Ellis Nassour: December 2006 Archives

Three Days to Christmas and Four Before Kwanzaa; More Holiday Gift Suggestions; and Guess Which Really Hip Actress Is Coming Back to Chicago?

By Ellis Nassour on December 22, 2006 12:01 AM

Theater tickets are great stocking stuffers, whatever the holiday; and there's a reason to get thee to the Ambassador box office or Telecharge, because starting next week guess who's coming back to Chicago? None other than newly "hip" Tony and Drama Desk winner Bebe Neuwirth - and not in the role she created in the City Center Encores! original or the current, long-running revival.

"I'm not playing murderess Velma Kelly," says Neuwirth of the role she originated when the show won 1997 Tony and Drama Desk Awards as Best Revival. "I'm returning as Chicago's most famous jailhouse murderess, Roxie Hart."

She thought it was a nice way to help celebrate the Kander and Ebb's musical revival's 10th Anniversary and the fact that it's entered the history books as Broadway's longest-running revival.

It's also a noteworthy milestone for the actress/dancer, who turns 48 on New Year's Eve. Seven months ago she underwent hip replacement surgery! And, she reports, she's doing quite well, indeed after voicing concerns that she might not be her "old self" again [able to dance, especially Fosse-style - or, as Neuwirth puts it, "wiggle again"].

You can throw those concerns out the window, especially seeing how Neuwirth has thrown herself into rehearsals for her return. Of course, it's no secret that the role of Roxie is a lot less taxing than that of Velma's.

Neuwirth, one of theater's brightest talents, will be forever best known for her role as Dr. Lilith Sternin on the hit series Cheers and Fraiser, but in her original role, she won Tony and Drama Desk Awards as Best/Outstanding Actress. Those awards sit alongside her 1986 Tony Featured win for her role as Nickie in Sweet Charity. Strangely, she wasn't even nominated by the Tonys or DD for her sexy turn as Lola in the 1997 revival of Damn Yankees.]

Returning to the show as Roxie, Neuwirth has her share of showstopping numbers, including "Me and My Baby," "Roxie" and her duet with Velma, "Nowadays."

Though the actress and brilliant dancer has learned the show from a different angle, she says she didn't do a lot of physical preparation. "When you've been around a show a long time, it's there. You have a relationship with all the characters. You understand how the show needs to be serviced."

She notes that her philosophy when she takes on a part is to "look not only at the choices you need to make for the role, but also at how those choices will best service the show."

Neuwirth explains that when an actor is cast in a show, "you learn what that animal is. I'm coming back to Chicago knowing what the animal is. That's a big head start."

The relationship between Roxie and Velma, states Neuwirth, is an interesting one. "They have a connection, but they're not friends. The only time they pretend to be is in the show's last moment. They're adversaries in heated competition" [not only for attorney Billy Flynn's attention and favors but also for public sympathy].

Velma is the jailhouse star because the murder she committed has been blasted across daily headlines; but then Roxie knocks off her lover, gets Velma's celebrity lawyer and, in a flash, usurps her to become the media star.

"Roxie's scheming," laughs Neuwirth, "doing her own thing to keep the notoriety she's gained. What's ironic is that both get a setback when the pineapple heiress Go-To-Hell-Kitty lands in jail."It's the survival of the fittest and Roxie has to find a way to usurp Kitty. She comes up with a novel approach.

In this "new adventure," as Neuwirth calls it, she has good company. In the role of arch rival Velma Kelly is Tony Award nominee [for Smokey Joe's CafÈ] Brenda Braxton. Billy Flynn, the celebrity attorney with a knack for winning impossible cases, is played by multi-platinum recording artist and rock legend Huey Lewis. The indefatigable Roz Ryan, who was Jennifer Holliday's first replacement in Dreamgirls and who knows a thing or two about belt, is Mama Morton, the jailhouse matron.

One of the great assets of Chicago is the choreography by Ann Reinking, the original Roxie in the revival, reproduced in the style of Bob Fosse, one of the choreographers who revolutionized dance on Broadway. Needless to say, the show's always been blessed with some of Broadway's best dancers.

Did she have any idea that Chicago, presented in the same no frills concert as when it originated in Encores!, would have the type of longevity the show is enjoying? To be honest, and [in addition to being blunt, you can depend on Neuwirth for that, No.

"In fact, I thought the show might be too good to be true. I felt audiences would be expecting more - expecting thing to come flying out of the wings, the ceiling or the floor. I knew the score by John and Fred and the book by Fred and Bob were fantastic, but I wondered if it was going to be enough."

However, she knew she was in something special; yet there was a but. "The show was so good, I couldn't imagine it running more than a year. Everything about it was great - the score, the book, the performers and the way our director Walter Bobbie presented it. But remember back then, Broadway musicals were all about spectacle.

"Every show tried to top the other," she continues. "There was the French Revolution [Les Miz], the crashing chandelier [POTO], the helicopter [Miss Saigon]." All that over the top stuff just wasn't fair to audiences or the performers. "It distanced audiences from the heart of the piece. Everything was bigger than the piece, bigger than the performers. When you dehumanize a show's material, it whittles away at the soul. Theatergoers come away having seen something, but without their soul being nourished."

If you want to see spectacle, she points out, "there's a place for that. You go to Las Vegas. That's what they do well. Theater is an essential human experience. It's what the human race has been doing since we were in tribes, gathered around fires and telling stories. Shows don't need a lot of theatrical ormolu [gilding with gold paste; or over-the-top styling], as I would call it. But the movement kept picking up steam, and then we came along."

She didn't realize it at the time, but ten years ago Chicago began to make Broadway history. The show "brought down the movement" of spectacle for spectacle's sake.

"There's no artifice in Chicago," Neuwirth explains. "Walter showcased the material, the music, the choreography, the performers." It was what it was. The cast put their best foot forward and hoped for the best in return. They got it.

"What's more," smiles Neuwirth, "is that it didn't take long for the arriving musicals to fall into line and not depend so much on spectacle."

Chicago's reviews were ecstatic; audiences came and are still coming.
According to Neuwirth, "People were thrilled to be back in touch with the intimate core of a show. They were relieved.

She spoke of there being "something unrivaled" about seeing dancer and and singers live onstage. "When you've got the right material and a great score," she adds, "it's a visceral experience!"

Who's That Girl?

We know Tony and DD-winning Barbara Walsh is in Company, playing the coveted role of Joanne, but a lot of folks - even many supposedly in the know, are wondering where is the B.W. they remember as a later Velma Von Tussle in Hairspray, the mother in Off Bway's Normal, Mrs. Baskin in Big, Mrs. Lyons in Blood Brothers and her award-winning turn as Trina in Falsettos.

She's been playing so many Mrs. lately that she may be a bit too hot, too sexy, too sophisticated as Joanne, sizzling as she sings the showstopper "The Ladies Who Lunch."

So is that Barbara Walsh or another Barbara Walsh? To investigate, I waited to see who would exit at the Barrymore Stage Door. It took a while, but sure enough the Barbara Walsh we've come to know as one of theater's most gifted actresses and singers emerged. Her Joanne is quite a transformation.

It also appears that director John Doyle has uncovered Walsh's previously unknown musical abilities. In the Sondheim show, she plays a mean triangle.

The Gift of Music

There's no shortage of new theater and cabaret-related CDs for last minute consideration as stocking stuffers.

* The cast album of Steven Slater and Duncan Sheik's Spring Awakening [Decca Broadway], which moved from being SRO at the Atlantic Theater Company to being SRO at the Eugene O'Neil, arrives with a parental advisory for explicit content"

The CD captures the energetic spirit of the show, which deals with family ties, friends and the sexual coming of age of young people in an 1890s Germany. [Trivia: one of the show's lead producers is actor Tom Hulce of Amadeus fame.] It contains a handsome booklet with notes, photos and all lyrics.

The ATC company is in tact for the move to Broadway. Angels in America veteran Stephen Spinella, a three-time DD winner and two-time Tony winner, and the always dependable Christine Estabrook play the adult roles. The young ensemble, headed by Jonathan Groff and Lea Michele, measure up to the demands of the score.

The show has been hailed as "groundbreaking," "a jolt of genius," "electrifying" and is being compared to Rent and as a landmark production akin to Hair.

With some explicit lyrics and scenes of simulated sex, admittedly it won't be the show for everyone.

Tony nominee and DD winner Michael Mayer [Thoroughly Modern Millie] has done a superb job of stagings and kudos to lighting designer Kevin Adams for his stunning contribution. Some aspects of staging decisions could be questioned. Since the show is already miked [and very nicely by Brian Ronan], what's the reason for having the performers often pull out a cordless mike or sing standing at a mike? Once or twice, the gimmick gets a chuckle from audiences; other times, it's quite disconcerting.

* Scott Frankel/Michael Korie/Doug Wright haunting musical Grey Gardens [PS Classics], a huge success for Playwrights Horizons and now on Broadway at the Wallter Kerr, takes audiences on a fascinating journey into the high-riding Hamptons lives of Edith Beale and her mother Edith Bovier Beale; and, in Act Two, as a result of rejection, misplaced loyalty and dependence on one another, into their besotted minds and fantasies.

The original cast CD arrives with stellar packaging, befitting DD winner Christine Ebersole's spectacular performance. The booklet has photos, notes and lyrics.

* The cast CD of Jacques Brel Is Alive And Well And Living In Paris [Ghostlight], featuring original cast members Robert Cuccioli, Natascia Diaz, Rodney Hicks and Gay Marshall, offers more: an additional eight tracks, which can be downloaded on iTunes from http://www.jacquesbrelreturns.com/.

* There are also seven bonus tracks to accompany Patti Lupone's The Lady with the Torch CD [Ghostlight] of her Carnegie Hall show conceived by Scott Wittman. The orchestrations are by Sondheim musicals veteran Jonathan Tunick with musical direction by Chris Fenwick, who for the studio recording, conducted a 10-piece orchestra.

The newly available tracks for downloading to iTunes or purchase on CD include four Cole Porter classics and Ralph Blaine/Hugh Martin's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" from Meet Me in St. Louis. For more information, visit http://www.ghostlightrecords.com/

* What about some music from Chicago? And not just what's being or was heard on Broadway. The two CD/DVD 10th Anniversary box set [SRP, $35] includes the revival cast album, 12 tracks performed by international stars of the show [such as Anna Montanaro, German; Bianca Marroquin, Spanish], Lynda Carter, Melanie Griffith, Ute Lemper, Liza Minnelli [who also appeared in the original production on Broadway], John O'Hurley and Brooke Shields.

From the original original cast album, there are two tracks featuring Gwen Verdon, Chita Rivera and Jerry Orbach. The collector's item here, however, is Fred Ebb and John Kander singing "Looping the Loop," which was cut from the show.

The DVD includes interviews with Neuwirth, her original co-star and Ann Reinking, Bobbie, Kander and footage from international productions.

* Other shows' cast CDs for perfect theaterlover gifts include Mary Poppins [Disney]; and The Fantasticks and the Grammy-nominated The Drowsy Chaperone [both, Ghostlight].

Ringin' Out the Old and Ringin' In the New
* There's no need to sit home alone New Year's Eve. If you can't get out to the cabaret, get out to the 59E59 Theatres, which are hosting their second annual theater-wide celebration. Party entertainment will include live music, dancing, complimentary wine/beer/soft drinks, cocktails [from a cash bar], midnight Champagne toast, party favors and catering by top New York chef David Burke.

Things will start to hop at 9:30 P.M. New Year's Eve [Sunday, December 31], when the theatres transform into a multi-level party destination, and continue into the wee hours of 2007. Theatres will features cabaret and jazz in a nightclub setting and a DJ spinning a mix of 70s and 80s music.

Tickets are $100; $70, for 59E59 members. Purchase through Ticket Central, (212) 279-4200, or online at www.ticketcentral.com. If you wish to include a ticket for the 7 P.M. Murder Mystery Blues, based on Woody Allen short stories, the price bumps up to $130.

* The Laurie Beechman Theatre, the cabaret theatre located within the West Bank CafÈ [407 West 42nd Street at Ninth Avenue] will be toasting in 2007 with hors' d'oeuvres, a three course dinner from WBC executive chef Joe Marcus, Champagne toast and a musical performance by Lisa Asher and Brandon Cutrell.

Price: $78, plus tax and service. Purchase from Smarttix: http://www.smarttix.com/ or call (212).868-4444.

How much would enjoy spending New Year's Eve with Tony and DD-winning Audra McDonald, soon to headline Roundabout's revival of Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt's 110 in the Shade?

You can, at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher New York Philharmonic 8 P.M. concert. McDonald will perform songs of Ellington, Gershwin and Arlen. Ted Sperling will conduct.

Prices start at $82 and go up, up, up like New Year's Eve fireworks and not down, down, down like the Times Square ball - and you can buy Champagne at the bar. Tickets available at the AF box office, by calling (212) 875-5656 or online at www.nyphil.org.

* If you wish to be in the heart of Times Square but snug as a rug, try the $350 package from Tony's Di Napoli's, which is right in the thick of the New Year's Eve action [147 West 43rd Street]. The "deal" includes dinner, cocktails, wine, party favors and - just before midnight - a short walk to a special viewing area to see the ball drop. Then, you can return for coffee and dessert. For reservations, call (212) 221-0100.

You Don't Have to Wait for New Year's Eve

59E59 Theatres is also hosting cabaret artists this month. On December 23rd, 29th and 30th, the legendarly Julie Wilson will perform here interpretations of Cole Porter, Noel Coward, Cy Coleman and Harold Arlen.

December 26 - 29 Heather MacRae will reprise her critically-acclaimed cabaret show, Songs for My Father: A Musical Tribute to Gordon MacRae, with songs from her father's films, including Oklahoma! and Carousel, and stories of growing up in Hollywood.

For cabaret reservations, call (212) 279-4200.

Kennedy Center Honors Telecast on December 26

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts 2006 Kennedy Center Honors will be telecast on December 26 in an edited two-hour presentation on CBS. Recipients honored at the 29th annual national celebration of the arts were: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Zubin Mehta, Dolly Parton, Smokey Robinson and Steven Spielberg.

[Photos: 2) PAUL KOLNIK; 3) CAROL ROSSEG; 4) PAUL KOLNIK; 5) JOAN MARCUS]

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Five Days to Christmas and Hanukkah's Already Here - Have You Done Your Holiday Shopping?

By Ellis Nassour on December 20, 2006 12:01 AM

There's never been a holiday season [whether yours is Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa] with so much Broadway-related product in the market place. You'll have no problem finding a theater or arts gift for that special someone - or yourself!

The list is long: books - big ones, small ones - galore, DVDs, CDs. There's something for everyone - even if you're on a limited budget. If you're not, you're going to have some festive holidays!

Everyone knows the best gift of all is tickets to live theater, whether on Broadway or Off. There are shows for adults - such as the new hot ticket Spring Awakening; and, more than ever before, shows for the kids. In addition, there are several worthwhile live attractions playing limited engagements.

Kids' Night On Broadway

The holiday event for theater lovers with families who wish to introduce their children to theater is the 11th Annual Kids' Night on Broadway, where shows offer a free ticket to children ages six to 18 accompanied by a paying adult. The dates are January 30 and 31, but tickets to the 23 participating shows are going fast [over 20,000 sold to date], so it's wise to book now.

The event is presented by the League of American Theatres and Producers in association with Madame Tussaud's, The New York Times and WNBC-TV.

"Theater is a family affair," says Julie Andrews, who will be Kids' Night national ambassador with daughter Emma Walton Hamilton of Sag Harbor's Bay Street Theatre.

The 2007 spotlight is on Autism Speaks, the organization dedicated to increasing awareness of the developmental disability, which affects a staggering one out of 166 kids.

Ms. Andrews, who came from a theatrical family and started her career at age nine, says Kids' Night "is about exposing young people to the enchantment of theater. But Emma and I are especially thrilled to help raise public consciousness about autism."

The duo collaborated as authors of best-selling children's books, some illustrated by Emma's dad, award-winning theater designer Tony Walton. "Our sixteenth, Thanks To You [due in May]," reports Ms. Hamilton, "is about wisdoms exchanged between mother and child." Their The Great American Mousical, underscores the connection between young people and Broadway.

Since its inception, over 200,000 have participated in KNOB. Last season, children and teens accounted for 1.2 million Broadway tickets sold. Another KNOB benefit, straight out of A Chorus Line, is that some kids will say "I can do that!" and develop theatrical careers. The Hamiltons' two children, says Emma, "are certainly passionate appreciators" of theater.

Madame Tussaud's will kick off Kids' Night with its Fan Festival on the afternoons of the 30th and 31st , with performances, autograph booths, makeup stations, dance lessons and free tours. A souvenir Kids' Night will be a Playbill written by kids through the auspices of the Theatre Development Fund (TDF).

For more about Kids' Night, participating shows, restaurant deals and parking discounts, go to http://www.kidsnightonbroadway.com/.

Holiday Shows Galore

Right here in the Big Apple, there's a feast of appropriate family entertainment, ranging from long-run mega hit Wicked to Disney's long-running Beauty and the Beast, the sixth longest running musical in Broadway history, Tarzan and the spanking new Mary Poppins.

The Disney tech wizards have MP's Ashley Brown, everyone's favorite nanny with spoonfuls of sugar, flying so high in the finale she may be heading to the international space station. Also flying high but with his feet not always firmly grounded in one of the season's most winsome performances is Gavin Lee as Bert.

The carolers are a caroling and the snow is a falling in two really big holidays shows:

* The Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular starring the world-famous Rockettes is thrilling holiday audiences with spectacular dance routines, including the classic March of the Wooden Soldiers, and some new additions.

* It's truly a white Christmas at the Hilton Theatre, thanks to Theatre Hall of Famer and Tony and DD-winning John Lee Beatty's Arctic set. Squeals of delight are emanating there as audiences, including tots in rapt attention, go wild for Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Running Subway Productions and a host of producers [including Dr. Seuss/Theodor Geisel's widow, Audrey] brought its Old Globe blockbuster into town for a limited run, through January 7.

They're pulling out all the stops to keep the kiddies happy. The score by Timothy Mason and Mel Marvin is enjoyable and there's an opportunity for a mass sing-a-long.

Patrick Page as Grinch is having a ball chewing every bit of scenery he can; Tony winner John Cullum is a perfect host as Old Max; and there's a character, Cindy-Lou Who, who steals the show and your heart. Depending on what cast [Red or White] you see, the role is played by Nicole Bocchi and Caroline London.

Seven-time Tony and Drama Desk-nominee [and two-time Tony and four-time DD winner for directing] Jack O'Brien, currently represented on Broadway by Tom Stoppard's The Coast of Utopia trilogy and Hairspray, has done quite a capable job of making it all run smoothly; and the running time, just over an hour and 15 minutes [no intermission] is perfect. For ages three up. And don't you dare leave early, because this show really ends with a big bang!

* TheatreworksUSA, the leading not-for-profit professional theatre for family audiences, continues its 45th Anniversary season with the New York premiere of Henry and Mudge Off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre [through January 20].

The musical is based on Cynthia Rylant's best-selling picture books about a boy and his lovable 182-pound slobberly dog and the gal that comes between them.Book and lyrics are by Kait Kerrigan, with music by Brian Lowdermilk, the 2006 Jonathan Larson Award winners. Peter Flynn directs, with choreography by Devanand Janki [the team behind TUSA's 2004 hit, Junie B. Jones].

Joseph Morales is Henry opposite Todd Buonopane [ÖSpelling Bee] as Mudge. Jennifer Cody [Pajama Game ] and Patrick Boll and Joan Hess [Dirty Rotten Scoundrels] as Henry's parents co-star.

Tickets are $25. To purchase, visit TicketCentral.com or call (212) 279-4200. Henry and Mudge is appropriate for ages four and up.

* Even though it's at the mammoth cavern A.K.A. the Theater at MSqG, Charles Strouse/Martin Charnin/Thomas Meehan's Annie, stopping over through December 30 on it's national tour, is everyone's favorite family musical. The sun will always come out tomorrow, and maybe today, with the rousing score from 1977's Tony and DD-winning musical.

Conrad John Schuck is Daddy Warbucks and, attempting to channel the spirit of Dorothy Loudon as Miss Hannigan, is former TV A.M. chat host, sweet-as-Equal-and-Splenda-and-without the aftertaste Kathie Lee Gifford.

Tkts are $35 [don't ask where!] - $99 [VIP] and available, if you dare venture into that mob, at the Garden box offices, through Ticketmaster.com and its outlets or by calling (212) 317-1000.

* Not exactly in the holiday entertainmnt mode, but Roundabout's revival of Tennesee Williams's Suddenly Last Summer at its Off Bway Laura Pels Theatre is worth a visit if only to experience Blythe Danner's 30s all-consuming Southern belle, venerable Violet Venable and 14-time Tony nominee [with three wins] Santo Loquasto's rain forrest set.

Moviegoers with good memories who see the play will note that Venable's exit lines, uttered so memorably by Katharine Hepburn, as she ascends in her elevator, delusions and fantasies intact, are missing. Those lines ["...Isn't it wonderful, my darling, to have one another and need no one else"] weren't written by Williams but by co-screenplay adapter Gore Vidal.

* Hot ticket events to look forward to:

Legendary actress Zoe Caldwell, winner of four Tony and three DD Awards, returns to the stage in Classic Stage Company's January 10 -February 8 English language premiere of Tony and DD Award winner for Play [Art] Yasmina Reza's A Spanish Play, set at a play rehearsal. David Ives translated. The director is Emmy-winning stage/film actor/director John Turturro.

The much-celebrated Ms. Caldwell, who's appeared with most of the great companies of the theater world, will be joined in ASP by Katherine Borowitz [Illuminata], Linda Emond [Homebody/Kabul], Tony and DD winner Denis O'Hare [Take Me Out] and Larry Pine [Stuff Happens].

Also, much-anticipated, is the return of Tony and Drama Desk-winning Angela Lansbury who teams with five-time Tony-nominated [she won in 1971] and six-time DD-nominated [and a winner in 1971] Marian Seldes at the Music Box in Terrence McNally's Deuce, set at a tennis match where two doubles legends reunite. Performances begin April 16. Tony and DD-winning Michael Blakemore is directing. The Tony-winning McNally and Ms. Seldes were DD-nominated last season for PS' Dedication or The Stuff of Dreams.

At the Movies

It's not too late to catch two of the year's most acclaimed female performances: Dame Helen Mirren in Steven Frears' The Queen and PenÈlope Cruz's amazing leap into middle-aged womanhood in Pedro AlmodÛvar's Volver.

* Do you love sports? Well, even if you don't, the movie that will bring the real spirit of the holidays into cinemas is We Are Marshall. As co-star Matthew McConaughey says, "Anyone with a heartbeat will love this movie. It's the ultimate family movie."

It is the true story ["true, not based on or inspired by," states McConaughey] of the 1970 tragedy in which 75 people - members of the football team of Marshall University and of the Huntington, WVa community - were killed in a plane crash enroute home after a game.

In a city of 40,000, this was truly a life-changing event as those affected and unaffected struggled to cope with the loss. The movie is centered on the arrival of the new coach and efforts to not only rebuild the team but also to rebuild the community.

McConaughey and TV star of Lost Matthew Fox were quite popular with the townfolks. Director McG [a.k.a. Joseph McGinty Nichol] sought to allay suspicions of what "Hollywood" might do to the story, which still had deep wounds over 25 years later, by allowing those interested to read the script and offer their comments.

Needless to say, with its strong emotional message, We Are Marshall is a two-box Kleenex opus, but one you don't want to miss.

* It's taken forever to get to the big screen, but the wait was worth it. Charlotte's Web, the classic E. B. White tale of friendship and loyalty, is fun for the kids and the adults won't be bored. Dakota Fanning, who's 12 but seemingly going on 30, is adorable as Fern Arable, who befriends Wilbur, the runt of a pig litter. Too often the film with its CGI effects is reminiscent of the Babe franchise; but this is one film where the voice-overs and Fanning's screen radiance carry it a long, long way.

Voicing Charlotte the friendly, encouraging spider and Wilbur's second best friend is Julia Roberts, with Steve Buscemi as a sardonic farm rat. Other voices: Oprah Winfrey as Gussy, the maternal-yet-irreverent goose; Cedric the Entertainer as Golly, Gussy's gander; John Cleese as Samuel, a quite authoritative sheep; Kathy Bates and Reba McEntire as sarcastic cows; Thomas Haden Church and AndrÈ Benjamin as dimwitted crows, Brooks and Elwyn; and, digest this, Robert Redford as Ike, an arachnophobic horse.

* If you're not in for an inspiring film such as We Are Marshall or Sylvester Stallone's Rocky Balboa, and you don't want a blood 'n guts shoot 'em up, then your choice should be Miss Potter, a small but charming and endearing film that looks at the conservationist and mega best-selling writer of the Beatrix Potter children's books and her romance with her publisher, who just as they are engaged, dies of a strange illness. Old friends three-time Oscar nominee [and a Featured Actress winner for Cold Mountain] RenÈe Zellweger and Ewan McGregor [who's come a long, long way since Trainspotting] star. England's stunning Lake District, where thousands of acres are now a public trust thanks to Potter, makes a scenic co-star.

There are two holiday movie hot tickets:

* The Pursuit of Happyness starring Will Smith and almost stolen by Smith's real-life son Jaden, is perhaps the perfect holiday movie as at its essence is the pursuit of the American dream. Sure, it's a bit smaltzy, contrived, manipulative and a bit unrealistic [in that 25 years ago it would be difficult not to put racism into the quotient], but it has heart. And a quite convincing performance by Smith, who omits "all my go-to moves, the things fan know me for; the so-called 'willisms.'" As it turns out, he can act as well as be funny.

* The holiday musical blockbuster is, of course, the big screen adaptation of Henry Krieger and Tom Eyen's Dreamgirls starring Jamie Foxx, BeyoncË Knowles, Eddie Murphy and introducing Jennifer Hudson in the break-out performance of the last few years.

For an in-depth feature on Dreamgirls, click here: >>> BroadwayStars <<<

Dreaming of a White Christmas?

With the stage musical adaptation of the ultimate feel-good holiday film Irving Berlin's White Christmas [1954] playing just about everywhere but here, lots of people are. We'll just have to be satisfied with the just released Ghostlight Records cast CD, which features the 2004 World Premiere San Francisco cast: Anastasia Barzee, Brian d'Arcy James, Jeffry Denman, Karen Morrow and Meredith Patterson.

Songsmith Sammy Cahn once said, "Somebody once said you couldn't have a holiday without Irving Berlin's permission." Mr. B, if he'd written nothing else, could have and did live pretty darn well off the royalties of his played-everywhere "White Christmas." It's a song you just can't get away from this time of year.

Which must have influenced Tony Award-winning director Walter Bobbie (Chicago), book writers David Ives and Paul Blake and brilliant, multiple Tony-nominated choreographer Randy Skinner [42nd Street, State Fair, Ain't Broadway Grand]. There are two official companies playing in Minneapolis and Detroit, numerous other licensed productions, even a U.K. tour.

The musical dropped some of the songs featured in the film, but the CD's 18 tracks include "Blue Skies," "Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep," "The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing," "Love, You Didn't Do Right by Me" and the sensational duet "Sisters." Other Berlin tunes interpolated into the stage show are "Let Me Sing and I'm Happy," belted to the heavens by Morrow, "I Love A Piano," which features one of Skinner's most memorable tap routines, "Falling Out Of Love Can Be Fun," "Let Yourself Go," "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" and "How Deep Is the Ocean."

The booklet has vivid color photos, notes, synopsis and lyrics.

You can have a white Christmas with White Christmas if you're also in the vicinity of Coral Gables, Hilton Head, Seattle and among others, Sacramento.

At the Ballet

The New York City Ballet is presenting their holiday classic, George Balanchine's The Nutcracker through December 30 at Lincoln Center's New York State Theatre. More than 100,000 people annually see this perennial, which premiered in 1954. NYCB's presenting partner is Wachovia.

Set to Tschaikovsky's glorious score, Nutcracker features not only Balanchine's choreography but scenery by renowned Russian designer and five-time Tony nominee Rouben Ter-Arutunian [he won a 1959 Tony for costume design, Redhead]. The production includes the Company's entire roster of more than 150 dancers and musicians, as well as two alternating casts of 50 children from the School of American Ballet.

Highlights include a one-ton Christmas tree that grows from 12 to 40 feet, an onstage snowstorm and hundreds of elaborate costumes [by Karinska] [one for Mother Ginger that measures nine feet wide and weighs 85 pounds]. The grand finale involves one million watts of lighting.

Tickets are $30 - $110 for peak performances and $22 - $92 for off-peak and are available at the NYState Theatre box office, through Center Charge (212) 721-6500 or the web site www.nycballet.com.

NYCB's Sweet Seat VIP Package [$200, peak; $185, off] includes premium center seating, souvenir book and ten percent off purchases at the NYCB Gift Shop [for every two Sweet Seat tkts purchased, there's a keepsake photo with a Nutcracker character, which might include celebrated guest artist, former American Ballet principal dancer/choreographer and Tony nominee Robert La Fosse [Jerome Robbin's Broadway; also, Dancin'] who's appearing as Herr Drosselmeier.

[Photos: 1) PAUL KOLNIK; 3) JOAN MARCUS; 5) PAUL KOLNIK; 6) BERTRAND GUAY ]

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Dreamgirls Comes Lavishly to the Screen; Jennifer Hudson and Beyonce Knowles Break Out

By Ellis Nassour on December 19, 2006 12:01 AM

Twenty-five years after first bringing audiences to their feet, Dreamgirls finally arrives onscreen. David Geffen, who controlled the rights, was very protective and wanted to make sure he put the show in the right adapter's hand. He did. It was a long wait, but well worth it. Dreamgirls is a dream!

In the season premiere of American Idol, Simon Cowell should eat crow. His treatment of Jennifer Hudson, as she made her way to the third season finals, was disgraceful. He never missed an opportunity to diss her appearance and her performances.

However, diva that he is, Cowell would tell Hudson and others, laughing all the way, that his comments were for the TV audience; and not how he really felt!

Hudson, whose only "formal" singing experience had been as a vocalist from age seven in her church choir, inspired by her gospel-singing grandmother [whom, she says, could have a career "but she didn't want to live her life that way and away from her family].

The vocalist/actress now being hailed as A Star of Tomorrow, came to AI after gigs as a cartoon character for six months on Disney cruises and her only "land" job - working with her sister at a Burger King. "That didn't last long," she points out, "because I was terrible at doing just about everything I had to do." The one thing she wasn't terrible at was singing and she performed at numerous functions, such as weddings and funerals.

Her grandfather operated a funeral home and she was so often brought in to sing at passings that she became known as "the funeral singer."

By the time Hudson arrived on AI, she was still a novice at performing under pressure and was always a nervous wreck. In the end, she didn't get the public votes to make it beyond seventh place. She did, however, score where it counted: with producer Laurence Mark, who was knocked out every time he heard her sing.

"When it came time to leave," Hudson reveals, "I was okay because I knew American Idol wasn't my dream - that my dream was coming. I was like Effie - on a kind of rollercoaster ride and coming out of it with a deeper understanding of myself and my art."

Hudson's ultimate revenge, if the sweet, easygoing young woman from Chicago would ever contemplate revenge of any sort, is that she's one of the stars in one of the year's most eagerly anticipated films, playing the much sought-after role of Effie Melody White in Bill Condon's adaptation of Michael Bennett's landmark musical production of Henry Krieger and the late Tom Eyen's Dreamgirls.

The musical, of course, is a thinly disguised story of the path to fame by the Supremes and the conflict between former lead singer Florence Ballard and soon-to-be diva Diana Ross.

Hudson stars opposite Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx, the stunning BeyoncË Knowles [in the role of Deena Jones], Eddie Murphy [finally in a movie that won't tank at the box office and giving, perhaps, the finest performance of his career] as James "Thunder" Early and Tony winner Anika Noni Rose [Caroline or Change] as Lorrell Robinson.

"I knew Dreamgirls was going to be a big deal," understates Hudson, "but what I didn't realize was how much weight was going to be on my shoulders. Thank God, I didn't know! I would have been a constant nervous wreck."

Featured in the knockout musical are Danny Glover, Keith Robinson as Effie's brother C.C., three-time Tony Award winner [and two-time Drama Desk Award nominee] Hinton Battle and Sharon Leal [who was a highlight, along with original Dreamgirls star Loretta Devine, in David E. Kelley's award-winning TV series Boston Public].

The movie opens today in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco to qualify for nominations, but a star is already born. [The initial engagement is reserved seats, with souvenir book and limited edition prints; $25 in NYC.]

More engagements follow on Christmas Day but the film [from Dreamworks and Paramount Pictures] will not receive wide release until mid-January. The Dreamgirls soundtrack has just been released by Music World Music/Sony Urban Records.

Unless you've been totally out of touch, you know that the tall, big-boned Hudson is being heralded as this year's breakout movie star. It was just announced that she won a Golden Globe nomination; and it's all but certain that she'll receive an Oscar nod.

Mark and Condon conducted a six-month search for their Effie and Deena. They saw more than 780 women in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, L.A., New York and St. Louis, and here in before, as Condon points out, "finding the right combination of strength, passion and vulnerability to embody the characters" in Hudson and Knowles.

"Effie, especially, was so important," explains Mark, "because she's the heart of the movie. It was critical that we find exactly the right person."

Hudson auditioned, was told thank you; didn't think she'd get a call back; got call backs; was told thank you; and never thought she'd hear from Mark, Condon or the casting directors. "Then one afternoon," she says with excitement building, "the phone rang and they told me I had the job!"

Hudson is nothing short of breathtaking. Her Effie is one of the most impressive motion picture debuts ever. She scores extraordinarily well in performance, in comic bits and especially when she lets go of the caged fury that's been building as she realizes the man she loves, group manager Curtis Talylor [Jamie Foxx, who makes a smooth slick "villain"] is pushing her into the background in the recording studio and onstage because he infatuated with Deena.

She may have been dismissed from AI, but [unlike Cowell] Mark was very impressed each time he saw Hudson - "not only with her amazing vocal ability but also in graceful way she handled herself. When I contacted Jennifer and invited her to audition for us, I was amazed at her confidence."

For her part, Hudson states, "I had always told people that Effie was a role I would one day love to play. To have the opportunity to audition for such a high caliber project and then to get the role was just unbelievable. With everyone believing so strongly in me, my goal was just not to let them down."

However, it wasn't exactly "easy does it" at the beginning. "I was nervous," states Hudson, "I thought, 'How is a contender for the title of American Idol going to do this?' And one who didn't even make it. I wondered, 'What have I gotten myself into?'"

Her worries quickly dissipated as everyone from bottom to top was supportive.

Hudson not only can soar when she sings, but she has acting chops. She's surprisingly comfortable and capable of great depth in the multi-layered role of the Detroit R&B singer who struggles to get recognition, and when she's on the verge of stardom gets pushed aside in favor trio member Deena.

Speaking of Deena, Knowles affects an amazing transformation. "Fans are going to be very shocked," smiles Knowles. "They'll be expecting BeyoncÈ, but BeyoncÈ is nowhere in this movie."

Something they can be certain of is that an Oscar bid will follow on the heels of her GG nomination.

For almost a third of the film, Knowles downplays her stunning voice and cover girl looks. "I thought it important to hold back," she explains, "because Deena's performance style is so different from mine. I kept reminding myself, ëDon't sing it in full voice, sing it like Deena.' She's all about subtletiesóshe's very feminine and sexy, but in a subtle, slightly mysterious way."

"It took a great deal of skill on BeyoncÈ's part," observes Mark, "for her not to pull focus in the first part of the movie and to be very different from herself until her moment came."

It would be hard to top the praise heaped on the film by a fan writing of "a spectacular movie musical experience" after catching Dreamgirls at an advance screening: "This is one worth waiting in line for! Beautifully realizedÖDreamgirls reminds you of when movie version of Chicago knocked our socks off and, with the help of the gorgeous Moulin Rouge, helped to revive the modern movie musicalÖ.As amazing and eye-popping as the dramatic scenes and musical numbers are, this is, ultimately, a movie rooted in its performancesÖ Everyone wildly applauded when Jennifer Hudson struck her last note in 'And I Am Telling You.' I've never watched a movie where the audience erupted in applause like they would in a Broadway theatre. It was such an intense experience."

Movie musical-wise, great hope was held out for the adaptations of Rent and The Producers. Though much care went into bringing the shows to the screens, ultimately they failed because they didn't create audience buzz.

Dreamgirls will have a different trajectory. It's being presented as an event. Even before its limited opening today, at ticket prices up to $25, there 's buzz and heightened anticipation not only here but also abroad. It's the can't-wait-to-see movie of the year.

Much credit must go to director and adapter Bill Condon [Kinsey, Gods and Monsters; adapter of the 2003 Best Picture Chicago]. In spite of numerous other nominations, amazingly he was snubbed by the GGs. He was smart not to tamper with Bennett's blueprint and, in numerous ways, honor his stage concept. [The film is also dedicated to his memory.]

"I tried hard to know the show inside out," says Condon. "It was important to honor Bennett's achievement. But when I tried to present everything a bit too accurately, it tended to spook me, so I pulled back a little."

The film captures the sung-through aspect of the stage show, an element, explains Mark, that he and Condon felt essential and one they had to fight hard for.

Dreamgirls onstage, recalls Condon, "was one of those experiences you never forget. It was thrilling, with a brilliant cast and Michael's legendary staging. With the passage of time, it was possible to take a fresh look at the material. The story of the crossover success of urban [African-American] music in the volatile 60s resonates more than ever today, when a new hybrid of that music is defining the mainstream."

Other than Hudson, Condon and Mark's casting coup is Murphy as flamboyant R&B star James "Thunder" Early. As soon as Murphy got wind the film was "on the boards," he really went after the role. "Dreamgirls came along when music was changing," he points out, "when the industry began to recognize ëurban' influences. R&B, rock roots dug by black artists, became the sound of the times. The show was the story about this group that rode their sound into mainstream pop America, and their struggles with stardom, jealousies, romances, deceit, heartbreak, set backs. It had it all."

"Thunder," describes Condon, "is a force of nature. Nothing can hold him back when he's performing and that electric energy bleeds into his personal life. I had Eddie in mind to play him from the beginning. He'd seen the stage show several times. He told me he wanted the part because of the challenge of doing something that didn't connect to anything he'd done before."

"Eddie took the biggest risk," adds Mark, "and he really went for it, aiming for the rafters." Murphy not only displays an incredible range of maturity as Early but he also surprises with a good singing voice. His vocals are his. Nothing was dubbed.

"We knew Eddie had talent and was very deft playing comedy," says Jamie Foxx, "but when he came in and went into his song and dance numbers, it was incredible. The guy can do it all!"

Knowles agrees, adding, "We had to look out when Eddie took the stage. He rocked. The middle name in his character, ëThunder,' really doesn't do justice to describing his energy and the effect he had on us and the audience [extras] in the theatre where we shot."

Dreamgirls began life titled Big Dreams. It was workshopped for Joseph Papp at the Public Theatre, where Bennett had struck gold with A Chorus Line. Nell Carter sang the role of Effie. When she took the lead in the sitcom Gimme A Break, the project was shelved. A year later, Eyen and Krieger brought ten songs from the workshop to producer Bob Avian and Bennett.

The show was an anomaly when it came to life on Broadway in December, 1981; and went on to win 13 Tony Award nominations. The show took six: Best Book - Tom Eyen; Outstanding Actor - Ben Harney; Outstanding Actress - Jennifer Holliday; Outstanding Featured Actor - Cleavant Derricks; Outstanding Lighting - Tharon Musser; and Outstanding Choreography - Bennett and Michael Peters.

It was also nominated for 10 Drama Desk nods [winning only four, but not Outstanding Musical, Score or Director]. Maury Yeston/Arthur Kopit/Mario Fratti's Nine captured the top honors.

Bennett was out to make a statement, and he did. Visually, Dreamgirls was unlike anything ever attempted on Broadway. Maybe, for the voters, a little too "unlike." As stunning as it looked and sounded, it worked on the dramatic level as well.

Bennett's Tony for his choreography would be his seventh and final honor. Dreamgirls was his final production before he succumbed to complications from AIDS on July 2, 1987 at age 44. He was to be the director/choreographer of Tim Rice/Benny Andersson/Bjorn Ulvaeus' Chess on the West End, and developed a concept. The reins were eventually passed to Trevor Nunn.

Dreamgirls ran on Broadway for nearly four years, 1,521 performances, before touring the U.S. and traveling to France and Japan. There have been numerous overseas productions.

"The show was an extraordinary, unforgettable experience," says Mark. "The look of that show and the music stayed with me all these years."

"There's something primal about musicals," says Condon, who was galvanized when he saw the show on Broadway from a seat on the very back row on opening night. "They can get under your skin in a way that straight dramas can't. Dreamgirls goes to another level. The emotions bleeding through the songs make it a profoundly affecting experience."

Mark feels that the themes are more relevant today than they were 25 years ago. "What are the gains and losses that accompany fame, following your dream? What are the consequences if you don't compromise? What are the consequences if you do?"

All these years later, Krieger is reliving the dream. "The show has been faithfully kept intact and yet given its own vibration. Credit goes to Bill's screenwriting and direction, along with those who worked on Harold Wheeler original orchestrations."

He notes that the film offers its own interpretations of the original material, including Jennifer Holliday's raw, emotional Act One finale show-stopper that always brought the house down. In the film, it is also sort of an Act One finale.

"Jennifer Hudson brought very different things to ëAnd I Am Telling You,'" he says. "What she does in a very vulnerable way isn't what Jennifer Holliday did. Ms. Holliday did the song in a huge, brassy way, but Jennifer uses a different quiver of arrows. That's really the case throughout the film. The cast brought their own artistry to the material, and it's valid. It works."

There has been some press about Jennifer Holliday feeling she was "shut out" of the film adaptation. But what role did she expect to play? Effie's mother?

Twenty-five years is a long time ago, especially in show business, where you can be quickly forgotten in two years. Holliday was plucked from the 1980 revival of Your Arms Too Short To Box with God [which netted her a Drama Desk nomination for Featured Actress] by Michael Bennett, who made her the toast of Broadway. She went on to win Best/Outstanding Actress Awards from the Tony and DD. Then her behavior became erratic. She would often miss performances only, it was heavily reported, to be appearing in one-night-only concert gigs. That led to a rift with bennett.

Holliday went off on a much-ballyhooed recording career, briefly returning to Broadway as a replacement in two revivals: as Teen Angel in Grease and, in the summer of 1996, for five weeks, as patron Morton in Chicago.

You don't hear gripes from Tony and DD-nominee Sheryl Lee Ralph, who went on to TV sitcom stardom and returned to Broadway as the glamourous Muzzy Van Hossmere in 2002's Thoroughly Modern Millie.

Back to the movie, for which Krieger composed music for four new songs: "Love You I Do," performed by Hudson; "Listen," passionately sung by Knowles; "Patience," for Murphy, Keith Robinson and Anika Noni Rose; and "Perfect World."

Regarding "Listen," which Deena uses to tell Curtis she's not standing still, "it's an actor's dream to have a moment like that - to have a song like that to act," says Knowles. "It says everything Deena needs to say, the words and emotions any woman can relate to. It was amazing working with Henry ó twenty-five years after the original, to still write something so wonderful is incredible. I hope twenty-five years from now, I can still write songs like ëListen.'"

There is hardly a false note in the film regarding casting or musical numbers. Ironically, sometimes in the film, the quieter, more subdued moments top some of the big, occasionally overorchestrated production numbers, which, in themselves, are quite eye-popping. In a nod to the stage show, there's a cameo appearance by Loretta Devine, the original Lorrell.

Additional praise must be heaped on Virginia Katz for her dazzling editing, costumer Sharen Davis, production designer John Myhre, choreographer Fatima Robinson, Broadway veteran award-winning lighting designers Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer, music supervisors Randy Spendlove and Matt Sullivan and cinematographer Tobias Schliessler.

Condon has opened the screen adaptation up to place the story in a very particular time frame: the beginning of urban music [a.k.a. the Motown Sound] and the beginning of the Civil Rights movement. Often that works well, making for an even more affecting film. There are a couple of false steps. Even at two and a half hours plus, it would have been more satisfying to delve deeper into characters we're familiar with and not introduce new ones that are not given time to develop.

There is one jarring transition, which gave me the impression something had been cut. It's the jump from Hudson's "Act One finale" showstopper to life back in Detroit as she struggles to start anew and also raise a child. [There's the hope that the eventual DVD release will have deleted scenes and numbers.]

Off soundstage locations were the early vaudevillian Palace and Orpheum Theatres in downtown L.A. and Pasadena's historic Ambassador Auditorium. At the Palace, production designer Myhre discovered a stage lift [manually-operated to transport actors and props from below the stagehouse]. His team fitted the lift with a motor, which allows "Thunder" to rise as if by magic before the star-struck Dreamettes for the first time. While shooting at L. A.'s Alexandria Hotel, uncovered ornate columns and plasterwork from a long-gone era were uncovered.

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The Holidays Are Upon Us! Have You Found That Special Gift? If Not, Select from Lots of Theatrical Possibilities

By Ellis Nassour on December 18, 2006 12:01 AM

There's never been a holiday season with so much Broadway-related product in the market place. You'll have no problem finding a theater or arts gift for that special someone - or yourself! The list is long: books - big ones, small ones - galore, DVDs, CDs.

There's something for everyone - even if you're on a limited budget. If you're not, you're going to have some festive holidays!

Of course, the best gift of all is tickets to a Broadway or Off Broadway show [there are shows for adults - such as the new hot tickets Spring Awakening; and, more than ever before, shows for the kids] or several of the worthwhile live attractions currently in town.

A Theatrical Treasure Trove

When you are in the Lincoln Center area, whether just being there or checking out the attractions at Avery Fisher Hall, the New York City Ballet, the Met, Big Apple Circus or Tom Stoppard's trigoly, The Coast of Utopia, at the Beaumont, don't miss Stars and Treasures: 75 Years of Collecting Theater, a free exhibition in the Donald and Mary Genslager Gallery of the NY Public Libary for the Performing Arts, through May 5.

The exhibition is one of the events celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the Billy Rose Theater Division. There are over 300 items on display - Academy, Emmy and Tony Awards, videos, excerpts from the Library's Theater on Video Collection, drawings, scripts, photographs, set models, costumes, window cards and theatre posters from the early 18th century to the present. They represent drama, musical theatre and popular entertainment such as the circus, magic and vaudeville.

The Billy Rose Collection has amassed more than nine million items, which together constitute the world's preeminent record of live theater. The exhibit, with a tribute to early British theater, features hundreds of rare and unique treasures, some viewed only by researchers and never before on public display. These include a draft of Capote's House of Flowers annotated in his hand; a Ford's Theatre program from the night Lincoln was assassinated by Edwin Booth's brother, actor John Wilkes Booth; and a 1970s-80s gypsy robe - the ceremonial robe passed among dancers from musical to musical, with embellishments added by each.

Some items from the Library's Collection: costume jewelry worn by Edwin Booth in Hamlet, a script of Sir John Gielgud's from a 1930s production, the costume designs by Cecil Beaton for the original My Fair Lady, a jeweled belt worn by Sarah Bernhardt, letters written by Harry Houdini, early drafts of Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, letters from Tennessee Williams describing his alcoholism and its effect on his writing, Al Hirschfeld's seven-foot 1950s mural depicting First Nighters such as Marlene Dietrich, Lillian Gish and No"l Coward and a Hirschfeld caricature of George Bernard Shaw as a red-faced, horned devil.

Among the treasures on loan from celebrities Jane Alexander [a silver smelling-salts vial once owned by Ellen Terry], Joel Grey, Harvey Fierstein, Julie Harris, Angela Lansbury, Patti LuPone [jewelry she wore in Evita that was worn by Ethel Merman in Call Me Madam], Donna Murphy and Tommy Tune.

The Gift of Music

* How about a little Beatles redux?When The Beatles: LOVE opened in it's spectacular new home at Vegas's Mirage, Paul McCartney was so stunned at the state of the art quality of the performance sound he told me: "We were a bloody great band. I'm proud of the music we made. When it was suggested we partner with Cirque, it reminded me that over the years I'd given some thought to remixing our music. I always decided there wasn't much reason for it. ëLeave it alone,' I said. But when Cirque and our long-time producer George approached me, I realized our music wasn't finished. The Cirque show gives it a new slant and a new life. So if ever there was a good reason, this was it."

A good reason, indeed. Sir George Martin who produced most of the Beatles' albums and who's affectionately called the fifth Beatle, and his son Giles' goal was "to take audiences on a song-by-song magical mystery tour into the heart and soul of what the Beatles wrote and composed. It's a journey through their exploration of the aesthetic, political, anti-war and spiritual trends of the wild, rebellious 60s."

Now, even if you can't make it to the desert, you can experience the amazing remix of Beatles' classics on the two-disc CD and DVD-Audio pull-out soundtrack package [Apple/Capitol Records; SRP $22]. You'll agree that the sound on the 26 tracks is the Beatles as you've never heard them.

Included is a souvenir booklet with 26 pages of psycheldelic photos [from the huge projections used in the stage show] and notes by the Martins.

For more on The Beatles: LOVE, including interviews and photos,
click >>> BroadwayStars <<< . = == = == = == = == = == = ==

* Tony Award winner Brian Stokes Mitchell's voice stands out, making comparisons almost impossible. After appearing on numerous cast albums, he makes his solo debut on this self-titled CD [Playbill Records] and is equally at home with a standard, show tune or a jazz-infused classic. He has a voice that can evoke a mood or an emotion.

"Making an album," explains Mitchell, "is like having a child. It's conceived, made manifest, nurtured, shaped, guided and finally turned out into the world with the hope it's been given what it needs to connect and thrive.

"I chose songs that reflect my life and who I am," he adds, "not only my musical journey but also my journey through life. I wanted to give my musical theater fans what they want while being true to the sound I hear and my musical influences."

The 12 tracks [the only disappointment; there should have been at least 15!] include songs by Sondheim and Bernstein ["Something's Coming"], Sondheim ["Being Alive," "Another Hundred People," "Losing My Mind," "Pretty Women"], Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh ["The Best Is Yet to Come"], Jule Styne, Adolph Green and Betty Comden ["Just in Time"], George and Ira Gershwin and Adam Guettel ["How Glory Goes," Floyd Collins]. Mitchell penned many of the arrangements and orchestrations and produced the CD.

* Jamie deRoy, winner of numerous cabaret awards and now also theater and film producer, is known for her Jamie deRoy & Friends concerts, TV show and CDs. But her new CD has a twist. The theater composers sing in the key of their own voices.

If I Sing [PS Classics], titled after the Richard Maltby/David Shire song from Closer Than Ever, features 16 songwriters taking on their own material - some of it familiar, some unknown - in new performances and new arrangements.

Among the theater composers on the disc: Stephen Schwartz ["For Good," Wicked], Maury Yeston ["Nowhere to Go but Up" from his unproduced Ramayana], Maltby and Shire, Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx {"Tear It Up and Throw It Away," Avenue Q], Andrew Lippa, Lucy Simon and Marsha Norman ["How Could I Ever Know," The Secret Garden], and Gretchen Cryer and Nancy Ford ["Old Friend," I'm Getting My Act Together...]. On other tracks, pop songwriters Grammy Award-winners Julie Gold and Larry Gatlin perform their material.

If I Sing, with illustrated booklet with extensive notes, was produced by Paul Rolnick, with artistic direction by Barry Kleinbort. It's in stores, or available through psclassics.com, amazon.com, footlight.com.

Buy the Book

* Movie musical fans of a certain age know Marni Nixon. Even if the name doesn't ring a bell, they've heard her sing. She was "the voice" of numerous Hollywood leading ladies who either couldn't carry a tune or couldn't carry one well enough.

She dubbed of Natalie Wood in West Side Story, Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady and Deborah Kerr in The King and I. Now, one of the hardest-working "voices" in Hollywood speaks for herself in I Could Have Sung All Night: My Story, written with playwright/librettist Stephen Cole [Billboard Books, $25; hardcover, 50 B&W photos, index] with a Foreword by Marilyn Horne.

Nixon arrived in Lalaland, debuting with the L.A. Philharmonic at 17. Her career included working not only with Bernstein and Sondheim on WWS, but also Aaron Copland, Charles Ives and Rogers and Hammerstein.

Her autobiography reveals that it wasn't easy being "the voice" and, in those days, not getting the recognition. And her pay paled in comparison to those she "voiced." She doesn't shy away from being frank as she tells fascinating tales of life "behind-the-scenes."

Nixon's story, unlike so many, has a happy ending. She played Eliza Doolittle on regional stages, portrayed Sister Sophia in the blockbuster Sound of Music, won four Emmys for the children's TV series Boomerang, toured in her one-person show The Voice of Hollywood, did records and TV guest roles, teaches master classes and appeared Off Bway, where she won a 1984 DD as Outstanding Featured Actress, Musical, in Taking My Turn, which was filmed for TV.

On Broadway, she appeared in the Romberg/Robin/Chodorov musical The Girl in Pink Tights [1954], James Joyce's The Dead and later casts of the 2001 Follies and 2003's Nine. Best news of all, however, is that she is a breast cancer survivor and has worked tirelessly to raise prevention awareness.

* Playbill editor Robert Viagas [author of books on The Fantasticks, ACL, Playbill's Broadway Yearbook series] scores again with The Alchemy of Theatre - The Divine Science, Essays on Theatre and the Art of Collaboration [Applause Books; hardcover, illustrated throughout with subject protraits, index; 296 pages, SRP $30] showcases 28 show business talents working in various Broadway fields [acting, producing, writing, design] sharing their thoughts on theater and the art of collaboration.

Among those writing on achieving success in a world where giant egos are locked together under the financial and emotional pressure to deliver the goods and make a production come together as a whole are: Edward Albee, Cy Coleman [one of his last writing efforts before his death], lighting designers Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer, musical director Paul Gemignani, Rocco Landesman, costumer William Ivey Long, Terrence McNally, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Harold Prince, Chita Rivera, Shubert Org chairman Gerald Schoenfeld, Susan Stroman, set designer Robin Wagner, Wendy Wasserstein and George Wolfe.

* Village Voice columnist and frequent TV guest Michael Musto, often called "the Hunter S. Thompson of snark," has complied a series of his essay which track the world of A-List celebrities and put them into book form, La Dolce Musto: Writings by the World's Most Outrageous Columnist [Carroll & Graf; 386 pages, trade edition, SRP, $16].

In his weekly column and TV appearances, Musto has also pioneered gay issues - often with a cutting edge. His gossip, dripping with his trademark cattiness, of the party circuit and especially his quite-telling blind items are the eagerly anticipated dish.

The book has a sampling of his star romps with and ripe comments on the likes of Sandra Bernhard, Anderson Cooper, Ellen DeGeneres, Anita Ekberg, Mel Gibson [of his recent DUI arrest: "I had no idea that an open bar is all it takes to turn Mother Teresa into a hair-plugged Hitler"], Liberace, epitomize his style: full of adulation, and sexual innuendo. Lindsay Lohan, Madonna and once arch enemy, Rosie O'Donnell.

Want More?

* What better gift to all the family than a holiday visit to New York's very own Big Apple Circus, New York's original not-for-profit one-ring circus, and its 29th season spectacular new production Step Right Up! Performances under the tent in Lincoln Center's Damrosch Park run through January 7.

Artistic and creative directors Paul Binder and Michael Christensen have brought together circus acts from around the world, set in a seaside amusement park of a bygone era where audiences are swept into a world of boardwalk bathing beauties, games of chance, Ragtime rhythms and eye-popping "electrified" signs and a living carousel.

Artists include Russia's Irina and Andrey Perfilyev, performing a daring aerial ballet; China's Zhengzhou Troupe; Arabian stallions; the German/Cuban hand-balancing Liazeed Trio; and Russian jugglers Svetlana Ivtchenko and Gennadiy.

The showstopping Aussie cyclist and hilariously funny Justin Case wildly masters a bicycle into all manner of out-of-the-ordinary formations. His finale is riding a 4" X 6" wheelie through a flaming hoop.

The BAC would not be the BAC without the high jinks and pratfalls of beloved star clown Grandma, now proudly inducted into the International Clown Hall of Fame. She's joined by France's celebrated clown Francesco.

Tickets are from $22 - $78 [depending on day and time] with $125 premium seating; available from the Lincoln Center Big Apple Circus box office; through Centercharge, (212) 721-6500; Ticketmaster, (212) 307-4100; Ticketmaster outlets; and online at ticketmaster.com.Special pricing applies to the 9:30 PM New Year's Eve gala performance where, after the show, you join the artists in the ring for a family-friendly countdown to 2007. For reservations, call (800) 922-3772.

* That bold, rambunctious gang of Aussies, better known as Circus Oz, is back with a vengeance. Their new, pulse-racing production from Down Under, The Laughing At Gravity Tour, plays the historic New Victory Theatre through December 31st.

Like Cirque du Soleil, Circus Oz is animal free; but while Cirque presents Felliniesque tableaux, Oz goes the Mad Max mayhem route. These Aussies from Melbourne revel in creating surreal chaos.

It's a show that will captivate children as well as adults.With thrills, chills and hearty laughter, there's nothing traditional or ho-hum about this circus. When these cheeky, dexterous mischief-makers aren't flipping, soaring or juggling, they're jamming to the rock licks of their band.CO has developed an international following because audiences know it's packed with death-defying feats and pyrotechnic surprises. In addition to their mind-boggling feats, the company's zany characters deliver wacky, cutting-edge insanity.

CO acts not only are in the moment but also in your face. There's always more than one thing happening at once - and it will always be daring and funny.

The show begins with a popcorn vendor finding herself literally twisted in knots; an accordion player in a bolero jacket thwarting off the oncoming advances of a BMX stunt biker; an aerial duo challenging gravity on a double trapeze; Chinese acrobats doing feats from high up in the Victory's fly space entwined only in canvas straps; and 12 riders creating a human pyramid on a moving bicycle, no hands on the handlebars. Even a band member gets into the act flying high across the stage while playing the double bass.

If that's not enough edge-of-the-seat entertainment, consider the reinvention of a traditional sideshow stunt, where concrete slabs are smashed on a performer's stomach - with a sledge hammer. Be forewarned that, surprisingly for a show at the New Victory, famed for its children's programming, some aspects of the show are a bit "in your face" with what many considered inappropriate sexual banter and posturing in considerably skimpy costumes.

With tickets priced $15 - $50, Circus Oz is one of the city's best entertainment bargains. Purchase online at Telecharge.com, by calling (212) 239-6200 or at the New Victory box office [209 West 42nd Street, just off Broadway]. In addition to evening shows starting at family-friendly 7 P.M., there are numerous matinees.

At Home with the Movies

Pull out the popcorn, melt the butter and crush the ice for your Diet Coke:

* Just in time for purchase for entertaining holiday viewing is The Astaire and Rogers Collection: Volume Two [Warmer Home Video, SRP $60]. The five disc gift set, continuing the legacy of two of the world's dance legends, is an experience akin to going out for a night at the movies 70 years ago, contains these treasures bubbling with the team's lavish, height-of-sophistication routines from the RKO Pictures vaults.

Discs: Carefree [featuring "Change Partners" and Astaire's legendary battle with the golf balls, "Since They Turned Loch Lomond into Swing"], Flying Down To Rio [top billing went to the ever-gorgeous Dolores Del Rio; the duo's first film together, highlighted by the production number on airplane wings and their energetic "Carioca"], The Gay Divorcee [with "Night and Day" and the Oscar-winning song "The Continental," also a revelation in dance precision], Roberta [highlighted by Astaire's classic "I Won't Dance"] and The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle ó all in crisp, sparkling B&W, all new to DVD, all newly remastered.

Composers include Berlin, Harbach, Kern, Porter and Youmans. Supporting players, always an asset in any A-R outing, include: 1) Ralph Bellamy, Jack Carson, the incorrigible Franklin Pangborn; 2) Gene Raymond; 3) the delightful Alice Brady and Ed Everette Horton; 4) top-billed Irene Dunne, pre-Westerns Randolph Scott; and 5) two great classic character actors, Edna May Oliver and Walter Brennan.

The set boasts numerous extras features such as documentaries, photo cards, replicas of original press books, comedy/musical/novelty shorts, even cartoons.

* Forbidden Hollywood, Volume 1 [WHV, SRP $40] is of interest to any dedicated cinema fan. With three 30s pre-Code films, all remastered and for the first time on DVD, Baby Face [uncensored version], Red-Headed Woman and the original Waterloo Bridge, this set takes you back to the time when Hollywood was free to present just about any adult theme without interference or censorship.

The stars, respectively, are Barbara Stanwyck as a loose woman sleeping her way from rags to riches;; platinum bombshell Jean Harlow; and Mae Clarke.

Broadway's Lost Treasure Found

Anyone interested in the archives of great performances from the early Tony Awards produced by Broadway impresario Alexander Cohen [through the 1986 Tonys] will enjoy excerpts from those telecasts presented on the Broadway's Lost Treasures, three volume, boxed set [Acorn Productions; $60; approximately 90 minutes each].

The set also goes beyond the Cohen years with 23 rarely-seen performances, including the companies of Merrick's 42nd Street ["We're In the Money"] and Fosse; Gwen Verdon performing "Whatever Lola Wants" from Damn Yankees with Ray Walston alongside; Jerry Orbach from Promises, Promises; Zero Mostel performing "Comedy Tonight!" from A Funny ThingÖ; an eight minute tribute to Ethel Merman; a Julie Andrews medley; and numbers from How Now Dow Jones, Into the Woods, Kiss Me Kate, Peter Pan, Ragtime and 1980's West Side Story.

The package includes excerpts from 19 Tony-nominated plays, with 14 performances not seen in the PBS broadcast. Musical bonus material includes Angela Lansbury performing "Everything's Coming Up Roses" from the 1975 Gypsy revival.

A Japanese Medea for LaMama

Charismatic, celebrated and controversial Japanese dancer/actor star Hiroshi Jin and his all-male [in the tradition of the Kabuki] Company East will present the New York premiere of his 1997 Medea at La Mama's Annex [74A East 4th Street, off Second Avenue] on January 4-17. It arrives here after acclaimed performances world-wide.

Jin, who plays several roles, notes that his interpretation with much visualization in "spiritual dance" which is based on Zen, "the spirit between life and death, the erotic beauty of the bare body." [In other words, there'll be steamy, full-frontal nudity.]

Kenji Kawarasaki is directeor/choreographer. Tickets are $20; to purchase, go to www. http://www.lamama.org/.

Glorious Holiday Treats

Manhattan is filled with holiday spectacular from the trees at Rockefeller Center, Bryant Park, Lincoln Center and the Metropolitan Museum; Macy's and the Lord & Taylor windows; and glittering Park Avenue.

At the Met, you have just under two weeks to catch the stunningly-mounted exhibition CÈzanne to Picasso: Ambroise Vollard, Patron of the Avant-Garde with masterworks galore [ends January 7]. Besides the titled artists, there are Degas, Gauguins, Van Goghs, Matisses, Renoirs. The other major Met retrospective is Americans in Paris, 1860-1900, which features 100 paintings by 37 American artists, runs through January 28.

Speaking of Picasso, also don't miss Picasso and American Art, through January 28, at the Whitney, where Edward Hopper: An American Icon Revealed is also a must-see.

A Few Hours with Tom Stoppard, Dinner Included

Monday, January 8, Drama Desk will present A Conversation with Tom Stoppard, whose trilogy The Coast of Utopia [Voyage, Shipwreck, Salvage] is currently being presented by Lincoln Center Theatre at the Vivian Beaumont. Co-moderators will be Margaret Croyden of NYTheatre-Wire.com and author of Conversations with Peter Brook 1970-2000 [Farrar, Straus & Giroux], and William Wolf, Wolf Entertainment Guide, NYU film instructor and Drama Desk president.

A Conversation with Tom Stoppard will take place in the event room of Tony's Di Napoli Restaurant [147 West 43rd Street, just off Broadway]. A buffet supper and wine and soda will be served from 5 - 6 P.M., with the discussion following until 7:30.All inclusive admission is $25 for DD members and $45 for guests and non-members. Space is limited. For reservations, contact Mr. Wolf at [email protected].

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