The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announced its 2011- 2012 theatre season March 8. The season will feature a Kennedy Center-produced revival of Rodgers and Hart’s Pal Joey, directed by Christopher Ashley and featuring a revised book by Terrence McNally; Sydney Theatre Company’s exclusive American premiere engagement of Uncle Vanya, adapted by Andrew Upton, directed by Tamás Ascher and starring Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving; the Mabou Mines production of Dollhouse, adapted by Lee Breuer and Maude Mitchell from Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House; the fifth season of Barbara Cook’s Spotlight series, featuring Broadway performers in an intimate cabaret setting; an all-star Stephen Sondheim concert celebration; and touring musical productions of Memphis, Les Misérables, Billy Elliot the Musical, La Cage aux Folles, Come Fly With Me and The Addams Family. More..

Charles Ross may have only watched The Lord of the Rings trilogy a dozen times, but he has performed the trio of films, in their entirety, at least a couple of hundred. It’s a feat that has to be seen to be believed but the Canadian impressionist has attempted to recreate over 40 different characters – their voices, their nuances and their mannerisms – as part of his One Man Lord of The Rings show. More..

I’ve seen Bilbo — in three dimensions. I was visiting old friends in the Stone Street offices and heard Martin Freeman was just round the corner by the permanent greenscreen, done up as Bilbo, testing his costume in front of the 3D cameras. Indeed, there he was in the open air, mostly oblivious to the camera, though turning this way and that as required. Martin improvised a hobbity gait, padding back and forth, testing his big hairy Hobbit feet, pointy ears and little tum. More..

Cricket Wellington boss Gavin Larsen believes the Basin Reserve could be sold out within the next 24 hours after “stunning” opening day sales for Sunday’s earthquake charity game featuring Shane Warne. The spectator-friendly ground has a capacity of 8000 and nearly half those tickets were snapped up for the Twenty20 game before Larsen went home last night.

“We’ve been blown away by the level of interest and I’d be very surprised if it wasn’t a sellout,” Larsen said. “The ground was recalibrated three years ago and the capacity is 8000, which I get the feeling we are going to reach a lot quicker than we thought.”

The big names continue to be unveiled by organiser Stephen Fleming. All Blacks Richie McCaw and Conrad Smith are the latest to lend their support, the pair confirmed as umpires for the match between the Canterbury Legends XI and Wellington Legends XI. Fleming said the All Blacks pair would rotate umpiring stints with actors Martin Freeman (Bilbo Baggins) and Mark Hadlow (Harry in King Kong)…British actor James Nesbitt has been attached to the Wellington lineup as coach, pitting him against Russell Crowe, who Fleming snapped up as Canterbury coach. More

Fans of Blu-ray have been waiting a long time for this day! TheOneRing.net is excited to help announce the pre-order for The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy Extended Edition Blu-ray! Following on the heels of the wildly successful Blu-ray premier of the Original Theatrical Trilogy comes the long awaited comprehensive Extended Edition Blu-ray Trilogy. Over 26 hours of Bonus Content including the rare Costa Botes documentaries that was never released before on the Extended Edition Trilogy. Nearly 5 hours of additional content. Each set includes the fan beloved Extended Editions of each film on Blu-ray plus a bonus Digital Copy of the film available online. Guess who already pre-ordered a few copies?!  [Click here]