'BOY' OH BOY! by MICHAEL RIEDEL

TIME to dole out some year-end awards to all those larger-than-life characters who make Broadway such fun to write about.

Peter Filichia's Diary

Unable to put down the new biography of Joan McCracken, Filichia chats with the author.

DIVA TALK: A Chat with The Boy From Oz's Stephanie Block PLUS News of Peters and Burnett

The remarkable Lynn Redgrave by RICHARD OUZOUNIAN

Chemotherapy couldn't keep her offstage this past spring

Denis O'Hare: The Exit Interview by JEREMY McCARTER

"Take Me Out" posted a closing notice, and I invited Denis O'Hare to lunch.

'Last Supper' has its disciples by Robert Dominguez

A show the crowd really gets intoby ROBERT DOMINGUEZ

Calling All Crooners: 'The Karaoke Show' invites audience participation.

A Jolly Good Fellow

It might surprise people to see the classical actor hamming it up on a cartoon, but it turns out that what Sir Ian McKellen really wants is to show people his silly side, something he wasn't…

Gary Griffin directs revival of classic 'Little Night Music' by Lawrence Bommer

Drag drops its edgy persona for the mainstream by Sid Smith

The theatrical device is no longer viewed as subversive. Some say pop culture has raised the bar on what shocks.

PHOTO CALL: Dench Dons the Bard Once Again in All's Well at RSC

Star's fantasy gift? Lost 1955 pageant kinescope by Peter Szatmary

Lee Meriwether wishes for Miss America triumph.
Thanks to American Theater Web for the link!

Fire in Storied Building Kills a Mainstay of Greenwich Village by SHAILA K. DEWAN

To David Ryan, Greenwich Village really was a wonderful town.

Apt. blaze kills Village activist by KERRY BURKE and NICOLE BODE

Not much is left of basement apartment on Gay St. in Greenwich Village, where community activist David Ryan died yesterday in an electrical fire.

Remembering the swordsman of Stratford by RICHARD OUZOUNIAN

Patrick Crean taught fencing to greatest actors of his time

Center stage by Peter Filichia

A few changes are afoot at African Globe TheatreWorks in Newark.

For two companies, new spaces coming into play by Maureen Dezell

New Year will bring new venues

CBS Broadcasts "Kennedy Center Honors" Dec. 26; Burnett and Nichols Among Honorees

Lewis, Murney, Price, Shindle and Beach Take Part in Marcy & Zina Show in January 2004

Krakowski, Chenoweth, Wopat to Entertain at MTC Winter Benefit, Jan. 12

PBOL'S THEATER WEEK IN REVIEW, Dec. 20-26: Bye, Bye, "Bah" Show

Kim Fields and Ann Nesby Headline Musical Tour of Cover Girls in 2004

Former Rent-er Taye Diggs Joins Wife Menzel in Broadway's Wicked Dec. 25

Society of Singers to Honor Andrews, Bennett, Horne and More Jan. 27

Today in Theatre History: DECEMBER 25

Gerald Schoenfeld Named New Chairman of League of American Theatres and Producers

Elaine Paige to Launch "No Strings Attached Tour" in May

Jerry Springer Vocal Selections Now Available

THEATER REVIEW | 'THE MUSICAL OF MUSICALS � THE MUSICAL!'

The Hills Walk Alone in an Elephant's Eye by MARGO JEFFERSON
All a good parody needs is smart writers and winning performers. In the case of "The Musical of Musicals � The Musical!," two smart writers and four winning performers.

THEATER REVIEW | 'THE LAST LETTER'

A Woman Faces the Inevitable While Refusing to Bow to It by BRUCE WEBER
A quiet reminder of the human capacity for cruelty and oppression is available in this monologue, which is taken from "Life and Fate" by the Russian novelist Vasily Grossman.

THEATER REVIEWS

Recent Plays by LAWRENCE VAN GELDER
Reviews of "Sholom Aleichem � Now You're Talking!" at the DR2 Theater and "Schmaltz" at the 78th Street Theater Lab.

A cook's tour of family beefs by Howard Kissel

Unappetizing: Jonathan Reynolds dishes his parents.

Plaudits for audit of a heart by Howard Kissel

At the beginning of "Love and Taxes," the sequel to his hilarious "Red Diaper Baby," Josh Kornbluth announces the theme of his new piece with almost mathematical precision.

'Cooking With Elvis': A Recipe Both Sordid And Satisfying by Peter Marks

"Cooking With Elvis" is in absolutely terrible taste. And I mean that in a good way.

LOOK TO 'Q' FOR QUALITY by CLIVE BARNES

THE year on Broadway was hardly the best of times. In fact, it came teeteringly close to the worst.

PLENTY OF ON-TARGET THEATER OFF-BWAY by DONALD LYONS

THE dramatic event of 2003 was "I Am My Own Wife," Doug Wright's investigation (now on Broadway) of the incredible life of transvestite Charlotte von Malhsdorf in the Berlin of, first, the N…

Local theater keeps growing in diversity

Here are a handful of observations from a year of theatergoing.