Tag Archives: Laura Linney

WATCH: The First Trailer for NETLIX's Tales of the City Revival. [Video]

WATCH: The First Trailer for NETFLIX’s Tales of the City Revival. [Video]

Netflix revival of “Tales of the City,” based on the books by prolific San Francisco writer Armistead Maupin dropped it’s first trailer today.

Based on “Maryann in Autumn” the 8th book in the Tales storyline:

Mary Ann Singleton returns to “present-day San Francisco, where she is reunited with her daughter Shawna and ex-husband Brian, twenty years after leaving them behind to pursue her career. Fleeing the midlife crisis that her picture-perfect Connecticut life created, Mary Ann is quickly drawn back into the orbit of Anna Madrigal, her chosen family and a new generation of queer young residents living at 28 Barbary Lane.”

The Original TotC aired in 1993, and Laura Linney who played Maryann returns — with her co-star from that production, Olympia Dukakis, as magical landlord Anna Madrigal — to the mythical house on Barbary Lane in which so many memories were made. 

You can watch the dropped trailer/teaser below.

I must admit being a fan of the original mini-series and the books. I got chills.

jkju
Netflix Orders 10 Episode Installment of Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City Book: Maryann in Autumn

Netflix Orders 10 Episode Installment of Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City Book: Maryann in Autumn

After all most a year in development Netflix has officially ordered a new 10-episode installment of “Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City,” book “Maryann in Autumn”.

The series follows Mary Ann, who returns home to San Francisco and is reunited with her daughter and ex-husband Brian, twenty years after leaving them behind to pursue her career. Fleeing the midlife crisis that her picture perfect Connecticut life created, Mary Ann returns home to her chosen family and will quickly be drawn back into the orbit of Anna Madrigal and the residents of 28 Barbary Lane.

Lauren Morelli, who previously worked as a writer and co-executive producer on the Netflix series “Orange Is the New Black,” will serve as writer, showrunner, and executive producer. Maupin will executive produce.

Laura Linney and Olympia Dukakis will reprise their roles as Mary Ann Singleton and Anna Madrigal respectively. In addition, Barbara Garrick, who played DeDe Halcyon Day in the original miniseries, is also set to return.

PBS carried the original six-part “Tales” miniseries in January 1994, which generated some controversy for its depiction of LGBT relationships. Showtime ran the subsequent miniseries, 1998’s “More Tales of the City” and 2001’s “Further Tales of the City.”

 

LGBT Pride Month Cinema – WATCH: Armistead Maupin’s "Tales Of The City" – Episode 6 – Book One

Its Christmas time on Barbary Lane and Mystery and Magic is in the air. Anna Madrigal has invited everyone to a little party she’s cooking up and no one wants to show up alone. Brian hits some old haunts and finds there are still skeletons there. Mona’s detective work has panned well, but gets a little suprise when she finally tracks down one of Dorthia’s parents. Beachaum Day has no idea that the patient that he is interupting with a call to the doctor is non-other than his wife Dee Dee. The doctor agrees to have lunch with Beachaum to break it off, and guess who their waiter is? Beachaum finally sees the truth about Dee Dee and the doctor sees the truth about Beachaum. A few blocks over, Mouse fianlly runs into Mona and scolds her for not keeping in touch. Mouse invites her to the Christmas party but Mona has a plan to follow through with. She shares her concerns about Dorthia’s possible drug problem with Mouse and promises to call Mrs. Madrigal. Creepy Norman pushes Mary Annes curiosity to the edge and it turns her into a Nancy Drew of Barbary Lane.

If you missed the other 5 Parts CLICK HERE and follow the links!

LGBT Pride Month Cinema – WATCH: Armistead Maupin’s "Tales Of The City" – Episode 5

We rejoin Tales as Brian cruises a diner. The waitress decides to take him up on his off but wants to take him out to Colma, cemetary land, to a trailer park non the less. Later, Mouse says goodbye to his parents after a tough visit. Then Mona goes to the Church of Justice and Peace in the Castro. Poppers welcome.  Creepy Norman is up to no good as usual. This time we find him snooping around for more information on Mrs. Madrigal. Meanwhile, Mona isn’t having the beautiful lesbian relationship she had imagined. Dee Dee also finds herself in a momentary relationship that leaves a bad taste in her mouth. Remember the blackmailer? Beachaum voices his protest against children once again completely oblivious to the truth

LGBT Pride Month Cinema – WATCH: Armistead Maupin’s "Tales Of The City" – Episode 4

So after the little incident at the End Up, Mouse heavy heartedly talks to Mary Anne about love and romance and the search for both, all the while Mrs. Madrigal sneaks Edgar Halcyon through the courtyard and into her bedroom! Early that day, Mary Anne met up with the creepy roof guy, Norman, to go see a matinee and meets a “little friend” of his named Lexi

LGBT Pride Month Cinema – WATCH: Armistead Maupin’s "Tales Of The City" – Episode 3

In Episode 3, we start out with Mary Anne getting a job at the Bay Area Crisis Switchboard, or the suiside hotline if you will, and after her first day of work, comes home to a little crisis waiting for her in the garden. The next day Mrs. Madrigal and Edgar Halcion grow closer and closer on a walk to the beach.

*Miss Part One – CLICK HERE
*Miss Part Two – CLICK HERE

RECAP

LGBT Pride Month Cinema – WATCH: Armistead Maupin’s "Tales Of The City" – Episode 2

In celebration of LGBT Pride Month Back2Stonewall.com will be posting one of all 6 Parts (Chapters) of Armistead Maupin. Tales of the City daily!

Miss Part 1?  CLICK HERE

“Tales Of The City” – Part 2
The residents of 28 Barbary Lane continue to explore and develop their relationships with each other and with new friends. Beauchamp and Mary Ann spend a weekend together that leads to unpleasant consequences afterwards. DeDe, suspicious of Beauchamp’s infidelity, seeks intimacy elsewhere. Brian pursues more sexual conquests while Michael meets Jon, a doctor he soon develops deeper feelings for. Meanwhile, Edgar, in a time of need, finds comfort in Mrs. Madrigal.

LGBT Pride Month Cinema – WATCH: Armistead Maupin’s "Tales Of The City" – Part 1

Armistead Maupin’s “Tales Of The City”

Tales of the City is a series of seven novels written by author Armistead Maupin. Tales of the City is also the name of the first book in the series. The first four books in the series were originally serialized in the San Francisco Chronicle while the fifth book was serialized in the San Francisco Examiner. In 1993 the first book was made into a television miniseries, Tales of the City, produced by Channel 4 in the UK and screened by PBS in the U.S. in 1994 to much controversy.  The second and third books in the series made their television debuts in 1998 and 2001 and was later picked up by Showtime.
In celebration of LGBT Pride Month Back2Stonewall.com will be posting one of all 6 Parts (Chapters) daily!
Enjoy!

“Tales Of The City” – Part 1

In the middle of the hippest city in America, residents of Barbary Lane in San Francisco are living the hi-ife to the fullest. Here you’ll find bohemian life at it’s best: men, woman, lovers, strangers, gay and straight, always there for each other with a quick laugh or some good ( but not always leagal) advice. Besides the delicious nights and horrific mornings-after, they all face suicidal millionairs, the threat of marriage, and notorious not-yet-exposed killers! Mary Anne Singleton has just left her smalltown life behind and decided to make it in the big city, SF, Ca. The only person she knows is Connie Bradshaw (Parker Posey) who also grew up in Cleavland, and there isn’t much that Connie would “rule out”.

Gay Christmas Is Here! The Tony Award Nominations Are Announced! – Liev Schreiber, Jude Law, Laura Linney OH MY!

Today was the day that Broadway’s supposed best was bestowed with Tony nominations, making this the most important morning of the year for everyone, everywhere. Who made out like a bandit? Who flopped bigger than Carrie, The Musical?

 Let’s take a look……

Musicals
No real surprises here. Well-reviewed new Green Day jukebox musical American Idiot got a nomination and will likely win, unless Tony voters decide to prove their multiculturalism by going with the sleeper hit Fela! For our money Idiot sounded and looked great but most of the themes felt like dated relics of the blessedly dead Dubya era. We haven’t seen the three other shows, so who knows! As far as revivals go, financial failure Finian’s Rainbow might be the one to beat, though the accolades for the just-opened British La Cages revival might cut it off at the feet. A Little Night Music will not win, we know that much.

Plays
In the new play category, this is probably a race between the august Brit production of Red, a Donmar Warehouse joint about the painter Mark Rothko featuring one of those towering Alfred Molina performances, and beloved Off-Broadway import Next Fall, a throwbacky New York play about New York gays. Fall might prove too small and retro to beat Red’s fartsy pedigree. The revivals category is also a two horse race, between Denzel’s Fences and Liev & Scarlett’s A View from the Bridge. Both were (or are, in Fences’ case) critical and box office successes, and both feature movie stars, whom Broadway loves to reward in the hopes that they’ll stay and do more plays and keep drumming up sales. Our money’s on Bridge, which had slightly more positive reviews

Actors
Denzel vs. Alfred! Liev Schreiber and Jude Law are probably just respect nods in the play category, just as Kelsey Grammer and Sean Hayes are in the musical. Douglas Hodge will almost assuredly win leading musical man, raved and bestowed with an Olivier as he was in London. But who knows! There was that wacky year when David Hyde Pierce won for the dreadful Curtains. We predict Alfred Molina taking it for the plays. As for the featured guys, it’s nice to see young fellow Bobby Steggert get a nod for his solid work in Ragtime (also probably given to him as an appreciation for the off-Broadway tuner Yank!, which looks to be getting a Broadway run next season — gay soldiers, singing!!), but he’s likely to get overshadowed by Finian’s Christopher Fitzgerald or Robin De Jesus from Cages. And we bet little English whippet Eddie Redmayne will win in the play category for his lauded work in Red.

Actresses
Scarlett Johansson is a Tony nominee. If she had been nominated for her decent work in Bridge without being joined by her far superior costar Jessica Hecht, that would be an outrage. But they’re both up there in the featured category, so fine. Again with the “hey celebrities, look how much we love you!” kind of nomination there. We actually think Hecht might win that category. For leads in a play it’s probably between Laura Linney for Time Stands Still — she could be the representative win for the whole show — and Viola Davis for Fences. Davis has a Tony (for another August Wilson play no less) and Linney doesn’t. That could make the difference. As for the singing/dancing ladies, it’s great to see the modest, unshowy work Christiane Noll did in Ragtime get a nod, though she’s overshadowed by Catherine Zeta-Jones’ scratch-singing in Night Music and Sherie Renee Scott’s almost-one-woman Everyday Rapture biographing. That award is Scott’s to lose. Featured wise, it’d be fun to see Come Fly Away’s limbs-akimbo Karine Plantadit dance away with the prize, but she might be overlooked in favor of two grand dames, Barbara Cook (Sondheim on Sondheim) and Angela Lansbury (terrific in Night Music). Lansbury pretty much always wins this thing when she’s nominated, so anyone else could have an uphill climb. Maybe she and Cook will split the old people vote and Plantadit will get to give some sort of wonderfully wacky acceptance speech. A boy (or girl) can dream.

Disappointments?
Obviously people over at The Addams Family are probably a little disappointed, if not surprised. Their abysmally reviewed show picked up a couple nominations here and there (including one for Andrew Lippa’s score), but neither Nathan Lane nor Bebe Neuwirth got a pat on the back for having to deal with the dreadful material for like another six months. It’s gonna be a long, cold summer.