We keep hearing about the Heated Rivalry cast members picking their follow-up projects with great care.  A horror film, a comedy, a short for a cellular company, etc.  But very little has been said about Francois Arnaud – at least when it comes to his professional life.  And then, the blockbuster announcement – he’ll be one of the leads in the Broadway revival of Richard Greenberg’s play Three Days of Rain.  And he’ll be in good company.  He’ll be joined by Yvonne Strahovski (from The Handmaid’s Tale) and David Corenswet – you know, from Superman.  By the way, Arnaud and Corenswet will both be making their Broadway debuts with this production.  The play has a pretty stellar lineage on the Great White Way.  The original 1997 cast included Patricia Clarkson, John Slattery and Bradley Whitford.  And the 2006 revival starred Julia Roberts, Paul Rudd and Bradley Cooper.  So, this revival (opening in February) is sizing up to be quite an event.

The aforementioned Bradley Whitford is also returning to the stage next year…in a revival of Aaron Sorkin’s A Few Good Men.  Before it was a blockbuster film, it was a play on Broadway in 1989.  Fun Fact – Whitford, who has a long history with Sorkin, made his Broadway debut in the original production as an understudy and eventually played the lead role.  In the upcoming revival, he’ll be assuming the role immortalized on film by Jack Nicholson.  Performances begin on October 8^th.

We interrupt this column to bring you a message from Miss Patti LuPone: “I am shocked.  The Atlantis cruise I am performing on next week has been banned from entering Turkey.  A ship – a magnificent ship – full of well-heeled gay men.  And me.  Denied entry to Turkey simply because of who is on board.  I am furious, but I am sailing, as the ship will make other ports of call.  I am ready to perform for all the wonderful men on this Atlantis cruise, who deserve so much better than this.”  Why, I am shocked!  Shocked that Patti didn’t use more colorful language, more capital letters, and more exclamation points!

Let me expound on LuPone’s statement, not that she needs any help from moi.  Atlantis’ Mediterranean cruise departed Athens on July 5th and will end up in Venice – or will it?  It had scheduled ports in the Turkish town of Kusadasi and Istanbul.  Hours before the ship left Athens, Turkish officials squashed the event, claiming the charter is filled with people “known for behaviors incompatible with the fabric of our society and our moral values”.  The authorities also shut down a gay nightclub in Istanbul (not Constantinople) that was promoting the cruise.  For their part, Atlantis scrambled and added stops in Cairo and Crete – which sounds more fun to me anyway.  It’s worth noting that the vessel for this venture is owned by Virgin Voyages and is called the Scarlet Lady.