Justin Bartha, David Wilson Barnes, Anna Camp and Krysten Ritter Are 'All New People' Off-Broadway June 28 (Playbill)

The world premiere of the play All New People, penned by "Scrubs" star Zach Braff, begins previews Off-Broadway June 28 at Second Stage Theatre. Justin Bartha, David Wilson Barnes, Anna Camp and Krysten Ritter star.

Peter DuBois, who directed Braff in Paul Weitz's Trust at 2ST last summer, directs All New People, which opens July 25 for a run through Aug. 14.

According to 2ST, "It's the dead of winter and the summer vacation getaway of Long Beach Island, New Jersey is desolate and blanketed in snow. Charlie is 35, heartbroken and just wants some time away from the rest of the world. The island ghost town seems to be the perfect escape until his solitude is interrupted by a motley parade of misfits who show up and change his plans. A hired beauty, the townie fireman, and an eccentric British real estate agent desperately trying to stay in the country suddenly find themselves tangled together in a beach house where the mood is anything but sunny."

Bartha made his Broadway debut last season in the revival of Lend Me a Tenor. His film roles include "The Hangover," "The Rebound" and "National Treasure." Barnes was last seen in the 2ST production of Becky Shaw and Broadway's The Lieutenant of Inishmore. Camp performed in the 2ST production of The Scene and the Broadway revival of Equus; while Ritter was seen in 2ST's All This Intimacy and the films "Confessions of a Shopaholic" and "She's Out of My League."

All New People has scenic design by Alexander Dodge, costume design by Bobby Frederick Tilley II, lighting design by Japhy Weideman, sound design by M.L. Dogg and projections by Aaron Rhyne.

Perhaps best known for his role on "Scrubs," Braff is also the author-director of the 2004 film "Garden State," in which he also starred. Second Stage also presented Trust last summer, which featured Braff alongside Bobby Cannavale, Sutton Foster and Ari Graynor.

DuBois is the artistic director of the Huntington Theatre Company. For 2ST, he also staged Gina Gionfriddo’s Becky Shaw. He has also directed Bob Glaudini’s Jack Goes Boating with Philip Seymour Hoffman, A View from 151st Street, Adrienne Kennedy’s Mom, How Did You Meet the Beatles and Richard III with Peter Dinklage.

For tickets visit 2ST.com. Second Stage Theatre is located at 305 West 43rd Street in Manhattan.

Yahoo! News

Actress Rita Wilson named editor of 'Huff/Post 40' (AP)

By SANDY COHEN, AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen, Ap Entertainment Writer – Thu Jun 16, 2:41 pm ET

LOS ANGELES – The Huffington Post is launching a new site aimed at the baby boomer generation, and Rita Wilson will direct its vision and content.

AOL Huffington Post Media Group President and Editor-in-Chief Arianna Huffington said Thursday that the actress and producer will be editor-at-large of "Huff/Post 40," which is set to launch in August. She says Wilson even came up with the name of the new site.

Huffington said in an interview that the new site is designed to appeal to men and women over 40 and it will be "both about news and about people sharing their own experiences about that stage in life."

She credited her and Wilson's shared Greek heritage for setting them up to value aging as a process that brings wisdom and new possibilities.

The 54-year-old Wilson, who is married to Tom Hanks, has acted in movies, on television and on Broadway. She has also written stories on style and health for O, The Oprah Magazine and Harper's Bazaar, where she has been a contributing editor since 2006.

Wilson made good on a lifelong dream to perform on Broadway at age 49, Huffington said. That drive, and Wilson's sense of humor, is what makes her the "perfect godmother" for the new site.

"She's always following her own passions and making things happen, so I think she's a great role model," Huffington said.

The HuffPo founder said she wasn't concerned about Wilson's limited experience in journalism, calling the new editor-at-large "a wonderful writer herself and she has a clear sense of what the theme of the site will be." She said they are now working to fill other top editorial positions for the new site.

"Huff/Post 40" will be uplifting and interactive, Huffington said.

"It's important to cover this with a sense of joy about this age ... that's another thing that's often missing from the writing about this stage of life," she said. "You worry about approval less; you're more clear about who you are — all those things are so liberating. It's a very liberating time of life, I say as I turn 60...

"It's an age where you can look less at the past and more into the future."

Huffington is also looking into the future as she continues to expand her media empire with AOL. She's developing Huffington Post France; Huffington Post UK launches July 6 and Huffington Post Canada went live last month.

___

Online:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com

___

Sandy Cohen can be reached at http://twitter.com/APSandy

Yahoo! News

"Bridesmaids" success brings Wilson Phillips new boost (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Billboard) – Wilson Phillips' "Hold On" is reaching a new audience thanks to the film "Bridesmaids," 21 years after the song hit No. 1. It's one of the key tracks in the movie, whose 13-song Relativity Music Group soundtrack also boasts Blondie's "Rip Her to Shreds," a cover of Violent Femmes' "Blister in the Sun" by Nouvelle Vague and songs by Hole and Smokey Robinson.

Even though Carnie Wilson has a small part in the Judd Apatow-produced film -- which opened May 13 and took in $26.2 million on its first weekend, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com -- a 20-minute conversation with her makes it clear she could have played a much bigger role.

Effusive and hysterically funny, Wilson wraps up the call by saying that she's taking her mother and some friends to see "Bridesmaids" again. Only this time, she's wearing a pantyliner. "I peed my pants laughing so hard the first time I saw it," she says. "So this time I'm totally prepared."

Wilson, along with Chynna Phillips and sister Wendy Wilson, should also be prepared to step back into the spotlight. "Hold On" rises 620 percent, with sales increasing from 1,000 to 6,000 downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan. While the band's latest record, a Christmas album released last year by Sony Masterworks, sold minimally last week, the trio's catalog has shifted 4.2 million units since SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991.

Winston Simone, who co-manages the group, arrived at work on May 18 to find two messages from TV showrunners asking about the group's availability -- and that the phone has been ringing nonstop.

Wilson Phillips charted three No. 1s on the Billboard Hot 100 in the early '90s. Having released its last studio album, "California," in 2004, the act has played select dates as a trio while simultaneously pursuing acting careers, writing books and raising children.

A fan of such earlier Apatow-produced comedies as "Knocked Up" and "Superbad," Wilson said the group's publicist, Lizzie Grubman, "was the one who made 'Bridesmaids' happen. I'm more of a music business chick than a movie business chick, though, so actually shooting the scene was a new experience for me."

Wilson said the scene in which she and her bandmates play at the wedding of Maya Rudolph's character was an all-day affair. "We were there until two in the morning, but it was amazing," she said. "We spent time with Kristen Wiig, who is hysterical and so talented. We were just laughing the entire time."

Although the film has reignited fond memories for the act's longtime fans and introduced the trio to a whole new generation, Wilson said a Wilson Phillips blitz isn't likely.

"It takes a lot of money to capitalize on something," she said with a laugh. "We are doing select dates around the country. We have four in June, one in July, a few in August and then some in December. We've also had to turn down gigs because they've been one-offs, and it doesn't make sense financially to do them."

She added that she has no desire to tackle the arena circuit, either. "We've been touring quietly for the past two years, and I'm really happy with the venues that we are playing, like performing arts centers and the occasional casino," she said.

But fans will have a new album to look forward to: a collection of covers featuring tracks by the Mamas & the Papas and the Beach Boys, which Wilson said will likely be released next January on Sony Masterworks. She added that the group is in the early stages of talking to a network about a reality show that would follow the trio through the recording and touring process.

For now, Wilson said she's just excited to be part of "Bridesmaids" and that she loves the film's message. "It's all about the evolution of female friendships," she said. "And that's something I can definitely relate to."

(Editing by Chris Michaud)

Yahoo! News

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.