Quick Takes: Mike Tyson on Broadway

Edward Albee. Terrence McNally. Horton Foote. Mike Tyson?

The ear-gnawing former heavyweight champion will bring his one-man show to Broadway’s Longacre Theater (which, yes, has staged all those playwrights’ work) for a limited engagement. And it will come courtesy of an unlikely director: Spike Lee.

“Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth” will premiere on July 31 for a six-night run on the Great White Way, producers announced Monday, with Lee working closely with Tyson to make the show Broadway-ready. The provocateur filmmaker will make his Broadway debut with the piece, which he will direct before moving on to helm his next project, a remake of the cult Asian hit “Oldboy,” in the fall.

Tyson debuted his show at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas this spring. The show recounts the embattled boxer’s triumphs but mostly focuses on his lows, including his alcoholic mother, his own battle with addiction and the domestic abuse and rape charges he faced.

—Steven Zeitchik

Paul McCartney celebrates 70th

Paul McCartney can still rock at 70. What more could a former Beatle want?

He celebrated his birthday in private Monday, perhaps resting up between gigantic gigs this summer. But he shows no sign of slowing down as his music is passed on to generations too young to have seen him in Wings, much less the Beatles.

Once a pot-smoking counterculture rebel, “Sir Paul” is very much part of the British establishment now, closing Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee concert earlier this month with a mix of favorites that included a raucous “All My Loving,” one of the Beatles’ first smash hits.

Now he’s preparing for a featured role as the final act at the July 27 opening ceremony of the London Olympics — just another global audience of a billion or more for one of the most popular performers in pop history.

—Associated Press

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FOR THE RECORD:
“August: Osage County”: A Quick Takes item in the June 19 Calendar section about George Clooney signing on to help produce the movie version of “August: Osage County” referred to playwright Tracy Letts writing the screen adaptation of “her play.” Letts is male.

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Clooney set to produce ‘August’

The movie version of “August: Osage County” already has a heavyweight pedigree in Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep, who are playing the two lead roles in Tracy Letts’ adaptation of her Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway drama.

Now the film’s credits are even glitzier. George Clooney has joined the project.

Clooney and producing partner Grant Heslov will help produce the film, which is being directed by John Wells and financed and distributed by the Weinstein Co. The A-list actor-filmmaker, who has a relationship with Wells dating back to their “ER” days, will be heavily involved offering creative input.

—Steven Zeitchik

‘Idol’ winner will return July 4

America will get to hear from its newest “American Idol,” Phillip Phillips, as he makes a comeback performance following kidney surgery at this year’s July Fourth celebration on the National Mall in Washington.

The 21-year-old from Leesburg, Ga., said he’s ready to perform after focusing on recovering from a serious kidney surgery since the “Idol” finale in May.

“I’m getting better each day, so that’s a good thing. I’m just walking around, getting my strength back together,” he said in an interview. “It was tough, you know, those first few days, but I’m getting to where I can pick the guitar back up and write a little bit.”

Phillips has revealed he was in crippling pain from a kidney blockage that made it hard to stand at times during parts of the “Idol” season and was undergoing a series of surgeries during breaks in the competition. His right kidney wasn’t functioning properly, he said, but it didn’t require a transplant.

—Associated Press

Tony wins pay off for shows

Tony Award-winning shows got a financial bounce last week on Broadway, with “Once,” “Newsies” and “One Man, Two Guvnors” among the biggest winners.

“Once,” which was named best musical, improved $110,019 over the week before, hauling in $955,362 for the week ending Sunday.

“One Man, Two Guvnors” pulled in $648,505 for the week ending Sunday, its best sales week yet and $68,396 more than last week. Its lead, James Corden, won the leading actor in a play Tony last Sunday.

“Newsies,” which earned Tonys for score and choreography, broke the house record at the Nederlander Theatre with a gross of $1,049,581, and an increase over the eight previous shows of $52,515.

—Associated Press

Finally

Osbourne ailing: Jack Osbourne, the former reality TV star and son of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, says he has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.