Well, it's here — the announcement you've all been anticipating. The Outer Critics Circle Award nominations have been announced! What? You you've never heard of the Outer Critics Circle Awards? Well, that puts you in stead with everyone else in the world that doesn't follow New York theater closely. These awards could really use a good PR campaign.

Laurie Metcalf in November

To clarify the confusion, these are the Golden Globes of the New York theater. Just as the Golden Globes are predictive of and broader (movies and television) than the Oscars, these are predictive of and broader (Broadway and Off-Broadway) than the Tony Awards. But they really need a catchier name. If the Golden Globes were called the Hollywood Foreign Press Association Awards, I don't think so many stars would show up and get publicly drunk at the ceremony. 

Given that I do follow New York theater somewhat closely, I care about the Outer Critics Circle Awards. And one good thing about this year's awards is how well women are represented in non-acting categories. Half of the nominees for Outstanding Director of a Play and Outstanding Choreographer are women. Half. Compare that to, say, the Academy Awards where there appears to be an unwritten rule against nominating women for Outstanding Achievement in Direction.

And there are some amazing women nominated for the acting awards, though there are not, to the best of my knowledge, any lesbians nominated. (Cherry Jones, Cynthia Nixon and Sarah Paulson didn't do theater this year, and director Leigh Silverman was working too far off Broadway.) However, there is one nomination for a lesbian character! (I know, it's sad to get to excited about that, but I need to grasp on to something.)

Let's take a quick look at some of the highlights, shall we? (And by highlights, I mean categories in which I know enough to have an opinion.)  … continue reading

Tonight at 8:00, tune in to Fox for the 39th NAACP Image Awards telecast. This year, the theme is "Stand Up and Be Counted." According to the press release,

During this crucial election year, the NAACP encourages everyone to be socially conscious and take a stand on critical human and civil rights issues.

Wouldn't it be nice if every awards show encouraged such things? Susan Sarandon always gets played off when she tries to be political on the Oscars, and Kanye West was barely allowed to remember his mom on the Grammys this year.

Here are some of the nominees:

Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
CCH Pounder (The Shield)
Jennifer Beals (The L Word)
Nicki Micheaux (Lincoln Heights)
Regina Taylor (The Unit)
Wendy Davis (Army Wives)

Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series
America Ferrera (Ugly Betty)
Golden Brooks (Girlfriends)
Tia Mowry (The Game)
Tichina Arnold (Everybody Hates Chris)
Tracee Ellis Ross (Girlfriends)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Audra McDonald (Private Practice)
Chandra Wilson (Grey's Anatomy)
Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Without a Trace)
Pam Grier (The L Word)
S. Epatha Merkerson (Law & Order)

  … continue reading

Jenna Elfman (née Jennifer Mary Butala), best known as Dharma in Dharma and Greg, just joined the cast of the independent feature The Six Wives of Henry Lefay.

The movie began filming this week, so her addition to the cast was none too soon. Henry Lefay stars Tim Allen as the title character, an oft-married man who is reported dead. When his unmarried daughter (Elisha Cuthbert) comes home to bury him, she finds his current wife and five ex-wives battling about his burial, his will and, of course, his love. I'm sure hilarity ensues.

The whole "six wives" angle has a twist. Elfman's character, a "small-town diva," was both his second and fourth wife. (This really confused me when I first read about Elfman joining the cast. She was the final wife signed, but there were only four other wives listed, plus his daughter. I puzzled over this for quite some time until I reread the article. Then I felt stupid.) I'm assuming that the title is a play on Henry the VIII and his six wives (cue Jonathan Rhys Meyers shouting, "I'm the Kind of England!"), but I don't know whether this goes further than the title.

Jenna Elfman aside, there are still four other wives in the picture: … continue reading