Jerry O'Connell Lives with His Parents, Broadway's Got Messiah Mania and Other Lessons of the Week

It's curtain down for another week on Broadway as plenty of big stories made headlines. Here's a look back at the valuable lessons we learned from this week's juicy news.

Bernadette Peters Will Play a Stage Mother Again…This Time on TV!
Follies star Bernadette Peters earned a Tony nomination in 2003 for taking on the mother of all overbearing stage moms, Rose in Gypsy. It’s curtains up for Peters’ harsh parental side again as she’ll play another showbiz mama on NBC’s new Broadway-themed series Smash. Peters’ character is a Tony-winning star (no stretch there!), who now lives vicariously through her actress daughter, Ivy (played by Broadway vet Megan Hilty). This duo have something else in common; they both have experience playing witches, thanks to Into the Woods and Wicked! A hit Broadway show and a new TV gig? Everything’s coming up Bernadette!

Sometimes Even Movie Stars Like Jerry O’Connell Have to Crash with Their Parents
Jerry O’Connell has returned to his hometown of New York City to make his Broadway debut in Theresa Rebeck's new play Seminar. Instead of booking a fancy hotel, the popular film and TV star (and husband of supermodel Rebecca Romijn) has opted to crash at a familiar haunt: his parents' home! “It’s a little awkward being well into my 30s and living with my parents again,” O’Connell told Broadway.com, “but that’s how it goes.” A big Broadway star decides to move back home with his folks? Hey Jerry, we smell a sitcom for you!

Prepare, Ye! Broadway Has a New Religious Rivalry
An epic biblical battle is about to go down on Broadway. With performances of the first-ever Broadway revival of Godspell just around the corner, the beloved bible-themed show is going to have some serious competition next spring now that Des McAnuff’s production of Jesus Christ Superstar is officially confirmed for its own March 2012 bow. No casting has been announced for Superstar’s title messiah, but whoever dons his crown of thorns will have to go head to head with Godspell’s own sacred son, Weeds star Hunter Parrish!

Bonnie & Clyde’s Laura Osnes and Jeremy Jordan Are Hot Together
As the new Broadway musical Bonnie & Clyde inches toward its November 4 start date, the cast offered a steamy sneak peek into their rehearsals, where our cameras caught the surprisingly hot chemistry between co-stars Laura Osnes and Jeremy Jordan (who play the iconic bank robbers). Looks like the guns won’t be the only smokin’ things on stage! Just remember, people, it’s all acting: Osnes is happily married to photographer Nathan Johnson, while Jordan is newly engaged to Priscilla Queen of the Desert’s Ashley Spencer (who has been pals with Osnes since they appeared together on the reality TV show Grease: You're the One That I Want).

Nothing's Gonna Rain on Funny Girl’s Parade to Broadway
Wait, shmait! The buzzed-about revival of Funny Girl, starring Lauren Ambrose and Bobby Cannavale, is coming to Broadway no matter what. The show is shunning the conventional path of waiting for critics to weigh in on its out-of-town tryout (at L.A.'s Ahmanson Theatre) before making future plans. By announcing that the beloved musical will play Broadway's coveted Imperial Theatre, producers are proving they've got a lot of chutzpah! And after a 40-year Broadway absence, this Girl is ready to come home and be the "greatest star" again.

After 20 Years of Divorce, Phantom Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber Still Has a Soft Spot for Sarah Brightman
As The Phantom of the Opera celebrated its 25th anniversary in London, there was no bad blood between the show's legendary composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and his former leading lady and wife, Sarah Brightman. Though the two divorced in 1990 and Lloyd Webber happily remarried, the Phantom scribe seems to still have a soft spot for his original Christine Daae. When the curtain came down on the Phantom 25th anniversary concert at Royal Albert Hall, Webber adoringly introduced Brightman to the audience as his “angel of music.” Aw, guess Love Never Dies after all!

Yee-Haw! Broadway Icon Betty Buckley Followed a Horse to Texas
After a 30-year Broadway career, Tony winner Betty Buckley decided to leave NYC and return to her home state of Texas. Why? She followed a horse! “I had this epiphany one night coming home, ‘I need to live where my horse lives!’” Buckley revealed on Show People. Now the popular singer runs her own ranch and owns 17 animals, including her “soul mate” horse, Purple Badger. Buckley's new concert at Feinstein’s features show tunes sung by men from musicals like Sweeney Todd. Maybe she should include a reading from War Horse, too!

Judy Gold’s Life is Reality TV-Ready
Comedian Judy Gold's The Judy Show: My Life as a Sitcom imagines her life as a classic television series, in which she expresses a burning desire for her own TV show. Sitcoms are great and all, but maybe Gold should focus her efforts on reality TV. After Broadway.com spent a morning with Gold for a photo feature, it quickly became clear this funny lady is ready to expose all—no matter what. Our camera captured the star sending her son to school, retrieving a towed car from an impound lot, fighting with her partner and hitting the gym…all before a two-show day!

Laura Benanti Is Now Free For Her Next Tony-Winning Role
After a highly promoted build-up, NBC’s The Playboy Club, the new series starring Tony winner Laura Benanti, failed to catch on with viewers. The show was pulled after three episodes, making it the first new series to be axed this season. While we’re sad to see Benanti (who even appeared on the cover of Playboy) hang up her bunny suit, we’ll admit it’s nice to know TV hasn’t completely stolen her away from the stage. The actress has yet to announce any immediate post-Playboy career plans, so here’s hoping Benanti hops back to Broadway!

Weight Watchers Helped Jan Maxwell Ensure She’d Be "Muffintop"-Free for Follies
Jan Maxwell is one busy working actress: She earned 2010 Tony nominations for The Royal Family and Lend Me a Tenor, starred in the solo show Wings and led the Kennedy Center production of Follies, then followed it to Broadway. (And that's just the last couple of years!) Maxwell looked fantastically svelte through it all, so it came as a shock when she told Broadway.com she dropped 20 pounds for her Follies star turn as Phyllis Rogers Stone. Who knew she had the extra weight to spare?! “You can’t have a muffintop [in these] costumes,” she cracked. Touché, Jan!