Briefs

First up, Pal Joey, the 1940 musical about a Chicago hoofer who keeps reaching for the big time - while breaking many female hearts along the way - opens Dec. 18 in a new version put together by Roundabout Theatre Company at Studio 54.

Pal Joey is a limited engagement through Feb. 15, 2009. The musical is produced in association with Marc Platt.

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Emmy Award winner Jeremy Piven has abruptly (and... for some reason I saw this one coming) departed the acclaimed revival of David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow, citing high levels of mercury, according to Variety.

Piven, who has already missed a few performances of the revival, informed the show's producers that his ill health is due to a high mercury count.

Playwright Mamet told Daily Variety, "I talked to Jeremy on the phone and he told me that he discovered that he had a very high level of mercury. So my understanding is that he is leaving show business to pursue a career as a thermometer."