Knowing how to wrap up a beloved series is a tricky thing.  It rarely lives up to expectations.  I love Hacks, but felt the final season kinda limped along without the fervor of previous years.  That said, I did find the last episode touching and fitting.  It inspired me to revisit the series’ original pilot.  That’s when I realized how PERFECT the finale was.  A work of genius.  While I don’t love how they got there, they pulled it off.  Bravo!

Speaking of Hacks, it was only at the end of the run that Paul W. Downs showed off virtually every inch of his beautiful body on the show.  We ogled his physical perfection, and wondered why he hadn’t been flaunting it forever.  He heard our cries – or, more likely, decided that with Hacks in the rearview mirror, he could distract us.  What other reason could there be for him to recreate Marky Mark’s iconic Calvin Klein undies photo shoot for Paper?  While he doesn’t seem to possess Wahlberg’s “largess”, he certainly makes up for it with his tight and toned torso – surely wasted on a straight guy.  He even indulged in a number of shots with his Hacks cohort, Meg Stalter, taking up where Kate Moss left off.  The sizzling snaps can be seen on BillyMasters.com.

In case you wanted even more of the Hacks hunk, Downs mounted the stage of the Las Culturistas Culture Awards on Bravo.  He accepted The Shrek Award for Top Thing We Want to Do to That Green Guy – in full Shrek regalia, including the little brown vest and green body paint.  While in character, he didn’t rule out using a double-headed dildo (filing that away for future reference).  You can see the entire bit on our website.

The scene-stealing Stalter is poised to make her Broadway debut in Oh, Mary.  Could it be that, like Maya Rudolph, she will prove that a woman can actually play the role of Mary Todd Lincoln and do well at the box office?  We’ll find out when she debuts on July 6^th.  She’s scheduled to stay with the show until September 12^th.

If there’s a show that works with stunt casting, it’s Jesus Christ Superstar.  You’d think it couldn’t get more stunty than last summer’s Hollywood Bowl production with Cynthia Erivo and Adam Lambert.  But let me tell you about a production that already played Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre in London.  After winning all sorts of awards, it just transferred to the London Palladium, where it will play until September 5^th.  And, kinda like Chicago on Broadway, there will be a rash of rotating Herods – most notably Jesse Tyler Ferguson (June 20 – July 11) and Boy George (August 3-15).  Due to demand, the production will then transfer to the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in the fall and feature a few fantastic fellas in the role.  Even more intriguing are Matt Bomer (October 16-31), Bob the Drag Queen (November 16-21), and Michael Ball (November 23 – December 5).  Praise the Lord!