In the category of “stage to screen” I could probably somewhat justify Al Gore’s famous slideshow, An Inconvenient Truth. After all, it went on to become not just a book but also a Nobel-Peace-Prize winning movie. Well, ok, Mr. Gore got the prize, but it wasn’t for his work as V.P.

Turning It Up to Eleven

Now, however, it’s going the other way, as Giorgio Battistelli of Milan’s La Scala opera house is going to undertake to turn it into an opera, set to debut in 2011. Yes, that’s right, an opera about global warming.

Battistelli is no stranger to difficult tasks. Given an opera containing a cast clad all in underwear, wearing masks of prominent politicians and swimming in Iraqi oil, he was asked to “take out the satirical parts”, according to the Independent. He didn’t – but ended up with an opera that got a seven-minute ovation. Not too shabby.

I confess, while it seems ludicrous to me at first, I can see why it might work, and I can’t see someone of his stature taking on a project without a pretty amazing inspiration as to where it can go.

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Melissa Gilbert: Typecasting or Resource?

I find myself questioning the casting of Melissa Gilbert in the role of “Ma Ingalls” – not because I doubt her abilities as an actress, but more because there is quite a difference between acting – even on a stage – and performing in a musical. She has more than enough cred with “straight plays”: A Shayna Maidel (for which she received an Outer Critic’s Circle Award for Best Debuting Actress) and roles in The Glass Menagerie, The Miracle Worker, Bus Stop, and Love Letters.

Singing and dancing may come naturally to her – I just hope that the producers and directors don’t water down the part. She’s playing opposite Steve Blanchard, veteran of eight years as the Beast in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and that kind of a mismatch would be almost heartbreaking to see in such a beloved American classic.

Image details: 2007 Winter TCA Press Tour – Day 1 served by picapp.com

Casting Yourself

Melissa Gilbert was an instrumental part of the casting process, and I wonder how it must have felt to see all the young hopeful Lauras – many, apparently, with dog-eared copies of “Little House on the Prairie” in their hands – and realize that you are casting an American icon that you, yourself, created.

The starring role went to Kara Lindsay, with Jenn Gambatese as older sister Mary. The ensemble includes Sara Jean Ford (touring as Christine in Phantom) as Nellie and Kevin Massey (another Disney/Broadway veteran from Tarzan) as the heartthrob Almanzo.

The opening is August 15th, and it’ll play at the Guthrie until early October. I’m hoping to get tickets and make the trek up there – if you do, drop me a line and let me know what you thought!

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I’m sure I won’t get to see it on Broadway, but I’m also sure it won’t be far from a movie, probably with the same cast.

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Currently playing in London, it’s supposed to open in the Longacre Theatre in NYC. Parker has been quoted as saying, “…this will be a fantastic new challenge.” But it may be more of a challenge than she thinks: according to ContactMusic, representatives from the show have vehemently denied her involvement.

I kind of wonder why that is – what would be the problem? Her husband Matthew Broderick certainly had a great hit with the revival of The Producers with Nathan Lane, so she’s got to be no stranger to the process.

In fact, she goes further back than that – at 14 she played the lead in Little Orphan Annie. I can’t be sure, but around that time (1979) my parents took me to see that play at Radio City Music Hall one Christmas. I kind of wonder if it was her I saw way back then…

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1. Stephen Rea in Sam Shepard’s “Kicking a Dead Horse,” a one-man, one-act, one-horse play opening at the Public Theatre on July 14.
2. John Turturro, who you may have seen most recently in “the Bronx is Burning“, will be tackling a Beckett play, “Endgame”, April 25th. While he’s known for a lot of roles and directing triumphs, my favorite will always be “Illuminata”.
3. Two days later, Morgan Freeman will play a down-on-his-luck actor in the Clifford Odets classic “the Country Girl” at the Bernard Theatre.
4. I could celebrate May Day watching Laura Linney portray Marquise de Merteuil in “Les Liaisons Dangereuses, one of my girlfriend’s favorite plays (I’m not good enough with French to truly appreciate it, but I love Ms. Linney’s work and enjoyed Dangerous Liasons, the “dumbed down” movie version of the play).
5. And the final (and probably biggest) reason I’d love to spend the spring in New York: Ellen Burstyn is in “Little Flower of East Orange,” opening at the Public on April 6. But the surprise is that the production is directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman, the creepiest villain ever in M.I. 3 and other films.

Alas, I suspect none of these are meant to be in the realm of my experience. But it’s nice to dream, don’t you think?

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