by Latin Heat
Salma Hayek
PASADENA — The Hollywood buzz today is that actress/producer Salma Hayek along with her producing partner José Tamez, the same production team that brought you Ugly Betty, will team up once again with ABC to bring you an 8 hour miniseries based on Gregory Maguire’s best selling novel, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. When asked, ABC president, Paul Lee was sure to state that they are only in the development stage and that only the pilot script has been greenlit.
Maguire’s book, which also served as the inspiration for the film Wizard of Oz and the Broadway musical, Wicked revolves around two very powerful witches, Glinda, the good witch and Elphaba, the wicked witch of the West. However, unlike the stage production or the Wizard of Oz, this miniseries will not feature any music or dance numbers. (The adaptation of the stage production Wicked: The Musical into a feature film is being developed by Universal Pictures.)
Erik Jendresen (Band of Brothers) is writing the TV miniseries adaptation and will also serve as one of the producers. Shows about witches in the past have either been comedies (Bewitched, Sabrina, The Teenage Witch) or lighter fared dramas Charmed, Buffy, The Vampire Slayer) , and they have all enjoyed a great following and fairly long runs (average run of 8 years each). The mini-series, which will more closely follow the book, will be a very different take from any of the other adaptations and the buzz is increasingly positive.
John Leguizamo fans will be delighted to hear that, once again, he has begun his journey towards Broadway. Leguizamo is prepping for a 12-week engagement on Broadway by performing his latest solo show Ghetto Klown at the Royal George Theatre in Chicago from Feb. 1-12. Then it’s on to Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre (149 West 45th Street), opening on Feb. 21 and running through March 22.
Leguizamos Ghetto Klown is broadway bound Ghetto Klown is the next chapter in Leguizamo’s hugely popular personal and professional story. It follows in the unabashed, uncensored, and uninhibited tradition of his Mambo Mouth, Spic-O-Rama, Freak, and Sexaholix…a Love Story. In Leguizamo’s trademark style, the piece explodes with energy, leading audiences on a fever-pitch adventure and heating up the stage with vivid accounts of where he’s been and the colorful characters who have populated his life. Leguizamo takes audiences from his adolescent memories in Queens to the early days of his acting career during the outrageous 80s avant-garde theatre scene, and on to the sets of major motion pictures and his roles opposite some of Hollywoods biggest stars.
Leguizamo explains, “Ghetto Klown is all the things I say to my therapist and my manager, but would NEVER want the general public to know. It’s cheaper than a lawsuit and I get to take a bow at the end. It’s like Wikileaks but with no international manhunt. Yet.”
Lequizamo has a habit of trying out all his shows in Chicago.
