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Page 1 of 9October 17, 2012

By Jordan ZakarinNEW YORK — Looks like it’s official: Beyonce will be the featured performer during the Super Bowl XLVII half-time show.

The Associated Press re-ported on Tuesday morning that the music megastar was in line for what is the biggest concert gig in the world, and the multiple Grammy Award winner confirmed it later with a photo she posted to her Tumblr site, in which she is wearing eye-black strips on which the date of the game — Feb. 3, 2013 — is written.

A source familiar with the Super Bowl told the AP that Beyonce will take the stage during the halftime show at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. The source spoke on condi-tion of anonymity because

that person wasn’t autho-rized to publicly reveal the information.

Later in the day, the NFL and CBS made an official announcement.

Beyonce, whose pop and R&B hits include “Crazy in Love,” “Irreplaceable” and “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” has won 16 Grammys.

The 31-year-old sang the national anthem at Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004 in her hometown of Houston when the New England Patriots defeated the Caro-lina Panthers.

Madonna performed dur-ing halftime at this year’s Super Bowl in February with

Beyonce to Perform at Super Bowl XLVII

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Inside:x factor taps new co-hostsPAgE 2

fashion star, iatse hold talksPAgE 3

daniels mulls joplin biopic helming gigPAgE 4

biz keeping eye on charles suitPAgE 6

theater review: virginia woolf PAgE 7

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Beyonce followed up an AP report on Tuesday with a Twitter pic showing her wearing eye black emblazoned with the date of the next Super Bowl.

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tv newsPage 2 of 9October 17, 2012

guests Cee Lo Green, Nicki Minaj, LMFAO and M.I.A. The New York Giants beat the New England Patriots in a thrilling rematch of the contest four years earlier. Madonna’s performance was seen by 114 million people, a higher average than the game itself, which was seen by an estimated 111.3 million people, according to Nielsen.

If Beyonce’s performance at the Pepsi NFL Halftime Show features collabora-tions, it could likely include husband-rapper Jay-Z and her Destiny’s Child band-mates Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams.

New Orleans last hosted a Super Bowl in 2002, making next year’s game the first NFL championship in the city since Hurricane Katrina devastated parts of the Lou-isiana Superdome in 2005. Pepsi is returning as the spon-sor for the halftime show since last doing so in 2007 when Prince performed.

antm will have male models for 20th cycleBy Lesley GoldbergThe CW has renewed Ameri-ca’s Next Top Model for a 20th cycle and added a twist.

For the first time in the Tyra Banks-hosted series’ history, the modeling com-petition will add male mod-els to the reality series, the network announced Tues-day. The male models are slated to move into the house alongside the aspiring female models.

The series will bypass a spring edition and shift from airing twice a year to purely a summer edition. The franchise, which dates

back to the for-mer UPN net-work, ranks among the CW’s highest- rated properties.

Since mov-ing to Fridays

for its 19th cycle in August, ANTM has improved from its former time slot, recently posting a season high of a 0.7 rating in the advertiser- coveted adults 18-49 demo- graphic.

ANTM is produced by 10 by 10 Entertainment in association with Bankable Productions. It is executive produced by Ken Mok and Laura Feust and created by Banks and developed by Mok and Kenya Barris.

new X factor hosts: lopez, KardashianBy Shirley HalperinThe X Factor fans can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Only two weeks before season two enters live shows, it has offi-cially been announced that Khloe Kardashian and Mario Lopez will be the series’ co- hosts.

The Hollywood Reporter reported on Monday that, while Lopez had signed on some time ago, Kardashian’s camp and the X Factor team only recently agreed on all points of her contract, and the paperwork was expected to be signed Monday night.

The E! reality star and Extra host replace X Factor’s season-one host Steve Jones, who was axed in a bloodbath that also found judges Paula Abdul and Ni-cole Scherz-inger without jobs in late Jan-uary (the latter has since moved on to X Factor UK, while the former appears on Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance this sea-son). Follow-ing the firings, Simon Cowell repeatedly stated that he hoped to hire two judges for the forthcoming season, one female and one male.

Kardashian had long been rumored to fill the host position. Her friend-ship with new X Factor judge Demi Lovato helped seal her deal, a source said.

X Factor returned with its season-two premiere on Wednesday, Sept. 12, with new judges Britney Spears and Lovato joining Cowell and L.A. Reid on the panel. Tonight’s show will narrow finalists down to four acts per judge.

Following the “Judges’ Homes” round, live epi-sodes will kick off on Nov. 1.

foX looKs across pond for GavinBy Lesley GoldbergFox is taking a stab at the BBC’s Gavin & Stacey.

The network has given a

script order to a reboot of the BBC comedy that revolved around a couple working to maintain their long-distance relationship, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

Fox’s version will focus on the key life moments of the title characters as they try to maintain their relationship while combining their polar-izing families’ lives.

Series creators/writers/co-stars James Corden and Ruth Jones are on board to executive produce, along-side their former executive producer Henry Normal for Baby Cow Productions, with David Rosen (MTV’s I Just Want My Pants Back) attached to pen the project. BBC Worldwide Produc-tions’ Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner will execu- tive produce the Sony Pic-tures Television entry.

Gavin started as a digital-only broadcast on BBC Three, where it gained a following and eventually moved to BBC Two and ultimately BBC One. The series ran for three seasons (plus a Christmas special) and co-starred Cor-den and Jones as the title characters’ respective friends Smithy and Nessa. Corden and Jones will not have an on- screen role on the Fox project.

The Fox reboot marks the second take at the show. ABC attempted to adapt the series in 2009 with Notes From the Underbelly and Glee co-executive producer Stacy Traub and Hayes Jackson (According to Jim) with BBC Worldwide.

Corden is repped by WME, Jones is with Just Voices Agency and Rosen is represented by CAA.

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business newsPage 3 of 9October 17, 2012

By Jonathan Handel Fashion Star producers and IATSE officials were set to meet Tuesday afternoon to discuss a contract that would end a strike against the show, The Hollywood Re-porter has learned. A meet-ing the producers had pre- viously requested Monday afternoon ended up being cancelled.

A source close to the situation said that e-mail proposals had been sent back and forth, but characterized Tuesday’s scheduled talks by saying that the parties would be “in face to face substantive nego-tiations for the first time.”

Meanwhile, picketing continued Tuesday, follow-ing a walkout on Saturday that halted production on the NBC reality competi-tion program. The primary issue is pension and health benefits.

“The IA will continue to picket the shooting locations of Fashion Star until the crew has a union contract,” said IATSE organizer Vanessa Holtgrewe on Sunday.

Picketing has been tak-ing place at three locations: Hollywood Center Studios, a production location and the offices of one of the

production companies, Magical Elves.

The show is in produc-tion on its second season. It is produced by Electus, 5x5 Media and Magical Elves, as well as the Global Fashion Association.

NBC referred inquiries to Electus, but an Electus rep-resentative did not respond to an inquiry sent on Satur-day. Nor have the other two production companies re-sponded to inquiries from THR. IATSE declined to comment on the status of any talks with the producers.

Saturday’s picket lines numbered about 70 crew, according to IATSE.

The decline of motion pic-ture and TV drama produc-tion in Los Angeles has left reality and half-hour com-edy as key factors in local business. IATSE has been active in organizing reality, and Holtgrewe and IATSE official Mike Miller said to expect more job actions in the next few months.

ward out as top foX pr eXec after 14 monthsBy Pamela McClintockBumble Ward, a veteran personal publicist-turned- studio executive, is leaving

her post as executive vp publicity at Fox after join-ing the studio Aug. 30, 2011.

Her abrupt exit comes on the heels of the departure of Fox Filmed Entertainment co-chairman Tom Rothman, who was instrumental in hiring Ward along with Oren Aviv as co-president of do- mestic theatrical marketing and chief marketing officer.

However, insiders said it quickly became apparent that she wasn’t the right fit and that her skills as a personal

publicist didn’t translate. She has four months left on her 18-month contract.

Ward headed up publicity for the studio’s film marketing unit, reporting to Aviv and co- president of domestic theat-rical marketing and chief creative officer Tony Stella.

She was responsible for all aspects of publicity cam- paigns for Fox films in North America, working on titles in- cluding Prometheus, The Watch and Taken 2. The studio has had a mixed year at the box office, with The Watch bomb-ing. But Taken 2, currently in theaters, has quickly trans-formed into a hit.

Ward, who is British, for-merly ran her own public relations, marketing and com- munications firm, Bumble Ward & Associates. Her client roster included Quentin Tar-antino, Tim Burton, Sofia Coppola, Tony Scott, Paul Thomas Anderson, DNA Studios, FremantleMedia and USC School of Cinema and Television.

Prior to launching Bumble

Ward & Associates, she was an executive at the boutique PR firms Clein + White Pub- lic Relations and Marketing, Dennis Davidson & Associ-ates, Andrea Jaffe & Asso-ciates and Clein + Feldman.

apatow set for film, tv music confab panelStaff reportWriter-director Judd Apatow will participate in a panel discussion at the Billboard/Hollywood Reporter Film

and TV Music Conference on Oct. 25 at the W Hotel in Hollywood.

The panel will look at the role music has

played in Apatow’s work, from the cult TV show Freaks and Geeks, which he created, to such projects as box-office hit Bridesmaids and HBO’s Girls to his upcoming film This Is 40, which revisits the characters from the 2007 comedy Knocked Up.

Joining Apatow will be two of his longtime collab-orators, composer Mike Andrews and music super-visor Manish Raval, as well as legendary British rocker Graham Parker, who has a key role in This Is 40. Parker and his band The Rumour have reunited and will re-lease their first album in 31 years on Nov. 20.

The Hollywood Reporter’s senior writer Lacey Rose will moderate. For more in-formation, go to Billboard-Events.com.

Fashion Star, IATSE Hold Labor Talks

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movie newsPage 4 of 9October 17, 2012

By Borys KitLee Daniels is in talks to helm Get It While You Can, a Janis Joplin biopic that has Amy Adams attached to star as the late blues-rock singer.

Robert Katz and Andrew Sugerman are producing along with Ron Terry, wrote the screen-play with his wife, Theresa Kounin-Terry.

Joplin was the hard-living singer behind such rock classics as “Piece of My Heart” and “Me and Bobby McGee.” She crested on the wave of the 1960s counter-culture as one of the faces of hippiedom.

Joplin, who has influenced artists ranging from Stevie Nicks to Florence Welch (of Florence + the Machine), died of a heroin overdose in 1970, just weeks after Jimi Hendrix succumbed to his drug demons, delivering a one-two punch to the face of the Age of Aquarius.

Daniels’ involvement is the latest development for the project, which over the years has had Fernando Meirelles and Catherine Hardwicke attached as directors, Renee Zellweger as star and Tem-ple Hill as producers.

The project is indepen-dently financed, and there

have been premilinary talks with Focus about coming on board, though no deal has been made. An early 2013 production start is being eyed.

Daniels, who garnered acclaim and an Oscar nom-ination for his 2009 gritty drama Precious, followed that up with the Southern thriller The Paperboy, which stars Matthew McConaughey, Zac Efron and Nicole Kid-man and is now in theaters.

The filmmaker, repped by CAA and Loeb and Loeb, just wrapped his all-star White House drama The Butler.

malavita setto hit theaters on oct. 18, 2013By Pamela McClintock and Borys KitAdding to its 2013 slate, Relativity Media will open Luc Besson’s darkly come-dic mafia pic Malavita on Oct. 18. The studio also is moving up the release of comedy 21 and Over by two weeks to March 1, taking advantage of Sony and Tri-Star sci-fi pic Elysium mov-ing off the date.

Malavita, based on the book Badfellas by Tonino Benacquista and adapted by Besson for the big screen, stars Robert De Niro, Michelle

Pfeiffer, Tommy Lee Jones, Dianna Agron and John D’Leo.

The storyline follows the Manzonis, a notorious crime family who are relocated to France under the witness protection program. While they do their best to fit in, old habits die hard and they soon find themselves handling things the “family” way.

“Luc Besson has pulled together a fantastic cast in Malavita in what promises to be an action-packed and humorous film,” Relativity president of worldwide dis-tribution Kyle Davies said. “We’re very excited to give this a home in the fall where audiences crave both witty and exciting fare.”

Malavita will open in the same corridor that has been so prosperous for another Besson project — Fox and EuropaCorp’s Taken 2, which opened earlier this month and quickly transformed into a hit.

Besson, who produced and co-wrote Taken 2, and his company EuropaCorp have a two-picture deal with Relativity; the second film is an untitled Kevin Costner thriller directed by McG.

Virginie-Silla Besson is producing Malavita, while Relativity’s Ryan Kava-naugh and Tucker Tooley are executive producers.

Relativity also has high hopes for 21 and Over, whose cast includes Miles Teller (Project X), Justin Chon (The Twilight Saga franchise) and Skylar Astin, who is currently generating buzz for his per-formance in Universal musi-cal comedy Pitch Perfect.

21 and Over follows a

straight-A college student and would-be medical student whose 21st birthday turns into chaos and debauchery. The movie will now open on the same weekend that sleeper hit Project X, a found-footage high school comedy, opened in 2012. Relativity jumped at the chance to move onto the March 1 date after director Neill Blom-kamp’s Elysium was moved to Aug. 9. March 2012 also turned out another youth-skewing hit: 21 Jump Street.

pattinson Joins mulliGan in hold By Borys KitRobert Pattinson is coming on board Hold On to Me, a thriller being developed by Indian Paintbrush that will likely be a hit sales title at the American Film Market.

Carey Mulligan is attached to star in what was formerly titled Nancy and Danny. James Marsh, the filmmaker behind the acclaimed documentary Man on Wire, will direct.

Set in a small town, the project concerns a money-hungry woman (Mulligan) whose big-city dreams failed. In order to land a high school crush, she uses a hapless man as a pawn in a get-rich-quick scheme that quickly goes wrong.

Pattinson would play the crush.

Brad Inglesby wrote the script for the pic, which is being produced by Alexandra Milchan of EMJAG Produc-tions, Paintbrush’s Steven Rales and Mark Roybal as well as Todd Field.

Daniels Eyes Joplin Biopic Directing Gig

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abu dhabi 2012Page 5 of 9October 17, 2012

By Tim AdlerABU DHABI — Yousry Nasral-lah, the Egyptian director whose film After the Battle played In Competition at Cannes, says the Arab film sector faces collapse due to Middle East turmoil and Arab TV sta-tions not buy-ing films.

Egyptian feature film-making has dried up completely since the country’s president Hosni Murbarak was overthrown last year and Saudi-owned TV broadcasters Rotana and ART have stopped buying films, Nasrallah said.

The director made his dire prediction Tuesday during an Arab filmmaker panel at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival.

“We are witnessing a crisis that could lead to a breakdown — it’s a perfect

storm,” Nasrallah said. “Saudi broadcasters such as Rotana and ART have a monopoly on buying Arab movie rights and they have thousands of movies stock-piled. They don’t need to buy any more.”

Fellow panelist Egyptian screenwriter Mohamed Hefzy said the political crisis means he now has to work outside of the country.

Other filmmakers taking part in the discussion com-plained about political and social pressures stopping them from working.

Director Bader Ben Hirsi, whose feature A New Day In Old Sana’a was the first local feature to be shot in Yemen, said opponents spread lies about him shooting sex scenes in mosques because they were so determined to shut pro-duction down.

Ben Hirsi hopes to start shooting his second feature in Yemen in January, but

the political situation is so dangerous he cannot find production insurance.

And Iraqi director Mo-hamed Al-Daradji said he had to dodge both U.S. tanks and Al-Qaeda insurgents during the making of his first feature in Iraq after the American invasion of 2003.

Al-Daradji told attendees that Iraq has no film indus-try infrastructure, which means footage has to be smuggled through Syria and Lebanon for processing. The war has also left Iraq without any cinemas, he explained.

“We don’t have the in-frastructure that exists in Morocco, Egypt or the Gulf states,” Al-Daradji said. “We have to lay the founda-tions for filmmaking in Iraq. Only then will we have an Iraqi cinema that exists in 20 years’ time.”

Abu Dhabi-based direc-tor Nawaf Al-Janahi, whose sophomore film Sea Shadow

premiered at last year’s Abu Dhabi festival, said he sym-pathized with infrastructure problems faced in Iraq and Yemen.

When he started out, Abu Dhabi had no film-making infrastructure either, he said.

Al-Janahi’s family did everything they could to per- suade him not to become a filmmaker. Even after he got into film school in Egypt, his father refused to pay the admission fees.

“My father was trying to make me understand that there was no filmmaking industry in the UAE at the time,” said Al-Janahi.

“Critics say that filmmak- ers in Gulf states are spoiled and pampered,” he explained. “They think we all have oil wells in our houses.”

Nasrallah and Al-Daradji agreed that although feature films employ large crews, essentially the director re-mains on his own.

“We don’t make movies alone, but we do dream them alone,” said Nasrallah.

Added Al-Daradji, “We long to include others in our dreams.”

Helmer Warns of Arab Cinema Collapse

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leGal newsPage 6 of 9October 17, 2012

By Eriq GardnerNEW YORK — In a battle over rights to Ray Charles’ famous songs, the charitable foun-dation that was bequeathed the singer’s money and assets is suddenly in a tough spot, in danger of losing the sub-stantial revenues that “I Got a Woman,” “A Fool for You,” “Mary Ann” and other hits gen-erate each year.

That’s because his children, who largely were cut out of the will, are attempting to termi-nate a copyright grant on the songs to Warner/Chappell Music. If the songs reverted to the children, then the Ray Charles Foundation no longer would get royalty checks.

In late March, facing this potential loss, the foundation sued the children, seeking a declaration that the termi-nation notices are invalid. To make this argument, the estate argued that Charles’ songs were made under em-ployment to a record label and music publisher. As such, the songs are allegedly works made for hire, “authored” by the predecessor to Warner/Chappell, and the children have no termination rights.

But if that’s really true, shouldn’t Warner/Chappell be suing Charles’ children?

In late September, a judge arrived at the same conclu-sion but left the door slightly

ajar to a lawsuit if the songs were not made for hire.

So, rather incredibly, the Ray Charles Foundation switched positions this month and now is arguing that the songs were not, in fact, made for hire. The litigation could set up the next big court de-cision on termination rights, a suddenly important part of copyright law that is causing the music industry fits now that artists such as Bob Dylan, Tom Waits and Tom Petty have sent their own notices.

Earlier this year, in a closely watched battle, original Vil- lage People singer Victor Wil-lis won a big victory by get-ting a federal judge to reject publishers’ claims that he couldn’t regain control over his work. But the decision didn’t address the “made for hire” defense because the music publisher he was fighting dropped the claim before the decision came.

In the suit brought by the Ray Charles Foundation, the children responded by essen-tially saying that if it was true that the songs were authored by the music publisher, the foundation didn’t have stand-ing to pursue them — because it held no rights.

The foundation’s reply: Well, we’re the ones who benefit from the rights.

On Sept. 25, U.S. District Court Judge Audrey Collins ruled that if “the works were not works made for hire and the foundation were receiving

royalties from simple assign-ments, [then] it would be a ‘beneficial owner’ in the copy- rights and would have stand-ing to assert an infringement claim.” But the judge was skeptical whether the foun-dation would have such standing to challenge the terminations. She ordered more briefing on the issue.

In reaction, on Oct. 2, the foundation made the case that Congress has been silent on who has proper standing to challenge terminations. Since the only provision in copy-right law about that stand- ing pertains to a copyright-infringement claim, the judge should use it to confer standing to the foundation.

That goes to the latter part of Collins’ “if … then” conditional formulation, but the foundation also needs to show the “if” part — that the songs are not made as works for hire, meaning it has to backtrack from the original position. Unsurprisingly, the foun-dation now admits Charles is the author and that he assigned his work.

On Oct. 9, Charles’ chil-dren, represented by Marc Toberoff, submitted a re-sponse, saying the express terms of copyright law don’t confer standing on a “bene-ficial owner” to litigate ter-mination disputes. And even if a judge finds some form of implicit standing, Charles’ children say the foundation

can’t amend the lawsuit with factual allegations in-consistent with the original complaint.

“For example,” the defen-dants write, “whereas the ini-tial complaint alleges that the ‘musical compositions were composed [by Ray Charles] as an employee of [W/C pred- ecessor] Progressive,’ the new complaint would need to state the opposite. Whereas the initial complaint alleges that the songwriters contract merely ‘memorialize[d]’ the publishing company’s own-ership of the songs at incep-tion, the new complaint would need to state that the contracts were affirmative copyright grants. … The list goes on.”

The stage is now set for a ruling that could be quite important.

If the judge agrees that the foundation has standing and allows the case to go on, it would set at least some precedent for other royalty recipients -- say, record pro-ducers — to challenge termi-nation notices.

And then the judge po-tentially will address the other prong: whether the Ray Charles songs actually are “made for hire,” a topic that’s substantially crucial for record labels and music publishers on the receiving end of termination notices. Of course, the foundation now agrees with Charles’ children that the songs in dispute are not works for hire. It could end up mean-ing that Warner/Chappell has to assert itself into the fight lest a ruling come that robs them of songs.

Obviously, plenty of others will be listening closely.

Biz Watching Battle Over Charles Songs

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theater reviewPage 7 of 9October 17, 2012

who’s afraid of virGinia woolf?By David RooneyNEW YORK — Fifty years since its original Broadway opening, Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? returns as a blazing reaffirmation that this tow-ering 1962 work is the mother of all great modern marital battlefield dramas. Trans-ferring intact from the Step-penwolf Theatre Company, the sensational production is flawlessly cast and directed with unerring precision by Pam MacKinnon. But its major revelation is a thrilling performance from Tracy Letts that casts browbeaten aca-demic mediocrity George in a scorching new light, making him at all times the most dan-gerous person in the room.

As a playwright, Letts is well known via the unsettling chillers Killer Joe and Bug (both of which he adapted for William Friedkin’s film versions); the poignant old-neighborhood elegy Supe-rior Donuts; and most of all, the ferocious disintegrating family saga August: Osage County. Letts also penned the screenplay for John Wells’ forthcoming film adaptation of that Pulitzer- and Tony-winning 2007 play, its starry cast headed by Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts. Chicago theatergoers are accustomed to seeing Letts onstage, but his acting roles in New York have been limited to exactly one Off Broadway produc-tion. The stunning authority of his work here makes that seem inconceivable.

But the praise that will

inevitably be showered on Letts should not overshadow the accomplishments of the entire four-person cast, or the undiminished power of Albee’s masterwork. Its bit-ter sting, startling wit and visceral pathos have faded not a bit in a half-century.

A study of wedded con-flict and corrosive inter-dependency dappled with unexpected loyalty and ten-derness, the play has many imitators but no equals. Its portrait of the incestuous cesspool of academic life is equally acute, as is its un-flinching examination of the choice between living with deadening reality or conso-latory illusion.

One aspect that emerges more incisively than ever in this revival is its sardonic take on cross-generational hostility. The gusto with which George and Martha tear the blinders of youthful arrogance, superiority and naivety from the eyes of their green young guests is as compelling a bloodsport as the vicious verbal blows they inflict upon each other.

When the production was announced for Broadway, it seemed worryingly soon after the lauded 2005 revival led by Kathleen Turner and

Bill Irwin. But MacKinnon’s naturalistic staging, which runs three hours without a moment’s lull, wipes the floor with that earlier one because everything about it feels so vital. That applies even to the meticulous de-tailing of Todd Rosenthal’s set, the book-littered interior of a grand but veering-toward-shabby two-story New Eng-land college campus home.

The key dynamic of course is between the house’s occu-pants, George, an associate professor in the History De-partment, and his furiously frustrated wife Martha, daughter of the university president. In their gladiato-rial love-hate contest, Letts is superbly matched by the wonderful Amy Morton, who placed her indelible stamp on the lead character writ-ten for her in August: Osage County. The two also have a history with Albee’s play dat-ing back to a 2004 staging at the Alliance Theatre in Atlan- ta, which Morton directed, with Letts as George.

Departing in subtle but significant ways from the blowzy fire-breathing ball-buster immortalized by Elizabeth Taylor in Mike Nichols’ enduring 1966 screen version, Morton’s

Martha seems almost ele-gant upon first encounter, if no less ready with a with-ering put-down. Her un- diluted venom, like her vul- garity, is on a time-release drip that allows a window to the character’s vulnerability and self-disgust, making her ultimate defeat shatter-ing. While she’s sure that she wears the pants in the house, her biggest mistake is underestimating George’s quicksilver intelligence and ruthless survival instinct. Letts, for his part, makes those qualities evident from the start. This causes the audience to cower in hor-ror from what’s to come as Martha intensifies her humiliation of her husband, refusing to be intimidated by his warnings.

The captive spectators for those “Fun and Games,” to borrow the play’s first- act title, are Nick (Madison Dirks), the new addition to the Biology Department, and his mousy wife Honey (Carrie Coon), invited back for late-night drinks by Martha after one of Daddy’s Saturday faculty soirees.

An understated embodi-ment of the mid-century ideal (the play is set in 1962) of confidently handsome masculinity and ambition, Dirks’ Nick represents everything that might be perceived as a threat to cardigan-clad, seemingly impotent George. Even his academic field, with its early steps into genetic mod-ification, stands as a direct affront to history. But as cocky and dismissive as Dirks plays him, we still

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Tracy Letts snarls at Amy Morton in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

theater reviewPage 8 of 9October 17, 2012

cringe for Nick as he lets down his guard. He starts sharing personal informa-tion that George archives away for later use as the liquor and bile keep flowing.

Perhaps the defining characteristic of George — as written by Albee, and more than ever, as played by Letts — is that not a single word, no matter how appar-ently innocuous, reaches his ears without being parsed. Likewise, nothing escapes his lips that’s not carefully measured for impact, even when his face reddens with rage at Martha’s goading.

Like a diabolical magi-cian, Letts’ George is at his most lethal as he weaves what he’s learned of the younger couple’s relation-ship into the plot outline of a supposedly unpublished novel, effectively neuter-ing Nick and leaving poor brandy-soaked Honey strug-gling to keep up. Until she gets it. That magnificent scene is the beginning of an expertly calibrated pro-cess by which Albee shows that the foundations of Nick and Honey’s marriage are

far less secure than those of George and Martha’s un-wholesome contract.

But George saves his most deadly attack for Martha, who violates the rules of their agreement, prompt-ing him to publicly shatter the illusion she holds most sacred. Albee calls this final act “The Exorcism.” But as played here, it’s both a de-liberate act of cruelty and a mercy killing, somehow allowing George and Martha to go on after both have been pushed beyond the limit. The glimmer of compassion is devastating.

Letts and Morton’s rap- port onstage is invigoratingly alive and in-the-moment. It’s also savagely funny. Their George and Martha bristle

not only with mutual hostil-ity but with a shared sense of the blackest humor. There’s piercing sorrow beneath Morton’s words when Mar-tha admits her need to pun-ish George for loving her. And in Letts’ hands, the bot-tomless depths of George’s wiliness hint that his profes-sional underachievement may be due at least in part to a perverse desire to wound Martha by fueling her dis- appointment.

A dab hand with ample experience in the exacting language and rhythms of Albee’s plays, MacKinnon elicits bone-deep psycho-logical and emotional char-acterizations from all four players, each of whom also brings a keen sense of the physical. The cast’s immer-sion is such that on open-ing night, when a prop lamp was accidentally knocked over and shattered during a tense exchange between George and Nick, neither actor missed a beat. Follow-ing her razor-sharp job on last season’s Tony winner Clybourne Park, this produc-tion catapults MacKinnon into the upper echelon of

contemporary American stage directors.

Veterans of past produc-tions may feel that Albee’s drama has yielded all that it has to offer. But this un-missable revival shows other-wise. And audiences coming fresh to the play couldn’t ask for a more exciting introduction.

Venue: Booth Theatre, New York (runs indefinitely).Presented by: Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, Susan Quint Gallin, Mary Lu Roffe, Kit Seidel, Amy Danis & Mark Johannes, Patty Baker, Mark S. Golub & David S. Golub, Richard Gross, Jam Theatricals, Cheryl Lachowicz, Michael Palitz, Dramatic Forces/Angelina Fiordellisi, Luigi & Rose Caiola, Ken Greiner, Kathleen Johnson, Mirmser Ponturo Fund, Will Trice, GFour Productions.Cast: Tracy Letts, Amy Morton, Carrie Coon, Madison Dirks. Director: Pam MacKinnon.Playwright: Edward Albee.Set designer: Todd Rosenthal. Costume designer: Nan Cibula-Jenkins. lighting designer: Allen Lee Hughes. Sound designer: Rob Milburn, Michael Bodeen.

FrOM page 7

thr

Madison Dirks and Carrie Coon

show fear in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Week 3 Oct. 17 ABC CBS NBC FOX CW

MON8:008:309:009:3010:0010:30

2.2/6 12.62.0/6

Dancing With the Stars 2.2/6 13.6

12.62.1/6 13.52.2/5 14.02.2/5 14.02.3/6 Castle

2.2/6 10.611.1

2.1/6 10.2

2.5/6 8.13.1/9 How I Met Your Mother 7.81.9/5 Partners 5.73.4/8 2 Broke Girls 9.42.8/7 Mike & Molly 8.72.0/5 Hawaii Five-0

1.9/5 8.48.6

1.8/5 8.2

4.2/11 11.34.1/12

The Voice4.8/12 12.9

11.64.8/12 13.15.0/12 13.15.4/13 13.73.3/8 Revolution

3.0/8 8.08.6

2.7/7 7.4

1.5/4 5.32.0/6 Bones

2.0/5 7.27.2

2.0/5 7.20.9/2 The Mob Doctor

0.9/2 3.43.6

0.9/2 3.1

0.4/1 0.90.5/1 90210

0.4/1 0.91.0

0.4/1 0.90.4/1 Gossip Girl

0.4/1 0.80.8

0.5/1 0.8

SAT8:008:309:009:3010:0010:30

1.3/4 5.11.3/5

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series:Bank of America 500 atCharlotte Motor Speedway 1.3/4 5.1 S

5.61.3/4 5.11.2/4 5.01.2/4 4.61.2/4 4.71.4/4 5.3

0.7/2 4.20.6/2 NCIS: Los Angeles

0.6/2 3.7 R3.5

0.6/2 3.90.5/2 Hawaii Five-0

0.6/2 3.8 R3.6

0.6/2 4.10.9/3 48 Hours

1.0/3 5.0 4.8

1.0/3 5.1

0.7/2 3.10.5/2 Revolution

0.5/2 2.3 R2.2

0.6/2 2.30.7/2 Chicago Fire

0.7/2 3.2 R3.2

0.7/2 3.20.8/2 Law & Order: SVU

0.9/3 3.8 R3.5

1.0/3 4.0

0.7/2 2.40.9/3

Fox College Football:USC Trojans atWashington Huskies 0.8/3 2.5

2.60.7/2 2.10.7/2 2.30.7/2 2.60.6/2 2.3

NO PROGRAMMING

Page 9 of 9October 17, 2012

tv ratings

TUE8:008:309:009:3010:0010:30

1.7/5 9.21.2/4 Dancing With the Stars: All-Stars

1.3/4 8.3 S8.0

1.3/4 8.52.1/6 Dancing With the Stars Results

2.2/6 13.313.0

2.2/6 13.61.7/5 Private Practice

1.6/4 6.06.7

1.4/4 5.4

2.8/8 15.23.3/10 NCIS

3.4/10 18.518.1

3.5/10 18.93.0/8 NCIS: Los Angeles

3.0/8 15.215.3

2.9/7 15.02.1/6 Vegas

2.0/5 11.812.4

1.8/5 11.2

2.9/8 7.74.1/12 The Voice

4.5/13 12.211.3

4.9/14 13.02.7/7 Go On 6.72.0/5 The New Normal 4.82.0/5 Parenthood

2.0/5 5.05.0

1.9/6 4.9

2.0/5 3.91.8/5 Raising Hope 4.01.5/4 Ben and Kate 3.22.7/7 New Girl 4.91.9/5 The Mindy Project 3.6

0.3/1 0.90.5/2 Hart of Dixie

0.5/1 1.21.3

0.4/1 1.10.2/1 Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

0.2/1 0.5 S0.5

0.2/0 0.5

WED8:008:309:009:3010:0010:30

3.3/9 9.42.4/8 The Middle 7.92.0/6 The Neighbors 6.44.8/13 Modern Family 12.14.9/13 Modern Family S 12.33.0/8 Nashville

2.8/8 8.9 D9.5

2.5/7 8.3

2.8/8 10.72.6/8 Survivor: Philippines

2.8/8 9.89.5

3.0/8 10.23.1/8 Criminal Minds

3.0/8 11.511.6

3.0/8 11.42.6/7 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

2.6/7 10.710.8

2.6/7 10.6

1.7/5 5.61.1/3 Animal Practice 3.81.4/4 Guys With Kids 4.21.6/4 Law & Order: SVU

1.8/5 6.25.9

1.9/5 6.62.0/5 Chicago Fire

1.9/5 6.6 D6.7

1.9/5 6.5

3.5/10 9.63.0/10

The X Factor3.5/10 9.6

8.93.6/10 10.03.7/10 10.03.6/9 9.4

1.2/3 3.31.3/4 Arrow

1.3/4 4.1 D4.1

1.4/4 4.21.0/3 Supernatural

1.0/3 2.52.6

1.0/3 2.5

THU8:008:309:009:3010:0010:30

1.5/4 6.61.6/5 Last Resort

1.6/5 6.97.0

1.6/4 6.8n/a

2012 Vice Presidential Debate n/a n/a S

n/an/a n/an/a n/a1.4/4 Vote 2012 Debate Analysis S 6.1

3.3/9 10.74.5/13 The Big Bang Theory 14.23.5/10 Two and a Half Men 11.4n/a

2012 Vice Presidential Debate n/a n/a S

n/an/a n/an/a n/a1.6/4 Campaign 2012 Debate Analysis S 5.9

1.4/4 4.21.3/4 30 Rock 3.41.1/3 Up All Night 2.9n/a

2012 Vice Presidential Debate n/a n/a S

n/an/a n/an/a n/a2.0/5 Decision 2012 Debate Analysis S 6.7

2.8/8 8.02.6/8 The X Factor

2.9/8 8.47.8

3.1/8 9.1n/a

2012 Vice Presidential Debate n/a n/a S

n/an/a n/an/a n/a1.5/4 Fox News Debate Analysis S 4.1

1.4/4 3.01.5/5 The Vampire Diaries

1.6/5 3.23.2

1.7/4 3.21.2/3 Beauty & the Beast

1.2/3 2.8 D2.9

1.2/3 2.7

FRI8:008:309:009:3010:0010:30

1.5/5 5.31.7/6 Shark Tank

1.8/6 6.56.4

1.9/6 6.61.4/4 Primetime: What Would You Do?

1.4/4 4.64.7

1.4/4 4.51.4/4 20/20

1.4/4 4.74.9

1.3/4 4.5

1.3/4 9.21.1/4 NCIS

1.1/4 7.5 R S7.3

1.1/4 7.71.4/4 CSI: NY

1.4/4 9.59.4

1.4/4 9.61.4/4 Blue Bloods

1.4/5 10.510.4

1.4/5 10.7

1.3/4 4.41.0/4 The Voice

1.1/4 3.4 R S3.2

1.1/4 3.61.5/5 Grimm

1.6/5 5.05.0

1.6/5 5.11.3/4 Dateline

1.3/4 4.74.5

1.3/4 4.9

0.9/3 2.50.8/3 The X Factor

0.8/3 2.4 R S2.4

0.8/3 2.41.0/3 Fringe

1.0/3 2.62.7

1.0/3 2.6

0.5/2 1.70.6/2 Arrow

0.6/2 2.1 R S2.0

0.6/2 2.10.4/1 Beauty & the Beast

0.4/1 1.4 R S1.5

0.4/1 1.4

chart0.0/00 Program Name 00.0

18-49 Rating/Share Title of Show Millions of Viewers

R=Repeat D=Debut S=Special Winner of time period

SUN7:007:308:008:309:009:3010:0010:30

2.2/5 7.11.1/3 America’s Funniest Home Videos

1.4/4 5.84.8

1.7/5 6.73.0/8 Once Upon a Time

3.0/8 9.49.2

3.1/7 9.72.8/6 Revenge

2.6/6 8.38.6

2.5/6 7.91.6/4 666 Park Avenue

1.5/4 4.85.0

1.4/4 4.6

2.1/5 10.11.9/5 60 Minutes

2.0/6 11.610.6

2.2/6 12.62.7/7 The Amazing Race

2.6/7 9.19.5

2.5/6 8.81.7/4 The Good Wife

1.7/4 9.18.9

1.6/4 9.32.1/5 The Mentalist

2.1/5 10.710.9

2.0/5 10.6

6.6/17 17.2n/a Football Night in America Part 1 n/a2.3/7 Football Night in America Part 2 6.34.6/13 Football Night in America Part 3 12.17.5/19

Sunday Night Football:Green Bay Packersat Houston Texans 7.7/19 19.9

20.27.8/19 20.98.1/19 21.37.8/19 19.47.7/19 19.0

3.1/8 9.27.7/23 NFL on Fox 20.54.4/13 The OT 11.02.4/7

National LeagueChampionship Series Game 1:St. Louis Cardinalsat San Francisco Giants 2.1/5 6.8 S

7.42.2/5 7.02.1/5 6.72.0/5 6.72.0/5 6.92.0/5 6.5

NO PROGRAMMING

WK. AVG.SSN. TO DATE

2.0/6 8.02.3/7 8.6

2.1/6 9.72.6/7 11.0

2.9/8 8.13.0/9 8.4

2.1/6 6.12.5/7 6.5

0.8/2 2.00.5/1 1.3