‘American Horror Story’ Casting News, and a Sad Farewell

Lady Gaga is having a better week than you.

At Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony she performed a career defining tribute to “The Sound of Music,” and yesterday she shared, via twitter, this little tidbit:

She was also tasked with sharing the hotly anticipated theme for season five, which will be “American Horror Story: Hotel.” 

The network has confirmed that Gaga will “star” as a series regular but no other details have been released. Also left to the imagination are costars – most AHS regulars have already committed to different projects and the only strong possibility of a return at this time is Kathy Bates. 

Both fans and critics of the show are all wondering the same thing: Can Mother Monster carry a series? Does she have the chops? I would argue that she certainly has skills, as “Lady Gaga” could easily be considered a character that Stefani Germanotta shares with the public. On the other hand, the only thing I’ve personally considered consistently good on this show has been the acting, so there are indeed some large McQueen armadillo shoes to fill. Those of you that read my AHS reviews know that I had very little interest in returning to a Lange-less AHS, but you win this round, Murphy and crew. I will concede that I am not just curious, but maybe even a little excited. 

On a sad note, we recently learned that Ben Woolf passed away February 23rd. Mr. Woolf, who gave a compelling and heartbreaking performance as Meep on the show’s fourth season (and a disturbing one as the Infantata on season one), was struck by an automobile on February 19 and was not able to overcome the injuries. Ben Woolf was a preschool teacher who decided to pursue acting at the age of 30, and he was reportedly able to save three lives by donating his organs. His interview from the show’s “Extra-Ordinary Artists” series is below.