Odds & Ends: Leighton Meester's 'Not a Tart,' Kristin Chenoweth & John Lithgow Team Up & More

Here's a quick roundup of stories you may have missed today.

'I'm Not a Tart:' Of Mice and Men's Leighton Meester Pens Feminist Essay
Leighton Meester has penned a feminist essay about her character in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. "The insults are thrown at Curley's wife: bitch, tramp, tart,” she writes in The Huffington Post, before examining the reasons why. Catch the show at Broadway's Longacre Theatre before it closes on July 27.

Broadway Vet to Sing Whitney Houston's Vocals in Biopic
Broadway alum Deborah Cox (Aida, Jekyll & Hyde) will provide Whitney Houston’s singing voice in an upcoming biopic of the late superstar. According to E! Online, the Lifetime movie will be directed by Angela Bassett and center on Houston’s relationship with Bobby Brown.

Kristin Chenoweth & John Lithgow Join Forces for Star-Spangled Spectacular Concert
Tony winners Kristin Chenoweth and John Lithgow have joined the lineup for Baltimore’s Star-Spangled Spectacular concert on September 13. The celebration of the bicentennial of the U.S.’s national anthem will be televised live on PBS as part of the network’s Great Performances series.

Darren Criss & Chloe Grace Moretz Get Animated
Speaking of vocal talent, Glee’s Darren Criss, along with Great White Way vets Beau Bridges, Oliver Platt, Lucy Liu and Mary Steenburgen, will voice characters in the upcoming animated film The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya. Deadline reports that recent off-Broadway alum Chloe Grace Moretz has signed on to play the title role.