Hot Topics:

Mitani’s 'Singing' set for Skirball

Japanese helmer-scribe to bow musical

Etta James joins Registry 'At Last'

14 pics to preem at Prada Transformer

'Blind Side' tackles box office competition(4974 views)

Spielberg abandons 'Harvey'(1678 views)

Nine(1440 views)

Taylor Lautner to star in 'Max Steel'(1094 views)

Jack Black animates film pitch(1042 views)

Oscar loves foreign actresses(834 views)

Japanese helmer-scribe Koki Mitani’s new musical comedy “Talk Like Singing” will run Nov. 11-22 at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts in Gotham. The show stars Shingo Katori, a member of the pop group Smap, who has appeared in six of Mitani’s works, including the hit 2006 screen comedy “Suite Dreams.” A huge star in Japan, Katori is making his international stage debut with the show. Yasuharu Konishi, a former member of the group Pizzicato Five, is supplying the musical numbers.

Katori plays a man who can sing but can’t talk, receiving treatment for his rare condition from a wacky speech therapist (Keiko Horiuchi) and shrink (Jay Kabira). The dialogue is in Japanese and English.

A playwright before he became a TV scripter and pic helmer, Mitani specializes in witty, fast-paced comedies like those of his idols Billy Wilder and Neil Simon. Hit pics include his 1997 debut “Welcome Back Mr. McDonald” and “The Magic Hour” (2008).