Broadway babies, Sunday night belongs to you!

ANOTHER OPENING, ANOTHER SHOW:  Broadway aficionados will be glued to CBS on Sunday night when The 2009 Tony Awards are beamed live from Radio City Music Hall at 8 p.m.  Special appearances are promised by Liza Minnelli, Elton John, and Dolly Parton and the cast of 9 to 5. We’ll see

MINNELLI: at the Music Hall

musical numbers from each of the Tony-nominated Best Musicals and Best Musical Revivals: Billy Elliot, The Musical; Guys and Dolls; Hair; Next to Normal; Pal Joey; Rock of Ages; Shrek the Musical, and West Side Story. Additionally, there will be special performances from actors from the various touring productions of Jersey Boys, Legally Blonde The Musical and the Reno, Nevada production of Mamma Mia, and presenters will include Lucie Arnaz, Kate Burton, Kristin Chenoweth, Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis, Edie Falco, Will Ferrell, Carrie Fisher, Jane Fonda, Hallie Foote, James Gandolfini, Lauren Graham, Colin Hanks, Marcia Gay Harden, Nicole Kidman, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Lange, Frank Langella, Angela Lansbury, Audra McDonald, Lin-Manuel Miranda, David Hyde Pierce, Piper Perabo, Oliver Platt, Susan Sarandon, Kevin Spacey, John Stamos, and Chandra Wilson, to

HARRIS: song & dance man

name quite a few.And then, of course, who can resist rooting for the home team? Tony-nominated Montreal teen David Alvarez and the two young actors with whom he shares the role of Billy Elliot have already won Astaire Awards for Best Male Dancer(s) on Broadway. Wow. For a full list of Tony nominations click here.  

P.S. Don’t be surprised if you see a show-stopping opening number from host Neil Patrick Harris. The star of TV’s Doogie Houser and How I Met Your Mother is an addictive song-and-dance man who even tripped the light fantastic on Sesame Street (“Have I got shoes for you!”) And if you didn’t catch his guest stint with the all-star cast of Prop 8: The Musical – including Tony nominee Alison Janney, Oscar nominee John  C. Reilly, SNL alumnus Maya Rudolph and, oh yeah, Jack Black as Jesus – give yourself a T.G.I.F.lift and click here.

DALE: special

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO …? Remember all those bright and beautiful belles who competed to star in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s extravagant revival of The Sound Of Music? Princess of Wales showstopper Elicia MacKenzie, the Maria voted in by viewers of How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? Will join  runner-up Janna Polzin (her on-stage alternate) and all the other hopefuls –– Jayme Armstrong, Tamara Fifield, Allie Hughes, Alison Jutzi, Katie Kerr, Donna Lajeunesse, Marisa McIntyre and Kyla Tingley – in a CBC Special set to explore how the reality series changed their lives. 10 Marias 1 Year Later will air June 24 on CBC-TV, and Lord Lloyd Webber, Gavin Crawford and judge

NIXON: conversing

and vocal coach Elaine Overholt will make special appearances … and speaking of Marias, Cynthia Dale, whose Maria set cash registers ringing when she starred in the Stratford production, is currently shooting a new special for the same network … and speaking of Cynthia, Broadway baby Cynthia Nixon, still most famous for playing one of Carrie Bradshaw’s chums in Sex And The City, is one of the artists captured in the New York Times’ snappy new video feature, Conversations. Nixon shares her feelings on gay marriage, including those rumours about her impending nuptials with her girlfriend. To check it out, just click here. And have a great night at the Tonys!

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Going, going, gonzo as celeb auctions take off, eh!

RYAN’S FANCY:  He plays  Sandra Bullock‘s lover in The Proposal, Hugh Jackman’s nemesis in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Scarlett Johannson‘s hubby in real life, but in his not-so-spare time Ryan Reynolds is a tireless

REYNOLDS: auctioneer

crusader for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. Last year he ran in the New York City marathon and raised 100K to combat the disease, which both his father and his pal Michael struggle with every day. Now Reynolds is auctioning off tickets to his two new movies. Winner of the Wolverine tickets will attend the April 28 premiere in Hollywood. Winner of  the Proposal tickets will attend the June 1st premiere,with Ryan and Sandra Bullock … just biding your time? Stop biding and start bidding. The Toronto Jewish Film Festival has launched its first Charity eBay Auction with more than three items to choose from, fine dining fine to movie passes, theatre tickets to  wine storage. Just go to www.tjff.com and click on the eBay link. Or just click here … and not to be outdone, bidding has now begun on Toronto’s now-fabled HotDocs festival’s Opening Night Gala Auction. Bidders from across Canada and around the world will compete with opening night attendees to win trips to Italy and South Korea, weekend getaways, private film screenings, exclusive on-set experiences and more! To check it out go to http://www.auctionwire.com — or just click here.

GOODMAN: heavyweight

 

DID THE STAGE MOVE FOR YOU TOO?:  Talk about Big Men on Broadway! Currently heavyweights treading the boards on the Great White Way include Brian D’Arcy James, who spends 90 minutes every day getting green for his title role in Shrek: The Musical, with Drowsy Chaperone showstopper Sutton Foster as Fiona; Brian Dennehy, who explodes in rage nightly in the revival of Eugene O’Neil‘s steamy Desire Under The Elms; and John Goodman, now a prepossessing 300 pounds, currently in previews for the revival of the Samuel Beckett classic Waiting For Godot with Nathan Lane, Bill Irwin and John Glover. 

KEATON: restoration

 

A HOUSE IS NOT A HOME Dept.: Still-gorgeous Oscar winner Diane Keaton, in town this week to speak her piece at the Toronto Star-sponsored Unique Lives series, has in interesting hobby: She restores houses, particularly brilliant ones. A full-fledged member of America’s National Trust for Historic Preservation, she recently completed her finishing touches on a finished a Spanish Colonial home in Beverly Hills. I’m told the house, a mansion really, was originally designed in 1927 by architect Ralph Flewelling, and has been painstakingly restored. It features an inner courtyard with a fountain separating the kitchen and family room on one side from the media room, den and staircase. It has thruway arches in the living and dining rooms. The 7,145 square foot layout includes seven bedrooms, nine bathrooms — the master suite has dual bathrooms — and a separate guest suite. The home has a pool, and the yard has pathways lined with olive trees.

Keaton has listed the house at $11,995,000.

And no, I’m not making this up. 

WILL THE REAL BILLY BOB THORNTON PLEASE SHUT UP? Ooops, he did it again. Went on the Jimmy Kimmel Show this week. Said he was shocked by the reaction to his appearance with Jian Ghomeshi on CBC Radio’s flagship interview show Q. 

GHOMESHI: flagshipper

“The fact that that was news was astounding to me,” Thornton told Kimmel. “But it gave humpbacked geeks all over the world something to do for a couple of days.” 

Okay, Billy Bob, it’s come down to this.  We’re begging you, man. Just zip it. While you still have one or two fans left, before your band mates find a new lead singer who restricts what comes out of his mouth to lyrics, or before studio execs decided that yes, despite all rumours to the contrary, there really is such a thing as bad publicity. Resist the urge to go on any more talk shows, and just button it. For at least the next six m0nths.

And don’t you worry none about us. We gravy-free mashed potatoes are actually kinda famous for forgivin’ and forgettin’. Worry about the guy on ABC News who led off his report on your appearance on Q with this catchy phrase: “Wellll, it’s now official:  Billy Bob Thornton is a jerk.”

So when you start mendin’ fences, Billy Bob, you might wanna start at home.

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