Today's birthdays include: John Raitt, Jean Stapleton, Michael Crawford, Desi Arnaz Jr., Edgar Allen Poe and Paul Cezanne.

New York City Pledges $240 Million Toward the Overhaul of Lincoln Center

On Stage and Off: Musical Chairs at 'Seussical'

On Broadway by Michael Riedel
'Seussical' May Swing On A Star To Survive
Rosie O'Donnell plopped herself into "Seussical, the Musical" this week, sparking much behind-the-scenes talk about her power at the box office, her influence over Broadway in general, David Shiner's future with "Seussical" and whether this troubled $10.5 million production will have a life beyond Rosie.

Singing the Blues in the Life
2 new musicals mine tragedy of Bessie Smith

Broadway Bootlegs Run Rampant On Napster
Excellent story on Broadway.com. Don't tell anyone, but I am starting to like them...

Casting of Taylor Dayne In Aida Confirmed

Cumpsty and Ebersole Head To 42nd Street

Thou Shalt Not Planned for Broadway Next Season

Duo stroll down '42nd St.'
Cumpsty, Ebersole join revival cast

Cumpsty and Ebersole Signed for Broadway's 42nd Street

Taylor Dayne Takes Over for Sherie Rene Scott in Aida, Feb. 25

Taylor Dayne to Replace Sherie Rene Scott in Disney's Aida, Feb. 27

Hal Linden Gathering Begins Pre-B'way Tryout Jan. 19

Taking a Stroll Down Baker Street by Peter Filichia

Lonny Price Brings Class to Broadway (and Does It Merrily)

Jerry Herman's Mack and Mabel Confirms April 23 B'way Opening

Today's birthdays include: Jane Horrocks, Jesse L. Martin, Cary Grant and Danny Kaye.

Blind Email Received:

Overheard: ...the grosses for ROCKY HORROR, reported in Variety are NOT NET Gross, but actual gross before credit card deductions, etc. Industry standard is to report NET. So ROCKY grosses for past six or seven weeks have been approx. $30,000 higher than they actually are.

Oh, and BTW, Michael Cumpsty is going to be Julian Marsh in 42nd Street for about the first nine months.

At the Sundance Festival, Learning There Is No Formula for Success
On the eve of this year's Sundance Film Festival, many of the dot-coms that made a splash last year have already collapsed, but those that survive are expected to be a significant presence at this year's festival.

New Foundation to Aid Aspiring Conductors
Lorin Maazel and the philanthropist Alberto W. Vilar announced a $5 million competition and training program to help young conductors, who typically struggle in a haphazard way to reach the podium.

National Dance Institute to honor Gennaro
Memorial Jan. 22 at Broadhurst Theatre

Pete Townshend Developing Stage Versions of Psychoderelict and Quadrophenia

Cindy Williams and Eddie Mekka Face Equity Wrath for Non-Union Grease Tour

Maya Angelou and Sidney Poitier Plan B'way Salute to Black Troupe Mar. 25

So Who Starred in Deathtrap and When? by Peter Filichia

Broadway's Everett Bradley and Annie Golden's Downtown Gig by Forrest Mallard

Another Night at Darryl’s by Ken Mandelbaum

Summer Rentals by Ken Mandelbaum

Equity Slaps Barry Williams with Fine

'Brady Bunch''s Barry Williams Beats Tiger Woods: 52G Union Fine From Equity

Phantom Gets First Spanish Recording

Frost Free: Negotiations Underway for Robert Evan to be Mr. Snow in Paper Mill's Carousel

Sabres or No, Entertainment Industry Rattled by 'Mettle Fatigue' Over Looming Strike

Today's birthdays include: Betty White, Eartha Kitt and David Caruso.

Paper Mill Casts Unknown Opposite Cuccioli in Funny Girl
Robert Johanson did not cast Leslie Kritzer all alone, Alison Franck had her hand in it. Of course Alison is the casting director at Paper Mill. An up and comer, Alison learned casting at Johnson-Liff before going out on her own. (Nothing like learning from the best.) Paper Mill's upcoming season, with a lot of fresh new talent, shows how good Alison is. Also mentioned in this article is that Rob Evan is Mr. Snow in the Carousel production... Hmmmm....

How I Spent the Night of January 16 by Peter Filichia

Kia Corthron's Force Continuum Reveals Trials of Black NYC Cops Jan. 17

OB Troupe Bets on Horsetrack Play Tamicanfly Jan. 17

Sally Kellerman at Feinstein's by Forrest Mallard

Broadway Grosses: Hello & Goodbye

Tailoring Seussical's Hat for Rosie

Broadway Grosses: January 8-14 - Part 1

Atlantic Theatre Names Cast for Kia Corthron’s Force Continuum, Jan. 17

Pete 'N' Keely Crowd to Be Warmed up By DJ 'Cousin Brucie' Jan. 18 19, 25-26

Albee! Miller! David Esbjornson Helms Them All. The Story About the Director.

Suite101.com: Home > Arts and recreation > Sports, games, entertainment > Stage presentations
by Steven M. Alper

Well, if you spend much time on the web looking for theatre stories, you should check out this site. Although they have questionable taste, (BroadwayStars.com was NOT in the Top 5!) I think this is a useful tool for us web surfers. I especially liked the blurb about us:

"A site devoted to gossip, news, tidbits, gossip, promotion, demotion, opinion, and gossip. Their greatest asset -- aside from gossip, that is -- is a listing of the most significant theatre-related news sites as well as a daily roundup of what they consider the most significant news from those sites."

Gossip!?! I guess what is one man's gossip is another man's news, once it hits The New York Times!

Jennifer Love Hewitt garnered most of the attention at Rosie's first Seussical show... Talk of the town was that Rosie was charming in the part which was adapted for her. Fran and Barry made appearances and John McDaniel was hanging around. There was a good deal of media there, which we guess was the purpose of casting Rosie! So it worked. Perhaps John Barlow should move into casting...

Rob Evan and Christiane Noll are headed to Washington DC to perform at one of the Inaugural parties...

On this day in 1909, Ethel Merman, the musical-comedy star whose belting voice and brassy style entertained Broadway and movie audiences for 50 years, was born. Following her death on Feb. 15, 1984, her obituary appeared in The Times. Also on this day in 1964, the musical "Hello, Dolly!," starring Carol Channing, opened on Broadway, beginning a run of 2,844 performances. Today's other birthdays include: John Carpenter and Debbie Allen.

Public Lives: Rodeo Girl to Broadway's Wild West Show

Lessons of the Season #3 by Ken Mandelbaum

Seussical Rumors by Ken Mandelbaum
This gives more meaning to the rumors we have been hearing for weeks that Shiner is not returning...

Those Newyorkers by Ken Mandelbaum

Writers bloc
Acrimony could poison WGA-studio talks

Bogart, Noll, Bracken Lead Paper Mill Cast of Carousel, May 30-July 15
But hey, who is Mr. Snow? For the Moment I guess we will have to wait One Day More for this Endgame to play itself out... :-)

Theatre Insurance Broker, Marsh, Holds Industry Seminar, Jan. 16

The Great Theatre Debates Begin: First Topic, the American Musical, Examined Jan. 30

Rosie O'Donnell Is Seussical's Cat in the Hat, Starting Jan. 16

In celebration of Rosie taking over The Cat in the Hat, Seussical.com has her crawling out of the sewer in the hat. (Nice flash animation!). It makes me wonder if one day she will take over as Madame Thenardier when Les Miz is on its last legs...

PHOTO CALL: 3hree Goes on the Record Jan. 9

A Funny Thing Happened on My Way to Funny Girl by Peter Filichia

Ruth Williamson Strikes Up the Band by Forrest Mallard

Hasselhoff Jekyll & Hyde Gets March 10 PPV Broadcast

King Solomon Chooses Godspell by Sean Patrick Flahaven

Sky-High Rents Are Declining in Manhattan

"At Citi Habitats, the city's largest rental agency, one-bedroom apartments that were once $3,300 a month are now listed near $2,700; studios that once brought $2,200 to $2,400 now bring $1,950 to $2,000. The agency has about 5,000 listings, said Andrew S. Heiberger, the company president. "That's double what we had about six months ago," he added."

What a bargin!

On this day in 1929, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the black Baptist minister who led the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1950's and '60's with his doctrine of nonviolent resistance , was born. Following his death on April 4 , 1968, his obituary appeared in The Times. Today's other birthdays include: Andrea Martin.

Media Talk: New Magazine to Be Rosie's, Not McCall's
Is Rosie becoming "Queen of all media"?

Inside Move: Eisner's bonus soars to $11.5 mil
Extra coin comes after Mouse rebound

WGA chiefs say talks hinge on rollbacks
Bargaining begins Jan. 22

Spokesperson Reba McEntire Fronts Fifth Nat'l "Kids' Night on Broadway," Jan. 30
For more information, see http://www.kidsnightonbroadway.com/

"Jekkies" Have a Big Heart and Donate Dough to BC/EFA

What's on Max Bailystock's Wall? by Peter Filichia

Joel Grey and Blythe Danner To Commit Little Murders at NY City Center Jan. 30

Ripley, Rubin-Vega Join Anthony Rapp in Rock Concert, Jan. 15
As my friend Paul pointed out to me, this is a poorly written headline. Just for clarity's sake, tonight Kristen Lee Kelly performs with Anthony. Alice performs on the 22nd and Daphne performs on the 29th. The bottom line, you have to go to all three shows!

Rosie O'Donnell Begins Seussical Stint Jan. 16

The Movie in Lea Salonga's Mind

Kudisch's character may be dead, but not gone from the Toyota commercials... so reports a fan of Kudisch to me. That makes more sense as I know he recently re-upped. I suppose he can pitch cars from Toyota-heaven.

There are a group of people who are going to be guest columnists and take over this space while I am in London. If you would like to join that group, drop me a line. This could be an interesting experiment!

On this day in 1900, the Puccini opera "Tosca" received a mixed reception at its Rome world premiere. Today's birthdays include: Faye Dunaway and Andy Rooney.

Jason Robards: An Example, a Mentor, an Actor Above All by Kevin Spacey
Jason Robards and I were both born on July 26 — he in 1922; I in 1959. It was just the beginning of our connection to each other, which goes way beyond the mere coincidence of a shared birth date.

Shakespeare Wrote Arias for Villains

The Space Can Make the Stage

Composer Stan Freeman has died

Blast! Blasts Out of DC Jan. 14; Bway Next Beginning April 12

Steven Suskin ON THE RECORD: Latouche Revisited and Vintage Kern

Swing Closes Jan. 14 on Broadway; Touring Co. Gets Strong Start in L.A.

Lex Leifheit Named Communications Director for O'Neill Center

CDs: Donny Does Broadway by Ken Mandelbaum

Reminder: Last Dance for Swing!, Closing Jan. 14

Brian Stokes Mitchell to Star in B'way King Hedley II

Dee Hoty To Star in Sherlock Holmes Musical Off-Broadway

Black Troupe Stages First-Ever Black Detective Novel, Jan. 14

Tom Jones Tells a Tale or Two by Peter Filichia

Taylor Dayne's upcoming run in AIDA is taking the Disney promotion office by storm. But one should look to learn from Disney as they are cross-promotiong all their shows in print, television, radio and event marketing. That coupled with a "Disney hotline" to get tickets allows them to tell people who want Lion King tix that they cannot get them, "but good seats for AIDA are available..."

A Big Voice Making Itself Heard
Kristin Chenoweth and her four-octave range made a lasting impression in short-lived musicals. Next stop: TV.

Sony Classical has launched a new website in support of Kristin Chenoweth's CD, "Let Yourself Go". It can be found at http://www.kristin-chenoweth.com/. [thanks to Joseph for the link!]

Count on Him to Step Back
Mark Ruffalo's star is rising fast, but the actor grounds himself by nurturing his roots in L.A.'s theater community.

How will the arts fare under Bush?

New Haven Register: Stratford Festival Theatre: Changes Near for Theater Organization

Washington Post: What the Director Did for Love
For Former Dancer Baayork Lee, a Long, Happy Road From Broadway's 'Chorus Line' To Signature's 'Gypsy'

There is talk going around the internet about Meredith Patterson and 42nd Street. First, over at RATM, there was this message that said that they read on Meredith's website that she was understudying or playing Peggy. Then there was this message on Talkin' Broadway that said that Peggy Sawyer was cast with a link to Meredith's website. Well, Meredith certainly is a talented person and has played Peggy before. But I see no mention on her website that she is playing Peggy in the revival. She does say she is going to be in the production. I heard much of the audition list for Peggy for the revival and I did not hear Meredith's name -- but I definitely do not hear everything. If she is Peggy, then that is great. But it would be a pretty bad faux pas if this information was wrong.

I will be headed to London at the end of the month and am taking requests for guest columnists in my absence. What is involved? Basically just keeping track of stories of interest (notice I did not say "interesting stories") and then adding your commentary on them, if you have any. It is done all through a web interface so you need not know anything about programming. Lord knows I don't know anything. If this is something that you want to do, drop me a line. No pay. But I may give you a CD or two!

Today's birthdays include: Army Archerd, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Charles Nelson Reilly and Kevin Anderson.

On Broadway by Michael Riedel
Mr. Riedel talks about the Stokes' Hedley and The Producers, and ends his column with a little correction and humanity. People should take note that Riedel is a true professional.

Springtime for Mel
Musical adaptation of 'The Producers' brings Brooks' song&dance men to B'way

A 'Hedley' Start

KRUSKAMP cruises into Arci's Place

The Reverend's New Clothes
Al Sharpton's Fashion Journey

La Dolce Musto by Michael Musto

"Things have been extraordinarily slow—so slow that I was ecstatic to get a press release announcing, "Kenny Rogers song to be featured on upcoming Touched by an Angel episode" (if not slow enough that i actually watched the show). So slow that i have been watching tapes of upcoming sitcoms. (I love musical-comedy baby Kristin Chenoweth, and the good news about her 'Kristin' series is that it's so weak that the little diva will surely be back on Broadway soon enough!)"

We hear that Kristin's CD is back on for a Feb 9 release.

PHOTO CALL: The Producers: Nathan Lane Is 'King of Broadway'

Jujamcyn Awards Manhattan Theatre Club at Ceremony Jan. 22

Brian Stokes Mitchell Cast as King Hedley II; Bway Opening Now April 29

New Sally Mayes Disc Has Show Tunes That Got Away, Plus New Surprises

Eugene O’Neill Center Harvests Summer Cabaret for Winter Benefits

Rising Phoenix Rep and MCC Present Week of Plays and Panels, Jan. 14-21

NEA Chair Ivey's Future Uncertain; Says He Can Work with Bush Administration

New Musical, Larry's Party, Opens Jan. 11 in Toronto; Brent Carver Hosts

Producer-ing on Broadway: Lane, Broderick and Brooks Offer Sneak Peek

Lessons of the Season #2 by Ken Mandelbaum

Pet Shop Boys Get Closer to the West End

Stephen Sondheim Chooses His Favorite Films by Peter Filichia

NEA Distributes Major Grant Money to Nonprofit Theatre Troupes

Arthur Miller Receives Highest US Honor for Intellectual Achievement

Manhattan Theatre Club Receives 2000 Jujamcyn Award, Jan. 22

Baby.... pretty baby... what a reading...