Patrick hits the ice in France, those wacky Women hit Vegas, and COC closes its season with Semele

OUR TOWN: Indefatigable charmer Dinah Christie hosts Chartwell’s 2011 Senior Star National Finale tonight at 9 pm on Zoomer TV (aka Vision.) “Wait ‘til you see the amazing talent of our Top 10 National Finalists,” says Dinah

CHRISTIE: hosting tonight

– “not to mention the incredible performance of our 2011 Senior Star winner, Toni Pinto.” So maybe Canada’s Seniors Got Talent too? … spotted shopping at Pusateri’s in Yorkville: Covert Affairs heartthrob Christopher Gorham, sans collapsible white cane … spotted huddling over coffee at the By The Way café: Producer Allan Novak and playwright Brad Fraser … spotted savouring the brisket at Caplansky’s: Toronto Star arts columnist Martin Knelman and better half Bernadette … and it’s official — the season closer for the Canadian Opera Company is the COC premiere of Handel’s Semele with Canadian coloratura soprano Jane Archibald in the

GORHAM: Yorkville steak-out

title role. The production will be directed by famed Chinese visual and performance artist Zhang Huan, with Italian Baroque opera specialist Rinaldo Alessandrini set to lead the COC Orchestra and Chorus. The COC’s presentation of Semele is the first opportunity for audiences to experience Zhang’s production outside Brussels, Belgium, where it premiered in 2009, and Beijing in 2010, where it was China’s first major staging of a Baroque opera.  Semele will run for only eight, count ’em, eight performances at the Four Seasons Centre starting May 9 … and yes, today’s the day when Why Men Lie, the new novel by Giller Prize-winner Linden MacIntyre (The Bishop‘s Man,)  officially becomes available at a major bookstore near you.

MERCER: Shhh, it's a secret

APRIL IS THE COOLEST MONTH:  Okay, T.S. Eliot might not agree — but then he never met Women Fully Clothed. Fabulous foursome Robin Duke, Jayne Eastwood, Kathryn Greenwood and Teresa Pavlinek will kick off next month with their first gig in Las Vegas – at the Smith Center for the Performing Arts, no less — followed by half a dozen shows in California (Thousand Oaks, Napa, Saratoga, etc.) before returning to Home Sweet Ontario for their May bookings here.

P.S.: Shhhh, it’s a secret, but Greenwood and Pavlinek both appear in the same sketch with WFC fan Rick Mercer, who incidentally made a splashy visit to Montreal yesterday,  tonight on the Rick Mercer Report. 

AND NOW, FROM THE SOUTH OF FRANCE: The 2012 World Figure Skating Championships start today in Nice, with Scott Russell hosting CBC broadcasts with Brenda Irving and Canadian figure skating legends

CHAN: He's the Man

Tracy Wilson and Kurt Browning. This year’s big story is to see what reigning World Champion Patrick Chan will do to keep his crown, and to watch as Olympic gold medalists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir attempt to reclaim the World Ice Dancing Champions title. Our Canadian contingent also includes rising star Amélie Lacoste, pairs teams Meagan Duhamel & Eric Radford and Jessica Dubé & Sebastian Wolfe, men’s single skater Kevin Reynolds and ice dancers Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje and Kharis Ralph & Asher Hill. It all starts today at 3 pm on CBC Television, bold and CBCSports.ca., so rev up your PVRs and get ready to root for your favourites!

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Soup for the soul, Maya hosts SNL, and Carol makes us so glad we have this time together

OUR TOWN  A new dance showcase opens in T.O. today with an intriguing history.  Citadel, a new centre for contemporary dance in Regent Park, was once a Salvation Army soup kitchen. The newly-renovated centre (by architects

RUDOLPH: back to her roots

Diamond + Schmitt) is the new home of dance troupe Coleman Lemieux &Compagnie and includes an 1,800 sq. foot studio/theatre for dance productions; a 900 sq. foot studio for rehearsals, pay-what-you-can yoga classes, workshops and community classes, and accommodation for visiting out-of-town artists. Citadel officially opens tomorrow night with  Les cheminements de l’influence, a world premiere solo by Laurence Lemieux in honour of her father, Quebec political scientist Vincent Lemieux … and glory-voiced Jackie Richardson and piano man Joe Sealey

RICHARDSON: Bodolai tribute

provided a stirring finale to Sunday afternoon’s celebration of writer-producer Joe Bodolai at the Young Centre. The event was deftly hosted by longtime Bodolai booster Albert Schultz. who ushered in a series of heartfelt salutes  to Bodolai’s achievements from comedy luminaries  Harry Doupe, Mark Farrell, Anna Gustafson, Ron James and Kenny Robinson. Musical charmers Cherie Camp, Geoff Kahnert and John Welsman also treated the crowd to a performance of Everything’s Gone Wrong Since I Left Mr. Right, one of the tunes Bodolai composed in his radio days.   All in all. a touching tribute to a brilliant artistic explorer who got  lost on his expedition and, tragically, never found his way home again.

FUNNY GIRL(S):  Fearless foursome Robin Duke, Jayne Eastwood, Kathryn Greenwood and Teresa Pavlinek, aka those fabulous Women Fully Clothed, are now a hit south of the border too. Last week they were deep

FEY: Super Bowl sweetheart

in the heart of Texas (and I do mean Dallas) … seasoned showstopper Sandra Shamas headlines the Feb. 25 East End Comedy Revue at the Dominion On Queen … standup ladies Martha Chaves and Laurie Elliott share the bill on this Friday night at the Flying Beaver Pubaret on Parliament … Maya Rudolph returns to her roots this weekend to host Saturday Night Live … and I gotta believe fellow SNL alumnus Tina Fey played a big part in that dazzling NBC Super Bowl commercial – and not just on screen, either. The network spot probably had a bigger budget than most Canadian films, but you can certainly see the money on the screen. If you missed it, just click here – and enjoy!

HAPPINESS IS A NEW MAGAZINE:  Intrepid funnyman Rick Mercer graces the cover of the first issue of What Makes You Happy, a

WHAT MAKES US HAPPY? This mag!

glossy good-news magazine distributed in T.O. last week to Globe & Mail subscribers. Mercer was among the honorees last weekend at the cfpdp‘s 28th annual gala, deftly hosted by CBC News anchor Suhana Meharchand at the Fairmont Royal York. (When the exhuberant crowd in the Canadian Room became too boisterous, Meharchand shushed them elegantly but firmly. “I’ve had three husbands,” she dead-panned — “I’m not afraid of you!”) King Clancy Award winner Mercer still insists he has the best job in the country. And if you’re not a Globe & Mail subscriber, you can still sample the first issue of What Makes You Happy on line, including publisher Johnny Lucas‘ entertaining  interview with Mercer, A Chip off the old Rock, right here.

LULLABYE & GOOD NIGHT: It’s her third book on the New York Times bestseller list, but this one is perfect bedtime reading – and not because it puts you to sleep. Now in paperback, Carol Burnett’s 200- page collection of anecdotes, This Time Together: Laughter And Reflection, is like a warm,

BURNETT: On the page and in person

long-awaited visit with an old friend who has finally agreed to tell you what really happened behind the scenes. Because she tells her stories in bite-size capsules, she gets to tell more than 60 of them, some of them surprisingly personal, most of them genuinely amusing, and all of them engaging. Some of the names involved in her anecdotes may surprise you, especially her close encounters with film greats Joan Crawford, John Huston, Laurence Olivier and Barbara Stanwyck. One classic story unfolds when she receives a telephone call from Martin Brando, whom she had long admired but never met. Brando had read a report in People magazine that Burnett had finally acquired something she’d always wanted: A chin. (“I had always wanted a chin. I was born with a weak one.”) An oral surgeon had added about three millimeters to her existing chin, with exceedingly pleasing results, and Burnett was back in New York when Brando called her from Los Angeles.

FLASHY FLASHBACK: The Carol Burnett Show

“Where’d you get your chin?” asked Marlon. “My chin?” said Burnett. “Yes,” said Brando. “My wife’s sister has a weak chin and wants to fix it. Where’d you get yours done?” Thus begins Burnett’s lengthy exchange with Brando, one of many great conversations in the book. As you might expect, there are some very touching moments too. When Burnett’s daughter Carrie Hamilton was in hospital, dying of cancer, one of the nurses asked her why she smiled so much. Burnett says her daughter replied, “Every day I wake up and decide: today I’m going to love my life.” Another lesson worth learning, in a heartwarming collection of stories worth reading. P.S. If you’d like to see Burnett in person, she set to do  two (2) nights of her Q&A show May 4 & 5 at Fallsview Casino in Niagara. But if I were you, I’d order those tickets sooner than later. When it comes to box office, the lady is still a champ.

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Buffy & Cloris share their Unique lives, and Robin, Jayne, Kathy & Teresa get ready to put on their clothes again

NO BIZ LIKE SHOW BIZ: Get out your calendars. Toronto’s mini-Just For Laughs festival will run July 6 – 11, opening one day before the annual bilingual comedyfest launches

LEACHMAN: Toronto-bound

in Montreal … Smokey Robinson plays Fallsview Casino June 11 & 12 … Oscar-winning singer-songwriter Buffy Ste. Marie, a digital pioneer in her own right, gives a Unique Lives & Experiences session next week at Roy Thomson Hall, with confessed shopaholic Cloris Leachman set to follow in her footsteps on April 19 … and four of the funniest femmes in the business, Robin Duke, Jayne Eastwood, Kathryn Greenwood and Teresa Pavlinek, return with a brand new show when their smash comedy troupe Women Fully Clothed plays Massey Hall on May 7. But they’re there for one night only, so don’t dawdle. To order tickets, click here.

BRAVE NEW CYBER WORLD: The April 12 Genie Awards will be broadcast live on the Independent Film Channel,  livestreamed on CBC.ca. and rebroadcast on The Movie Network and Movie Central at a later

KUTCHER: tweeting for Haiti

date. The live webcast on CBC.ca is a first for the Genies and could give the awards show its largest audience reach ever … after concluding a 40-city theatrical tour, PBS’s American Experience will premiere its new Earth Days documentary on April 11 on Facebook. eight days ahead of the film’s television broadcast on April 19. This will reportedly be the first time a major broadcaster has introduced a full-length documentary on the site … Twitter-pated Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore and Will Ferrell are among the stars of 140 Tweets For Haiti. You can check out the trailer here … and Margaret Atwood tweets greetings from the Cologne Literary Festival where she reports that “twittern” is now a German verb.

SMALL SCREEN, BIG STAGE: Never underestimate the power of television. The Broadway run of David Mamet’s new play Race has now been extended to June 13, thanks

HAYES: Broadway-bound

to the marquee allure of Boston Legal charmer James Spader … stage veteran Doris Roberts, who finally became a household name playing Ray Romano‘s mother on television, is set to return to off-Broadway next month in Love, Loss And What I Wore, which is quietly becoming a notable successor to Love Letters and The Vagina Monologues … and Emmy award-winning Will & Grace scene-stealer Sean Hayes is deep in song and dance rehearsals for his Broadway bow in the upcoming revival of Promises, Promises, the Neil Simon-Burt Bacharach-Hal David musical based on the Academy Award-winning Billy Wilder comedy The Apartment with Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine, Hayes is playing the role originated by Jerry Orbach, another legit leading man who later became far more famous for his TV work on Law & Order. And Hayes’ leading lady is Wicked star Kristin Chenowith — best known to American audiences for, you guessed it, her Emmy-winning TV role on Pushing Daisies and her guest stint last season on Glee.

ENRIGHT: Giller juror

NO PEOPLE LIKE SHOW PEOPLE: Enigmatic music legend Don Francks is set to make one of his rare appearances at Lula’s Lounge on April 15 … renowned Russian bass-baritone Evgeny Nikitin makes his Canadian debut here April 24 in the popular Canadian Opera Company production of The Flying Dutchman. Johannes Debus, the COC’s newly-appointed Music Director, will lead the COC Orchestra and Chorus … it’s official: CBC Radio stalwart Michael Enright and novelists Claire Messud and Ali Smith have been elected by Jack Rabinovitch to choose the next Giller Prize winner … Ken Lindsay fans, take note: Your favourite piano man returns to the village  April 1 (no foolin’) to the Fuzion Resto-Lounge on Church Street.  Mark Cassius, formerly of The Nylons, will be on hand to help out with the high notes. Reservations are advised. For more info, click here … and screenwriter Eric Roth (Forrest Gump) will pen the script for the screen biography of Green Bay Packers football coach Vince Lombardi. ESPN Films, an offshoot of the sports cable network, hopes to premiere the film before the 2012 Super Bowl. Robert DeNiro will play Lombardi — but will his Raging Bull guru Martin Scorsese direct? Stay tuned.

Have a great weekend!

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Meet m’sieu Sliimy, say hello to the Prada ‘she-devil’ who inspired Meryl’s movie, and welcome back our favourite funny fully-clad comedy babes

WOT’S IN A NAME?: Okay, c’est vrai — French pop stars can be somewhat peculiar. But who is Slimey? And who would actually choose that name?

SLIIMY: Not slimey

Naturally my Manhatan guru, legendary gossip girl Liz Smith, has the goods. Liz says Sliimy (pronounced Slim-ee) is all of 21, and very slim indeed. “He’s French, has a wonderful voice and a delicious, off-the-wall naïve/sexy stage presence. He is not at all the typical pop star. This child is already a big deal in Paree,” she adds, “and his album, Paint Your Face, was reviewed as being so musically yummy that it should be served in a cone.”

Warner Music is releasing his new CD on Perez Hilton’s new label. No, seriously! … also, I’m told his real name is Yanis Sahraoui. And you can see Sliimy”s very animated music video Wake Up by just clicking here.

GREENWOOD, EASTWOOD, DUKE & PAVLINEK: too hot to cool down

HOTTER THAN EVER: And, they are. Fearless female laugh-makers Women Fully Clothed – who just happen to be marquee showstoppers Robin Duke, Jayne Eastwood, Kathryn Greenwood and Teresa Pavlinek (as if you didn’t know!) – start touring their new show, Older & Hotter, this weekend. I’m delighted to report that despite the high bar they set for themselves in their auspicious debut comedy concerts, they’ve managed to find an even richer vein of funny to mine for their fans. First stop on their fall tour is the Empire Theatre in Belleville, Ont.  And you can get more info, and order tickets, just by clicking here.

STREEP: as Anna W?

BUT WHO DOES ANNA WEAR?: It’s official — Hot Docs will open its Doc Soup screening series with the Canadian premiere of The September Issue, the controversial study of the woman who inspired Meryl Streep’s role in The Devil Wears Prada, Vogue magazine fashion icon Anna Wintour. So naturally they’ll screen it during Toronto Fashion Week, on Wednesday October 21 at 6:30 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. at the Bloor Cinema. For ticket info, click here.

JAMES: crowd-pleaser (photo: Andrew MacNaughtan)

RARIN’ FOR RON: Cape Breton’s most eloquent export, Ron James, shoots his new weekly comedy series in front of a live audience at the Canadian Broadcasting Centre in Toronto. For free tickets, e-mail tickets@enterthepicture.com and include your first and last name, phone number, e-mail address, number of tickets requested, and first and second choice of show date and time. Ron only has four taping dates next month: Thursday Oct. 8, Friday Oct. 9, Thursday Oct 29, and Friday Oct. 30. Good news is, he usually does two shows a night, at 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. So send those email requests without further delay. And good luck!

TOMORROW:

David Steinberg, Madonna and more.

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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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