IT MIGHT AS WELL BE EASTER

None of the good people involved in raising money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS are likely to forget the 2007-2008 season. First, the stagehands strike disrupted the organization's fall fundraising efforts, but everyone pulled together and did a phenomenal job anyway. As for the spring, Easter came so early this year that BC/EFA's annual Easter Bonnet competition took place long after the actual holiday -- just this week, in fact. Here are some photos from the event, held on Monday and Tuesday at the Minskoff Theater.

The show got off to a great start with the hilarious opening number, "Project Broadway."

Two of the event's hosts, Roger Bart and Megan Mullally, joked about how the house was much more full for the Easter Bonnet competition than it usually is for their show, Young Frankenstein.

Brian Letendre and Kathleen Nanni, from the cast of Mary Poppins, danced to the Bobby Darin recording of "Lazy River."

The company of Xanadu in "Love Feels Better."

Alison Horowitz (left) and Kelsey Fowler, from the cast of Sunday in the Park With George, stopped the show with their "understudy" rendition of "We Do Not Belong Together."

Spamalot's Hannah Waddingham and Clay Aiken sang a soulful duet that was only briefly interrupted by a nun on roller skates.

The company of Spring Awakening showed what might happen if they were to perform Grease in the style of their show.

November's Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf introduced the competition's judges -- and Lane made comic hay with the fact that one of them, Albert Poland, has among his credits the presidency of the Judy Garland Fan Club. (Lane wondered aloud if the vice president was David Gest.)

A look at Mamma Mia! 2.0

The company of The Lion King presented their own version of Legally Blonde, titled -- what else? -- Legally Black.

In a similar vein, the cast of In the Heights performed "Un Dia Mas," a Latino version of "One Day More" from Les Miz.

The present company of the long-running but soon to close Rent in that show's final Easter Bonnet presentation.

Another emotional highlight of the event was the triumphant return of former Ziegfeld girl Doris Eaton Travis, now 104 years young. She danced a duet with her partner, Bill George.

Anika Noni Rose, a.k.a. Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, sang the traditional Easter Bonnet anthem: David Friedman's Help is On the Way.

A Catered Affair's Harvey Fierstein and Faith Prince joined David Hyde Pierce of Curtains to announce the winners in the presentation and fundraising categories and also to announce that everyone's combined efforts had raised $3,734,129 for BC/EFA.

A BODY WITHOUT A HEAD

No, it's not the title of a new splatter film playing down at the multiplex. A Body Without a Head is a much more lyrical, non-violent entertainment, a "theatrical fable" written and directed by George R. Carr. Running April 28-May 2 at Manhattan Theatre Source, the piece is a staged presentation of poems by Carr that were originally published in a collection with sketches by his brother, the late Zack Carr III, who served as right-hand-man to living-legend designer Calvin Klein for more than 25 years.

The poems were written during a trip to St. Tropez and were inspired by the island's namesake, Saint Torpes, a Roman gladiator who was beheaded for refusing to renounce his spiritual beliefs. Set on "a moonlit beach where 12 souls...find comfort in the darkness and each other," A Body Without a Head is said by the author to be intended for anyone, anywhere who at anytime has lost his head to love.

Although the Torpes character doesn't appear until the final few moments of the hour-long show, Carr felt it imperative to have a magnetic, beautiful presence in the part -- and he was understandably shaken when the actor originally cast had to bow out due to another commitment. That's when the gods of the theater smiled on the company.

"Last year," Carr relates, "I was introduced to an actor named Brandon Ruckdashel, who was in a play called Ascension Off-Broadway. I saw him in that, and he was wonderful." Carr made it a point to keep him in mind for future projects, but Ruckdashel soon moved to Los Angeles and became so involved in building a career there that he was unavailable for New York theater work. Or so it seemed...

The story of Ruckdashel's career arc is as interesting as any play or musical -- and, in fact, calls to mind the plots of several plays and musicals. Less than a year after coming to New York at age 22, he was cast in Ascension as Lorenzo, a teenager who may or may not have been sexually abused by a Catholic priest. That tiny-budget production's scheduled three-week run was extended -- and its ticket prices tripled -- in response to the frenzy that was created when Anita Gates of The New York Times raved about Ruckdashel's acting, wrote that he possessed "the intense blond good looks of a young Brad Pitt with a soupçon of James Dean," and also happened to mention that he had a full-frontal nude scene in the show.

Flash forward one year: Following critical acclaim for his performance in the title role of the L.A. premiere of the musical Twist, Ruckdashel has lately been in the thick of indie film and television work. His highest-profile project thus far is a featured role in HERE! TV's gay vampire series The Lair, in which he'll be seen this fall. George Carr wanted him for A Body Without A Head in the worst way, but friends patiently pointed out that Ruckdashel would almost certainly not be available to fly to New York on very short notice for a one-week run in an Off-Off-Broadway showcase. Carr made contact anyway -- and Ruckashel's first words to him were, "When do you want me there?"

The cast of A Body Without a Head also includes Courtney Allen, James Edward Becton, Sarah Doudna, Matt Drago, Olivia Julien, Brian Karim, Catherine Kjome, Terrence Michael McCrossan, Barbara Mundy, John Van Ness Philip, and Steven Seidel. The piece is very much an ensemble effort, but Ruckdashel's role can be seen as its emotional center, and Carr is thrilled at this completely unexpected casting coup. "What a wonderful happening it is to have Brandon as our Torpes," he enthuses. "It's a gorgeous part, and he owns it." For more information, visit www.theatresource.org.

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TWO NIGHTS AT THE OPERA

When I first heard that Ned Rorem was writing an opera based on Thorton Wilder's Our Town, I was very intrigued, as a huge fan of both Rorem's music and this all-time classic, ineffably moving play. So I was thrilled to attend the Juilliard Opera Center's New York premiere production of the piece -- and it wasn't until about a third of the way through the performance that I realized there's an inherent problem in using this work as source material for an opera or musical.

Think about it: The basic theme of Our Town is that, as we human beings move through our daily lives, we don't take the time to smell the roses -- i.e., to fully appreciate all the wonders of the world and the joys of our existence. Even though much of the score that Rorem has crafted for his adaptation is written in a non-effusive, conversational style, the very fact that the characters are singing rather than speaking gives more emotional weight to every single line, creating the impression that the characters are very much aware and appreciative of their loved ones and the simple beauty of their town. Nor does Rorem's music make any real distinction between the world of the living and the world of the dead, whom we see and hear in the famous, devastating graveyard sequence.

The piece may be problematic, but Juilliard gave it a first-class production, with Jennifer Zetlan and Alek Shrader singing beautifully and acting with utter conviction as Emily and George. Other standouts were David McFerrin and Renee Tatum as Mrs. and Mrs. Webb, and Marc Webster and Jessica Klein and Dr. and Mrs. Gibbs. Of all the leads, only Alex Mansoori disappointed as the Stage Manager, seeming too callow and bland for this all-important role. Director Edward Berkeley came up with some odd bits of staging, but Anne Manson conducted the performance with great skill and sensitivity.

Way back in the '70s, when I wanted to introduce friends to the opera, the choice of production was clear: the New York City Opera staging of Donizetti's La Fille du Regiment. The fact that the company performed the piece in English (as The Daughter of the Regiment) was a major plus, especially given the fact that those were the days before NYCO introduced simultaneous translation of libretti via supertitles. La Fille contains quite a large amount of spoken dialogue, making it more accessible to that subset of people who are musical theater lovers but opera-phobes; the piece is basically light and funny, rather than dark and dour; and the NYCO production starred Beverly Sills, whose performance in the title role was irresistibly warm, funny, and charming.

The production of La Fille that's now in rep at the Metropolitan Opera doesn't have Sills, but it's got the brilliant Natalie Dessay in a tour-de-force performance of the title role. A true phenomenon, Dessay is somehow able to toss off thrilling coloratura roulades while gamboling across the stage in the role of the tom-boy waif Marie, going so far as to deliver two sustained high notes while being held aloft by the male chorus. She is superly partnered by the Tonio of Juan Diego Florez, whose singing of the showpiece aria "Pour mon ame" with its nine high "C"s is already the stuff of legend; Alessandro Corbelli, a delightfully droll presence as Sergeant Sulpice; Felicity Palmer in the Margaret Dumont-like role of the Marquise of Berkenfield; and the theater's own Marian Seldes in a nifty, non-singing cameo as the Dutchess of Krakenthorp.

Director Laurent Pelly has moved the action of the opera from the Napoleonic era to World War I, but this is not one of those wholesale revampings that destroy a classic work. On the contrary, this is the funniest, most endearing production of La fille du regiment that anyone could ever hope to experience. Add the surpassing beauty of Donizetti's score as conducted by Marco Amiliato and you have a night at the opera that should not be missed. Mark it in red on your calendar that this production will be telecast as part of PBS's Great Performances series on June 26 (Thirteen/WNET in New York). Check local listings for broadcast times in other cities.

GO, BILLY!

It's only Wednesday, but this has already been and is continuing to be a week chock-full of major theatrical happenings. Yesterday afternoon, the three boys who will rotate in the title role of the upcoming Broadway production of the smash-hit London musical Billy Elliot were introduced to the press by Elton John, the show's composer. And on Monday evening, nominees for the 2008 Lucille Lortel Awards, which celebrate excellence in Off-Broadway theater, schmoozed at a cocktail party. Here are some photos from these events.

In the auditorium of the Professional Performing Arts high School on West 48th Street, the press and group ticket sales representatives were treated to a brief presentation for the highly anticipated Billy Elliot. The highlight of the event was Elton John's introduction of the three super-talented boys who will rotate in the coveted title role; left to right, they are Trent Kowalik, Kiril Kulish, and David Alvarez.

During the presentation, Elton told the crowd how much the show means to him...

...and joined the boys in a special performance of one of the best songs in the score, "Electricity."

The Lortel Awards cocktail party was held in the Roundabout Penthouse Lounge at the American Airlines Theater. Here's Lynn Redgrave, nominated for her magnificent performance in Grace.

Among the other nominees on hand; Stew, star and creator of Passing Strange, with the show's co-composer, Heidi Rodewald...

....Jayne Houdyshell and Brian Murray, respectively nominated for their performances in The Receptionist and Gaslight...

André De Shields (Black Nativity) with Donna Trinkoff, producing artistic director of Amas Musical Theatre, producers of Outstanding Musical nominee Wanda's World...

Composer Tom Kitt and actor Aaron Tveit, both nominated for Next to Normal...

...actress Veanne Cox, nominated for Spain, and choreographer Peter Pucci, nominated for Queens Boulevard (the musical))...

...and some of the team responsible for the TheatreWorks production of Seussical: associate director/choreographer Josh Walden, lyricist Lynn Ahrens, TheatreWorks artistic director Barbara Pasternack, director/choreographer Marcia Milgrom Dodge, and composer Stephen Flaherty.

SO IN LOVE WITH MICHELE RAGUSA

Over the past 30 years or more, Broadway revivals (and revisals) of classic musicals have been abundant. Still, there are only so many great roles to go around. Thus it happens that Michele Ragusa, one of the most talented and versatile performers on the scene, has not yet had a Broadway lead.

This is not to say that she's a complete stranger to the Main Stem; Ragusa appeared in the ensembles of Cyrano: The Musical and Titanic, and as an understudy/replacement in Ragtime, A Class Act, and Urinetown. But her best work has been done beyond Broadway, as for example her hilarious turn in last year's Adrift in Macao at Primary Stages, for which she received both Drama League and Lucille Lortel Award nominations. Her regional theater and tour assignments have ranged from Maria in West Side Story to Adelaide in Guys and Dolls to Eliza in My Fair Lady.

A few years back, Ragusa was a dream Amalia Balash in She Loves Me at the Paper Mill Playhouse, and now she's back at that theater for the plum role of Lilli/Kate in Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate. I recently chatted with her about the part and the production.

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BROADWAYSTARS: How's it going, Michele?

MICHELE RAGUSA: Really well. This is going to be one amazing production of Kiss Me, Kate. The cast, Patti Colombo's choreography -- it's such a pleasure to be involved with something of this caliber.

STARS: Paper Mill has been having some major financial problems of late. One of the reasons it would be so awful to lose the theater is that it gives worthy performers a chance to play great roles in a place where people from the New York theater industry might actually get a chance to see them.

MR: It hurts my heart to see Paper Mill struggling, because it's such a jewel. I'm crossing my fingers that everything's going to get back on track for them. They deserve it, because they're still putting quality shows out there. They're not skimping, especially not with this production. I don't see any corners being cut. They've actually built two gorgeous Shakespearean costumes for me, because the costumes from the tour didn't fit me. The dancers have top-of-the-line dance shoes; they're all LaDucas, and those are expensive! We also have a kick-ass orchestra. If you hadn't heard about the financial problems, I don't think you'd know anything was going on.

STARS: Is Lilli/Kate a part you've coveted?

MR: It's one of those roles that I always thought about when I was younger, but I felt I needed to grow into it because she needs to have some depth to her. As I've gotten older, I've started doing so much more character work, but I still have this soprano voice that a lot of people don't know I have because they've only seen me belting and being sassy. So it's been fun to take on this wild character who's got an Italian temperament, like myself, and put weight into the part while being able to do the soprano stuff on top.