Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

Madonna's Debut in 'Up For Grabs'

Aired May 24, 2002 - 06:16   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's talk entertainment, shall we? The Material Girl is back in the spotlight. Superstar Madonna made her London stage debut last night and she's proving she's still got what it takes, or is she?

CNN reporter -- entertainment reporter Kate Courtney joins us live from London with more on Madonna.

Did you see the play?

KATE COURTNEY, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: I haven't seen it yet, I have to admit, but I've got tickets for next week so I'm really looking forward to that.

But there's a great, great buzz today from last night's opening night. And I would say it kind of falls into two counts because the newspaper reviews are being pretty hard on her actually. And -- but the people I know that have been to see her have really, really enjoyed it and said she's just completely magnetic, wonderful to see in the flesh. So, you know, who do you believe?

COSTELLO: The play is called "Up For Grabs." What's it about?

COURTNEY: Well it's written by an Australian playwright called David Williamson and it's actually a play about a work of art. And Madonna plays a very sort of hard-bitten art dealer and she has to sell a Jackson Pollock painting, a very abstract painting. And the whole point of the play is she needs to get 20 million for it -- $20 million, I think, and she will go to any lengths to get this money. And the whole idea, the whole concept of the play is really how ridiculous, you know, the pricing of art can be, how you can completely out price yourself.

And I have to say that the play is very vulgar from what I gather.

COSTELLO: What do you mean it's very vulgar?

COURTNEY: It's fairly explicit.

COSTELLO: Like sexually explicit or just...

COURTNEY: It's got very, very -- yes, it's explicit language. You know it's certainly not for the fainthearted. I don't think it's for your grandmother to go and see particularly.

COSTELLO: Well, we have to remember Madonna is starring.

COURTNEY: But it's also very sexual.

COSTELLO: Oh.

COURTNEY: Well, I think her mother-in-law went in last night.

Exactly, Madonna is starring, and she takes amazing risks with most things she does. And it has got a lot of sexual scenes in it. She has a lesbian kiss. She has affairs with all sorts of people. The whole purpose of her journey through the story is to use her sexual powers to encourage somebody to cough up this money, which they do in the end.

COSTELLO: Oh, OK.

COURTNEY: So I think it -- I think it's an amazing thing for her to have done in many ways. It's at the Wyndham Theater in Central London. And it's actually a very small space so it's very intimate so people going are going to have, you know, an amazing opportunity to see her very close up.

COSTELLO: Got you.

COURTNEY: And she looks absolutely beautiful, apparently, just amazing (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

COSTELLO: OK, on that subject because we have to wrap it up soon. I'm being yelled at in my ear by my producer. I just wanted to ask you, there were rumors flying around that she was pregnant. Do you think she is?

COURTNEY: Well I never believe anything I read in the papers. I don't know. I mean she denied it last time, didn't she? When she was pregnant with Rocco, everybody was talking about it and her publicist kept saying no, no, no. And it seems to be the same story again. But looking at pictures of her, she doesn't look pregnant, but she's a very fit lady.

COSTELLO: Yes, she is. She's looking fabulous.

Thank you. Kate Courtney reporting live for us from London.

COURTNEY: Yes.

COSTELLO: And we'll check back with you when you see the play.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com