[Advertisement]

[Advertisement]

Friday, May 9, 2008

    [ STARS ]  No, No, Nanette is the Bee's Knees, by Michael Portantiere

    Perfectly cast, thrillingly choreographed, and beautifully costumed, No, No, Nanette is one of the best shows in the history of the invaluable City Center Encores! series.

  • Posted by Matthew Murray at 10:50 AM | Item Link


    • [ NYP ]  NOMINATION DROPPERS By MICHAEL RIEDEL
      SECRECY CRUMBLES AS TONYS APPROACH

      [ BS ]  Actors' Equity: We Put the "No-Fun" in Union (Okay, So We Spotted Them the F) by Andrew Salomon

      Features:

      [ DN ]  Howard Kissel: The Cultural Tourist
      Philosophical Aspects of "No, No, Nanette"

      [ TM ]  Peter Filicha's Diary: But They DID "Want to Be Happy"

      [ NJ ]  Wedding bells ring for Two River star by Peter Filichia

      In the next seven weeks, Erin Weaver will get married 21 times.

      [ P ]  DIVA TALK: Chatting with Emily Skinner Plus Maureen McGovern on CD and News of Buckley

      [ NYT ]  A Story Shared by Father and Son, and Now by Audiences By MELENA RYZIK

      Actor John Lithgow brings his family's tradition of storytelling to the stage.

      [ LAT ]  Tracie Thoms takes the stage in 'And Her Hair Went With Her' By Greg Braxton

      Complex African American characters draw her to the part in Zina Camblin's play.

      [ LAT ]  Kathleen Chalfant, 'Red Dog Howls,' tackle the Armenian genocide By Patrick Pacheco

      The veteran actress plays a 91-year-old survivor in the play.

      [ TM ]  Forever DeYoung By: Dan Bacalzo

      Former Styx frontman Dennis DeYoung discusses his musical adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, now at Chicago's Bailiwick Repertory Theatre.

      [ P ]  Rose in Full Bloom

      Hold your hats and hallelujah, Patti's gonna show it to you.

      [ YN ]  Morgan Freeman returns to Broadway to show his vulnerability By MARK KENNEDY

      Morgan Freeman has returned to Broadway with one goal in mind: to try to kill the Morgan Freeman you know and love.

      [ USA ]  'Jersey Boys' gets a Vegas theater all its own By Elysa Gardner

      [ DN ]  On stage & CD, send in the crowns by Joe Dziemianowicz

      Being a princess isn't easy, and a new kids musical and the debut album by a Broadway star explore that idea.

      [ CT ]  Eddie Izzard: Sorry no stilettos, let's talk about God by Chris Jones

      [ CT ]  'Our Town' director David Cromer does this town proud by Chris Jones

      British Theatre Features (for more, visit American Theater Web):

      [ G ]  We need concrete proposals for renovating the West End by Michael Billington

      Lord Lloyd Webber's speech to the Lords identified the problems in the West End but failed to offer solutions

      [ G ]  The RSC should celebrate its new star by Matt Wolf

      When an actor explodes into stardom the way Jonathan Slinger has, it seems churlish not to allow his audience to thank him properly

      "Camelot":

      [ NYT ]  Video
      Urbaneye: 'Camelot'

      Broadway comes to the New York Philharmonic in the form of "Camelot." Melena Ryzik reports from the opening night and gala.

      [ NYT ]  That Congenial Spot Revisited, With a World-Class Orchestra Playing Along By ANTHONY TOMMASINI

      A major selling point of this "Camelot" is the chance to hear this winning 1960 score sumptuously performed by the New York Philharmonic under the musical theater maestro Paul Gemignani.

      [ NYP ]  IT'S A CAMELOT OF GREAT-SOUNDING SINGING By CLIVE BARNES

      [ TM ]  Camelot
      Reviewed by: Brian Scott Lipton

      Opera superstar Nathan Gunn all but steals the New York Philharmonic's luxurious revival of the classic Lerner and Loewe musical.

      [ DN ]  Shining moments brief in N.Y. Philharmonic's 'Camelot' by Joe Dziemianowicz

      To make the material work requires a luscious, elegant presentation. But the performance at Lincoln Center is a hodge-podge.

      [ V ]  Camelot
      Review By STEVEN SUSKIN

      Director-adapter Lonny Price, who is generally expert at this type of venture, seems somewhat defeated by the combination of his ill-starred star and the problematic show.

      "Top Girls":

      [ USA ]  'Top Girls' sets the table for feminism By Elysa Gardner (* * * 1/2 out of four)

      [ BN ]  Churchill's 'Girls' Revisits Thatcherite England: John Simon

      Plus "Endgame."

      [ WSJ ]  Seven Girls Grumbling, Four Boys Whining By TERRY TEACHOUT

      "Top Girls," "Glory Days."

      [ TNO ]  YOU'VE COME A LONG WAY BABY by BILL STEVENSON

      Over the centuries, women have given up a lot to succeed-as Caryl Churchill's Top Girls clearly points out.

      "Rafta, Rafta":

      [ NYT ]  No Sex, Please, We're British Indians By BEN BRANTLEY

      This tale of a beleaguered honeymoon exposes its characters' foibles with gentleness and compassion.

      [ TM ]  Rafta, Rafta
      Reviewed by: Dan Bacalzo

      Ayub Khan-Din's hilarious and touching comedy about marriage features a gifted cast.

      [ CU ]  Rafta, Rafta

      To paraphrase the famous commercial about Levy's rye bread, you definitely do not have to be Indian to have a rip-roaring time with the Dutts and the Patels of Ayub Khan Din's family comedy.

      [ BS ]  Rafta, Rafta... - Reviewed by DAVID A. ROSENBERG

      Ayub Khan-Din's adaptation of Bill Naughton's "All in Good Time"is shot through with the laughter and sadness of humanity. Especially at a time when questions of immigration are in the forefront, this reminder that we all live and love and suffer and triumph equally is most welcome.

      [ NJ ]  Indo-British families worth visiting by MICHAEL SOMMERS

      [ TB ]  Rafta, Rafta...
      Review by Matthew Murray

      Other Reviews:

      [ V ]  Flora, the Red Menace
      Review By BOB VERINI

      Espinosa is the real deal. Just as Kelli O'Hara went from Reprise's "Sunday in the Park With George" to conquer Broadway in "South Pacific," Espinosa could be the answer to a prayer for those eager to revive "Funny Girl."

      [ LAT ]  REVIEW: 'Flora, the Red Menace' By Charles McNulty

      Despite the casting of Eden Espinosa and Manoel Feliciano, Reprise Theatre Company's remount of this 1965 Kander & Ebb show fails to bloom.

      [ NYT ]  Verdi Versus Shakespeare: With 'Macbeth' It's a Draw By ANTHONY TOMMASINI

      With two gripping productions of "Macbeth" in New York right now, the good news is, there's no need to choose.

      [ BS ]  F*ck Me, B*at Me, L*ve Me - Reviewed by PAUL MENARD

      It's pretty hard to make sex boring. Yet despite the massive quantities of condoms, lube, and dangling genitalia flaunted across the stage, Kevin Podgorski's new play manages to make the titillating tiresome.

      [ NYT ]  Theater Review | 'Stretch (a Fantasia)'
      Nixon's Secretary on Her Days of Glory and After By NEIL GENZLINGER

      Kristin Griffith gives a commanding performance in this inventive play about President Richard M. Nixon's loyal-to-the-end secretary.

      [ BS ]  Stretch (a fantasia) - Reviewed by ADAM R. PERLMAN

      Susan Bernfield's new play at New Georges is a terrifically engaged journey through the landscape of American dreams and disaffection that discovers personal service as the invisible chain that links us all.

      [ NYT ]  Theater Review | 'Eccentricities of a Nightingale'
      A Heroine's Inner Flame, Fueled by an Excess of Feeling By RACHEL SALTZ

      One of the pleasures of this excellent production is how clearly and sympathetically it renders the character of Alma.

      [ LAT ]  'Lady' at the Lankershim Arts Center By Charlotte Stoudt

      What opens as three buddies' hunting-trip reunion veers into a meditation on war and middle age.

      [ LAT ]  Theater Beat: 'Glass Menagerie' by Actors Co-op in Hollywood

      Also reviewed: West Coast Ensemble's 'The Sweetest Swing in Baseball,' 'The Brain From Planet X'

      [ CU ]  The Sweetest Swing in Baseball

      Rebecca Gilman's haunting comedy is an exploration of success, identity, and the nature of insanity.

      [ USA ]  'Boeing' flies high as a farce ( * * * 1/2 out of four)

      [ BS ]  The 39 Steps - Reviewed by DAVID SHEWARD

      As Broadway becomes more reliant on huge spectacle, this inventive adaptation of a classic film demonstrates that two planks and a passion for fun beat a soulless multimillion-dollar blockbuster any day.

      [ CST ]  The Belts From Brazil By Roger Ebert (***)

      David Mamet's "Redbelt" assembles all the elements for a great Mamet film, but they're still spread out on the shop floor.

      News:

      [ V ]  Creatore's 'Flamingo' to fly in July

      Jamie Farr, Anita Gillette to star in comedy

      [ V ]  Cast draws near to '2000 Feet Away'

      Fiennes, Hart, Logan to headline play

      [ P ]  York Season Will Feature Murphy and Wiley in Vaudeville Man Plus Enter Laughing

      [ V ]  STC's Blanchett, Upton import talent

      Past productions include Hoffman, Weaving

      [ V ]  Tania Camargo joins Soho Rep

      Theater's new exec director replaces Conley

      [ P ]  Today In Theatre History: MAY 9

      [ P ]  Jaradoa's Small of Her Back, with Rivera and O'Grady, Begins May 9

      [ P ]  National Tour of A Chorus Line Officially Opens in Denver May 9

      [ P ]  Mamet's Samurai Flick "Redbelt" Opens Nationwide May 9

      [ P ]  Prior to Broadway, Musical 13 Comes of Age at Goodspeed May 9-June 8

      [ P ]  Keenan-Bolger Is Among the Saved in Musical About Devout High Schoolers

      [ P ]  Catered Affair and Adding Machine Discs on Sale Via Web May 9; Solos by Butler and Jenkins, Too

      [ NYT ]  Hanon Reznikov, a Force Behind the Living Theater, Dies at 57 By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON

      [ NYT ]  Beverlee McKinsey, 72, Actress in Decades of Soap Operas, Is Dead By MARGALIT FOX

      [ NYT ]  Arts, Briefly: Footnotes
      Compiled by LAWRENCE VAN GELDER

      [ LAT ]  Gold Derby by Tom O'Neil
      Tonys 2008: Can Whoopi Goldberg outdo Rosie O'Donnell as host?

      [ NYT ]  Theater Listings

      Selective listings from theater critics of The New York Times.

    • Posted by Tim Dunleavy at 9:27 AM | Item Link


    • Thursday, May 8, 2008

        [ P ]  Tony Rulings: Glory Days Not Eligible for Nomination But Gypsy's Laurents Is

        [ B ]  Tony Committee Makes Final Eligibility Decisions for 2007-2008 Season

        [ TM ]  Tony Awards Committee Announces Final 2008 Eligibility Decisions

        [ P ]  John F. Altieri, Jersey Boys National Tour Actor, Dies at 38

        [ B ]  John Altieri, Jersey Boys National Tour Player, Dead at 38

        [ TM ]  Jersey Boys Actor John Altieri Dies at 38

        Features:

        [ B ]  FRESH FACE: Boeing-Boeing's Bubbly Kathryn Hahn Kisses and Tells

        [ P ]  ASK PLAYBILL.COM: The Dance Arranger

        [ P ]  "I'd Do Anything": Rudetsky Recap Five

        [ P ]  PHOTO CALL: No, No, Nanette at City Center Encores!

        "Top Girls":

        [ AMNY ]  Not the 'Top' girls, but not bad By Matt Windman (** 1/2)

        [ B ]  VIDEO: Opening Night: Top Girls

        [ P ]  PLAYBILL ON OPENING NIGHT: Top Girls - Tony Girls?

        Other Reviews:

        [ TONY ]  Boeing-Boeing
        Review by David Cote

        This is silly, sexy, supersonic fun.

        [ TONY ]  Endgame
        Review by David Cote

        Endgame is a sardonic tragedy about many deep things-the curse of living, the cruelty of time, the pain of love-but what comes across forcefully in this version is how much it is an extraordinarily sad depiction of fathers and sons.

        [ TONY ]  Yellow Moon
        Review by Helen Shaw

        In a tidy 90 minutes, without a set or large cast, Yellow Moon tucks a grand romantic tradition into a wry, modern packet.

        [ TONY ]  Steve & Idi
        Review by Helen Shaw

        Steve & Idi is insulting, intellectually lazy and a rank waste of talent.

        [ TONY ]  All Eyes and Ears
        Review by Diane Snyder

        Eduardo Machado's production skims over the familial relationships, and tentative performances keep the characters' struggles on simmer instead of boil.

        [ TONY ]  Eccentricities of a Nightingale
        Review by Garrett Eisler

        The Actors Company Theatre's revival certainly deserves attention from Williams enthusiasts. But this tepid production, with its stiff formality and low-stakes tenor, doesn't make a strong case.

        [ TONY ]  Substitution
        Review by Andy Propst

        Dudley careens between metaphysical symbolism and made-for-TV bathos.

        [ TNO ]  JUST A PAWN IN THE GAME by JESSICA BRANCH

        This production of Macbeth, starring Patrick Stewart and Kate Fleetwood , expertly reveals the stark universality of the destructive quest for power at all costs.

        News:

        [ P ]  Liz McCartney Will Star in Urinetown at Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma; Season Announced

        [ TM ]  McCartney, McGowan, Van Duyne, et al. Set for Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma 2008 Season

        [ P ]  Porter, Bowen, Leigh, Ballard, Lakin and More Set for L.A. Premiere of Dog Sees God

        [ TM ]  Bowen, Lakin, Porter, et al. Set for L.A. Premiere of Dog Sees God

        [ P ]  Eric Bogosian Will Lend a Taste of Bitter Honey to LAB Benefit Readings

        [ TM ]  LAByrinth to Present Eric Bogosian's Bitter Honey May 21-22

        [ P ]  Eskelson, Moss-Bachrach, McNamara and Waterston to Star in Berman's Perfect Couple

        [ TM ]  Eskelson, McNamara, Moss-Bachrach, Waterston Set for Berman's A Perfect Couple

        [ B ]  Nominate the Best of Broadway for the 2008 Broadway.com Audience Awards

        [ TM ]  Cavanagh, Hammond, McGrath, Pinkham to Join Burton and Finneran in Beyond Therapy

        [ TM ]  Hairspray to Host Inside Broadway's Creating the Magic on May 29

        [ P ]  Winners of Theatre World Awards to Be Announced May 15

        [ P ]  Butterell to Direct and Choreograph Star Is Born Workshop

      • Posted by Tim Dunleavy at 8:31 PM | Item Link


        • Best line of the day:

          [ HC ]  "Superstar" Doesn't Age Well In Tired Production By FRANK RIZZO

          Christ, is he old.

          News:

          [ B ]  Whoopi Goldberg Will Host 2008 Tony Awards

          [ TM ]  Whoopi Goldberg to Host 62nd Annual Tony Awards

          [ P ]  Whoopi Goldberg Will Host 2008 Tony Awards

          [ TS ]  Theatre Titans Stage Legal Fight by Richard Ouzounian

          Aubrey Dan sues David Mirvish over purchase of Canon and Panasonic Theatres.

          [ P ]  Mirvish Plans to Buy Toronto's Canon and Panasonic Theatres; Dancap Bristles

          [ P ]  Rock On! After Hit Toronto Run, We Will Rock You Will Close - and Re-Open

          [ P ]  August: Osage County Recoups Initial Investment

          [ NYT ]  Eddy Arnold, Country Singer, Dies at 89 By BILL FRISKICS-WARREN

          [ IBDB ]  Eddy Arnold's Broadway Credits

          [ LAT ]  Obituary: Elaine Dundy, 86; author wrote about life with Kenneth Tynan By Elaine Woo

          [ LAT ]  Book excerpt: 'The Dud Avocado'

          From the beginning of Elaine Dundy's best-known book

          "Top Girls":

          [ TM ]  Top of the World By: Joseph Marzullo; Text by Brian Scott Lipton

          Alec Baldwin, Charles Busch, Keith Carradine, Kate Mulgrew, and Daphne Rubin-Vega grace the opening of Top Girls; while Danny Aiello, Lewis Black, Judy Gold, Andrea McArdle, John McDaniel, Maureen McGovern, and Sue Simmons enliven the MAC Awards.

          [ NYT ]  Interactive Feature: Untangling 'Top Girls'

          Audience members share their thoughts on the Broadway production of "Top Girls."

          [ NY ]  Does Everyone Except Ben Brantley Hate 'Top Girls'?

          [ NYT ]  Ladies Who Lunch? Nope, Here's to the Power Players By BEN BRANTLEY

          Caryl Churchill's "Top Girls" opened in a well-acted revival directed with intelligence and sensitivity by James Macdonald.

          [ JN ]  Dazzling 'Top Girls' By Jacques le Sourd

          "Top Girls" is absolutely riveting, from the first scene to the last, which comes nearly three hours later.

          [ NYP ]  UP THE LADDER, IN SKIRTS By CLIVE BARNES (***)

          It's a provocative play, one that - 26 years later - makes one think and think again.

          [ SUN ]  Top Marks for 'Top Girls' By ERIC GRODE

          [ AP ]  In 'Top Girls,' Caryl Churchill dissects woman and power By MICHAEL KUCHWARA

          Manhattan Theatre Club has assembled a top-notch company of actresses for its compelling revival of what is one of Churchill's most intellectually bracing plays.

          [ BS ]  Top Girls - Reviewed by DAVID SHEWARD

          James MacDonald's first-rate revival of Caryl Churchill's play is a soaring symphony of ideas and cultures.

          [ V ]  Top Girls
          Review By DAVID ROONEY

          But while the play remains inextricably keyed into the zeitgeist of Thatcher's Britain, its originality is undiminished in MTC's incisively acted Broadway production.

          [ HC ]  Plimpton Stands Out In Surreal, Ambiguous 'Top Girls'By MALCOLM JOHNSON

          [ DN ]  These '80s characters are 'Top Girls' by Joe dziemianowicz

          Though the play is overly talky and circuitous, incisive performances by seven actresses in the Manhattan Theatre Club production make it a fine final entry to the 2007-08 Broadway season.

          [ ND ]  Review: Biltmore's 'Top Girls' BY LINDA WINER

          At a recent preview, despite my good seat, I had trouble hearing stretches of the play. Seven spectacular actresses - including Elizabeth Marvel, Martha Plimpton and Marisa Tomei - are perhaps too devoted to delivering the foreign, class and regional English dialects.
          And this is a play that needs to be heard, really heard, on all its witty and wistful levels.

          [ TB ]  Top Girls
          Review by Matthew Murray

          [ BR ]  Theater review: "Top Girls" BY ROBERT FELDBERG

          Caryl Churchill's "Top Girls" seems as interesting a piece of dramatic construction as when it opened off-Broadway 25 years ago, but time hasn't made it any more persuasive.

          [ TM ]  Top Girls
          Reviewed by: David Finkle

          Caryl Churchill's complex play about British women has lost some of its topical impact over the past 26 years.

          [ NJ ]  'Girls' can't quite reach top by Michael Sommers

          [ B ]  WORD OF MOUTH REVIEW: Julie, Kathleen & Susan Take On Top Girls

          "Glory Days":

          [ DCTS ]  Glory Days is Over

          Joel Markowitz ponders what happened to the show that started in a DC area theatre, and how it reflects on Washington's critics and reputation.

          [ P ]  Glory Days Stars Head to the Chatterbox May 8

          [ DN ]  Broadway musical 'Glory Days' closes on opening night By Joe Dziemianowicz

          Make that Glory Day.

          [ NYT ]  'Glory Days' to Close By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON; Compiled by LAWRENCE VAN GELDER

          [ WP ]  Signature's 'Glory Days' Ends One-Day Broadway Run By Nelson Pressley

          [ B ]  PHOTO OP: Ah, To Be Young Again! Glory Days Opens on Broadway

          Features:

          [ NJ ]  Jersey author gets inside the Beale world by Peter Filichia

          [ NYP ]  'FUTURE' KING GOES BACK TO 'CAMELOT' By BARBARA HOFFMAN

          [ P ]  At the Helm

          Do British directors approach the job differently than Yankee directors? American actors share their stories.

          [ P ]  PLAYBILL.COM'S BRIEF ENCOUNTER With Christine Baranski

          Television comedy mainstay Christine Baranski, back on Broadway in Boeing-Boeing, has not been neglecting the theatre in recent years.

          [ NYT ]  Disney's Newly Crowned Prince, Plucked From a London Stage By BROOKS BARNES

          A movie franchise returns with a newly crowned hero: Ben Barnes as Prince Caspian.

          [ DN ]  Remembering Paul Robeson by Howard Kissel

          [ BS ]  Talk Back: Arts and the $600 Proposal by Robert L. Lynch

          [ NY ]  Step It Up and Kick: The Rockette Auditions

          [ LAT ]  'Of Mice and Men' at Pasadena Playhouse By Mindy Farabee

          IF DIRECTOR Paul Lazarus had had his way, there would have been no "Of Mice and Men" opening at the Pasadena Playhouse this weekend.

          [ P ]  PHOTO CALL: Espinosa Is Flora, the Red Menace in Los Angeles

          "The Fever Chart" - Reviews:

          [ TB ]  The Fever Chart: Three Visions of the Middle East
          Review by Matthew Murray

          Naomi Wallace's unassuming triple bill, which The Public Theater is producing as part of its new Public Lab workshop series, brings the lilt of lyricism to mundane events, finding in their echoes a region and people you might have thought you understood but that you don't really know. The catch is, neither do they.

          [ TM ]  The Fever Chart
          Reviewed by: Dan Bacalzo

          Naomi Wallace's stunningly poetic one-acts explore Middle East political tensions and human connections.

          [ V ]  The Fever Chart: Three Visions of the Middle East
          Review By SAM THIELMAN

          For all its problems, "The Fever Chart" is a good, bite-size introduction to Wallace, whose playwriting career is likely to produce more and better work in the future.

          [ BS ]  The Fever Chart: Three Visions of the Middle East - Reviewed by GWEN OREL

          Naomi Wallace's play is profoundly depressing, less because of its stories than its stereotypes. It presents three extended scenes that share only one vision: the perspective that sees persecuted Palestinians, aggressive Americans, innocent Iraqis, and whatever-adjective-is-bad Israelis.

          [ CU ]  The Fever Chart: Three Visions of the Middle East

          Like everything in the LAB series, this has a very limited run and is still a work in progress.

          Other Reviews:

          [ BS ]  The Unconquered - Reviewed by PAUL MENARD

          Torben Betts' play comes off more as a flawed theatrical experiment rather than a successful piece of experimental theatre.

          [ CT ]  '9 Parts of Desire' at MCA: Raffo gives women of Iraq many voices by Chris Jones

          [ B ]  ETCETERA: John Simon Is Warmed By A Raisin in the Sun on DVD

          [ CP ]  Up to Scratch by Mark Cofta

          Theatre Exile's Bug is a creepy-crawly must-see.

          [ PW ]  Theater Exile's Bug and New Paradise Laboratories' Prom by J. Cooper Robb

          More News:

          [ TM ]  Curtis Holbrook to Temporarily Replace Cheyenne Jackson in Xanadu

          [ B ]  Curtis Holbrook to Play Xanadu's Sonny in July

          [ P ]  Holbrook Will Be Sonny in Broadway's Xanadu in July

          [ P ]  Fellner and Gertner Will Star in Paper Mill's Little Shop of Horrors

          [ TM ]  Fellner, Gertner, Somers, et al. Set for Paper Mill's Little Shop of Horrors

          [ TM ]  Cutrell, Reyburn Join D'Arcy James, Kudisch, Murney, et al. in Broadway Musicals of 1965

          [ P ]  Cutrell, Eggers and Reyburn Join Broadway Musicals of 1965 Concert Line-Up

          [ P ]  MTC Gets $225,00 Grant to Foster New Plays

          [ P ]  Camargo Will Replace Conley as Executive Director of Soho Rep

          [ P ]  Marvel and Camp Will Host Obies; Additional Presenters Announced

          [ V ]  Havel's wife 'Leaving' his play

          Former Czech President's spouse quits lead role

          [ JN ]  Vanessa Williams finally getting her degree from Syracuse

          [ CT ]  Bonnie Metzgar of Brown University to be new About Face artistic director by Chris Jones

          [ HC ]  Solo Show Offers Funny View Of Theaters' Struggles
          Frank Rizzo | TICKER

          [ NYT ]  Arts, Briefly
          Betty Comes Home By BRIAN STELTER; Compiled by LAWRENCE VAN GELDER

          After two years in Los Angeles production of the popular ABC drama "Ugly Betty" may move to the city in which it is set: New York.

          [ TM ]  Hanke Joins Foldesi, Free, Litzinger, Reinders for Lippa's Welcome to the World Concerts

          [ TM ]  Nicu's Spoon Elizabeth Rex to Get August Off-Broadway Production

          [ P ]  Frost/Nixon and Chorus Line Will Be Part of Cincinnati Aronoff Season

          [ P ]  Feinstein Celebrates the Bergmans May 8-17; Ebersole Is First-Night Guest

          [ P ]  Best and Smith Join Falco for Showtime Pilot

          [ P ]  Hoffman and Busch Will Call Broadway Bingo May 11

          [ P ]  London's Rafta, Rafta... Opens Off-Broadway at New Group

          [ P ]  Booth-Steel, Dismissed from "I'd Do Anything" Reality Show, to Star in All Bob's Women Musical

          [ P ]  Schrider Completes Caretaker Cast for Berkshire Theatre Festival

          [ P ]  Country Musical Lucky Star to Make World Premiere in AZ

          [ P ]  Romeo and Juliet, McAnuff's First Task as Stratford Artistic Director, Begins May 7

          [ P ]  Shlomo, With Rossmer and de Guzman, Will Record Cast Album May 11

          [ P ]  Gazillion Bubble Show Featured on "Today Show" May 8

          [ P ]  Philharmonic's Camelot, with Kudisch, Mazzie, Byrne and Gunn, Airs on PBS May 8

          [ P ]  Preview of Room 16 Musical to Feature Abramovitz, Hawks, Pariseau and Routman

          [ P ]  "Theater Talk" Welcomes Hairspray's Wendt and Cry-Baby Composers May 9

          [ P ]  Attic Theatre to Present West Coast Premiere of Jeff Whitty's Hiding Place

          [ P ]  Today In Theatre History: MAY 8

          [ P ]  The 39 Steps, Broadway's Madcap Caper, Reopens at Cort May 8

          [ P ]  Dennis DeYoung's Revised Hunchback Musical Premieres in Chicago May 8

          [ P ]  Momologues Benefit, with Harada, Larsen, Rustin and Levine, Presented May 8

          [ P ]  Scott Schwartz's My Antonia, with Stephen Schwartz Underscoring, Begins CA Run May 8

          [ P ]  Mara Davi Is Nanette for City Center Encores! Beginning May 8

          [ B ]  The Sound and the Fury Extends Off-Broadway Through June 1

        • Posted by Tim Dunleavy at 1:15 PM | Item Link


        • Wednesday, May 7, 2008

            [ TONY ]  Glory Days
            Review by Adam Feldman

            The 2007-2008 season of new Broadway musicals came in like a circus lion with the exuberant Xanadu; with Glory Days, it goes out like a lamb to the slaughter.

            Adam sent us this review at 4:31pm, adding "Quick! Before it closes!"
            Just a few minutes later, the official announcement came in...

            [ P ]  New Broadway Musical Glory Days Has Closed After One Performance

            [ TM ]  Glory Days Closes on Opening Night

            [ B ]  Opening Night Becomes Closing Night for New Musical Glory Days

          • Posted by Tim Dunleavy at 5:00 PM | Item Link


            • [ CNY ]  Tough times hit Great White Way by Miriam Kreinin Souccar

              With 18 of the 37 shows currently on Broadway less than 70% full, the theater world is looking for a boost from the Tony Awards and the summer tourist invasion.

            • Posted by James Marino at 3:35 PM | Item Link


              • Features:

                [ TM ]  The Book (and Song) of Bernadette By: Brian Scott Lipton

                Bernadette Peters becomes an author and songwriter to create Broadway Barks.

                [ PArts ]  City Center: West Coast Whiz! By Liz Smith

                Columnist Liz Smith recently chatted with New York City Center Board member Douglas S. Cramer, who will be honored at City Center's 2008 Gala with the Fiorello LaGuardia Award for distinguished service to New York City and to New York City Center.

                [ B ]  PHOTO OP: Diva Diana Ross and Family Heat Up Roof

                [ B ]  PHOTO OP: Everything's Coming Up Roses for Patti LuPone and a New Gypsy Recording

                "Glory Days":

                [ B ]  Photo Tease: Moment of Glory

                [ LAT ]  Gold Derby by Tom O'Neil
                Tonys 2008: No 'Glory Days' ahead for new Broadway musical

                [ B ]  WORD OF MOUTH REVIEW: Ellen, Matt & Georgette on the New Musical Glory Days

                Other Reviews:

                [ TB ]  Pest Control
                Los Angeles Review by Sharon Perlmutter

                [ TNO ]  A GLIMMER OF HOPE by MATT WOLF

                Harper Regan is a devastating play about the unknowability of humankind and the trust and faith that's required by the human heart.

                [ TNO ]  COFFEE, TEA OR... by BILL STEVENSON

                Boeing-Boeing is such a good time at the theater that it may single-handedly make farces bankable on Broadway.

                News:

                [ TM ]  Lopez, Tomei to Join Camp, Harris, Merkerson, Marvel, White, Whitford at 2008 Obie Awards

                [ P ]  LuPone, Ebersole and Baranski to Present Drama League Awards May 16

                [ TM ]  Baranski, Busch, Ebersole, LuPone, et al. to Present Drama League Awards

                [ B ]  LuPone, Baranski, Busch & More to Present Drama League Awards

                [ P ]  The Sound and the Fury Extends Off-Broadway Run at NYTW

                [ P ]  Emelin Postpones Remainder of Pure Heaven Run Due to Williamson's Illness

                [ TM ]  Pure Heaven, Starring Ruth Williamson, Postponed Until November

                [ B ]  Megan Sikora Joins Carnegie Hall Show Boat; Casting Complete

                [ P ]  Principal Casting Complete for Carnegie Hall Show Boat

                [ P ]  Anderson, Rapp, Tveit and More Join Line-Up for NEO4 Concert

                [ TM ]  Anderson, Arden, Noll, Rapp, Steggert, et al. Set for York's NEO4 Benefit

                [ P ]  Wopat, Merkerson, Plimpton, Tomei, Cannavale and More Set for MTC Benefit

                [ TM ]  Cannavale, Merkerson, Mullally, Wopat, et al. Set for MTC Gala

                [ TM ]  Full Cast Set for Jeff Whitty's The Hiding Place at Attic Theatre

                [ TM ]  Rosemary Prinz to Star in Voices of Swords

                [ TM ]  Shlomo to Return in August, Record Cast Album

                [ P ]  Skinner Will Be Marian to Jacoby's Music Man in June Concert

                [ P ]  Adams, Depp and Blonsky Nominated for MTV Movie Awards

                [ P ]  Menzel, Brightman, Durning, Sinise and Mantegna Will Be Part of PBS' "National Memorial Day Concert"

                [ P ]  Creative Team Announced for Rare Revival of Harburg and Arlen's Jamaica in Philly

                [ P ]  Pearl Theatre Company to Offer Oedipus, Twelfth Night and Vieux Carré in 2008-2009

                [ P ]  Casting Announced for Old Globe's Summer Pleasure and Sight Unseen

                [ P ]  Passing Strange's Stew to Perform at Alice Tully Hall's Opening Nights Festival

                [ TM ]  Diaz, Kreeger, et al. Set for MetroStage's 2008-2009 Season

              • Posted by Tim Dunleavy at 2:51 PM | Item Link


                • [ NYP ]  ARMS AND THE MAN By MICHAEL RIEDEL
                  A RIGHT TO BARE ARMS LOPEZ'S HUNKIER FLUNKY COVERS UP

                  [ P ]  Passing Strange Song Cut from Pre-Tony Special

                  [ P ]  Ebersole, Ross, Gillett and More Win MAC Awards

                  [ TM ]  Black, Caruso, Douglas, Ebersole, Essman, McGovern, et al. Win 2008 MAC Awards

                  [ V ]  Livent's trial bows By RICHARD OUZOUNIAN

                  [ P ]  Livent's Drabinsky and Gottlieb on Trial in Ontario

                  [ NYP ]  PAGE SIX

                  TRICIA Walsh-Smith, the loopy British playwright in an ugly divorce battle with Shubert Organization president Philip Smith, is trying to sell her $5,000 Yumi Katsura silk wedding gown on eBay - and getting nowhere.

                  [ TM ]  Peter Filichia's Diary: The Wizard and West Side and I

                  [ NY ]  Elaine Stritch Doesn't Understand Beckett Any Better Than You Do

                  "Glory Days":

                  [ YN ]  In 'Glory Days,' 4 best friends deal with trying to grow up By MICHAEL KUCHWARA, AP Drama Critic

                  "Glory Days" is the opposite of slick. The show is a bit gawky and unsure of itself, much like the youthful characters it celebrates.

                  [ CU ]  Glory Days

                  There's plenty of movement and, being much older than these agile performers, I felt a twinge of envy watching the easy leaps up and down those bleachers. However these are athletic rather than choreographic moves, so don't mistake this for a dance show (there's no listing for a choreographer in the program).

                  [ TM ]  Glory Days
                  Reviewed by: David Finkle

                  This new musical about four friends reuniting after their first year in college will strike some audience members as valiant and relevant and others as laughably inconsequential.

                  [ NYT ]  Four Chums Grow Up but Still Meet in the Bleachers By BEN BRANTLEY

                  "Glory Days," a callow portrait of four friends on the cusp of manhood, manages to seem fresh and seriously stale at the same time.

                  [ WP ]  'Glory Days' Graduates Too Soon To Broadway By Peter Marks

                  Plus "Thurgood."

                  [ TB ]  Glory Days
                  Review by Matthew Murray

                  But if this show is an almost complete failure, it's not a travesty you can take perverse pleasure in watching implode. That it's so full of promise and so empty of everything else isn't just the breaks - it's heartbreaking.

                  [ TS ]  Glory Days - Reviewed by Michael Portantiere

                  Glory Days presents a challenge to reviewers: How to clearly convey the show's level of achievement without being downright cruel? Here is one attempt.

                  [ ND ]  Review: Nick Blaemire's 'Glory Days' on Broadway BY LINDA WINER

                  As a first effort by bright newcomers, the piece has youthful promise. As a grown-up offering in a Broadway house (not to mention at Broadway prices), this little-show-that-can't is so far in over its sweet head that we fear for its safety.

                  [ NJ ]  'Glory' has its price by Michael Sommers

                  If that adage regarding the proper thing to do when there's nothing nice to say was applied to the new musical "Glory Days," then the rest of this space would be blank.

                  [ NYP ]  PRICE OF 'GLORY': 1.5 HOURS LOST by CLIVE BARNES (1/2 *)

                  [ DN ]  It's hard to care about 'Glory Days' by Joe Dziemianowicz (*)

                  [ HC ]  Little To Crow About In Puerile 'Glory Days' By MALCOLM JOHNSON

                  [ AMNY ]  No glory in 'Glory Days' By Matt Windman

                  After enduring all 90 painful minutes of this undercooked, horribly amateurish show, you'll be wondering how the hell it got to Broadway.

                  [