodbye" from the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, Sunset Boulevard. I would say that Will & Grace, Queer as Folk and The L Word deserve this title more than Glee - but the show is definitely the gayest one currently on the air. It's too bad that more people didn't tune in to last night's Lady Gaga-inspired episode because they missed out on one of the show's best episodes of this season. Maybe that five-week vacation that FOX gave the series wasn't such a good idea. But even with the fluctuating quality of its storytelling this season, I think Glee is still one of the most creative, original and entertaining shows on television. And it's pretty darn gay. So here is my review of the series' 40th episode, "Born This Way":

RuPaul's Drag Race #13: And the "Champion" is . . .

MANILA LUZON!!!

Well, in my own perfect alternative reality, Manila did win - but, unfortunately, RuPaul chose Raja as America's Next Drag Superstar. This came as no surprise since it was reported long ago that Raja would be crowned the "Champion" (which, fittingly enough, is the title of Ru's latest single). But I was still hoping that this spoiler would be proven wrong and that the fabulous and funny Miss Luzon would deservedly achieve victory on the Grand Finale. Oh well, I still enjoyed watching this season - and writing this weekly recap, which will return whenever RuPaul starts her engines for a fourth race.

So here are my final thoughts on the Top 3 contestants:

Dish of the Day #638 (in glorious black & white)

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning on Friday you can vote for your favorite Dish of the week. If you haven't voted for last week's Dish yet, choose your man in the sidebar poll.

Top 10 Tuesday: Carol Burnett "Family" Sketches

In honor of Carol Burnett's 78th birthday today, I'm featuring my 10 favorite "Family" sketches from her 1967-78 CBS variety show. This recurring comedy segment began during the series' seventh season in March 1974, and it centered around the bickering family of Eunice Higgins (Burnett), her "Mama" (Vicki Lawrence) and her husband Ed (Harvey Korman).

If It's Tuesday, This Must Be "Shipoopi"

Every Tuesday I post five trivia questions relating to television, film or theater, and the first person who sends me the correct answers wins the highly coveted Auntie Mame Award.

Please send your answers for this week's questions to deepdishdrama@aol.com or via a private Facebook message at www.facebook.com/marcharshbarger (DO NOT post your answers on here where everyone can see them or they will be deleted).

In honor of the upcoming Tony Awards on June 12, I will be featuring a different Broadway musical every Tuesday for the next seven weeks. This week's theme is the show that introduced the song, "Shipoopi" - The Music Man, which opened on Broadway on December 19, 1957, and ran for 1,375 performances:

1) In what town and state is the musical set?

2) Harold Hill claims to be a graduate of a conservatory located in what town?

3) What does Marian Paroo do for a living?

4) What is the name of Marian's younger brother?

5) Who played Marian in the original Broadway production? And who played the role in the 1962 film?

Remembering Phoebe Snow 1950 - 2011

In honor of singer/songwriter Phoebe Snow, who died today at age 60, I'm featuring a few of her musical moments in pop culture. Below you can watch her sing her 1975 hit, "Poetry Man", on a 1978 episode of Don Kirshner's Rock Concert and perform "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" with Linda Ronstadt on Saturday Night Live on May 19, 1979. Snow also sang the theme song for the 1987-93 TV sitcom, A Different World, during its first season as well as the Roseanne theme during the closing moments of the sitcom's final episode in 1997.

Dish of the Day #637 (in glorious black & white)

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning on Friday you can vote for your favorite Dish of the week. If you haven't voted for last week's Dish yet, choose your man in the sidebar poll.

Celebrity Birthday Dinner Party #39

So James Franco is more popular than Barbra Streisand - or maybe people just like a heartwarming photo of a guy sleeping with his cats. I'm surprised that he received the most votes out of the 189 cast in last week's contest, but he is a talented actor. Let's just hope he never hosts the Oscars again. Here are the final results:

James Franco 28
Barbra Streisand 26
Shirley MacLaine 21
Tim Curry 16
Patti LuPone 16
John Waters 15
Conan O'Brien 7
Judy Davis 6
Jessica Lange 6
John Cameron Mitchell 6
Jack Nicholson 6
Kelly Clarkson 5
Jayne Mansfield 5
Valerie Bertinelli 4
Sandra Dee 4
Elaine May 4
Hayley Mills 4
America Ferrera 3
Jane Leeves 2
Dudley Moore 2
Ryan O'Neal 2
Charlotte Rae 1

And now here are this week's contenders. So which three of these past/present celebrities (whose birthdays are this week) would you invite to your dinner party? You can vote for your favorites below.

Groovy Music Monday: Happy Birthday, Ann-Margret!

One of the grooviest gals of the 1960s and '70s was actress Ann-Margret, and in honor of her 70th birthday on Thursday (April 28), today I'm featuring some of her memorable musical moments. Below you can watch Ann-Margret:

• Perform the title song of 1963's Bye Bye Birdie at the end of the film.
• Sing "Ain't Gonna Be a Fool" as "Ann-Margrock on a 1963 episode of TV's The Flintstones.
• Dance in 1964's Viva Las Vegas.
• Perform in 1964's The Pleasure Seekers and 1966's The Swinger.
• Sing "Big Time" on her 1968 TV special, The Ann-Margret Show.
• Perform "Walkin'", "The Look of You" and "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" on her 1969 TV special, Ann-Margret: From Hollywood with Love.
• Sing "Country Magic" with Desi Arnaz, Jr. on a 1970 episode of TV's Here's Lucy.
• Perform "All I Do Is Dream of You" on her 1975 TV special, Ann-Margret Olsson.
• And sing "Smash the Mirror!" and cavort in soap suds, baked beans and chocolate in 1975's Tommy (for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress).

Dish of the Day #636 (in glorious black & white)

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning on Friday you can vote for your favorite Dish of the week. If you haven't voted for last week's Dish yet, choose your man in the sidebar poll.

Happy Easter from Snoopy and Deep Dish

Deep Dish wishes everyone a Happy Easter with It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown, the animated Peanuts TV special that originally aired on CBS on April 9, 1974 (the video below includes the original ending with Snoopy kissing Lucy as well as other scenes that ABC has cut for commercials since the network began airing the show in 2000). Have a great day!

Dish of the Day #635: Vote for your Favorite

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning today you can vote for your favorite Dish this week in the sidebar poll. Today's Dish is Harijs Broza photographed by Tom Cullis.



Last week #630 scored an impressive win with 40.3% of the 139 votes cast. #628 came in second with 28.8%, followed by #629 with 18.7%, #626 (8.6%) and #627 (3.6%).

Dish of the Day #634: Easter Baskets

This week the Dishes are showing off their baskets for Easter.

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning on Friday you can vote for your favorite Dish of the week. If you haven't voted for last week's Dish yet, choose your man in the sidebar poll. Today's Dish is Simon Dexter.

Of Glee I Sing: Sue Sylvester's League of Doom

I guess a few fans didn't know that Glee was finally returning with a new episode last night since its ratings hit a new low for the season (9.7 million). However, it was still Tuesday's top series in the adults 18-49 demographic, so there is no need to worry. As for the show itself, I liked it - especially the handsome face of Cheyenne Jackson - but I didn't love it. So here is my review of the series' 39th episode, "A Night of Neglect":

HBO's 'Cinema Verite': The Story of 'An American Family'

I've always wanted to see television's first reality series, An American Family, a 1971 12-hour documentary that aired on PBS in early 1973. It told the story of the Loud family of Santa Barbara, California - Bill and Pat and their five children, Lance, Kevin, Grant, Delilah and Michele. Eldest son Lance, who died in 2001, was the first openly gay character on television, and the series was watched by over 10 million people.

This Saturday (April 23) HBO will be airing Cinema Verite - a fictionalized movie about the making of An American Family - starring Tim Robbins and Diane Lane as Bill and Pat Loud, James Gandolfini as Craig Gilbert (the producer of the series), and Thomas Dekker as Lance Loud. It looks like it could be an interesting film - but hopefully someone will release the original documentary on DVD one of these days. And if you live in New York City, you are in luck since your PBS station, WNET, will be airing the entire 12-hour series this Saturday beginning at 11 pm. Unfortunately, Chicago's WTTW is not showing the series (for other PBS stations across the country, check out their schedules online).

Dish of the Day #633: Easter Baskets

This week the Dishes are showing off their baskets for Easter.

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning on Friday you can vote for your favorite Dish of the week. If you haven't voted for last week's Dish yet, choose your man in the sidebar poll.

Remembering Michael Sarrazin 1940 - 2011

I always liked actor Michael Sarrazin, who died on Sunday at age 70. He appeared in many films, including The Flim-Flam Man (1967), Eye of the Cat (1969), They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969) with Jane Fonda, Frankenstein: The True Story (1973) as "The Creature", For Pete's Sake (1974) as Barbra Streisand's husband, and the title role in The Reincarnation of Peter Proud (1975). Sarrazin was nominated for a Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer for his performance in The Sweet Ride (1968). Although he didn't win, he did end up with the girl - actress Jacqueline Bisset, whom he met while filming The Sweet Ride (they were in a relationship for 14 years). Sarrazin was also up for the role of Joe Buck in the 1969 Oscar-winning drama, Midnight Cowboy, but due to his contractual commitment to another studio, he didn't get the part (Jon Voight was cast instead). However, Sarrazin did get to host Saturday Night Live on April 15, 1978.

Top 10 Tuesday: Films of Barbra Streisand

I guess I'm in a Streisand state of mind this week since I'm featuring the actress two days in a row in honor of her 69th birthday this Sunday (April 24). So here are my 10 favorite films that she has appeared in (in order of preference):

If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Pine Valley

Every Tuesday I post five trivia questions relating to television, film or theater, and the first person who sends me the correct answers wins the highly coveted Auntie Mame Award.

Please send your answers for this week's questions to deepdishdrama@aol.com or via a private Facebook message at www.facebook.com/marcharshbarger (DO NOT post your answers on here where everyone can see them or they will be deleted).

This week's theme is the 41-year-old daytime soap opera, All My Children, which ABC canceled last week along with One Life to Live. Fans of the soaps are planning to protest at ABC affiliate stations across the country on Tuesday, April 26, at 10 am (go to www.protestabcacrossamerica.com for more information). And yesterday Brian Kirkendall, Vice President of Marketing for vacuum manufacturer Hoover, announced that they were discontinuing their advertising with ABC this Friday (April 22) to protest the cancellations (Kirkendall's wife and mother are "passionate viewers" of both soaps). The company has even set up a special email address, SaveTheSoaps@Hoover.com, for fans to send their written support of the shows, which will then be forwarded on to ABC. Fans are also vowing not to watch any ABC shows (except their soaps), and last night Dancing With the Stars had its lowest-rated spring telecast ever with its ratings down 13% from the previous week.

So will any of these efforts persuade ABC to reverse its decision? I'm not optimistic - especially since fans were unable to save Guiding Light and As the World Turns in recent years. But miracles have been known to happen so we'll just have to wait and see.

Now here are this week's trivia questions:

1) Who slept with both Liza Colby and her mother Marian in the early 1980s?

2) Who became the second wife of Tom Cudahy after his marriage to Erica was annulled?

3) Who was Ross Chandler's father?

4) Whom did Charles Tyler marry after divorcing Phoebe?

5) What was the name of Erica Kane's film director father?

Dish of the Day #632: Easter Baskets

This week the Dishes are showing off their baskets for Easter.

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning on Friday you can vote for your favorite Dish of the week. If you haven't voted for last week's Dish yet, choose your man in the sidebar poll.

Celebrity Birthday Dinner Party #38

Ms. Montgomery can still cast a bewitching spell as she received the most votes (out of 173) in last week's contest. Here are the final results:

Elizabeth Montgomery 38
Emma Thompson 30
Dusty Springfield 22
Julie Christie 15
William Holden 12
Ann Miller 12
Sarah Michelle Gellar 11
David Letterman 9
David Cassidy 8
Joel Grey 7
Claire Danes 3
Louise Lasser 3
Seth Rogen 3

And now here are this week's contenders. So which three of these past/present celebrities (whose birthdays are this week) would you invite to your dinner party? You can vote for your favorites below.

Groovy Music Monday: On a Clear Day You Can See Barbra Streisand

In honor of Barbra Streisand's 69th birthday this Sunday (April 24), today's groovy music is from her 1970 film, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, which was adapted from the 1965 Broadway musical. Directed by Vincente Minnelli with music by Burton Lane and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, the movie features Streisand as the clairvoyant Daisy Gamble, who sings "Hurry! It's Lovely Up Here", "Love with All the Trimmings", "Go to Sleep", "He Isn't You", "What Did I Have That I Don't Have" and "On a Clear Day". For more Barbra, click here to read my 2009 profile of her.

Dish of the Day #631: Easter Baskets

This week the Dishes are showing off their baskets for Easter.

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning on Friday you can vote for your favorite Dish of the week. If you haven't voted for last week's Dish yet, choose your man in the sidebar poll.

Web Series Worth Watching: Mary Testa, Julie Halston & Alison Fraser in Jack In A Box

Web Series of the Week: Jack In A Box
Three fabulous Broadway musical actresses guest star on this week's delightful episode - Mary Testa (Xanadu, Guys and Dolls) as Jack's mother, Alison Fraser (Romance/Romance, The Secret Garden) as his Aunt Heidi, and Julie Halston (Gypsy, Hairspray) as their friend Dawn. The amusing trio pay Jack a surprise visit, and he later meets a friendly waiter named Drew (Paul Thureen), whom I'm hoping we will see again this season.

10 Groovy Movies to See This Summer

Yesterday I received Entertainment Weekly's Summer Movie Preview with "all the buzz on 101 new films", so here is a list of 10 movies that caught my eye (in order of their release dates):

Dish of the Day #630: Vote for your Favorite

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning today you can vote for your favorite Dish this week in the sidebar poll.



Last week's "I Talk to the Trees" Dishes were the most popular so far of 2011 with 157 votes. #622 won with 26.1%, followed by #624 with 23.6%, #625 (17.8%), #623 (16.6%) and #621 (15.9%).

Soap Dish: A World Without Viki, Dorian and Erica Kane

Today is a very sad day in television history as ABC has canceled two of its daytime soap operas - All My Children and One Life to Live - leaving General Hospital as the network's only serial. ABC will be replacing the beloved residents of Pine Valley and Llanview with two new shows, The Chew, featuring a rotating cast of hosts who will report on food news and trends, and The Revolution, a health and lifestyle program starring fashion guru Tim Gunn, celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak and American Idol alum Kimberley Locke. They sound great, don't they? The Chew is already conjuring up vivid images of someone spitting tobacco.

Chicago Theater: Hate is alive and singing in White Noise

White Noise, the new in-your-face rock musical that just opened in Chicago, is disturbing and thought-provoking with first-rate production values and some memorable performances. You will never be bored, and you will have plenty to discuss afterwards with whomever you attend. And the message of the show - how the media and entertainment industry turn hateful and racist people into stars - is sadly a very relevant story here in America - especially since the last Presidential election. But is White Noise an entertaining evening that will have you humming a tune on your way home? No, it's definitely not that kind of musical. There is something to offend everyone in this show - and if you're not offended by the hate speech and toxic behavior of a few of its characters, then please stay away from me. You are part of the problem that White Noise is singing about.

Dish of the Day #629: April Showers

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning on Friday you can vote for your favorite Dish of the week. If you haven't voted for last week's Dish yet, choose your man in the sidebar poll.

RuPaul's Drag Race #12: They Work Hard for the Money

Yara Sofia, you and your wacky, wild ways will be dearly missed. It's a shame that she and Alexis felt so discouraged this week because they are both amazing drag queens. And Yara even won the mini-challenge with her amusing hairpiece. Unfortunately, RuPaul and the judges continue to worship the ground that Raja walks on. When Mike Ruiz said that Raja is in a league of her own when it comes to fashion sense, I'm thinking, "Honey, did you not just see her wear what looked like a cheap plastic trash bag as her cocktail attire?" At least Michelle Visage correctly stated that she looked like an oil can. It was the worst costume of the night in my opinion, but Raja's creative money gown kept her out of the bottom two. Or maybe it was the tears she shed during her emotional speech, which I'm sure scored some points. But Yara's "I need to win in order to move to America" speech was equally moving - and it seemed more sincere even without any tears. Sadly, Miss Sofia then gave up during her lip-sync and suffered a painful collapse that was difficult to watch. I think the pressure of the competition finally became too much for her. Yara deserves to win Miss Congeniality for being the nicest drag queen this season - and I hope her appearance on the show helps her to achieve her dream of becoming the next Bob Mackie.

So here are the 3 remaining contestants in order of my preference (last week's rankings are in parentheses):

Dish of the Day #628: April Showers

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning on Friday you can vote for your favorite Dish of the week. If you haven't voted for last week's Dish yet, choose your man in the sidebar poll. Today's Dish is Jakub Stefano.

Top 10 Tuesday: TV's 'Bewitched'

In honor of actress Elizabeth Montgomery, who would have celebrated her 78th birthday on April 15, today I'm posting my 10 favorite episodes of her 1964-72 TV sitcom, Bewitched (in chronological order):

1) "I, Darrin, Take This Witch, Samantha" (Original Air Date: September 17, 1964/Season 1)
In the pilot episode, Samantha Stephens (Montgomery) reveals to her husband, Darrin (Dick York), that she is a witch on their wedding night.

If It's Tuesday, This Must Be 'Soap'

Every Tuesday I post five trivia questions relating to television, film or theater, and the first person who sends me the correct answers wins the highly coveted Auntie Mame Award.

Please send your answers for this week's questions to deepdishdrama@aol.com or via a private Facebook message at www.facebook.com/marcharshbarger (DO NOT post your answers on here where everyone can see them or they will be deleted).

This week's theme is the 1977-81 TV sitcom, Soap:

1) What did Burt Campbell's son Peter do for a living?

2) In what state was the show set?

3) Who married Elaine Lefkowitz?

4) Who had an affair with Detective Donahue?

5) Who was the father of Carol David's baby?

Dish of the Day #627: April Showers

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning on Friday you can vote for your favorite Dish of the week. If you haven't voted for last week's Dish yet, choose your man in the sidebar poll.

Celebrity Birthday Dinner Party #37

The divine Miss Davis and the adorable Mr. Rudd received the most votes out of the 224 cast in last week's contest. Here are the final results:

Bette Davis 39
Paul Rudd 39
Heath Ledger 23
Robert Downey, Jr. 19
Dennis Quaid 19
Billie Holiday 14
Graham Norton 14
Russell Crowe 10
James Garner 10
Anthony Perkins 10
Cynthia Nixon 9
Gregory Peck 8
John Schneider 7
Christine Lahti 3

And now here are this week's contenders. So which three of these past/present celebrities (whose birthdays are this week) would you invite to your dinner party? You can vote for your favorites below.

Groovy Music Monday: The Return of Upstairs Downstairs

Today's groovy music is the glorious theme to Upstairs Downstairs, the 1971-75 British drama that made a triumphant return last night on PBS's Masterpiece Classic. It was so great to see actress Jean Marsh back at 165 Eaton Place as housekeeper Rose Buck. And I was equally impressed with the rest of the talented cast, especially the lovely Keeley Hawes as Lady Agnes and the handsome eye candy provided by Neil Jackson as Harry the chauffeur and Nico Mirallegro as footman Johnny Proude. However, the wonderful Eileen Atkins (who co-created the original series with Marsh) stole the show as Lady Maud Holland, Agnes' eccentric mother-in-law who moves in with her monkey. Although there are only three episodes in this new series, I am happy to report that six more will be broadcast in 2012.



Below you can listen to the Upstairs Downstairs theme performed by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and watch some interviews with Marsh and Atkins about the new series. I've also included a hilarious spoof of Upstairs Downstairs and Downton Abbey (another excellent British period drama) starring the Absolutely Fabulous duo Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley and Sex and the City's Kim Cattrall.

Dish of the Day #626: April Showers

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning on Friday you can vote for your favorite Dish of the week. If you haven't voted for last week's Dish yet, choose your man in the sidebar poll. Today's Dish is Derrick Davenport.

Web Series Worth Watching: Danny Schmitz in Ave 43

Web Series of the Week: Ave 43
I love this twisted soap opera by writer/director Justin Tanner, who has been sharing the sordid lives of the residents of L.A.'s Highland Park neighborhood since 2009. Danny Schmitz, who has played sexy bad boy Shayne since the second episode, is only one of the many talented actors who bring Tanner's crazy, weird world of sex, drugs, prostitution, gay porn, blackmail, murder and witchcraft to life. I cannot begin to recap this wild roller-coaster ride of a show, but you can click here to read my original review of the series. So if you like your soap operas with a wicked, anything-goes sense of humor, I highly recommend that you check out Ave 43.

Remembering Sidney Lumet and His Films

Sidney Lumet, who died today at age 86, directed many memorable films, including 12 Angry Men (1957), Long Day's Journey Into Night (1962), The Pawnbroker (1964), Serpico (1973), Equus (1977) and The Verdict (1982). However, the following 10 films of his are my personal favorites (in chronological order):

Groovy Movie Screening: Arias With a Twist: The Docufantasy

I can describe Arias With a Twist: The Docufantasy in one word: Fascinating. This new documentary about the collaboration between drag performance artist Joey Arias and master puppeteer Basil Twist is having its Chicago premiere on Thursday, April 14, at 9 pm at Berlin nightclub (954 W. Belmont) as part of the 3rd Annual Chicago International Movies & Music Festival - and I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of a theatrical extravaganza. The main through-line of the film follows Arias and Twist as they create their epic fantasy revue, Arias With a Twist, which debuted in New York City in 2008. The movie also shows Twist creating puppetry for the Broadway musical, The Addams Family, and features candid interviews with friends and family of both men - including actress/performance artist Ann Magnuson, actress Cassandra Peterson (aka Elvira, Mistress of the Dark) and filmmaker Bobby Sheehan (who directed the documentary). And, finally, I enjoyed learning about and spending time with the unique and talented Arias and Twist, who even share an amusing Pee-wee Herman connection - Arias played "Shim the Half Man/Half Woman" in 1988's Big Top Pee-wee, while Twist created the puppetry for the recent Pee-wee Broadway show.

Tickets to Arias With a Twist: The Docufantasy are $5 at the door. For a complete list of other films and events at CIMMfest, which runs April 14-17, go to www.cimmfest.org, and to learn more about Joey Arias, Basil Twist and Arias With a Twist, visit ariaswithatwist.com.

Below you can check out the trailer for Arias With a Twist: The Docufantasy.

Coming to your TV this fall . . . maybe

Every spring I compile a list of network and cable TV pilots being filmed for the upcoming television season that sound interesting to me. Last April I featured 27 potential shows, and only five of them were ordered to series. FOX's Keep Hope Alive became Raising Hope and has been renewed for a second season, while ABC's Mr. Sunshine will probably go dark after its first season due to low ratings. And TNT's Dallas revival as well as HBO's Enlightened and Luck will be debuting later this year or in early 2012. So here is my list of series that may or may not appear on your television during the 2011-12 season: