Overheard (and Mostly Confirmed)

John C. Reilly as Stanley in Streetcar? He seems tailor-made for Mitch, in which role I had the great good fortune to see him at Steppenwolf in 1997, opposite Gary Sinise's Stanley and Laila Robins' Blanche (a performance, Reilly later told me, was among the best he'd ever had the opportunity to work off of--although, keep in mind, this was before he appeared in Anger Management). On the other hand, he was plenty virile and threatening in True West on Broadway in 2000--at least the night I saw it, he played Lee, opposite Philip Seymour Hoffman's Austin (they traded roles willy-nilly on different night, the showoffs). Anyhoo--the Roundabout has announced a production in April at New York's Studio 54 in which Reilly will play Stanley opposite Natasha Richardson's Blanche. That sounds pretty hot, actually...

John Landis to direct a film of Bat Boy? Yessiree, and I must say there's a kind of perfection in the match. The musical needs a broad touch to come off, and Landis is nothing if not large-scale in his ambitions--but there's not a trace of art-house pretense in him. He'll likely make a bloody, stupid, hilarious movie, in other words. As he told Variety: "It's an opportunity to do something insane." I'll drink blood to that...

Megan Mullally, invited to speak at an upcoming $100-a-plate roast for outgoing CTG artistic director Gordon Davidson, isn't quite sure what to say, since she's never worked with him. Wait, actually, yes she did--when Davidson made a stunt cameo on Will & Grace last year. His performance, she volunteered in a recent barside chat at the Evidence Room, "was definitely created in the editing." That sounds like a good start, Megan.