Eric gets Gordoned, Justin gets Facebooked, Ottawa gets Chaperoned & Broadway gets Carrie

NO PEOPLE LIKE SHOW PEOPLE: New Emmy-owner Justin Timberlake has joined the cast of The Social Network, director David Fincher and writer Aaron Sorkin’s take on the invention of Facebook …

TIMBERLAKE: Facebook friend

Heather Locklear, one of the stars of the original Melrose Place, will reprise her role on the current re-invented series … stage and screen favourite Eric Peterson, already slated to pick up an Earle Grey Award later this month at the Geminis, will receive the 2009 Gordon Pinsent Award Of Excellence this week when The Company Theatre fetes him Thursday night at the Windsor Arms. Seamus O’Regan and Allan Hawco will co-host the gala evening … and speaking of excellence, award namesake Pinsent plays the Archbishop in The Pillars of the Earth, the epic drama based on Ken Follett’s bestseller, currently shooting in Hungary and Austria. Also appearing

PETERSON: getting Gordon & Earle

in key roles are Ian McShane and Donald Sutherland.

FOOTLIGHTS: Mimi, or A Poisoner’s Comedy, the controversial new Allen Cole-Melody A. Johnson-Rick Roberts musical, continues its ribald run at the Tarragon Theatre … Bob Martin’s Tony-winning hit musical The Drowsy Chaperone tap-dances into Ottawa next week for a two-week run at the National Arts Centre … Carrie Fisher opened her one-woman show, Wishful Drinking, at Studio 54 last night. Sez Fisher: “Basically, I talk about myself behind my back.”
 Her Broadway stint will run ‘til January … and Monty Python alumni Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle and John Cleese are set to appear in a rare reunion at the Ziegfeld Theater next week. Did you know that the Pythons have

FISHER: on stage

their own YouTube channel? Seriously! … and tickets are now on sale for the new National Ballet Of Canada season, which kicks off next month with the perennially lavish Sleeping Beauty. To check out the new NBOC season, just click here.

OUR TOWN: The 14th edition of Eat to the Beat, benefitting Willow Breast Cancer Support Canada, takes over Roy Thomson Hall tomorrow night with culinary creations from more than 60 chefs,  including the Food Network chef Anna Olson, Fiona Lim of George and Dufflet Rosenberg of Dufflet Pastries. And you can still buy a ticket! For more info, click here … also tomorrow night: Royson James moderates a Toronto Star panel discussion on what it takes to create a workable city, with Susan Eng, Kevin Stolarick, Sudz Sutherland and Rahul Bhardwaj, at the new Bram & Bluma Appel Salon at the Toronto Reference Library … Jack Rabinovitch and jurors Russell Banks, Victoria Glendinning and Alistair MacLeod will announce this year’s Giller Prize finalists tomorrow morning at the Four Seasons … and yes, those still-sensational Jersey Boys are still winning standing O’s every night at the Toronto Centre For The Arts.

These ‘Alumni’ put the Class back in comedy

I DREAMED A DREAM TEAM:  Just when you had started to suspect, sadly, that you had seen it all, comes an all-star comedy troupe to save the day. Put next Monday, June 8, on your Don’t Miss list, because if you’re not in Manhattan

VAN DER GRAF & MARTIN: dream teamers

attending the Joanne Woodward-Robert Redford-Julia Roberts fundraiser for Paul Newman’s kids camps, you’ll want to be at Bread & Circus (on Augusta, as if you didn’t know) to see the reunion show of the Alumni Cafe, the improv show that used to rock the Tim Sims playhouse, with – are you ready? – Bob Martin, Paul O’Sullivan, Linda Kash, Lisa Merchant, Janet van der Graf and Teresa Pavlinek.  And as my old Latin teacher would say, Nota Bene: The star-studded Alumni are doing two, count ‘em, two shows ONLY. So don’t say I didn’t warn ya. And before you ask, the number to call is 416.336.3399.

MERCER: back to school

NO PEOPLE LIKE SHOW PEOPLE: Next Tuesday morning Brock University will present honorary degrees to Belinda (The Honourable) Stronach and Rick (The Irreverent) Mercer for their combined efforts toward humanitarian outreach in the area of global health. “Their combined advocacy to combat malaria affecting some of the world’s most disadvantaged people has captured the imagination of the world in the form of the Spread the Net campaign, which they both co-founded.” To which we say, bravo, B&R! … crowd-pleaser Holland Taylor (Two And A Half Men) will join Buck Henry on stage July 8 – August 1 in Mother in the East Village. She’s also prepping a one-woman show based on the high-spirited life of Texas governor Ann Richards … Barbra Streisand has

 

GARNER: funnygirl

written a book called A Passion for Design, which focuses on her taste, inspirations and collections. Including, we hope, interior photographs of some of her spectacular homes. But don’t start bugging Chapters yet. Viking won’t publish it ‘til next year … and Jennifer Garner nixes questions about her home life with Ben Affleck and their two young daughters. “I think the rule about marriage is that the less you talk about it, the better, as far as I can tell,” she told Sharp magazine interviewer Cliff Ford. Garner’s next big-screen outing after the box  office success of her Matthew McConaughey romantic comedy Ghost Of Girlfriends Past is, surprise surprise, another comedy, The Invention Of Lying, directed by Ricky Gervais.

 

MANSBRIDGE: public speak

WHAT’S UP? DOCS: The CBC documentary cable channel doc offers a Free Preview for digital cable and satellite subscribers this month. And some of the stuff on tap this month is pretty remarkable. Raised to Be Heroes, this Saturday, introduces viewers to Israel’s Refuseniks, a group of soldiers who condemn their country’s military operations against the Palestinians; Cranky, next Tuesday, tells the story of three teams preparing for an endurance race in open ocean, set against the beautiful backdrop of Fogo and Change Islands off Newfoundland and Labrador; Junior, next Wednesday, gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at junior hockey players, teenagers as young as

AIR FARCEURS: on Doc

16, who are already dealing with trainers, shareholders, agents, scouts and parents. the 2009 Sundance Festival hit Nollywood Babylon, a celebration of Nigerian cinema and the world’s third-largest (!?!) film industry, airs June 20;  Just Say It!, which premieres June 21, explores the bizarre and hilarious nature of people’s number one fear: public speaking, with candid interviews with Peter Mansbridge, George Chuvalo and the cast of the Royal Canadian Air Farce; and Jump! The World’s Greatest Streakers, on July 4, is about eccentric outsider Jaume Marquet who strives to become famous by streaking in front of the cameras at major televised sporting events under his alter ego “Jimmy Jump”. The doc follows him from Barcelona to Madrid where he attempts to streak at the largest football match in Spain live in front of 100 million people watching worldwide. For more info on the documentary channel Free Preview contact your digital cable or satellite provider. Or click here.

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