Danielle Marie Gonzalez to Star in The New Group’s Off Broadway Production “Clueless, The Musical”

Danielle Marie Gonzalez is embracing theCluelesslife…

The half-Spanish actress has joined the cast of The New Group’s upcoming Off Broadway production Clueless, The Musical, based on the 1995 coming-of-age romantic comedy film, which was loosely based on Jane Austen’s 1815 novel Emma, with an updated setting to modern-day Beverly Hills.

Danielle Marie Gonzalez

The production will be directed by Kristin Hanggi with a book by Amy Heckerling, who wrote and directed the film.

In addition to Gonzalez, who will portray Lucy, the cast includes Dove Cameron in the lead role of Cher, Dave Thomas Brown (as Josh), Ephie Aardema (Tai) and Zurin Villanueva (Dionne) – roles played in the 1995 film by Alicia SilverstonePaul Rudd, Brittany Murphy and Stacy Dash.

Also in the cast: Lori Alan (Miss Geist/Ms. Stoeger), Sara Andreas (Heather), Gilbert L. Bailey II (Murray), Will Connolly (Travis), Tessa Grady (Amber), L’ogan J’ones (Max), Chris Hoch (Mel, others), Darius Jordan Lee (Sean) and Justin Mortelliti (Christian). Ensemble/swing will include Tiffany EngenKatie GoffmanTalya GrovesJeff Kuhr and Brett Thiele.

Clueless, The Musical begins previews on November 20, opens December 11, and runs through January 12 in The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center.

Gonzalez’s previous theater credits include the national tours of Saturday Night Fever, Flashdance: The Musical and Rock of Ages.

Menendez to Direct Lifetime’s “The Brittany Murphy Story”

Joe Menendez is preparing to tell Brittany Murphy’s story…

The 45-year-old Cuban American filmmaker has been tapped to direct Lifetime’s two-hour biopic about the life and death of the late actress.

Joe Menendez

Titled The Brittany Murphy Story, it stars Amanda Fuller in the titular role and Sherilyn Fenn as her mother, Sharon Murphy. The script was penned by Peter Hunziker and Cynthia Riddle.

The biopic will cover her younger years when she was struggling to break into acting in the ’80s and ’90s until her death and the aftermath as there was speculation that her death was not accidental.

The film’s logline reads, “The relentless rumors and paparazzi coupled with Brittany’s insecurities about her appearance and desperation for approval wreaked havoc in her personal life. Through it all, Sharon remained her grounding force but her enduring love wasn’t enough to save Brittany from the dark side of life in Hollywood.”

Sharon, however, was not consulted for the movie and did not cooperate with production in any way, a spokesperson for Brittany’s mother says.

Brittany rose to fame through her role in 1995’s teen comedy Clueless. She died December 20, 2009 at 32 years old. The coroner ruled that she died from pneumonia with iron-deficiency anemia and multiple drug intoxication as secondary factors. On May 23, 2010, her widower Simon Monjack died of acute pneumonia and severe anemia too.

The biopic is scheduled to debut on Saturday, September 6 at 8:00 pm.

Menendez previously directed the Spanish films Ladron que roba a ladron and Quiero ser fiel.