By Romeo San Vicente
Cynthia Nixon hops into 'Rabbit Hole'
The City still loves Cynthia Nixon, even without all the Sex. The artist formerly known as Miranda has just signed on for her 10th trip to the Broadway stage with Manhattan Theatre Club in "Rabbit Hole," a play by David Lindsay-Abaire. The drama will star Nixon as a woman who drifts apart from her husband after a family tragedy. Nixon had been cast in MTC's "Talley's Folly" (by gay playwright Lanford Wilson), but casting problems forced that show's early demise. Meanwhile, The New Group's revival of "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie," with Nixon in the lead – as Romeo reported recently – has been pushed back to the 2006-07 season. Daniel Sullivan is directing "Rabbit," and the show begins previews in January 2006 for a February opening. Designers begin courting Nixon to provide her Tony Award gown soon after.
Bill Brochtrup still ccts, thank you
"NYPD Blue" alum Bill Brochtrup was the butt of a snotty joke about the status of his career on a recent episode of "Will & Grace," when Jack, played by Sean Hayes, joked that the openly gay actor had taken a job delivering office furniture. But Brochtrup can still be found performing his real day job in the indie drama "Duck." Written and directed by Nicole Bettauer, "Duck" stars Philip Baker Hall as a retired widower in a dystopian Los Angeles where pensions and Social Security are abolished and another Bush occupies the White House. Forced from his home with only a duck named Joe to accompany him, Hall embarks on strange road trip into his uncertain future. Brochtrup co-stars with Amy Hill. Hunt for "Duck" as it makes the film-festival rounds.
Vachon and Schnabel: 'Doll'-makers
Acclaimed director Julian Schnabel is quickly becoming the master of his own cinematic genre: The Left-of-Center Artist Biopic. His first two features, "Basquiat" and "Before Night Falls," visited the real lives of a hip-hop-influenced street artist and a queer writer in exile from Castro's Cuba, respectively. Now Schnabel is teaming up with Killer Films' lesbian mogul Christine Vachon and Number 9 Films' Elizabeth Karlsen to develop "The Lonely Doll." Focusing on the life of Dare Wright, the eccentric children's author who penned the "Lonely Doll" series of books, the film will reportedly dig deeper into the unusually close relationship between Wright and her mother. The project was just announced, so in the meantime the curious can check out Jean Nathan's book, "The Secret Life of the Lonely Doll: The Search for Dare Wright" to tide them over.
Prodigal rock star comes home
They were six not-so-cute men in fishnet stockings, platform boots, and pounds of makeup. And with their tough-as-nails glam/drag personas, the New York Dolls helped usher in what became punk rock in the 1970s. But that's not the only story told in "New York Doll," a new documentary about the band opening this fall. Instead, it's also an affectionate tale of forgiveness and redemption from the perspective of the late Arthur "Killer" Kane, the Dolls' bassist. After entering recovery for alcoholism and converting to Mormonism, Kane set out to bury the hatchet with his old pals, all of whom had fallen out of touch. Featuring appearances by the band's surviving members as well as Iggy Pop, Chrissie Hynde, Bob Geldof, and Morrissey, "Doll" is a bittersweet tale of both friendship and the power of rock. Top that, "Bands Reunited."
