Production Notes for July 21, 2000 can be found here.
We will be carrying Production Notes until Forrest's deal with Theatremania is completed. (Don't get up on that stage until the contract is signed!)

A correction from yesterday: I mentioned that Talkin' Broadway had the first mention of trouble with The Visit, but Mark Bakalor over at Sondheim.com reminded me that it was actually his site that broke the news at 3:35pm EST.

Bulletin: Angela Lansbury Withdraws From The Visit; Producers Seek Alternatives

Lansbury Won't Visit Broadway

Angela Lansbury Withdraws From Broadway's Visit

Brooks and Meehan's Producers Still Developing

Clear Channel Buys Stations From Sunburst Media for $57 Million

Despite Some Tony Grumblings, Wing, CBS Deny Rumblings
Of course there is no trouble in paradise. CBS and The Wing/League have always had a big love-fest!

Williamstown Readings to Present Ford's 'Tis Pity, July 21

DIVA TALK: Divas in Concert, Quotable Quotes and MORE!

Casting Undway for Broadway Bells Are Ringing

Actress Unfaithful to High Infidelity by Peter Filichia

The Donkey Show Heading Across The Pond by Sean Patrick Flahaven

Faster Than Sound by Sean Patrick Flahaven

Bubbly Looking For A New Home by Sean Patrick Flahaven

Theatre Folk Among Emmy Nominees

We had some technical problems yesterday morning (DNS was down for those of you tech minded...). Keep this in the back of your mind, if you cannot load this website, try our mirror site at BroadwayStars.net.

Nederlander To Roll 'REEFER' Off B'way
Interesting to note: Variety says that they wanted The Kit Kat Klub for this show, but that Rocky Horror has it. I wonder if this is old news or new news. I heard that Circle was going to be RHS's home.

TheatreGrams - THE SCOOP

OB's Infidelity Lives Up To Its Name: Actress Defects, Producers Regrouping

Cast Complete for Marty Musical Reading in NYC, Aug. 1

How Were the Reviews?: The Witches of Eastwick in London

Lifegame Transforms Real Lives into Theatre, Sept. 12
This is what happens when art imitates life, imitating art, imitating life...

Christiane Noll Sings at Arci's Place

Forbidden Washington by Peter Filichia

Tony Winner Reads "Harry Potter" on CD

Kaiser To Become Czar of Kennedy Center

Over at the Frankenstein Place by Ken Mandebaum
Dick Cavett to play the Narrator in RHS? We mentioned that a faithful reader tipped us off to this a week ago. (See July 14)

Correction from yesterday's column: Vargo (Susan) has left the Monologues for the AGYG tour, thereby making my witty comment... well... not witty! My apologies to anyone offended.

My spies on the West Coast have reported in that Lisa Richard's show at The Cinegrill / Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel is excellent. Complete with a duet with Kirsten Benton (Magenta from L.A.'s Rocky Horror Show) of "Lily's Eyes" and then Susan Egan joins them for a belt-fest "I Want it All" from Baby. I guess in mentioning it a few months ago, I Chose Right. (Thanks to Kevin for the info!)

Many people emailed and asked more about the Michael Parker project. Suffice to say that I will let Michael make his own announcement. I have no want to support this project that still uses my name years after I left it.

Other mail included one person who was upset about yesterday's column "name dropping and lame photos." First of all, I appreciate all the feedback, good and bad. It is hard to write this stuff and not name drop... but the point that I was trying to make about Andrew Lippa was that I had never spoken to him before and he heard that someone was in need and he went out of his way to help someone. I believe that he would have called anyone back. I was not trying to say that I was so important. I didn't mean to make it sound like anything else.

And as for the photos, they were just a teaser and linked off the front page so not to slow you down if you did not want to see them. They were, after all, labeled as photos. And the photos are not lame to those fans. In as much as I originally positioned this website to be for industry people, fans are making up the bulk of my visits each day. Please allow us to test new things as the site develops. And please, do let us know your opinions. Thanks.

Speaking of the photos -- I am ready to make that announcement regarding the new columnist... Yes, it was going to be Forrest of Production Notes fame as many of you guessed. "Was" being the key phrase there. Some of you may know that Forrest's Production Notes have been featured on my websites for years. With a shift in editorial at Theatermania, it looked like he was going to leave and come to BroadwayStars.com. Alas, Forrest and Theatermania are discussing a new deal and he may be returning to Theatermania in the very near future. So he will not be moving here, but we still love him and will still advise you of his updates and link to him!

I got a message from Kurt Deutsch today of Sh-K-Boom Records (http://www.sh-k-boom.com/) He was all over me about not mentioning Sherie Rene Scott and Adam Pascal's new CDs. They are available on their website (above) and now at The Palace Theatre. Kurt also mentioned a new project to me for this fall, but maybe I better get the okay before telling the world about it.

Unknown Musicians Finding Payoffs Through the Internet Jukebox

Loyalty Prized Above All in Heart of Bush Country
Loyalty? Now there's a concept.

Production Notes Photos! Opening night party of Off-Broadway's NEVER SWIM ALONE @ Bar d'O (July 13, 2000)

Production Notes Photos! TERRI WHITE's album release party @ CHELSEA LOBSTER

You will never guess who seems to have resurfaced... Michael Parker. Yes, Michael Parker, former publisher of the weekly magazine InTheater. What is he doing? Producing. And worst of all, producing a nightmare project I introduced him to.

Don't get me wrong. I like Michael. I didn't appreciate the way in which subscribers and advertisers were left holding the bag with no information when InTheater stopped publishing. There really is no excuse for that. You just send a letter, make a statement to the press, announce it on your website, that the magazine is no longer in business. If anything, the Broadway community understands when ventures do not work out financially.

Regardless, I really do like Michael. He loves theatre and gave me a lot of time, advice and breaks on advertising. I hope he does not hold it against me that he is involved with this project. (I got out as soon as I realized this show was not savable.) But I do have some advice for Michael in regards to his new project -- advice that I read in THE SEASON: A Candid Look at Broadway by William Goldman:

"The trouble with washing garbage is that when you are done, it's still garbage." - Sheldon Harnick

On to other things, the tribute to David Merrick today was better than most shows on Broadway this past year. A thought occurred to me during the show, albeit off topic -- how about Wally Rubin for Mayor once Mr. Guilliani is finished?!!

So, who out there likes Norm Lewis? When you just can't get your fix of Norm from your CDs of A New Brain, Side Show and MJL's The Wild Party, where do you go? Well, Norm is going to make a new CD, but he can't decide on songs. If you have any suggestions for songs you would like to hear, let us know. We will be sure to get your song list to him.

Spoke to Andrew Lippa briefly today in a Trans-Atlantic three way conference call. A friend of mine is looking to do a few songs from his Wild Party on the BBC this fall and needed the music. I called a someone who called Andrew and then Andrew called me. I guess it is true: the nicest people write the best Broadway shows. It gave me that warm fuzzy feeling all day.

On July 19. Pat Hingle and Lizzie Borden share today as their day of birth.
I could be wrong, but Pat may be older than Lizzie. Pat has a great little role in the Broadway star infested movie, Shaft. One may wonder how Toni Collette had time to do Shaft with her recent busy schedule and all -- until the credits rolled and you found out it was a Scott Rudin picture. Does this guy ever sleep?

Speaking of Lizzie Borden, did you know there is a Lizzie Borden musical? It is going to be featured in this fall's National Alliance for Musical Theatre in September. It is written by Christopher McGovern and Amy Powers. They have a CD already (starring Alison Fraser) and a website.

Donna to do the Vargo Monologues. (Yes, it is confirmed. Susan is getting Stoned to death!) If you don't understand, don't worry.

Frank Wildhorn Gets Romantic: Plans Include Records, TV Special, Theatre Franchise
I think this is a great plan. It is a new way to think about producing, promoting and performing new works.

Low Grosses & Times Pan Send True West Heading South, July 29
Wow, talk about a quick turn in fortune. This speaks to the strength of star power coupled with outstanding performances.

Durst Begins Plans to Restore Henry Miller's Theatre to Legit Use
This kind of rules out ROCKY HORROR. Will RHS end up at Circle in the Square?

David Merrick Remembered by Friends and Colleagues at NYC Memorial

Friends and Enemies Remember Producing Legend David Merrick. It was a sentimental bid of farewell to a Broadway producer, reputed to be "the most hated man in America" when he was alive.
Randy Gener from Theatre.com captured this event the best. Great story.

Housing Update by Ken Mandelbaum

AN AP ENTERTAINMENT REVIEW
This is the Witches of Eastwick review from London.

Covent Garden Chief to Lead Kennedy Center

Janis Joplin Rocks Again at Bay Street Theater, July 19-Aug. 6

Theatre Wing Hosts Texas Kids for Seminars, Outreach in NYC July 19-29

Clear Channel Acquires Bangor, Maine Radio Stations for $20 Million

Merrick’s Memorial by Peter Filichia

Welcoming Different Ideas Into a Playwrights' Nest

McShane and Mackintosh's Witches Open June 18 in UK
(They actually mean today, July 18.)

Boston Hears Bells In March, Broadway Next

London's Lost Musicals Stages Gay Divorce, Sept. 17 and 24

Glover To Star in Hans Christian Andersen Musical

SCENE AND HEARD: Original Cast Members of Rent Reunite and Assess the Broadway Phenomenon

The Musical Theater Table of the Elements

Osmond As Oakley?

Tonys 2001 May Not Be So Rosie
Over at Talkin Broadway there is a pretty extensive discussion about the merits of both sides of the argument.

Tiffany’s Returns to West 44th Street
See you there.

EVERYTHING'S DUCKY - new songs

Reuters: Elizabeth Hurley Causes Advertising Stink

"She was completely unaware of the situation because she doesn't live in this country and she is extremely apologetic about it," said Tracey Jacobs at United Talent Agency.

Surely her agents at UTA knew there was a strike before the shoot...

We have a new Dream Casting column: What should you sing for an audition.

And we have picked up another new columnist: Olli Haaskivi, our favorite 13 year old from Florida who knows more about Broadway than most. To give us a new point of view, we have given Olli some space to tell us what he thinks. Welcome Olli!

We will also announce another columnist this week. Hopefully.

Heading up the radio waves for Broadway tunes is David Kenney who's radio show, EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN, features Broadway music and personalities. His show can be heard on Sunday nights from 9PM - 11PM on 99.5FM in the NYC area. Don't fret if you are out of town, because you can also hear the show on the internet at WBAI.org as a Real Player streaming show. David's show last night was part two of a three part series featuring new releases. He played some of both WILD PARTY CDs back to back to show the differences. He also played our Darrin Baker / Donna McKechnie tune "I Won't Dance"/"Cheek to Cheek" from What's A Nice Girl Like You... I will remind you about next week's show. I should have reminded you about this one! Sorry.

Cameron Mackintosh: A Theater Maverick Isn't Fretting Over His Lean Spell

Why 'Bells' Failed to Toll in Pasadena

Sandra Bernhard Won't Be in New Rocky Horror

NAMT New Musical Fest in NYC to Offer 10 New Works, Sept. 24-25

Second Annual West Coast Musical Theatre Conference Set for Sept. 23-24

Orfeh Sings
Well, I do believe that we have hit a new low in reporting. I realize that this is a basic reprint of the Village Voice article from last week, but did it need to be written about again?

Judas and the Governor's Daughter
Is this really... Nevermind. </sigh>

Dilly Isn't Millie After All
Is this a retraction?
[Update: Did they retract the retraction? This story has been removed from the Broadway.com website. We hear Erin *is* doing Millie...]

A Hymn to Him. The Incomparable Rex by Patrick Garland

Other notable milestones on this day: J.D. Salinger's novel, ``The Catcher in the Rye,'' was first published, Ruben Blades, Phoebe Cates and Barbara Stanwyck share today as their birthday.

Can somebody out there tell me who Leni Wilcox or Mikota Maentz are?

On the Rebound in a Safe Haven: Hard Work

A Hero of the Latino Theater Returns to the Stage

Joe Marchese's Birthday by Peter Filichia

Bubbly Stops Roiling at Playwrights Horizons July 16; Is There a Future?

NYTW's Community Day Fosters Local Awareness and Support for Theatre, July 16

Eric Grode's STAGE TO SCREEN: Fantasticks Found & Reddin Rages on the Small Screen

Since it was raining cats and dogs yesterday... (I can't even finish this sentence, just click on the link!)
B'way Barks Postponed

Drabinsky Announces Strategic Settlement With KPMG Investigation and Security, July 14

White Christmas Gets World Premiere Staging in St. Louis July 17-23

July 14 Deadline For EU Review of Clear Channel/SFX Deal Passes Quietly

Casting Underway for Sondheim's Follies Revival

Scooby-Doo Proves a Stage Hit in Chicago

Armstrong Takes the 5th

Graham Dancers Urge Boycott. The dancers of the Martha Graham Dance Company are urging a boycott of Graham's works after the closing of the virtually bankrupt Graham company and school by the board on May 25.

Karen Mason’s Midsummer Holiday. The star of Broadway, concerts, and cabaret celebrates an early White Christmas in St. Louis.

Blame Canada!. Native son William Shatner beams down to Montreal for this year's Just for Laughs festival.

Dee’s Got Potential by Ken Mandelbaum

Rain on the Roof by Ken Mandelbaum

Reuters: Inmates Forced Into 'Aida' Production
Talk about cruel and unusual punishment.

Blind item mail: I have received two messages through the blind item link from readers that seem to want me to reply to them. You have to realize that if you use the blind item link, I can't reply to you personally. If you want a personal reply, you have to use the contact form. Anyway, here they are:

"Do you find that you have favorite websites? It seems that you're partial to Playbill, kind of anti-Broadway.com, and in love with Talkin' Broadway. Is that accurate?"

Yes, I have favorite websites as most others do. I like UrbanFetch.com because they bring me Ben & Jerry's Phish Food at the click of a button. They also deliver VCR's and Armani on the night of the Tony's, but that is a whole other story.

Favorite Broadway websites? All of them. From a community theatre's website of a production of My Fair Lady in Nashua, NH, all the way to Broadway Cast Album Database to Broadway.com, they have had the same effect: to bring the world of theatre together. I believe that the popularity rebound of theatre (and Broadway) is due in part to technology and the internet.

There are problems that I have with certain websites: Broadway.com is weak on content and attending to the needs of their visitors. Theatre.com is poorly designed (graphically) and not well planned out. Playbill is relatively slow for a text only website (but that is due to a legacy back end database I suspect) and has the same design it had in 1998. (Who here remembers the old Playbill URL? It was http://piano.symgrp.com/playbill/)

Of course, there are good things happening with those sites as well, or else I would never list them on every single page of this website.

Broadway.com is serious about moving Broadway on the web along side with the other large media websites. Hollywood.com (who owns Broadway.com) has put a lot of time, effort and resources into the launch. You must realize that people outside of theatre laugh at how serious people like us are about theatre. Broadway.com is the first legitimate player in the media/portal web market representing Broadway. And that is good for everyone.

Theatre.com is great for one reason alone: Toby Simkin. Toby is one of us. He loves theatre. Toby had this idea about the internet and the theatre a long time ago. Really long ago. If Toby had taken this visionary thinking and applied this to another market, Toby would have been a multi-jillionaire. (Yes, I made up the word "Jillionaire"). Toby had the idea about eCommerce and Broadway to create BuyBroadway... before Amazon.com existed. Can you imagine?

And then there is Playbill. Playbill pioneered Ken Mandelbaum, Peter Filichia and many other online columns. Long before anyone else. They were the first on the web in theatre (corporate wise) and still lead the market in content. If Playbill could get out of the mindframe of a publishing/ advertising vehicle and capitalize on the technology that exists, they would be unstoppable.

I do have a problem with Playbill as a corporation, unrelated to their website: in my opinion, Playbill is a monopoly on Broadway. Try and do a Broadway show without Playbill. You are not allowed to. And Playbill is expensive to producers. It is like legalized extortion, in my opinion of course.

I am done with the above rant. Now, on to the second blind item received:

Hey, I just thought I'd say... I know Jordan Roth and I think he is serious about this casting think. I mean we all know they'll be a lot of stars but he really wants to give new people a shot and not have all stars.

Though I can't imagine him wanting anyone who works for JP Morgan or the like!

But just so you know I do think he is serious and Broadway.com seems to be. Though this is the same site that highlighted an article about Orfeh's apartment as "Buzz."

Thanks for hearing me out.

I agree. I do think that Jordan is serious. Jordan is really smart, for a Princeton grad... just kidding JR. I am just saying that the schedule makes it seem like a promotional event rather than a serious casting session. From the contest rules at Broadway.com:

The Voting; Selection of Winners. The Rocky Horror Show’s producer and director, whose decisions are final and binding, shall, in their sole discretion, choose twenty (20) finalists, consisting of ten (10) males and (10) females. At 8:00 a.m. (Eastern Standard Time) on Friday, August 4, 2000 through 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) on Monday, August 10, 2000, the twenty (20) finalists will be posted on the World Wide Web Site located at the URL http://www.broadway.com accompanied by his/her respective previously submitted unedited Audition Tape, and all visitors/end-users of the World Wide Web Site located at the URL http://www.broadway.com will be asked to vote for his/her favorite male auditionee and female auditionee. At 8:00 a.m. (Eastern Standard Time) on Tuesday, August 11, 2000 the two winners (one female auditionee and one male auditionee) who received the most votes will be posted on the World Wide Web Site located at the URL http://www.broadway.com.

Nevermind that August 10th and 11th are Thursday and Friday -- not Monday and Tuesday, (where are the lawyers?). Then the finalists (one male, one female) fly to NYC for their audition sometime between August 18-20. The Rocky Horror cast is to be announced on Tuesday, August 22nd.

Do you know what that means? It means that one of two things can happen:

1) The show is cast before the contest finalists arrive for their audition. Or,

2) The producers make offers and negotiate contracts over a weekend, in the summer, in NYC.

I am not sure which option is fantasy. It just places themselves in a poor light when they didn't need to be.