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North Dakotan will be Scarlett in GWTW musical
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Turnabout’s fair play
When famed producer David O. Selznick was making “Gone With the Wind” in 1939, he wound up casting the veddy British Vivien Leigh as Southern belle Scarlett O’Hara.
Now famed British director Trevor Nunn (“Cats,” “Les Miserables”) has reached across the pond to find his Scarlett for a musical version premiering in London on April 22. It’ll be Minot, N.D., native Jill Paice singing, dancing and fiddle-dee-dee-ing onstage at the New London Theater, Playbill and The Daily Mail report. Paice, 27, currently co-stars with Tony Award winner David Hyde Pierce in “Curtains” on Broadway (And Scarlett made a ball gown out of curtains, hmm … )
Sara Krulwich/NYT
David Hyde Pierce, left, Jill Paice and Joe Aaron Reid in “Curtains,” at the Al Hirschfeld Theater in New York
Paice couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday, but according to the show’s official Web site (www.gwtwthemusical.com), Scarlett “embarks on an incredible journey of romantic ecstasy and tragic grief spanning 10 years” in circa-1860s Atlanta. Spunk-wise, she seems to have nothing on Margaret Martin, the UCLA-educated Ph.D. (in public health!) who wrote the show’s book, music and lyrics.
“As a single mother, [Martin] identified closely with the challenges faced by ‘Gone With the Wind’s’ young protagonist, Scarlett O’Hara,” the Web site states. “She also felt the filmed adaptation left considerably more within Margaret Mitchell’s epic tale to be explored.”
Martin initially approached Mitchell estate reps with the idea for the musical, Atlanta lawyer Paul Anderson Jr. told the AJC earlier this year.
The Mitchell estate felt her enthusiasm and let her proceed, said Anderson Jr., who is part of the three-member committee that advises the estate on protecting and exercising the original book’s copyright. “And here we are.”
Well, not quite.
There’s still the matter of casting Rhett Butler. No word yet on who’ll play the charming blockade runner, but the same British theater Web site that tipped folks to Paice’s possible casting way back in October is saying Hugh Jackman ( “X-Men,” Nunn’s stunning stage revival of “Oklahoma”) is a possibility.
The Wolverine meets Scarlett O’Hara? Fiddle-dee-dee indeed!
CELEBRITY DOCKET
Atlanta rapper Yung Joc failed to show up at his arraignment in Cleveland Wednesday on a felony charge of carrying a concealed weapon and is considered a fugitive, a prosecutor said.
A judge issued an arrest warrant for the rapper, whose real name is Jasiel Robinson.
Robinson, 27, was accused of attempting to take a loaded gun onto a Delta Air Lines flight Sunday and was charged with carrying a concealed weapon. Cuyahoga County assistant prosecutor Gayle Williams said Robinson was considered a fugitive.
Robinson’s attorney, Stanley Jackson Jr., told the court Robinson had personal financial and family obligations. Jackson has said his client maintains his innocence.
Robinson was arrested early Sunday at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport at a security checkpoint as he was heading to a departing flight. Police said they found a semiautomatic handgun and ammunition in his carry-on bag.
He told police he didn’t know the weapon was there and was released Monday on $50,000 bond, authorities said.
Williams said the charge, carries a possible jail sentence of up to 18 months.
“He is alleged to have taken a loaded firearm with 20 rounds of ammunition into the airport. It is also alleged that some of the ammunition in his possession was armor piercing.”
On Wednesday, Municipal Judge Michael John Ryan doubled Robinson’s bail to $100,000.
WANTED: READER RESOLUTIONS
Buzz Central is still assembling our annual reader-driven New Year’s resolutions column for Jan 1. E-mail us your unique, creative resolution along with your full name, where you live, a daytime phone number and a photo if you’d like to buzz@ajc.com.
HIGH FIVE
Television
The top On Demand programs for the week of Dec. 10-16, 2007, as determined by Comcast customers in metro Atlanta:
1. “A Present for Santa,” Dora the Explorer, Nickelodeon,
2. “Harry Potter and the Order Of The Phoenix,” Warner Bros.
3. “South Park 150,” Comedy Central
4. “Soulja Girl” Soulja Boy music video, Music Choice
5. “Jungle Love,” “Family Guy,” TBS
Source: Rentrak’s OnDemand Essentials
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Guitarist Scotty Moore (Elvis Presley’s band) is 76. Actor John Amos (“Men In Trees,” “The West Wing”) is 68. ABC News correspondent Cokie Roberts is 64. Guitarist Mick Jones of Foreigner is 63. Actor Gerard Depardieu is 59. Actor Wilson Cruz (“My So-Called Life”) is 34. Actor Masi Oka (right) (“Heroes”) is 33. Actress Emilie de Ravin (“Lost”) is 26.
Contributing: Jill Vejnoska and news services.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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