Scott Wolf and Justin Theroux are Sons of Uister in Boston, March 30-May 5
Check out the typo in their headline. I guess the folks at Playbill have never been to Ireland...

A Frog Runs for President in Rare Revival of Rome Musical, April 9-21 in NYC

Stritch Talks with Times' Marks on April 28

March 30 Is V-Day in Harlem with Hayek, LaChanze, Moreno, Perez, Pinkins, Rashad

Cast Announced for Public Theater's Take Me Out

If Ads Could Kill: Smell of the Kill Lashes Back at Times Critic Weber

Albert Jeffcoat, Founding Chair of Manhattan Theatre Club, Dead at 77

PHOTO CALL: Wigmaster Huntley Celebrates Sharaff Win With Reams and Busch

San Francisco Gets West Coast's First Taste of First Love June 7-30

Albee's Lorca to Premiere Off-Broadway This Fall, Sacharow Directing

Follow Spot
Karen Akers, who will be honored at the MAC Awards on Monday, discusses the importance of the cabaret art form in a post-9/11 world.

Charles Nelson's Casts and Forecasts
Al Pacino is among the Angels, The Music Man is on the way, Chris Durang is tuning up a tuner, and an actor�s dream is about to come Tru.

Cabaret Notes
The Siegels weigh in on Monica Mancini's tribute to her father, Henry.

Tunes and Tomes
Performance artist Tim Miller shows off his great Body of work.

posted at 3/30/2002 07:54:48 AM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link

Friday, March 29, 2002

WTFestival.org
This is the Williamstown Theatre Festival's snazzy website, which summarizes their 2002 schedule better than either of the online articles below. The site also has box office information and directions. And if you're going to Williamstown, don't forget to get tickets for the late-night cabaret.

Ricky Jay: On The Stem Will Be Back

Williamstown Theatre Festival Announces 2002 Season

Liza's First Marriage by Ken Mandelbaum

Williamstown 2002 Has New Plays by Uhry, Bogosian, West and Where's Charley?

Second Stage Deals Mamet's Ricky Jay Another Hand, Extends to July 14

Horton Foote's Three Sisters

Peter Filichia's Diary
Readers respond to Filichia�s "Time Machine" column with their own wish lists of historic performances they'd love to have seen.

When it Raines... by Michael Buckley
Musical theater and soap opera star Ron Raines visits Chicago.

The Smell of the Kill reviewed by Barbara & Scott Siegel

posted at 3/29/2002 01:35:39 PM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link

Blind item received:

What Off-Broadway musical that was to start in the next couple of months is postponing due to a scheduling problem with one of its stars?
posted at 3/29/2002 12:48:47 PM by James Marino | Item Link

Songs From the Heart (Broadway Goes to the Dogs)
To benefit Stray From the Heart Canine Rescue
posted at 3/29/2002 12:27:21 PM by James Marino | Item Link

On Stage and Off: A Blockbuster in the Wings

THEATER REVIEW | '36 VIEWS'
When Things Aren't What They Seem (Are They?)
By BRUCE WEBER
Naomi Iizuka's dispassionate, cagey and absorbing drama is about the relationship between a thing, whether tangible or ethereal, and its representation.

Billy Wilder, Master of Caustic Films, Dies at 95
By ALJEAN HARMETZ
Billy Wilder, the writer and director who won six Academy Awards and international acclaim as one of the world's great filmmakers, died on Wednesday at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif.
� Billy Wilder: A Retrospective

Practiced Deception Of Art
Naomi Iizuka paints a captivating portrait of the art world's seamier side in "36 Views," an intelligent, intricate and imaginatively designed drama about the discovery of a priceless Japanese artifact.

NEW ROXIE WITH MOXIE
By CLIVE BARNES
'CHICAGO," that toddlin' Kander and Ebb musical, keeps on toddlin', even though its Broadway cast changes are getting to be almost as regular as the Changing of the Guard outside Buckingham Palace.

'VIEWS' - INCOHERENT LOOK AT ART WORLD
By DONALD LYONS
THE play "36 Views" is an arty and artsy piece about forgery and falseness in the painting world.

RICE COOKS UP CABARET ACT
By MICHAEL RIEDEL
BARBADOS, West Indies - To the roster of one-person shows that are all the rage these days, add "An Evening With Sir Tim Rice," which had its world premiere here last week.

'NO TIME' FOR A PHONY FARCE
By DONALD LYONS
THE Mint Theatre, a generally trustworthy excavator of old theatrical gems, is staging S.N. Behrman's 1939 "No Time for Comedy."

'THE GODFADDA': FUHGEDDABOUDIT
By DONALD LYONS
IN "The Godfadda Workout," performer Seth Isler re-enacts, with a few comic additions, some scenes from "The Godfather, Part One." It's evidence of Isler's obsession with a classic movie 30 years old, and of little else.

Barlett Sher Tackles Titus For Intiman Opener March 29-April 27

Beau Jest Writer Sherman's Old Man's Friend Gets Chi Premiere May 24

DIVA TALK: Judy Kuhn's Songbook Debut; Five Year Thoughts and More

Chicago's Concert Version of 1776 Features Founding Mothers

Musical Dirty Dancing Heads to Europe Before Reaching Broadway

PHOTO CALL: Carpetbaggers: Foote (and Foote) Open Off-Broadway

McDonald and Chenoweth Among Stars at Kennedy Center's Rodgers Tribute

Foote's Getting Frankie Married in World Premiere March 29-May 5

San Francisco's ACT Stages Its First Glass Menagerie March 29-April 29

Today In Theatre History: MARCH 29

Director-Screenwriter Billy Wilder is Dead at 95

VA's Signature Has Follies, 110 In The Shade, Christmas Carol Rag and Premiere in 2002-03

The Visit Now Eschewing Regional Stop; Eyes Year End Start in NYC

Report: Little Ham, Harlem-Spiced Musical, Will Play Off-Bway's Houseman

Ex-Supreme Mary Wilson Headlines Sophisticated Ladies Tour

PHOTO CALL: More Merry Murdereresses: Smell of the Kill Bows

PHOTO CALL: Go for the Kill: Ashley and Lowe Bring Black Comedy To Bway

PHOTO CALL: Killer Guests Hamilton and Tyson

London's The Mysteries Is a Hit at the Queen's Theatre

A New Yorker in London: A Chat with Kiss Me, Kate's Nancy Anderson

Toronto Star: The day Uncle Miltie said I did good
Rookie writer worked with him briefly but unforgettably by Richard Ouzounian

Yahoo/Backstage.com: AGMA's Double Whammy

When Broadway producers bring Giacomo Puccini's "La Boheme" to the avenue of Sondheim and Simon this fall, the performance won't be under an Actors' Equity Association contract. While Broadway is traditionally Equity's realm, the producers-The Producing Office and Iron Mountain Productions-will open under a similar pact with the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA). Opera is AGMA's jurisdiction within the Associated Actors and Artistes of America (4As). AGMA, Equity, and other performers unions are united under the 4As umbrella.Hmmmm....
posted at 3/29/2002 09:45:53 AM by James Marino | Item Link

Thursday, March 28, 2002

Tru to Return to the New York Stage

Little Ham Set for September Opening Off-Broadway

Tonys '02 #3 by Ken Mandelbaum

View Finder by Brooke Pierce
Naimo Iizuka, author of 36 Views, talks about making art onstage.

It's Tru: The One-Man Vehicle Returns to N.Y.

Milton Berle, Famed for TV, But No Stranger to Broadway, Dead at 93

Casting and Venues Announced for The Lion King's First National Tour

Creel Expected Back in Millie in Time for Opening

Oklahoma, Oy Vey! by Michael Feingold
There's a dull, rusty haze on the meadow, and the drabness of the resulting picture, which will probably leave a lot of people unhappy, has only one virtue: It marks the end of a decades-long misunderstanding.
Thanks to Chandler on All That Chat for the link.

Los Angeles Times: In Praise of the Peanut Gallery by REED JOHNSON
Sometimes, the nosebleed section is just as good as the front row. Our intrepid reporter checks out the sight lines and sounds in town.

posted at 3/28/2002 01:29:56 PM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link

Theater Review | 'Franny's Way': A Summer That Melted Conventions

B'way, Thy Name Is Woman
Call it the year of the women on Broadway. Playwrights Michele Lowe, Suzan-Lori Parks, Heather McDonald and Mary Zimmerman are collectively setting something of a record. All have plays on Broadway this season, and theater experts can't remember when this many women had works running at the same time.

Off B'way gets 'Ham' handed
Uptown 'Guys and Dolls' set to open
The critically acclaimed "Little Ham" goes to the John Houseman, with an Off Broadway opening set for Sept. 12.

Victoria adds venues
Melbourne's arts center gets funds, partners

'Monty' takes off in West End
Broadway tuner wins critical kudos, hopes for B.O. boost

Reviews are in
'Sweet Smell' faces critics

Funnyman Milton Berle Dies in Los Angeles
Beloved funnyman Milton Berle died in his Los Angeles home earlier today, according to the Associated Press. Warren Cowan, Berle's spokesperson, said the comedian, who had been suffering from a lengt...[Read More]

Writer/Performer Dudley Moore Dead at 66
Dudley Moore died this morning at his home in New Jersey from pneumonia, which developed as a complication of progressive supranuclear palsy, according to The Associated Press. He was 66.

Photo Op: SMELL OF THE KILL party - Photos by Matt Baron

'ENOUGH, JASON!'
By BARBARA HOFFMAN
SHE'S 47, he's 23. Put Kathleen Turner and Jason Biggs together as lusty Mrs. Robinson and her boy-toy Ben and they make box-office magic.

PURE OF VOICE, YOUNG AT HEART
By CHIP DEFFAA
THOUGH Melissa Errico has an uneven act, it is, ultimately, a winning one, filled with the promise of early spring.

Producer Has Rocky-Mountain-High Hopes for John Denver Musical, Opening March 28 in CO

San Diego's Globe Has Imaginary Friends, Pericles, Miller's Sons

Tickets for NYC Gordon Concerts Featuring Audra McDonald Go on Sale March 28

Go Look at the Freaks: L.A. Side Show Extends Through April 20

"Kids in the Hall" Tour US and Canada with New Stageshow, March 28-May 25

Errico, Panaro, Campbell and Kennedy Sing Kern on New CD

Morning's at Seven Begins Evenings at Eight on Bway, March 28

Nyack's Helen Hayes Has Expectations and Buddy

She's Still Here: Polly Bergen Steps into the Cabaret March 28

Today In Theatre History: MARCH 28

Kopit and Siegal Working on New Lewis and Clark Musical
posted at 3/28/2002 07:56:18 AM by James Marino | Item Link

Wednesday, March 27, 2002

Broadway Gospel Choir's Lori Schmidt Dead at 46

Doctor Faustus Extends a Week in London

The Lieutenant of Inishmore Heads to the West End

Dudley Moore, Film Actor and Writer-Actor of Beyond the Fringe, Dead at 66

Randy Newman to Play Bay Street Theatre, May 4

Bway-Bound Ephron's Imaginary Friends w/ Hamlisch-Carnelia Music To Debut in CA

Music from Broadway's The Graduate Available on CD April 9

Stritch Producers Are Exploring U.S., London Dates

Bea Arthur Leaves Broadway April 14

CA's Theatre Works to Stage Ragtime, Jane Eyre, Premiere Legacy Codes in 2002-03

Mullally Out of L.A. He Hunts; Carol Kane in

posted at 3/27/2002 04:20:20 PM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link

Yahoo/Movies: Actor Dudley Moore Dies at 66
Moore and Cook teamed again in 1971 for a comedy review titled "Beyond the Fridge," which was a success in London and a smash on Broadway in the 1973-74 season, with the pair winning a special Tony award for their "unique contribution to the theater of comedy."
posted at 3/27/2002 03:39:14 PM by Susan Heim | Item Link

Bea Arthur on Broadway to Close April 14

Critics Weigh In on The Smell of the Kill

CDs: Egan and Turner by Ken Mandelbaum

PLAYBILL ON-LINE'S BRIEF ENCOUNTER with Billy Crudup

The Power of The Crucible: Then and Now

The Playwright or Who Is Edward Albee?

Los Angeles Times: Creating Poetry From Cluttered Lives by MIKE BOEHM
'The Dazzle' at SCR is based on the true story of two brothers found dead amid tons of junk in their apartment.

Buffalo News: STARDUST MEMORIES by MICHELLE GOLDBERG
A.R. Gurney, whose new play "Buffalo Gal" runs through April 21 at Studio Arena Theatre, is a dramatist of dying ways of life.
Thanks to Janet for the link!

posted at 3/27/2002 01:05:47 PM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link

How Sweet It Is! by Peter Filichia
posted at 3/27/2002 10:21:49 AM by Matthew Murray | Item Link

THEATER REVIEW | 'THE SMELL OF THE KILL'
Three Dissatisfied Wives Consider a Chilly Calculus
By BRUCE WEBER
This black comedy, about three suburban women who are handed the opportunity to bump off their crummy spouses, never rises (or sinks) to the level of satisfying farce.

From Alcott, a Parable for a Spirited Niece
By DINITIA SMITH
The original version of Louisa May Alcott's last completed work is being offered to publishers to raise money for the restoration of the Alcott family home, where "Little Women" takes place.

Theater Review |: Lighthearted and Buoyed by Ether

Theater Review | 'No Time for Comedy': A Playwright With a Problem

Theater Review | 'Calabi-Yau': In Abandoned Subway Tunnels, Building a Particle Accelerator

New face for Space
Revamped Symphony/Thalia site sets gala
The Symphony Space and the historic Thalia repertory movie house on Gotham's Upper West Side reopen next month after extensive redesign and renovation.

Students named Vilar fellows
Program gives funding to young performing artists

Fridge Farce B-b-b-bad To the Bone
Throughout Michele Lowe's relatively short "The Smell of the Kill" (which lasts a mere 71 minutes by the calculations of my guest, a railroad man), the only thing that engaged my mind was whether I had ever seen anything stupider.

Dysfunctional Family Drama

'FRANNY' RETREADS OLD TRIP
By DONALD LYONS
RICHARD Nelson's "Franny's Way," which he directed himself, is the dramatic equivalent of a so-so short story, an instance in which a good writer exercises his muscles in a manner he's done better elsewhere.

A STALE 'SMELL'
By CLIVE BARNES
WHAT do you call a situation comedy that has only one situation and very little comedy? Playwright Michele Lowe calls it "The Smell of the Kill," and it opened last night at the Helen Hayes Theater.

HARVEY, WE'RE NOT IN 'CHICAGO' ANYMORE
By MICHAEL RIEDEL
THE splashy, full-page ad in last Sunday's New York Times featured sexy chorus girls, scantily clad in black slips.

FINE FOOTE AFOOT
By DONALD LYONS
'THE Carpetbagger's Children," by Horton Foote, is a small masterpiece in which three sisters sit and reminisce in the tiny Texas town of Harrison.

Packaged in a Vibrant Design, 36 Views Opens March 28 at The Public

Geffen Season Ends With Simon's Odd Couple Update June 19-July 21

March 30 Is V-Day in Harlem with Hayek, LaChanze, Moreno, Perez, Pinkins, Rashad

John Raitt Sings for Fullerton Civic Light Opera Benefit April 6 and 7

Chanteuse Karen Akers to Receive MAC Award Prior to NY & VA Gigs

TACT Premieres Coward's Long Island Sound With Jones May 10

Seattle's 5th Avenue Lets Their Hair Down April 9-21

Larry Kramer's David Drake Honored by Film Archives March 27

Jeremy Kushnier Joins Aida Tour March 27 in Boston

Today In Theatre History: MARCH 27

Thoroughly Modern Millie Gets RCA Cast Album June 11

42nd Street Tour Launches Aug. 6 in Kansas City

Twiggy, Ivey, Gerroll to Haunt Bay Street's Blithe Spirit July 16-Aug. 4

Follow Spot
Mayor Mike gets a million back from Broadway and turns it over to the non-profits.
posted at 3/27/2002 07:25:05 AM by James Marino | Item Link

Tuesday, March 26, 2002

Broadway Grosses: March 18-24

Westport Hosts U.S. Bow of Brit Musical; Stocks Our Town with Stars

Belber's Finally Remounted Off-Broadway, April 23

Bryn Terfel to Be Sweeney Todd at Chicago Lyric Opera

Diahann Carroll, Craig Bierko and Pat Hingle Star in 'Court' TV March 26

Donna McKechnie to Star in Gypsy at University of Richmond

Holmes!, the Sherlock Musical, Gets NYC Reading March 26

PHOTO CALL: Starry Starry Stritch

Broadway Gives $1 Million Back to City; Non-Profits Reap Benefits

Ow, Jimmy! Millie Injury Sidelines Romantic Lead

Broadway Grosses: New Bialystock and Bloom

Small Organizations Benefit from B'way's Boom

Tonys '02 #2 by Ken Mandelbaum

Q&A: Mercedes Ruehl by Beth Stevens

First Person: Remembering Mother by Trish Vradenburg

Ask A Star: Jason Robert Brown

Los Angeles Times: The Rights Dance by DON SHIRLEY
L.A.'s tiny stages rely on persuasion and compromise to get playwright permission, but rejection is common.

Yahoo/Backstage: Unions Bite COBRA
The major performers' unions are urging members to contact their New York state legislators, asking them to support a proposed law to subsidize entertainment industry health insurance.

Yahoo/Variety: De Niro and Queen Pledge 'We Will Rock You' by Paul Majendie
LONDON (Reuters) - Hollywood superstar Robert De Niro and British rock legends Queen on Tuesday pledged "We Will Rock You" with a futuristic new musical packed with the supergroup's greatest hits.

PLAYBILL ON-LINE'S BRIEF ENCOUNTER with Donna Murphy

No Time for Comedy reviewed by David Finkle

posted at 3/26/2002 03:05:01 PM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link

Peter Filichia's Diary
Hello, Merrill Lynch? Get me 100 shares of OK right away!

Working Girl
Melisssa Errico talks to Jim Caruso about her full plate of scheduled appearances in New York, in D.C., on film, and on TV.

THEATER REVIEW | 'THE CARPETBAGGER'S CHILDREN'
A Fractious Family's Decline, With Vintage Mustiness
By BEN BRANTLEY
A heady aroma, as specific and elusive as childhood memories, seems to rise from the monologues that make up "The Carpetbagger's Children," the new play by Horton Foote.

Broadway Returns $1 Million in Aid

B'way subsidy trickles down to smaller orgs
Gotham Mayor announces redeployment of coin
Gotham small arts orgs will be the recipient of Broadway's $1 million giveback to the city....

Attendance bump 11% on B'way
'Producers' slips, still tops

'Shrew,' 'Savages' set for Yale Rep stagings
Bundy helms satire on poets Plath, Hughes

Toronto Star: Laura Linney leaps over limp Liam by Richard Ouzounian
NEW YORK � When you play Movie Star Roulette, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Nowhere is this more evident than in the revival of Arthur Miller's The Crucible, currently at the Virginia Theatre

Toronto Star: Elaine Stritch enchants as she exorcises her demons by Richard Ouzounian
NEW YORK � She's the gal who put the "broad" in Broadway. I'm talking about Elaine Stritch, whose last Toronto appearance was in Hal Prince's memorable production of Showboat.

Robin Gives Piece of His Minds
For the last 15 years, we've seen Robin Williams trying to shoehorn his Titanic-sized wit into seven-minute talk-show appearances and the occasional flight of fancy in an overblown Hollywood film.

Foote's Latest Stumbles

Cast Set for House and Garden at MTC
Margaret Colin, Patricia Conolly, Michael Countryman, Veanne Cox, John Curless, Laura Marie Duncan, Carson Elrod, Daniel Gerroll, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ellen Parker, James A. Stephens, Olga Sosnovska,...[Read More]

Christopher Wheeldon by Paul Wontorek

LONGEST-EVER SHOW COMES UP SHORT FOR ABC
By DON KAPLAN
This year's Academy Awards telecast turned out to be anything but beautiful for ABC.
The era of awards shows is coming to an end. Broadway should take this opportunity to change the Tony's before someone changes it for us (ie: CBS closes the door.)

James McKenzie Remembered at Westport Playhouse, April 7

PHOTO CALL: Sir Elton Wishes Aida a Happy 2nd Birthday

Elephant Man Unpacks New Trunk on Broadway Beginning March 26

McCarter Unveils Bogosian's Humpty Dumpty on March 26

Sisters Come of Age in Nelson's Franny's Way, Opening March 26 in NYC

Museum of TV & Radio Salutes Rodgers in N.Y. and L.A.

NYC's Lark Reads Belgian Sacco and Vanzetti Musical The American Dream April 4-8

Greenberg Will Dazzle South Coast Rep March 26-April 28

What's New, Buenos Aires? Bway Evita Highlights CD in Stores March 26

Today In Theatre History: MARCH 26

Maureen McGovern Stars in Herman's Dear World at Sundance

La Chanze, de Haas, and New Childs Musical Featured the American Songbook

Callow's Dickens Set for Belasco, Beginning April 18

Belber's Tape Plays in L.A. April 5-May 11

Stritch, Wolfe, Hirschfeld and Bea Arthur on PBS' "Theatre Talk"

Full Monty, Les Miz and Saigon To Play Miami's Gleason

Smells Like Wife Spirit: Broadway Goes for the Kill March 26

PHOTO CALL: Oklahoma!'s OK!

PHOTO CALL: Cowboy Love: Gabrielle and Wilson Open Oklahoma!

PHOTO CALL: Swing Your Partner: Bohon, Chenoweth and Martin at Oklahoma!'s Opening

PHOTO CALL: The Choreographer and the Director (and the Producer)

PHOTO CALL: Oklahomans Travel to NYC to See Oklahoma!

Box Office for Broadway's Private Lives Opens March 24

Changes Ahead for London's National Theatre

Glenn Close Confirms London Streetcar Role

Playbill Magazine Show Debuts on Sirius Satellite Radio

Yikes! Who carries the insurance on Millie? I got this email after yesterday's column went up:

In addition to Gavin Creel busting his knee at the Saturday matinee of Millie, that evening, David Eggers fell in the title number (10 minutes into the show), breaking his arm in three places. He hobbled offstage and to the stage management office, where he passed out. So two swings were on Saturday evening, and two more will very possibly be hired.I did not check it out, but I hope that Creel and Eggers are on the road to recovery. Someone who knows them, drop us a line so that we can update everyone. It's MILLIE, not STARLIGHT for god's sake!

Other email of interest received:

Even though Ken M. doesn't list her in his column providing names for the project, what British star will likely be putting it together for THE LOOK OF LOVE?
And the bombshell of the day: HELEN @ The Public has everyone running for high ground. Talk around town has that Tony Kushner is not in agreement with the writer, Ellen McLaughlin, and is not very happy with her input -- or the material for that matter. This doesn't quite jive with me, why doesn't he just quit then. Didn't he read the play before taking it? Anyway, the rumor is that he re-wrote 15 pages of the script, unsolicited. When McLaughlin went to John Dias (Public's Literary Manager) and George Wolfe they both sided with Kushner. With a cast of strong women (Donna Murphy, Joanna Day, Marion Seldes, Phylicia Rashad) it will be interesting to see how this plays out. Perhaps the writer can enlist The Dramatist Guild and the women in her cast to support her position. Surely something is wrong on Lafayette Street. There is a long line of distinguished women who are no longer working with The Public: Shirley Fishman, Rosemary Tischler, Shelby Jiggerts, and Morgan Jenness. Can all of them be wrong? We welcome any comments regarding this issue.
posted at 3/26/2002 07:26:27 AM by James Marino | Item Link

Monday, March 25, 2002

That�s the Ticker! by Peter Filichia

Los Angeles Times: Travels in Drama History by IRENE LACHER
A specialist in adapting period works, playwright Jeffrey Hatcher zeroes in on the English Restoration for a story about theater and change that's surprisingly modern.
posted at 3/25/2002 12:19:57 PM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link

'Beautiful Mind' Wins; Best Actress Goes to Halle Berry
By RICK LYMAN
"A Beautiful Mind" won the Oscar for best picture in ceremonies that also included the first Oscar for a black actress in a lead role in Academy Award history.
� Complete List of Academy Award Winners
� Slide Show: Academy Award Winners
� Go to Oscars 2002

Steve Martin: Making Crazy With an Old Comedy

John Cleese and the Importance of Being Silly

Fearful '50s
It wasn't all sock hops and T-Birds, as two new Broadway productions remind us
In 1971, when I began a brief stint at Gentleman's Quarterly, one of my first tasks was to work with the fashion editor on an article about the 1950s revival. Naif that I was, I couldn't imagine the revival of a decade so recently ended. The fashion editor, however, was right.

Roundabout Tuners by Ken Mandelbaum
Ken mentions Boyd Gaines is a possibility for one of the Antipholus twins, I heard it was going to be Doug Sills... Ken also mentions national tour casting of The Producers. Something that I have not read from him is the possibility that Norbert Leo Butz will be Bloom. I read that over on Talkin'Broadway's All That Chat.

Talk Show Watch: Oklahoma! on 'Today' and 'Letterman'

PHOTO CALL: Thoroughly Modern Millie: Welcome to New York!

PHOTO CALL: Thoroughly Modern Millie: Fuzzy Muzzy

PHOTO CALL: Thoroughly Modern Millie: Forget About the Boys

PHOTO CALL: Thoroughly Modern Millie: "They Don't Know"

PHOTO CALL: Thoroughly Modern Millie: "Gimme, Gimme"

Sarah Brightman Delivers "Encore" April 30

Foote's Carpetbag Is Opened Off-Broadway, March 25

Tom Wopat Returns to Joe's Pub, March 25

NYC's Flea Runs The Velvet Rut in Rep with The Guys, April 9-20

After Arci's, Jana Robbins Resurfaces with Cy Coleman Show at Danny's Skylight, March 31

Raines Reigns as Chicago's Billy Flynn Beginning March 25

Zoe Caldwell Reads Her "Cleopatra" for MTC March 25

Today In Theatre History: MARCH 25

One Mo' Time Plays One Last Time on March 24

Mamma Mia!, Ebersole, Biggs and Pullman to Appear on 'Rosie'

A Disney Pet-Acular: Fowler and Finley Perform at Macy's March 24

Rappaport Wraps in NJ March 24 and Looks Ahead to Broadway Come Summer

Hillary Clinton Takes Part in Necessary Targets Post-Show Talk, March 24

Oscar Honors 'Moulin Rouge' and Boheme Designer Catherine Martin

Into the Woods Ends at L.A.'s Ahmanson March 24; Begins on Bway April 13

Steven Suskin ON THE RECORD: Romberg and Beatniks from DRG

'PRODIGAL' PRAISE
By DONALD LYONS
LET'S transfer the biblical story of the Prodigal Son to Australia and make it the tale of a sensitive young man who leaves his happy, close family in a place called Eden to go to art school in Sydney.

'BOY' NOT 'GOLDEN'
By DONALD LYONS
ENCORES!, in its concert revival of "Golden Boy," at least proves that "Sweet Smell of Success" is not the first time the musical stage has flubbed a script of Clifford Odets. Taking an Odets play of 1937 that dealt with the corruption of an idealistic boxer by the sleazy world of the ring, "Golden Boy" in 1964 changed its boxer from Italian to African-American, bizarrely cast Sammy Davis Jr., in the role, and hired the song-writing team of musician Charles Strouse and lyricist Lee Adams, hacks best known for "Bye Bye Birdie" and "Applause."

HEY! SEND IN THE HULA-HOOPING STRIPPER!
By DEBORAH SCHOENEMAN
THERE'S a hot circus in town competing with Ringling Bros., but leave the kids at home.

V-DAY AT APOLLO
By IKIMULISA SOCKWELL-MASON
'THE Vagina Monologues" is getting even more colorful, thanks to actress Lisa Gay Hamilton. She's the driving force behind bringing the show to the Apollo Theatre this Saturday where a star-studded cast will perform to benefit Harlem groups that offer assistance to victims of violence.

I rather liked Sweet Smell of Success. So, because I can't sing like Brian d'Arcy James, I will leave you with these various J.J.-like comments:
Heard that Charles Busch's SHANGHAI MOON which had a short limited run at the Theatre Of The New City 4 years ago is going to get a reading and possible production at the Drama Dept. off broadway. Busch will star again as the Marlene Dietrich inspired Lady Sylvia Allington in l930's Shanghai filled with sex, opium dens and plenty of Busch laughs....

Which SWEET SMELL producer was overheard recently saying that it will be curtains for the show in two to three weeks?

CABARET news? They are supposedly looking to bring in John Stamos to take over as the EMCEE when Esparza leaves. Yikes?

MILLIE news? I heard that Gavin Creel blew out his knee in the show the other day. He does not know when he will be back in.

Blind email:

We also had a very amusing blind email regarding Tori Spelling, which legal won't let me run. (Our legal dept is a friend of mine who works part-time at Radio Shack.) But, they let us run this one!

Clive Barnes - rumor is he hasn't written his own stuff for years. He was totally non compis mentis when I sat behind him 20 years ago at an opening. He doesn't check his facts, either - South Pacific isn't even transferring, let alone coming to Broadway so far as I know. A book that was supposed to be written about doing SP for RNT was cancelled. I'm sure the Weisslers are planning on bringing theirs in. How does this guy get by without an editor

And finally, a blind comment regarding the ill fated ONE MO' TIME, this time from the other side of the table:

posted at 3/25/2002 09:14:42 AM by James Marino | Item Link

Sunday, March 24, 2002

Yahoo/Hollywood Reporter: VH1 bands with MGM for batch of new telepics By Jim McConville
VH1's first will be produced by Keythe Farley, Brian Fleming and Laurence O'Keefe, the creative team behind the off-Broadway musical "Bat Boy." The film is out to casting and directors.

Yahoo/Variety: "Party of Five" star resurfaces in UPN pilot
Stage veteran Katie Finneran ("Noises Off," "The Iceman Cometh"), will join Roger Bart and Traylor Howard in the untitled CBS father-daughter comedy from former "Frasier" producers Christopher Lloyd and Joe Keenan. She will portray Katie, a woman who dabbles in various careers and ends up giving advice to Traylor's character.

Yahoo/Variety: O'Connell, Danner Top Latest TV Pilot Castings
Blythe Danner will portray Harriett Lanning in "Presidio Med," to which CBS has committed 13 episodes. She joins Dana Delany and Anna Deavere Smith in the drama.

Bialystock Hits the Road by Ken Mandelbaum

DVDs: A Little Sondheim Music by Ken Mandelbaum

Tonys '02: #1 by Ken Mandelbaum

Actors of No Importance by Ken Mandelbaum

RCA Back in Business by Ken Mandelbaum

Q&A: Bea Arthur By Adam Feldman

LA Weekly: Cover Feature: Laughing in the Dark: The education of Edward Albee by Steven Leigh Morris

LA Weekly: Theater Feature: A Fan's Notes: Tori Spelling, live onstage! by Sandra Ross
Tori Spelling is a supernova in the constellation of pop stars. Which is why I jumped at a chance to cover her theatrical debut in Maybe Baby, It's You at the Coronet Theater.
Very funny article. Tori loves live theater; why, the last play she saw was Fame.

Archerd: Lunch, interrupted; "Cheers" reunion by Army Archerd
News on Mr. Goldwyn, John Ritter's new play, and the possibility of Cyd Charisse dancing a bolero in the Reprise! Follies.

Backstage/Yahoo: Finding Drabinsky

Backstage: Problems That Would Cross a Rabbi's Eyes By Leonard Jacobs
Problems for Sheldon Harnick, New York landlord.

Los Angeles Times: Bad Acting Worth a Good Laugh by HUGH HART
At the Groundling Theatre, a talented cast pretends to be fledgling actors who don't know any better.

Los Angeles Times: After the Hue and Cry by BARBARA ISENBERG
David Hare looks anew at 'The Blue Room,' his play starring Nicole Kidman that was often overshadowed by sensation.

Los Angeles Times: Rethinking It Through by PATRICK PACHECO
Director Trevor Nunn's radical reworkings of 'Oklahoma!,' 'My Fair Lady' and others stem from his passion for challenging the text.

Los Angeles Times: TELEVISION
Using Hurtful Words for a Noble Purpose by HOWARD ROSENBERG
In a coming episode of Fox's highly original new comedy "Andy Richter Controls the Universe," our genial protagonist is having regular euphoric sex with the kind of great-looking blond who normally doesn't give him a tumble, only to learn that she is a bigot.
Hmm... the "great-looking blond" makes an anti-Semitic slur during sex. Does this premise sound familiar? I shouldn't say, but I think I heard about it past midnight on West 76th a few years ago.
And I'm guessing the "great-looking blond" this time won't compare to the original...

posted at 3/24/2002 09:46:30 AM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link

Partners Again in the Practice of That Old Broadway Magic By PETER MARKS

Why `Sweet Smell of Success' Went Sour on Stage By MARGO JEFFERSON

Golden Boy Review by Ken Mandelbaum

NUNN BETTER THAN BRIT WITH AMERICAN CLASSICS By CLIVE BARNES
When you grow up with something, you sometimes go stale with it. How many times have you seen "Oklahoma!" in some well-meaning high school production or a road revival of "South Pacific" or "Carousel," with a painstaking attempt to reproduce the long-lost original scenery, costumes and choreography?
Interesting. Barnes actually says, "Nunn, without hardly changing a thing, emphasizes different places." Funny, Oklahoma! changed a fair amount, and the people I've talked to who have seen South Pacific and My Fair Lady in London say that they have as well. It makes sense that rethinking a show from the ground up is easier when you can just rewrite it! But, when you do, how far can you go and still have Oklahoma!, My Fair Lady, or South Pacific? It looks like we'll be finding out soon.
posted at 3/24/2002 07:05:24 AM by Matthew Murray | Item Link

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[Past News]

BROADWAYSTAR'S FIVE DAY FORECAST

2007-08
Broadway Season

June 28 - Old Acquaintance (AA)

July 10 - Xanadu (Hayes) [Robert Ahrens, Dan Vickery, Tara Smith/B. Swibel and Sarah Murchison/Dale Smith]

Aug 19 - Grease (Atkinson)

Oct 4 - Mauritius (Biltmore) [MTC]

Oct 11 - The Ritz (54)

Oct 18 - Pygmalion (AA)

Oct 25 - A Bronx Tale (Kerr)

Nov 1 - Cyrano de Bergerac (Rodgers)

Nov 4 - Rock 'N' Roll (Jacobs)

Nov 8 - Young Frankenstein (Hilton)

Nov 9 - Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (St. James)

Nov 10: Local One Strike Begins

Nov 28: Local One Strike Ends

Dec 2 - Cymbeline (Beaumont)

Dec 3 - The Farnsworth Invention (Music Box) [Dodger Properties with Steven Spielberg, Dan Cap Productions, Fred Zollo, Latitude Link and the Pelican Group]

Dec 4 - August: Osage County (Imperial) [Jeffrey Richards, Jean Doumanian, Steve Traxler, Jerry Frankel, Steppenwolf]

Dec 6 - The Seafarer (Booth)

Dec 9 - Is He Dead? (Lyceum)

Dec 16 - The Homecoming (Cort) [Richards, Frankel]

Jan 10 - The Little Mermaid (Lunt)

Jan 15 - The 39 Steps (AA)

Jan 17 - November (Barrymore)

Jan 24 - Come Back, Little Sheba (Biltmore)

Feb 21 - Sunday In The Park With George (54)

Feb 28 - Passing Strange (Belasco)

Mar 6 - Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Broadhurst) [Stephen C. Byrd]

Mar 9 - In The Heights (Rodgers)

Mar 27 - Gypsy (St. James)

Mar 29 - Macbeth (Lyceum)

Apr 3 - South Pacific (Beaumont)

Apr 17 - A Catered Affair (Kerr) [Jujamcyn Theaters, Jordan Roth, Harvey Entertainment / Ron Fierstein, Richie Jackson and Daryl Roth]

Apr 24 - Cry Baby (Marquis)

Apr 27 - The Country Girl (Jacobs)

Apr 30 - Thurgood (Booth)

May 1 - Les Liaisons Dangereuses (AA)

May 4 - Boeing-Boeing (Longacre)

May 7 - Top Girls (Biltmore)

TBA - Godspell

2008-09
Broadway Season

Oct 16 - Billy Elliot (Imperial)

Nov 08 - Dividing the Estate (a Shubert theater)

Dec 14 - Shrek: The Musical (Broadway) [DreamWorks]

Talked About
Not Scheduled Yet

TBA - 50 Words

TBA - Addams Family (Elephant Eye)

TBA - American Buffalo

TBA - An American Vaudeville [Farrell, Perloff]

TBA - The Beard of Avon [NYTW]

TBA - Being There [Permut]

TBA - Benny & Joon [MGM]

TBA - Billy Elliot

TBA - Brave New World [Rachunow]

TBA - Breath of Life [Fox]

TBA - Busker Alley [Margot Astrachan, Robert Blume, Kristine Lewis, Jamie Fox, Joanna Kerry & Heather Duke]

TBA - Broomhilda

TBA - Bye Bye Birdie [Niko]

TBA - Camille Claudel [Wildhorn]

TBA - Camelot

TBA - Carmen [Robin DeLevita and The Firm]

TBA - Catch Me If You Can

TBA - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon [Bob and Harvey Weinstein]

TBA - Cry Baby [Grazer, Gordon, McAllister, Epstein]

TBA - Designing Women [Alexis]

TBA - Don Juan DeMarco [New Line]

TBA - Dreamgirls [Creative Battery]

TBA - Duet

TBA - Equus

TBA - Ever After [Adam Epstein]

TBA - Fallen Angels (Shubert) [Kenwright]

TBA - Farragut North [Richards]

TBA - Father of the Bride

TBA - The Female Of The Species (TBA)

TBA - Fool For Love (AA) [Roundabout]

TBA - Girl Group Time Travelers

TBA - Golden Boy

TBA - Harmony [Guiles, Karslake, Smith, Fishman]

TBA - Hitchcock Blonde

TBA - The Importance Of Being Earnest

TBA - Jerry Springer: The Opera! [Thoday, McKeown]

TBA - Jesus Hopped The 'A' Train (Circle)

TBA - Josephine [Waissman]

TBA - Leap of Faith

TBA - A Little Princess [Ettinger, Dodger]

TBA - Midnight Cowboy [MGM]

TBA - The Minstrel Show - Kander and Ebb and Stroman

TBA - Moonstruck [Pittelman, Azenberg]

TBA - Mourning Becomes Electra [Haber, Boyett]

TBA - Monsoon Wedding

TBA - The Night of the Hunter

TBA - The Opposite of Sex [Namco]

TBA - Orphans

TBA - Pal Joey [Platt]

TBA - Paper Doll

TBA - The Paris Letter

TBA - The Philadelphia Story

TBA - Peter Pan

TBA - Porgy and Bess [Frankel, Viertel, Baruch, Routh, Panter, Tulchin/Bartner]

TBA - The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert

TBA - The Princess Bride

TBA - Princesses [Lane, Comley]

TBA - Poe the Musical

TBA - Rain Man [MGM]

TBA - Robin Hood

TBA - Secondhand Lions

TBA - South Pacific

TBA - Speed-the-Plow

TBA - Stalag 17

TBA - Starry Messenger

TBA - Syncopation

TBA - A Tale Of Two Cities

TBA - Torch Song Trilogy

TBA - Turn of the Century

TBA - West Side Story

TBA - The Wall [Weinstein, Mottola, Waters]

TBA - Will Rogers Follies [Cossette]

TBA - The Wiz [Dodger]

TBA - Zanna [Dalgleish]

This list is compiled from various sources. If you have corrections to the Broadway Season, please contact us.

(none) | 172.69.17.17

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2007-08Broadway Season

2008-09Broadway Season

Talked AboutNot Scheduled Yet

2007-08
Broadway Season

2008-09
Broadway Season

Talked About
Not Scheduled Yet