27/09 Anne Hathaway dedicated to Service

WHO: Anne Hathaway — whose breakthrough performance in The Princess Diaries (2001) led to acclaimed roles in The Devil Wears Prada (2006) and her Oscar-nominated turn in Rachel Getting Married (2008) — dived into the deep end theatrically as the cross-dressing Viola in the New York Shakespeare Festival’s 2009 summer production of Twelfth Night. Future projects include Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass and the ensemble comedy Valentine’s Day, helmed by Garry Marshall.
WHAT: Service Nation, the first campaign of Massachusetts-based nonprofit Be the Change, aims at making service a core ideal in American society. Boasting 200-plus member groups of different stripes, Service Nation played a prominent role in drafting the 2009 Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which authorized the biggest expansion of national service in America since FDR’s Civilian Conservation Corps. Service Nation’s mission statement “envisions an America in which a commonly asked question is, ‘Where do you serve?’”
WHY: “I became involved when my friend Tobey Maguire reached out to me about being on the board,” Hathaway says. “I think service is important, and I really like how far-reaching Service Nation is — there are lots of opportunities to make a difference.”
WHAT’S NEXT: “I plan to focus my efforts on bringing awareness, fund-raising and, of course, being of service,” Hathaway says. For would-be volunteers, a newly redesigned website, servicenation.org, allows members to plan or attend events and connect with fellow volunteers.

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08/07 Critics hail Hathaway’s Twelfth Night performance

Oscar nominee Anne Hathaway has won high praise for her stint in a free New York production of William Shakespeare play Twelfth Night, with critics hailing the performance as “most wonderful” and “joyous”. The Devil Wears Prada actress makes her Shakespeare debut alongside Audra MCDonald, Julie White and Raul Esparza in the Public Theater play in Central Park, appearing in the gender-bending role of Viola, a girl who disguises herself as a man called Cesario. Twelfth Night officially opened at the Delacorte Theater on June 25 after a week of previews, and Hathaway’s performance has been noted as one of the highlights of the romantic comedy. Industry paper Daily Variety describes her stage outing as a “thoroughly winning and accomplished professional Shakespeare debut”, while the New York Daily News notes Hathaway brings “sweet charm and deep poignancy” to the part, and the New York Post calls it a “solid, committed performance”. But it’s not just Hollywood star Hathaway who’s garnering compliments for her role – the entire cast and crew’s efforts have been recognised by the Daily News as “one that’s not overly stylised, petrified or simply memorised”, calling the play “sublime” and quoting a line from the show, branding it “most wonderful”. Twelfth Night runs until July 12. Hathaway has previously starred in a New York theatre production of Carnival!, back in 2002, for which she received positive reviews.

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28/03 Hathaway to play Judy Garland on film and stage

She may have been the biggest surprise at February’s Oscars when she took the stage in a duet with Hugh Jackman. Who knew Anne Hathaway could sing? Harvey Weinstein did. Movie kingpin Harvey Weinstein said he had signed the Oscar-nominated actress to portray singer Judy Garland in both film and stage adaptations of the biography Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland. In a statement, Weinstein called Hathaway “brilliantly talented” and said “she will be a true class act in this challenging role.” Details of the project were scant. No writer or director is yet on board. Garland, of course, is the legendary movie star of Hollywood’s Golden Age who portrayed Dorothy in 1939’s The Wizard of Oz, starred opposite Mickey Rooney in the Andy Hardy films and was twice Oscar-nominated for roles in A Star is Born and Judgment at Nuremberg. She also enjoyed a long singing career and scored a No. 1 Grammy-winning album with Judy at Carnegie Hall from her 1961 concert at the famous Manhattan venue. Read the rest of this entry »

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17/02 Hathaway set for Central Park ‘Twelfth Night’

From Academy Award nominee to spirited Shakespeare heroine. Anne Hathaway will play Viola this summer in the Public Theater’s Central Park production of Twelfth Night. Daniel Sullivan will direct the production at the outdoor Delacorte Theater. It runs June 9-July 12. Hathaway was Oscar-nominated this year for her performance in the film Rachel Getting Married. The Public’s second Central Park production will be Euripides’ (Your-rip-pe-dees) The Bacchae (Bach-eye), directed by JoAnne Akalaitis (Ack-a-lie-tis). The Greek tragedy runs Aug. 11-Sept. 6.

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31/01 Hathaway to Voice Krusty’s Girlfriend in ‘The Simpsons’

Anne Hathaway will lend her voice to The Simpsons and even make fun of her past relationship with Italian businessman Raffaello Follieri. The Rachel Getting Married star is booked to voice the girlfriend of Krusty. There has been no detail which episode will Hathaway appear, but Contact Music reported that her role will be the girlfriend who testifies in court in defense of Krusty the Clown who is wrongly-accused of committing a crime. This provides as a satirical story to Hathaway’s real life where her ex-lover was sentenced to a four-and-a-half year prison term after pleading guilty to 14 counts of wire fraud, conspiracy and money laundering. Anne Hathaway has split from Raffaello Follieri since the crime came to public attention. She is now in the hands of new beau Adam Shulman, who was spotted taking her to a double date on January 24 with Emily Blunt and John Krasinski.

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25/10 Broadway star Anne Hathaway

Anne Hathaway is set to star in a musical in New York’s famous Broadway theatre district. The Rachel Getting Married actress – who made her Broadway debut in 2002 show Carnival! – has reportedly been having closed door reading with producers of new musical Promises, Promises. Theatre website Broadway World claims: “We have just got an exclusive account of a top secret, closed reading that happened over the weekend. Our guest, who was invited by one of the actors, reports that there was a full table reading and sing-through of the musical Promises, Promises by Neil Simon, Burt Bacharach and Hal David. “The reading starred Sean Hayes and Anne Hathaway along with a full cast plus several background singers, and was staged by director/choreographer Rob Ashford.” The show bosses are believed to have been overwhelmed by Anne’s performance and excited by the chemistry between her and Will and Grace star Sean. The website added: “We’re told that Hayes and Hathaway stunned the audience with their performances (both singing and acting) and that they garnered many huge and consistent laughs throughout – as well as a few tears.” Promises, Promises is a comedy based on Billy Wilder’s 1960 movie The Apartment. It originally ran on Broadway from 1968 to 1972, with a total of 1,281 performances.

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02/01 Anne Hathaway is a Lancome Lady

Anne Hathaway has been named the new ambassador for the Lancôme brand. “Anne Hathaway is a radiant young woman who perfectly embodies modern femininity. We know she will portray all the passion and excitement of our new fragrance, to be launched throughout the world in September 2008″, says Odile Roujol, President of Lancôme International. Ads featuring Anne will hit blogs and magazines everywhere starting September 2008. Lancôme’s latest spokesmodel was Kate Winslet. Clive Owen was the first spokesman for Lancôme’s Men’s skincare range.

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