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Flashdance, War Horse, Million Dollar Quartet, Sister Act Coming to Fox Theatre

When it comes to Broadway, the best shows don’t just stay in New York City…

“War Horse,” the West End import that won the Tony for Best Play and got the Steven Spielberg treatment on the silver screen, hits the Fox September 25 through 30. The poignant story of a boy and his horse unfolds during the savagery of World War I. “War Horse” excels in its minimalist grace and stunning puppetry unlike anything you’ve seen before.

Singing candelabras, a furry prince and sweet innocent Belle. Disney doesn’t quite make them like they used to. The stage adaptation of “Beauty and the Beast” peels the animation off the screen and pumps these characters full of life. The quintessential love story of beauty that lies beneath the surface makes it just in time for the holidays, playing the Fox from November 27 through December 2.

What would the 80s have been without the cheesy goodness of “Fame,” “Footloose” and especially “Flashdance?” What welder doesn’t feel the desire to dance boiling up? Thankfully our British cohorts dusted off this cult classic and sailed it across the pond so we can roll around in the juicy nostalgia that is “Flashdance The Musical“. All of your favorite songs are here, including “Gloria,” “Maniac” and “Flashdance (What a Feeling).” Just try to control yourself when the water splashes across the Fox stage as “Flashdance the Musical” hits Atlanta February 5 through 10.

Imagine an impromptu jam session in 1956 with Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins. This rare recording session is the inspiration driving “Million Dollar Quartet.” This jukebox musical is hemorrhaging with 50s rock classics like “Great Balls of Fire,” “Blue Suede Shoes” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On.” Jump into the time warp as “Million Dollar Quartet” rocks the Fox Theatre March 12 through 17.

Like “Flashdance,” it seems that everything old is suddenly new again as the Whoopi Goldberg-inspired “Sister Act” leaps off the video shelves and comes alive on the stage. Nuns on the run from the mob just seem to write its own jokes in this campy 90s hit. “Sister Act” brings the praise and the laughs to the Fox stage April 23 through 28.

Simply can’t wait until the new season kicks off in September? The current season still has the tale of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons in “Jersey Boys” running from May 22 – June 10. For subscription and ticket information, visit Broadway Across America.

Andy Cohen: ‘I Was Wrong About Kim’

Andy Cohen, who just a few weeks ago stopped by Blake’s on the Park to recover after taping the ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta Reunion’ at the Biltmore Hotel, dishes on our ladies in his new memoir, ‘Most Talkative,’ out today…

Cohen reveals that the Reunion episodes originally came about because of NeNe Leakes. ‘At the time ‘Atlanta’ premiered, it wasn’t a given that a reunion would follow every season. We didn’t build it into our schedule and didn’t assume there’d be a demand for one with every series. I got a voice mail from NeNe (the first time I’d ever had contact with her directly) saying, ‘I’m begging you to do a reunion, Andy. I want to confront Kim.’

Another excerpt from ‘Most Talkative’:

‘The next ‘Housewives’ edition to premiere was Atlanta, which would go on to become our highest-rated of all the cities in the franchise. We’d been sitting on a casting tape for a show called ‘Hotlanta’ for a while, featuring a group of affluent black women with energy and attitude. I was excited about the idea of doing a show featuring rich African Americans, a concept I hadn’t seen on TV since ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.’ The ‘Hotlanta’ women became ‘The Real Housewives of Atlanta‘ and all I could say was, ‘BAM!’

Linnethia ‘NeNe’ Leakes was an instant standout, telling the camera even then, ‘I walk into a room and my eyes are popping and my lips are busting and BAM!’ But every time I watched the tape I became more confused by Kim Zolciak. I didn’t understand her role within the group – first all, and most obviously, she was white. Just as obvious, her blond mane was a full-on wig. She looked like a country singer to me and seemed more Nashville than Atlanta.

She just didn’t feel Bravo, which lots of analysts crunching numbers tell us is watched by the most upscale and educated audience on cable – lots of urban women and their gay best friends, along with hip suburban moms. A fair number of straight men get hooked on the Housewives, too, after their wives cajole them into watching. (My theory: They love having the green light to gawk at hot women with big knockers getting into catfights). Boy, was I wrong about Kim!”

- For more Atlanta Housewives gossip, get ‘Most Talkative’ now on Amazon.

‘GCB: Season 1′ Steps Onto DVD June 12th

The original Glinda the Good in Broadway’s “Wicked,” the crazy talented Kristin Chenoweth, fills a different set of shoes as a wicked bitch of the west in ABC’s nighttime soap opera “GCB,” set to release its ‘GCB: Season 1′ DVD June 12th. The devilish drama (originally titled “Good Christian Bitches” and known for a short stint as “Good Christian Belles” before assuming its initialism) is set in Texas and might be described as “Dallas” meets the “Desperate Housewives” with plenty of characters to love and love to hate.

The plot revolves around Carlene Cockburn (yes, that’s her salacious surname), played by Chenoweth and her former high school nemesis Amanda Vaughn (Leslie Bibb). Shamefully widowed and having lost her fortune, Amanda, the queen of mean in high school, moves back to Dallas 18 years after graduating to find that Carlene, someone she picked on mercilessly, now rules the roost of Dallas high society, along with a gaggle of other women who were victims of Amanda’s cruelty. While Amada seems to have seen the error of her old ways, the unforgiving butts or her relentless bullying are out to avenge the treatment they received from her as teenagers.

The series also stars Emmy-nominated actress Annie Potts (“Designing Women”), Jennifer Aspen (“Rodney”), Miriam Shor (“Damages”) and Marisol Nichols (“24”) as well as a hunky cast of actors: David James Elliott (“JAG”), Brad Beyer (“Jericho”) and Mark Deklin (“Lone Star”). One of the show’s most alluring subplots involves Deklin as Blake Reilly, a closeted cattleman-cum-designer, who has a thing for ranch hands, and his wife Cricket who is keeping her husband’s double life a secret.

Also registering on the show’s gay-o-meter reading is the fact that the series is a collaboration between Darren Star, creator of “Sex and the City,” and Robert Harling, writer of “Steel Magnolias.”

Under the original “Good Christian Bitches” title, the show raised the hackles of the American Family Association and some clergy who claimed it was an attack on the Christian faith; some ABC affiliates threatened a boycott. Meanwhile, it won the “You Betta Watch” category at Logo’s 2012 NewNowNext Awards, which recognize up-and-coming talent in film, television, fashion and music that is of particular interest to the LGBT community.

The “GCB” first-season DVD has bonus features such as cast and crew interviews, features, deleted scenes and bloopers. Pre-order ‘GCB: Season 1′ now at Amazon.

Who is your favorite character on ‘GCB’?

RuPaul: ‘Best Advice I Ever Received’

RuPaul: Best Advice I Ever Received

RuPaul says the best advice he ever received was from a teacher at his high school in Atlanta, the Northside School of Performing Arts: ‘Don’t Take Life Too Seriously.’ Watch…

RuPaul on WhoSay

Art Official @ W Atlanta Midtown [INVITE]

This Thursday, April 19th, the W Atlanta – Midtown will begin it’s monthly ‘Art Official’ cocktail parties at The Living Room. The hotel says the ART Official Series will ‘exhibit Atlanta’s bold street art and unique creativity paired with carefully crafted cocktails and a series of rotating DJs.’ First up on Thursday are resident artists Chris Hobe of Artistic Revolution, Chris Hamer of UrbnPop, tattoo artist Mike Groves, Kevin Rein, and the Mindzai Creative Team. The first Art Official party coincides with the 76th Annual Dogwood Festival at Piedmont Park. Future Art Official parties will be held on May 17th, June 21st, July 19th, August 16th, and September 20th.

Kandi Burruss Celebrates In Las Vegas

Kandi Burruss celebrated her new Bravo TV series, ‘The Kandi Factory,’ at Gallery Nightclub in Las Vegas Friday night. ‘The Kandi Factory’ was first only a 90-minute special (see our Kandi Factory Interview) below, but ratings were so good that Bravo has picked it up for a full series. Meanwhile, the season finale of ‘The Real Housewives of Atlanta‘ featured Kandi’s Bedroom Kandi Sex Toy Party. The 3-party ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’ reunion airs tonight at 9 p.m. on Bravo.

Kandi Burruss Celebrates In Las Vegas

Tyler Perry Shares Entrepreneurial Advice

Friday afternoon American Express hosted a forum for small business owners with Atlanta-based mogul Tyler Perry. The event, titled ‘Tyler Perry: The Entrepreneurial Mind‘ drew about 100 guests to the Fox Theatre‘s Egyptian Ballroom to hear what Perry, who owns his own studio, had to say.

His #1 piece of advice? ‘Oprah taught me to own everything, never sell,’ he said. Also, ‘Social media is everything. I didn’t even know what a Facebook was six months ago, until they called me up. I had about a million people on my email list from TylerPerry.com, but there were about six people calling themselves Tyler Perry on Facebook. So Facebook called me up and asked if I would have a page. When I started seeing that people would like it then their friends would like it then their friends would like it, I was like, wow.’

Perry also shared that all of his first projects were bombs. ‘My first play, I was expecting about a thousand people. 30 showed up, and I knew all of them. But out of that 30, there was one who wanted to invest.’ Perry said one of his secrets to final success was finding local church people who already had a following to star in his plays. ‘People are always trying to get the big fish, when there are so many other fish you can get.’

Here are some other nuggets from Tyler Perry: The Entrepreneurial Mind:

Always touch people coming into your business, whether it’s with a thank you note or a phone call.
Super serve your niche. Give your customers more than they’re expecting, and do it again and again and again.
Everyone comes into your life to teach you a lesson. If you don’t learn it it will show up again as as another person and you’ll have to go through all the hard stuff again.
Never feel like you know it all and never give up control.
Hire people that have your spirit. Never give people too much too quickly or they’ll go crazy with people. Give them a little power at first to see how they handle it.
You can’t get anything with your hands closed.
Some things (charitable) should be done in private so God can reward you in private. Some should be done in public because it inspires others.
There are things you cannot be cheap about (financial advice, attorneys, etc.)
You have to know that you deserve it. Say to yourself, ‘I deserve good things, good health, and for my business to prosper, because God said I deserve it.’

Kandi Burruss Spreads Happiness & Joy

On the season finale of The Real Housewives of Atlanta last night, Kandi Burruss revealed her new line of Bedroom Kandi sex toys at a party for fans. Here she is giving us a more up-close-and-personal demonstration. Kandi is currently expanding her empire with a network of in-home Bedroom Kandi party reps. She tells us she wants the party network to be ‘just like Tupperware, only with a different kind of plastic!’ Apply here.

Honey Boo Boo Child Gets Her Own Show

Alana ‘Honey Boo Boo Child‘, the McIntyre, Georgia ‘dollar makes me holler’ breakout star will soon start filming her own reality show for TLC. June Thompson, Alana’s mom, confirms to us that a camera crew will start filming the duo on April 14th for a month. You can catch the original episode that made June ‘The Coupon Queen’ and Honey Boo Boo Child national celebrities on TLC’s ‘Toddlers & Tiaras‘ this Wednesday, April 4th at 9 and 11 p.m. They will also be featured on the show’s season opener episode in July.

In case you missed it, check out our exclusive interview with Alana ‘Honey Boo Boo Child’ and June ‘The Coupon Queen’ below:

Will you watch Alana & June’s new show on TLC?

TV best bets with the return of ‘Mad Men,’ ‘Dancing With the Stars’

Seventeen months is a long time between shows, especially a beloved one like AMC’s “Mad Men.” But the drama set in the smoky 1960s world of advertising finally returns on Sunday under a shroud of secrecy and anticipation. Why did Don Draper propose to his secretary? Did Joan keep her baby? Does Roger care? Meanwhile, ABC Monday unveils the 14th edition of “Dancing With the Stars,” which is starting to feel a bit creaky itself with a less than scintillating lineup which includes Jaleel “Urkel” White , Melissa Gilbert and Atlanta native and R&B singer Gladys Knight . MONDAY “Dancing… >>

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