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The group over at Rifftrax did their second live show last night (12/16/09), and while I once again was nowhere near the actual taping, I did attend the live showing via my local theater and Fathom Events.

For those unfamiliar, Rifftrax is one of the two groups who formerly worked on the cult classic television series Mystery Science Theater 3000, and have continued the tradition of creating hilarious riffs over terrible movies. The group consists of former MST3k head-writer/the guy that played “the human” Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy (aka the voice Tom Servo) and Bill Corbett (aka the voice of Crow T. Robot during the Sci-Fi Channel Years). This time around they even had special guest “Weird Al” Yankovic as a special guest riffer for part of the show.

This second live performance, titled “Rifftrax Live! Christmas Shorts-Stravaganza!” featured a collection of… … Review: Rifftrax Live!

Joystiq brought our attention to Livejournal user Kiyo Shimitsu. This merciful soul is currently translating clips from an all-female Japanese theater troupes performance of Gyakuten Saiban: Yomigaeru Shinjitsu, an episodic musical based on everyone’s favorite Ace Attorney, Phoenix Wright.

A clip of this masterpiece may be seen below. Be sure to visit Kiyo Shimitsu’s LJ often as it seems he’ll be compiling a DVD of the entire run of the play to sell. Bless you, Kiyo Shimitsu.

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Press is swirling about a singer, songwriter named Elizabeth Cook being cast as Joni Twitty in a musical about the life of Conway Twitty. That’s all well and good, but who forgot to send out the press release that there was going to be a Conway Twitty musical?

For those of you not familiar with Conway Twitty, he was a legend in country music and was 10 times cooler than you. Clips of his performances on Hee Haw have recently made a resurgence on Family Guy.

Conway Twitty: The Man, The Music, The Legend, The Musical is playing in casinos right now and will hopefully make a stop in your area if you’re lucky. For more information, click it.

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iO9 reports that Sweeny Todd’s Jamie Campbell Bower is being considered for the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Julie Taymor’s Spider-Man, Turn off the Dark musical. Aside from his role in Sweeney, the 19-year old actor also appeared in Rocknrolla, Oorlogswinter, and will be seen in the forthcoming television miniseries The Prisoner.

Evan Rachel Wood has already signed on to star as Mary Jane in the production. It is scheduled to open on Broadway in 2010.

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Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark, the long-awaited Spider-Man Broadway musical from director Julie Taymor, will open on February 18, 2010 at Broadway’s Hilton Theatre, 213 West 42nd Street. Although official casting information has yet to be released, actress Evan Rachel Wood has said on multiple occasions that she is “definitely” playing Mary Jane in the show. Marvel mentioned in a press release issued today that we should expect a casting announcement in regards to the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man soon.

Advance tickets may be purchased in June, 2009 via SpiderManonBroadway.com. If you’re interested in more information about those working behind-the-scenes visit the source link to read Marvel’s press release in its entirety.

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Cryptacize’s Chris Cohen and Nedelle Torrisi are performing in a new “rock’n’roll musical” called In The Yard, Havin’ Fun: A Prison Musical. The Nicholas Krgovich (No Kids) produced show focuses on three convicts are their attempts to break out of prison. Something tells me this will be a bit less contrived than Fox’s Prison Break.

In The Yard, Havin’ Fun will premiere at the Push Festival in Vancouver this Thursday and Friday. Please visit the official website for more details. Also, be sure to pick up Cryptacize’s Mythomania when it releases on April 21.

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Julie Taymor’s Spider Man: The Musical finally has found its Mary Jane. Actress Evan Rachel Wood, no stranger to musicals after her turn as Jude in Across The Universe, another Taymor project, mentioned in an interview with IESB.COM that she’s signed on to fill the role.

The coveted role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man has yet to be filled many hope Wood’s Across The Universe co-star Jim Sturgess takes it on. Rehearsals for the show will reportedly begin in 2009 with hopes of debuting on Broadway the following year.

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Hugh Jackman, People Magazine and Insulinfunk’s Sexiest Man of 2008, is set to star as Harry Houdini in a Broadway music based on the late magician’s life. Danny Elfman will compose the music for the production so it is sure to be both whimsical and frantic.

The folks behind the production hope to have this on stages by 2010.

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