Quick Takes - Nov. 21, 2009

‘Ruined’ at the Geffen

Lynn Nottage’s “Ruined,” which won the Pulitzer Prize for drama this year, will have its L.A. premiere at the Geffen Playhouse. A spokeswoman for the company said the drama was scheduled to open the Geffen’s 2010-11 season.

“Ruined” will be a co-production with Seattle’s Intiman Theatre, where it is set to run July 2 to Aug. 8. The Geffen’s season usually begins in August or September, but the company said no opening date had been set for the drama.

Kate Whoriskey, the Intiman’s incoming artistic director, is expected to stage the play in Seattle and L.A., according to the Geffen. In February, Whoriskey directed the New York production of “Ruined” at the Manhattan Theatre Club, where it quickly became one of the most talked-about plays of the season.

The play focuses on the matron of a Congolese brothel who tries futilely to keep the outside war at bay.

-- David Ng Miley Cyrus tour bus driver dies

The driver of a Miley Cyrus tour bus was killed Friday when the bus overturned. The 16-year-old “Hannah Montana” star wasn’t on board, Virginia State Police said.

Sgt. Thomas Molnar said the bus ran off the left side of Interstate 85, struck an embankment and overturned. The driver, William G. Douglas, 53, of Austin, Texas, died at the scene, police said.

Marty Zilio, 48, of Canada, was injured in the crash and treated at a local hospital. He was one of nine members of Cyrus’ production crew who were riding in the bus. They escaped the crashed bus through the front windshield.

The accident occurred around 8:15 a.m. in Dinwiddie County, about 40 miles south of Richmond. Speed and weather weren’t considered factors.

Molnar said the bus was one of four traveling to Greensboro, N.C., where Cyrus is scheduled to perform Sunday.

-- associated press Eminem pushes back ‘Relapse 2’

Eminem is rebooting his plans for the successor to his first studio album in five years, “Relapse,” which brought the Detroit rapper back to the top of the national sales chart when it was released in April.

He had announced his intention to release “Relapse 2” in December, but instead, on Dec. 21 he and his label, Interscope Records, are putting out “Relapse: Refill,” an expanded version of the first “Relapse” including seven bonus tracks. Eminem said he and producer Dr. Dre had to rethink what they had come up with for the follow-up.

“I got back in with Dre and then a few more producers, including Just Blaze, and went in a completely different direction which made me start from scratch,” Eminem stated in post on his website. “

“Hopefully these tracks on The Refill will tide the fans over until we put out Relapse 2 next year,” Eminem said.

-- Randy Lewis