Friday, July 31, 2009

Dawn Wells to Have Auction

Gina Wilhelm Actress - Dawn Wells to Have Auction

Dawn Wells, who played Mary Ann on the TV show "Gilligan's Island," is planning to hold an auction on Saturday of items from her Idaho home.

Wells, a native Idahoan, has kept a home near Driggs in Eastern Idaho. She lives in Palm Springs, CA.

Wells will sign autographs for anyone who buys an item at the auction.

Among the items for sale are a deouble-door refrigerator, a picture fram cutter from Denmark, and an antique Chinese rug.

She'll also be selling memorabilia from the annual Spud Fest Family Film and Television Festival.

Wells served as executive director of the festival.

Gina Wilhelm Actress

Monday, July 27, 2009

Actress Behind the Camera

Gina Wilhelm Actress - Actress Behind the Camera

Gina Lollobrigida was a diva both in her native Italy and in Hollywood in the 1950's and '60s.

Since then, she has been behind the camera, taking photographs of people around the world.

Her photos are now being shown in a career retrospective at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome.

Photos were shot in places like Morocco, Denver, New Delhi, and Hollywood. Her portrait of Paul Newman hangs near one of beggar children in India.

She has photos of Fidel Castro alongside pictures of Spanish flamenco dancers.

The exhibit hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, and Tuesday to Thursday; 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; closed Monday.

Gina Wilhelm Actress

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Cameron Diaz to be in "The Green Hornet?"

Gina Wilhelm Actress - Cameron Diaz to be in "The Green Hornet?"

Cameron Diaz is reportedly in talks to appear in the upcoming "Green Hornet" movie.

The film will star Seth Rogen and was written by Rogen and his writing partner Evan Goldberg.

Diaz would possibly play a love interest.

Nicolas Cage is also reportedly negotiating to appear in the film, possibly as a villain.

Gina Wilhelm Actress

Monday, July 20, 2009

Viola Davis Negotiating to "Eat, Pray, Love"

Gina Wilhelm Actress - Viola Davis Negotiating to "Eat, Pray, Love"

Viola Davis, Oscar nominee for "Doubt," is currently in negotiations to appear in the new Julia Roberts film "Eat, Pray, Love."

The movie stars Roberts and Richard Jenkins. Davis' scheduling is currently being worked out.

The film is an adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert's memoirs of a woman who goes on a journey of self-discovery after a terrible divorce.

Roberts will play the Gilbert character, while Davis would play her best friend, Delia.

Gina Wilhelm Actress

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Writing and Directing "Advice"

Gina Wilhelm Actress - Writing and Directing "Advice"

Vanessa Severo is a well-known actress in the Kansas City (KS) area. Now she's about to make her debut as a playwright and director.

Her new play, "Advice from a Spider" will debut at the Kansas City Fringe Festival.

She had originally envisioned the tale as a children's book. She wanted to write something like Grimm's stories that had a moral and could be gruesome.

The three-person one-act play has been rated PG by the festival.

The play stars Heidi Van, who worked with Severo last year on "The Coppelia Project," as the manipulative, menacing title character.

Severo plays a butterfly who has come to terms with death. A third player, Dan Hillaker, is a grasshopper wondering what his life purpose is.

He finds himself torn between the other two creatures, each mesmerizing in her own way.

Hillaker and Van helped form the dialogue of the piece. Severo said she rewrote the ending three time, and each ending was tragic.

The costuming is non-realistic. Severo isn't having her actors play as insects.

At the end, Severo says, she wants viewers to decide what it means.

“Advice From a Spider” premieres at 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Off Center Theatre at Crown Center and continues through July 26.

Gina Wilhelm Actress

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Tena Hopes to Work with Almodovar

Gina Wilhelm Actress - Tena Hopes to Work with Almodovar

Natalie Tena, who plays Tonks in the Harry Potter franchise of movies, is hoping to work with directors Pedro Almodovar and Julio Medem.

Tena has Spanish roots. She told AFP of her desire to work with the directors while speaking in Spanish.

Although she calls her role in the Potter movies small, she says the letters she receives from fans make her feel like a hero. She calls the films a "phenomenon."

The actress has played on stage, performing in "Othello."

Tena hopes her acting will take her around the world. Before her next birthday, she wants to go to Broadway.

Her acting role model is Helena Bonham Carter, who also appears in the Harry Potter movies.

Gina Wilhelm Actress

Friday, July 10, 2009

Utopia Limited Opens This Week

Gina Wilhelm Actress - Utopia Limited Opens This Week
Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society's production of "Utopia Limited" opens this week, July 10th, at Seattle's Bagley-Wright Theatre (home of Seattle Repertory Theatre).

The play runs through July 25. We show Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Saturdays at 2 pm.

Tickets can be purchased by calling 206-341-9612. You can also print out and mail or fax in the ticket form at the pattersong.org site.

Tickets range from $12-28 for Society members and $12-32 for the general public. Ticket office hours are Tuesday through Friday noon to 6 p.m.

Bagley Wright Theater is at the northwest corner of the Seattle Center at 155 Mercer Street. Directions and maps can be found at the Seattle Repertory Theatre website.

The Gilbert and Sullivan Society website also has a "short-attention span plot" for the play. The Seattle Rep has an even shorter summary of the story.

I play a pretty Utopian maiden.

This is one of the rarest plays in the G&S canon; the last time the Society produced it was in 1991. Who knows when you'll next get to see this rare gem?

Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society's plays are always the best show in town. Don't miss it!

Monday, July 6, 2009

Jane Merrow in Idaho

Gina Wilhelm Actress - Jane Merrow in Idaho

Jane Merrow has been acting for decades, having been on film and television. She finally returns to the stage.

Appearing as Emilia in Shakespeare's "Comedy of Errors" at the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, she's one of the only actors to come to the festival from movies and TV.

Merrow, who comes from a theatrical family, trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.

In 1968, she received a Golden Globe nomination for her work in "The Lion in Winter," which starred Peter O'Toole and Katharine Hepburn.

Several famous actors had their feature film premieres in that movie, including Nigel Terry, Timothy Dalton, and Anthony Hopkins.

She tells of her audition for the movie for Peter O'Toole, who hand picked the cast. During the audition, she read a scene from "Country Dance," in which she was appearing at the time, with O'Toole.

She said the show had been getting great reviews and she thought things were going well in the audition, but they were outdoors, and she had long hair that was blowing in her face.

Suddenly O'Toole said, "I don't believe a thing you're saying." Merrow says she froze.

"I thought, 'Oh, my God, I'm obviously never going to get this part.' They called me back the next day and I was suitably humbled by the great O'Toole."

At the end of "Comedy of Errors," Emilia, played by Merrow, has a touching reunion with her husband Egeon. Each has believed the other dead for decades.

Often this scene is lost amongst the screwball zaniness of the rest of the play, but in this production, it has the weight of a woman returning to her home on stage at long last.

Gina Wilhelm Actress

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Kate Reinders On Televsion

Gina Wilhelm Actress - Kate Reinders On Televsion

Kate Reinders, the 29-year-old actress from Spring Lake, MI, who played Glinda in "Wicked" on Broadway, is making the move to television.

She'll next be a regular on the Lifetime Network sitcom "Sherri," playing a girl behind the counter at a Quizno's-type sandwich shop.

The program stars "The View" co-host Sherri Shepherd and begins filming in New York in August with a live audience.

Reinders is excited about that prospect, feeling it's "The most theatrical way you can do television."

She has also had a recurring role on "Ugly Betty." Although she's been working in theater since she was a child and has been on Broadway since 2002, she really enjoys TV.

"It's the same camaraderie as theater, but it's different every day. Theater is a little bit different each day, but you are always singing the same songs, saying the same lines, day after day."

Gina Wilhelm Actress

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Handicapping the Emmys

Gina Wilhelm Actress - Handicapping the Emmys

It's getting close to Emmy nomination time, so the Los Angeles Times is picking who they expect to receive nominations. Today they look at lead comedy actress.

This year, Tom O'Neil expects all five of last year's nominees to return when nominations are announced on July 16.

Those nominees were Christina Applegate of "Samantha Who?", America Ferrera from "Ugly Betty," Julia Louis-Dreyfus from "The New Adventures of Old Christine," and Mary-Louise Parker of "Weeds."

Those are in addition to last year's winner, Tina Fey from "30 Rock."

However, this year there will be six nominees. Additionally, nominees will be chosen by a popular vote.

O'Neil thinks that means Amy Poehler of "Parks and Recreation" has a good chance, as she's immensely popular, even if her show isn't.

He also thinks Toni Collette of "The United States of Tara" may get the nomination, as shows and movies dealing with multiple personality disorder often are recognized by the academy.

This possibility was highlighted in an earlier post on this blog.

Finally, O'Neil says that there is a chance for 2005 winner Felicity Huffman of "Desperate Housewives" again this year, but points out that she wasn't nominated last year.

Gina Wilhelm Actress

Friday, July 3, 2009

Paula Robles Touched by Shen Yun

Gina Wilhelm Actress - Paula Robles Touched by Shen Yun

Shen Yun Performing Arts has been on a world tour. Currently the show, which highlights traditional Chinese dance, is making its way through Argentina.

On seeing the show, Argentinian actress and dancer Paula Robles said she loved the show.

She called the dancers' technique "classic," saying that the dancing "touches the heart."

She particularly liked a dance done with fans. "They seem very delicate, very beautiful."

"Above all that," Robles said, "what touched my heart was what was conveyed—the energy they have and the joy.”

Shen Yun Performing Arts will be in Buenos Aires until July 5 before traveling to Santiago, Chile, July 10-12. The show then returns to Cordoba, Argentina for three shows until July 18.

Gina Wilhelm Actress