News from 1996

December 26, 1996 --
During his appearance on the Letterman show, Nathan Lane announced that he will be hosting Saturday Night Live after leaving Forum in February. He also mentioned that his co-star in The Mousehunt will be British comedian Lee Evans who made his big screen debut in 1995 in Funny Bones with Oliver Platt and Jerry Lewis.

December 19, 1996 --
The nominees for the 1996 Golden Globe awards were announced today. Nathan Lane has been nominated in the category of Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy Film for his role as Albert in The Birdcage . The film has also been nominated in the category of Best Musical or Comedy film. Congratulations to Nathan and Mike Nichols (and all others involved in the making of The Birdcage).

November 17, 1996 ---
Nathan Lane hosted a gala tribute in honor of Angela Lansbury. The event raised over $1 million for AMFAR.
I was lucky enough to attend and thoroughly enjoyed it. This was my first exposure to some of the music and to some of the performers. Nathan did a fine job hosting, though he had little stage time and didn't sing at all.
Some of the performances absolutely shook the walls of the Majestic Theatre and Ms. Lansbury was stunning. Read the full report by John Gillespie who knows of what he speaks!

November 18, 1996 ---
Nathan and other stage stars gathered for All the World's a Stage at Carnegie Hall. Read Lori Yamato's first person account of the event.

October 9, 1996 ---
It was announced after the matinee performance of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum that actress/comedienne Whoopi Goldberg will replace Nathan Lane after his contract with the Forum is up in February. Ms. Goldberg has signed a contract for a 4-month run beginning February 11, 1997 and, with the present cast, is currently rehearsing her role as Pseudolus. She will play the role as written - as a man.

September 9, 1996 ---
The news of an upcoming project for Nathan Lane came today, following a week's rest from the grueling schedule of performing eight shows a week in "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" (No, I haven't gone yet; yes, I'm dying to go). The Nathan has signed on to star in "Mousehunt" for DreamWorks SKG.

Plot: "Two brothers who inherit a run-down country house from their stingy father -- only to discover that their new abode is actually a historic mansion worth a king's ransom."

SOURCE: In a Tony Forum post, Vegas quoted The Hollywood Reporter who quoted Walter Parkes.

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