Lewis co-wrote, directed and starred in the original 1963 film version, and he will direct the Broadway performance, though he will not appear onstage. In the original film, Lewis played Julius Kelp, a professor who invented a love potion.

In the musical, Kelp will be played by actor Michael Andrew. Lewis said it was Andrew that brought the project to him originally in 2005.

The show has an opening scheduled for November 15, and will have music by Marvin Hamlisch, known for his work on “A Chorus Line” and “They’re Playing Our Song.” The book for the musical is by Rupert Holmes, who worked on “Curtains” and “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” and the choreography is by Kathleen Marshall, recently known for her work on revivals of “Anything Goes” and “The Pajama Game.”

Eddie Murphy starred in a 1996 remake of the original movie and a 2000 sequel, “Nutty Professor II: The Klumps.” Lewis served as executive producer for both films, and also executive produced a 2008 animated remake. In animated version, Lewis reprised his role as Kelp.

The birthday celebration for Lewis was sponsored by the Friar’s club and the 92^nd Street Y, and featured Lewis talking onstage with comedian and actor Richard Belzer, known for his work on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” After the conversation between the two, Lewis answered questions from the audience.

During the celebration, Lewis paid tribute to comedians who inspired him, including Charlie Chaplain, Stan Laurel, Harry Ritz and Milton Berle. He also said that the best comedians working today are Robin Williams, Billy Crystal and Chris Rock, among others.

The autobiographical show, “Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth—Live on Stage,” will run April 13-18 at the MGM Grand, and Tyson says he wants to take the show on tour after the final performance in Vegas and conclude the run on Broadway.

Randy Johnson, creator of “Elvis the Concert” and “One Night With Janis Joplin,” will direct the show. Johnson is also the co-writer of the production along with Tyson’s wife, Kiki.

Since retiring in 2006, Tyson has played himself in the popular film “The Hangover,” as well as “Tyson,” a 2009 documentary about his life by James Toback.

Johnson recently told the Los Angeles Times that he did not see “Tyson” and instead focused on creating a new story from hours spent talking to Tyson. The one-man show also will feature written questions from the audience. Johnson also said the majority of the show will be a monologue along the lines of Carrie Fisher’s “Wishful Drinking” and William Shatner’s “Shatner’s World: We All Just Live In It.”

As for future touring plans, none are set in stone yet, though Johnson said in the same interview with the L.A. Times that after the show runs, “we’ll review what happened, look at the next steps, and move forward. The hopes for this are to tour the world—the fan base is staggering.”

Tyson’s most recent entertainment appearances have been an appearance on Comedy Central’s roast of Charlie Sheen and on an Animal Planet show based on his childhood passion of raising pigeons.

The MGM Grand already has played a fairly prominent role in Tyson’s boxing career. It was at the venue during a comeback attempt in 1997 that Tyson bit off a piece of opponent Evander Holyfield’s ear.

Though Daisey claims that his show is theater and not journalism, he has been accused of misleading many news and entertainment outlets by portraying the monologue as true. News outlets that reported on the show include the Associated Press, the New York Times and MSNBC. But the most backlash the author has received is from the performance of a portion of the monologue on the popular Public Radio International show “This American Life.” The show aired Daisey’s report of working conditions during his visit to China’s Foxconn Technology Group, which makes Apple products like iPads and iPhones, among many other devices.

“This American Life” has since retracted the broadcast, which originally aired January 6 and received considerable media attention and put Apple’s labor practices under scrutiny. Daisey responded that he regretted allowing the program to air his story.

“What I do is not journalism,” he wrote on his website. “The tools of the theater are not the same as the tools of journalism. For this reason, I regret that I allowed THIS AMERICAN LIFE to air an excerpt from my monologue. THIS AMERICAN LIFE is essentially a journalistic, not a theatrical, enterprise, and as such it operates under a different set of rules and expectations. But this is my only regret.”

Before its final performance, the monologue was performed at The Public Theater, and that venues artistic director, Oskar Eustis, spoke to CBS News about the performance, and why parts of it were eliminated from the final show.

“We do not and cannot fact check our artists; we’re a theater, not a news organization,” he said. “The vast majority of what occurs on our stages is fiction. If we didn’t believe fiction could reveal truth, we would have to give up our profession. With that said, it obviously matters a great deal to me that our audience understands what they are seeing.”

In an interview with “This American Life” host Ira Glass, Daisey admitted he guessed the ages of some workers he met and fabricated stories of meeting workers that had been poisoned by chemicals used in the factory. The final performance received a standing ovation from the audience.

Billy (J.P. Viernes) was just your normal boy; taking boxing lessons, messing about with his pals, but it was clear from the early goings that his talents lay elsewhere. As he hangs back from boxing practice one day, he gets roped into participating in the girl’s ballet class. Though awkward at first, the dance just comes naturally to him like a fish taking to water. Being the son of a tough, grizzled miner I’d imagine he probably wishes that talent didn’t slither so easily out of him. So Billy starts skipping boxing lessons to take ballet on the sly. Of course it’s not long before word of his son’s pirouetting ways makes its way back to dad (Rich Hebert) and, talent be damned, dad’s going to put a stop to this puff nonsense.

Billy Elliot debuted to much acclaim and fanfare on the West End in 2005 then made its way across the pond, anchoring on Broadway in 2008. It won four Oliver Awards, ten Tonys and an equal amount of Drama Desk Awards. It has branched out to international locales and spawned two national touring companies. This is an English import so the accents are ever present so be prepared to adjust your ears. Also just because Elton John is handling the music doesn’t mean you are going to hear “Rocket Man” and “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.” This isn’t Mamma Mia so come into this with your expectations set properly.

On the surface, Billy Elliot is basically Broadway meets the ballet. The acting and choreography are very solid throughout. It’s impressive a boy so young is so accomplished in ballet. We get carried on this unlikely journey, pining for this dream that looks like it’s going to get snuffed out at every turn. We become invested in this dream and watching Billy dance his way to it. One of the surprising things about this musical was how funny it was. Billy’s friend Michael (Cameron Clifford) is a budding cross dresser and is an absolute riot whenever he is on the stage. Billy better watch it. Michael just might steal the show from him.

Mrs. Wilkinson (Leah Hocking) is also a real gem as Billy’s ballet teacher. She is a spark plug who fights for Billy against his father and anyone who would get in the way of the young boy’s dream. She also serves as a mother figure for him as Billy’s mother has died in the years prior.

I have to say the most interesting part of this story in my mind was the town. This decaying mining town was desperately holding onto how life had always been and fighting the inevitable change that stared them down at every turn. It hits home given the state of our weak economy and the failing cities dotting the rust belt. Billy’s dream gives them a strange hope and vitality that you wouldn’t think to connect with a community of macho men. Creative license no doubt but its a nice touch all the same.

Overall, Billy Elliot was quite enjoyable. I can say it is definitely targeted to the gay male demographic as well as women but anyone who enjoys musicals and can at least tolerate the ballet should be in good company here. It is a musical that is long on heart as well as time, clocking in at just under three hours. A few of the musical numbers could have been trimmed without degrading the story. For those looking to bring younger kids, the language is on the PG side of things and possibly even more restrictive depending on your particular slant so be aware. Otherwise enjoy this tale of a boy chasing this unlikely dream as Billy Elliot plays Atlanta’s Fox Theatre through Sunday, March 18. Tickets are currently available through Broadway Across America.

Universal Pictures Stage Productions will present the production, and it was announced that Casey Nicholaw, a Tony Award winner for “The Book of Mormon,” will direct. Michael Mitnick will write the book.

The production company announced it was working with partners Jeffrey Richards and Jerry Frankel as producers. The two currently have “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess” and “Gore Vidal’s The Best Man” on Broadway. James L. Nederlander, president of the Nederlander Organization that produces the current hit “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” also will act as producer. National Lampoon founding publisher, Matty Simmons, will serve as executive producer of the project.

As of yet, no casting information has been announced for either Belushi’s Bruto Blutarsky or any of his cohorts like Otter, Boon, Pinto or D-Day. All were members of the Delta Tau Chi fraternity in the 1978 film, and had to save the fraternity from being removed from campus. Belushi’s Blutarsky was known for being in his seventh year of college and having a grade point average of 0.0

No dates have yet been set for the production.

Barenaked Ladies have become known for their quirky rock songs, and have had hits with tunes like “One Week,” “If I Had a $1000000,” “The Old Apartment” and “Brian Wilson.” The also are known for writing the theme song to the successful CBS sitcom “The Big Bang.” The band released their most recent studio album, All in Good Time, in 2009, and released a greatest hits record called Hits from Yesterday & the Day Before last year.

Casey Nicholaw, the Tony Award winning director and choreography of “The Book of Mormon,” will stage the musical, which features a girl who makes friends with a family that became immortal by drinking from a spring that flows from a tree. As the play’s authors put it:

“Good girl Winnie Foster’s world has been safely contained behind the picket fence that surrounds the house she shares with her mother and grandmother. Yearning to break free, Winnie runs deep into the woods behind their house where she discovers the Tuck family and the secret they’ve been keeping. That secret sets Winnie and the Tucks out on an adventure that will test what they believe and challenge them to truly be alive, now and forever.”

The production includes a score by Chris Miller and Nathan Tysen, who worked together on “Burnt Park Boys.” The book is written by Claudia Shear, who was nominated for a Tony for her work on “Dirty Blonde.”

The production team includes Broadway Across America, Howard Kagan and Barry Brown. Though casting has not been announced, a December reading featured Carolee Carmello, Michael Park, Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Rozi Baker, Fred Applegate, Marylouise Burke, Bob Fitch, Matt Shingledecker, Michael Wartella and Valerie Wright.

“Tuck Everlasting” has been adapted into two films. The first was in 1981, and Disney produced a 2002 version that starred Gilmore Girl Alexis Bledel along with Jonathan Jackson, Ben Kingsley and Sissy Spacek. The book has sold over two million copies, and was selected as an ALA Notable Book. It also received the Janusz Korczak Medal and the 1976 Christopher Award for Best Book for Young People.

“Love Never Dies,” also composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, was recently performed in Melbourne, Australia, and a film of that production is now set to be released.

The history of “Love Never Dies” already is quite complex. An original London production was mostly panned by critics, and Webber, saying the London production “didn’t work,” reworked the play for the Australian performance. The theatrical release – a filmed version of the Australian performance – is part of a promotional push to interest investors in a future Broadway transfer. The film is set to show in about 600 theaters.

Speaking to the Los Angeles Times, Webber said that he is not concerned the theatrical release will have the opposite of its intended effect and erode interest in a Broadway production of “Love Never Dies.”

“It’s the other way around,” he told the paper. “I have the luck of having ‘War Horse’ run at one of my theaters in London. And we’ve seen attendance rise since the movie came out.” War Horse plays at West End’s New London Theatre.

In other “Phantom” news, Webber also told the Los Angeles Times that a new DVD release of the musical will mark its 25^th anniversary, and that a company in Plymouth, England is working on a new revival.

“One has to remember with musicals, there clearly comes a time when you do need to rethink them,” he said. “But nothing would ever completely equal the original ‘Phantom.’”

The Broadway production of “Phantom” opened in January 1988, and is now the longest running show in the history of Broadway. The show is still extremely successful, and last year marked its best year yet as it grossed $44.8 million.

The lawyers claim the conspiracy was developed by co-writer Glen Berger and set designer George Tyspin, and that the two then reached out to producers Michael Cohl and Jeremiah Harris, along with U2 members Bono and the Edge, who wrote the score for the production. One email claims that Bono appeared at a production meeting too drunk to contribute useful ideas.

The move is the latest in an ongoing legal battle, the origins of which came when Taymor was fired from the production last March. Taymor filed the first lawsuit in November of last year, claiming that she was an integral part of the team that created the production, and therefore deserved a portion of the successful show’s profits.

A countersuit was filed by the show’s producers this January, claiming that Taymor failed to complete her contract obligations. That suit claims the current version of the show is significantly different  from Taymor’s original.

The newly filed papers claim that producers and other members of the creative team created “Plan X” to make changes to the musical without Taymor’s knowledge. The papers claim that producers “never offered Taymor a chance to implement Plan X and never offered her a shutdown to make other changes” to the show.

The emails concerning Bono have already caused a particular stir. According to the New York Times, an email by Berger alleges that during a late night meeting with Taymor and Cohl, Bono “showed up in our room with Christy Turlington and a couple other supermodels, and he had already had a few beers, rendering him useless.”

The play, by Pulitzer Prize finalist and Peabody Award winner Theresa Rebeck, is described thusly: “Four aspiring young novelists sign up for private writing classes with Leonard, an international literary figure. Under his recklessly brilliant and unorthodox instruction, some thrive and others flounder, alliances are made and broken, sex is used as a weapon and hearts are unmoored. The wordplay is not the only thing that turns vicious as innocence collides with experience in this provocative new comedy.”

Sam Gold directs the production, which is held at the Golden Theatre. Performances began on October 27. The cast is comprised of five actors, and more casting changes are expected to be announced soon.

Long has appeared in multiple films and television shows, and got his start as a member of Laughingstock, the comedy troupe of Vassar College. In addition to “He’s Just Not That Into You,” he has appeared in “Waiting,” “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story,” “Galaxy Quest,” “Jeepers Creepers/” “Live Free or Die Hard,” “The Break Up” and “Youth in Revolt.” On the television side, he has been seen in NBC’s “Ed” and most recently making an appearance alongside Zooey Deschanel on Fox’s series “New Girl.”

Additionally, Long starred in a long-running series of Apple computer commercials for the “Get a Mac” campaign. He played “a Mac” to John Hodgman’s “PC.” Though he hasn’t appeared on Broadway, he has spent three summers at Williamstown Theatre Festival.

Broadway.com reports the story of the upcoming musical:

“Set in the present day on the inner-city streets of a Midwestern industrial city, the musical tells the story of two childhood friends (John and Vertus) and their extended families as they struggle to reconcile the challenges and realities of their daily lives with their hopes, dreams and ambitions.”

Kenny Leon will direct the production, and previously has held small workshops with Shakur’s mother, Afeni Shakur. He also spoke in a PBS interview of his desire to work on a production based on the rapper’s discography.

“The idea was always to make a musical inspired by his music and not to do an autobiographical approach to his life or anything like that,” Leon said in the interview. “And because I always thought that Tupac was a prophet and I thought if everybody could hear his words and hear his stories, they would see what I see.

“Todd [Kriedler] is writing the book,” he continued, “and with the lyrics by Tupac, it’s going to be very exciting, pretty much would change the face of musical theater as we know it on Broadway, so I am looking forward to that.”

Tupac was gunned down in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996 at the age of 25, and died six days after the incident of respiratory failure and cardiac arrest at University Medical Center. The murder has yet to be solved. He has sold more than 75 million albums around the world. He released six studio albums throughout his lifetime, and more have been released posthumously, many comprised of unreleased recordings of the prolific artist.