Ellis Nassour

A Little Night Music, loosely based on Ingmar Bergman's iconic, enchanting, and erotic movie of Swedish romance, Smiles of a Summer Night, was mastered for the stage by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler. The 1973 original won seven of its 12 Tony noms - including Best Musical, Score, and Book; and all seven of its six Drama Desk noms - including Score and Book [strangely it wasn't nominated for Outstanding Musical].

The 19th Century wasn't anywhere as innocent as we seem to think. Leading up to a weekend in the country, where the audience gets to peek through a very large keyhole as all sorts of sizzling liasons go on between the servants and convuluted webs of deceit are uncovered as love triangles erupt among the upper class.

The musical has been remastered for the current revival, a transfer from London's Menier Chocolate Factory, by Trevor Nunn. It stars Catharine Zeta-Jones in her much-anticipated Broadway debut in the role of raucous Desiree, Alexander Hanson [from the London cast] as Frederick, and in the coveted role of aging courtesan Madame Armfeldt, our indomitable, indefatigable First Lady of the Theater, Angela Lansbury.

The impact of the original production was sensational. The response to the revival has been strangely mixed. Reaction ranges from "standout" and "superb" to "flawed" and "second-tier boulevard farce." More than a few don't like the smaller [six-piece, but sounding much larger] "chamber" orchestra, the pared-down design, and/or certain members of the cast.

Some claim this very frothy production is much darker than the original. Some others called it glib and garish. A number of theatergoers among the detractors actually may not like it because at the Walter Kerr Theatre, it's all but impossible to get the the bathrooms in a timely fashion because little has been left of the once a spacious crossover [a solution would be for women to all be seated theater left and men seated theater right].

But the most amazing thing is that not everyone is throwing roses in the path of the exquisite, luminous Zeta-Jones, who is making her return to the stage after becoming a mega movie star not to mention Oscar winner for her portrayal of the notorious Velma Kelly in Rob Marshall's also Oscar-winning screen rendering of Chicago. Before hitting the screen, she sang and danced in the West End production of 42nd Street.

More amazing is the fact that some Scrooges in the midst of this holiday season are of the mind that Miss Lansbury, utterly amazing at 84, is overplaying her role. Obviously, they either didn't see or don't remember Hermione Gingold in the original. There was nothing subtle about her or her descriptions of her liasons.

Each theatergoer sees a show from a unique perspective whether seeing one for the first time or revisiting it via a revival. It may not be perfect, but how many shows have the utter perfection of, say, the original cast of Fiddler on the Roof, A Streetcar Named Desire, Oklahoma!, or Man of La Mancha? However, the wide berth of opinion on the ALNM revival is puzzling. Having seen it twice now, I wonder what show its detractors saw.

A heavy criticism leveled is that the producers brought in a major film star to keep the seats filled. No denying that. And since when did producers stoop to this level to attract buyers to the outrageously over-priced seats [and I'm not speaking of the ultra outrageous premium seating]?

Movie star or not, there's no denying that Zeta-Jones is absolutely radiant onstage and quite comfortable and accomplished in the role. She displays a natural sense of comic timing, has a wonderful chemistry with Hanson [who kept reminding me of Howard Keel and Harve Presnell], and doesn't disappoint in "the big moment."

The score's poignant 11:00 number is Desiree's "Send in the Clowns," one of the best known tunes in the Sondheim repertory, one that's been recorded and sung by the biggest and best. There probably was a lot of sitting on hands as Zeta-Jones, seemingly non-fazed, began to sing. Coud she, would she pull it off? She did it and WOW! Even though standing ovations are a dime a dozen, it's rare to "brava' in a Broadway house. There were several. She's got it, and, hopefully, will be bring "it" back to Broadway again soon.

Nine - Love It or Leave It

What happened? Here is one of the year's most anticipated films, Nine, the definitive movie homage to Fellini, based on the award-winning musical, which was based on the Fellini masterpiece 81/2, and directed by Rob Marshall, a former Bway gypsy turned director of an Oscar and GG-winning film (Chicago).

The story, what there is of one, centers on a famed Italian film director, about to embark on his next feature, who's plagued with writer's block. He escapes to a spa and is either surrounded by or remembers the hundreds of women he's been entangled with.

Two-time Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis shows a completely different side of himself as Guido. The women surrounding him are Marion Cotillard takes on the role of Luisa, Guido's long-devoted, long-suffering wife and former leading lady; Penelope Cruz as his mistress Carla; Judi Dench is Lilli, a new character, as his costume designer and blunt confidante; Fergie as the prostitute Saraghina; Kate Hudson portrays fashion editor Stephanie; Nicole Kidman is his paramour Claudia; and Sophia Loren plays Guido's mother.

Cruz says that Day-Lewis "was always watching everyone do everything which is, of course, very Guido. But he would be there for the other actors, even if he wasn't in the scene. Daniel was always ready for whatever came with absolutely no vanity about his performance. He did seem to enjoy staying in character. He would even leave me little notes signed 'Guido.'"

She got terribly bruised shooting her sexy "slide" but says, "I was so used to rope burns after three weeks of training that I didn't feel the pain anymore. I didn't want them to go away. They were my little medals."

Cruz explains she was intimidated having to sing and wasn't so good in the beginning "but I kept working until I wasn't so nervous." She would love to do another musical, especially with Marshall directing.

Marshall says he couldn't make the film without the participation of 75-year-old and still stunning Sophia Loren [but what has she done to that once-beautiful nose?] and Miss Loren immediately came aboard. "I was proud to be asked," she says. "I'm the only Italian in the film and it's important to show Italian films are still important. I never worked with Fellini, but his story, like the movie, is magical."

Opinion seems evenly divided about Nine. Some camps are calling it: "Dazzling." "Beguiling." "Sparkling." "A major Oscar contender." "A hot-blooded musical fantasia." "Brilliant, sexy." "Impressive filmmaking." Other camps are calling it: "Boring." "Director's Block." "Strains to capture artistic frenzy." "Vulgar chaos." "Two Stars...Short on a Few Counts." "Less a homage to Federico Fellini's 8½ than a travesty."

Hmmmmmm. So go see it and decide for yourself. I hate to decamp on the film's detractors, but a majority of theatergoers, even the most jaded, will thoroughly enjoy it. For movie buffs, it's one for the books. Whether the mass moivegoing public will buy into it is another story.

The director, after seeing/hearing the thunderous ovations at the theater industry premiere and the official New York prem, might be a bit confused. He has a fantastic eye for detail and money shots. Much credit must to Oscar-winning director of photography Dion Beebe for his mix of color and stark B&W, reminiscent of early Fellini; and two-time Oscar-winning production designer John Myhre. Next in line for honors are editors Claire Simpson and Wyatt Smith, and two-time Oscar-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood. Many of the creative team worked with Marshall on Chicago and Memoirs of a Geisha.

The Broadway version, from a play by Italian writer Mario Fratti, who had known and several times interviewed Fellini, and a book later rewritten or doctored by playwright Arthur Kopit and music/lyrics by Maury Yeston, didn't happen overnight. When Fratti told Yeston of his play, he didn't know that the composer had been madly in love with 8½ since his teens. In the 70s, while teaching music at Yale, he and Fratti turned the movie into a stage musical.

The composer decided if he added the extra element of music-and-dance to the director's vision of a man's mid-life battles, it couldn't miss. Introduced by a handwritten note from Katharine Hepburn, he met in Rome with the master and received his blessing.

When the production premiered in 1982 at the 46th Street Theatre, now the Richard Rogers, it became a massive hit. Directed/choreographed by Tommy Tune, NINE The show ran for 729 performances and became the must-see of the season, dazzling audiences with its inventive, visually striking, high-style design and arresting musical numbers--and sweeping five Tony Awards that year. The allure of the show continued with a Broadway revival garnering another 8½ Tonys and countless touring and regional productions.

As a movie, it seemed with the A List cast, it would be a blockbuster. Oprah devoted an entire show to the cast, all praising Marshall to the high heavens. Other shows followed and creating a huge buzz. But there are no sure things in show biz. From all that to a head reading: "Nine a crummy number!"

Marshall wanted cast and crew "to inhabit an Italian movie, to move back and forth between the sleek, Mod streets of 60s Rome, through which Guido zooms in his Fiat Alfa Spyder, and the dreamlike fantasies that his imagination. Fantasies that evoke his lust, love, imagination, and frustration to find a path to his future."

Says Beebe: "If the stage was our playground in Chicago, then moviemaking was our playground with Nine. After our London shooting, we wanted to exploit cinematic ideas to transform Rome's Cinecitta lots and soundstages into the stuff of a man's imagination."

After shooting on soundstages in London, the cast and crew regrouped to shoot where Fellini's films were born: in Rome's Cinecitta Studios, as well as at such iconic Italian movie locations as the Piazza del Popolo, the Via Veneto, and the towns of Anzio, Surti and Anguillara.

Cinecitta, featured in the film and located on the outskirts of Rome, is one of the world's most historic movie studios [founded by Mussolini to create propaganda films]. After WWII it flourished as the home away from home for such films as Quo Vadis, Ben Hur, The Godfather III, Gangs of New York, and Fellini's Amacord.

Myhre says that the only thing that could have been more exciting than a movie about moviemaking "was the idea of a Rob Marshall musical about moviemaking. All Rob had to tell us was 'there has to be a transformation. The audience has to see Guido's world transform,' and immediately big ideas were being put about."

The team split the design elements into three distinct realms: Guido's complicated real life in Rome and the luxe spa he hopes will be his hideaway; memories of Guido's youth that made him the genius he's become; and his very, very, very active fantasy life. The latter all takes place on a half-built set at Cinecitta soundstage that morphs into different visual worlds.

When Zero Equals 10

Some may remember him as Father James on All My Children; from his years of regional theater; still others may recall him Off Broadway in The Big Voice: God or Merman; however, from now on Jim Brochu will be remembered for his vivid, spot-on impersonation of the irresistible, irascible, and famously volatile comic actor Zero Mostel in his one-man play Zero Hour.

Following its NY engagement, which must end January 31, and fulfilling long-booked regional engagements, the acclaimed production and Brochuit will return to a more accessible Off Broadway theatre. It is now at the creaky, handicap unfriendly Theatre at St. Clements [423 West 46th Street, between Ninth and Tenth Avenues].

The play is built around a 90-minute NYTimes interview with Mostel at his West 28th Street artist studio. It's earned across-the-board raves for Brochu's crisp writing and animated portrayal of Mostel. Like Mostel, Brochu has the most expressive eyes.

Z.H. has won numerous honors in regional engagements [including L.A.'s Ovation Award for Best New Play], is a must-catch for anyone interested in the origins of a true theater legend, and someone who was caught up in one of America's darkest and most shameful eras [late 40s into the mid-50s] in America: the so-called Commie Hunters of the Congressional House Un-American Activities Committee. This was an off-shoot of the headline-making, buffoon senator from Wisconsin, Joseph McCarthy. The Committee especially targeted high profile actors of stage and screen. Accusations led to years of blacklisting, with some of the accused committing suicide.

For those of a certain younger age, Mostel, who grew up on the Lower East Side, the son of Orthodox Jewish immigrants, went from a childhood obsession with painting to stand-up comedy, and rose from the Catskills Borscht Belt to movies to becoming triumphant on Bway in A Funny Thing... and, most notably, playing Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof. Brochu relives the devastation the blacklist had on careers such as Mostel, Jack Gilford, and hundreds more.

The one person Mostel despised above all others was Jerome Robbins, who went before the committee and named names. In an odd set of love/hate circumstances, it was Robbins, a.k.a. "Loose Lips" by Mostel, who led the actor to two of his most memorable portrayals, that of Pseudolus in AFT... [1962], and Tevye in FOTR [1964]. Before those two landmark performances, Mostel received great acclaim playing John in Ionesco's Rhinoceros.

Then there was Mel Brooks' The Producers, which co-starred Mostel as Max Bialystock opposite Gene Wilder as Leo Bloom. The three-time Tony-winner died in 1977 at age 62. His last role was as Leopold Bloom in Ulysses in Nightgown, which garnered him a DD Award and Tony nom.

"Zero had a great influence on my life," says Brochu. "I was fortunate to get to know him when I was starting out. His life was filled with great laughter, drama, and life lessons. Few in show business had more obstacles to overcome than Zero. Drama is about overcoming obstacles - the protagonist and the antagonist. Zero had a lot of antagonists in his life. He said, 'I've been excluded as a man. I've been excluded as an entertainer. I've been excluded as a Jew.'

"He was disowned by his parents when he married a Catholic," continues Brochu. "There was the blacklist; and just when then things were going great, he was hit by a bus and, had he not spoken up with great determination, would have had a leg amputated. That's a pretty dramatic life."

Mostel tried to heal the rupture with his mother when she was dying by bringing his son Josh to the hospital so she could meet him; but what was broken remained broken. When she raised up from the bed and saw them in the doorway, she screamed, "Out, out, out!"

Zero Hour is directed by one of the 50s most popular movie sweethearts, Piper Laurie, who segued to three Oscars [Hustler, Carrie, and Children of a Lesser God], a Golden Globe nom [TV's Twin Peaks], and nine Emmy noms [including a nod for the live TV broadcast of Days of Wine and Roses, directed by John Frankenheime] with a 1986 win. She appeared on Bway in revivals of Morning's at Seven as Esther; and The Glass Menagerie as The Daughter; Off Bway in Larry Kramer's The Destiny of Me and MTC's revival of Biography. She has toured extensively in William Luce's one-woman show, The Last Flapper, based on the writing of Zelda Fitzgerald. Ms. Laurie also directs film and, still works in them. She just wrapped a featured role in her 61st, Hesher with Natalie Portman and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Producers are Kurt Peterson [Lincoln Center revival of WSS, Dear World, the original Follies (Young Ben)] and Edmund Gaynes.

Tickets are $35 and $55 and available through Telecharge.com and by calling (212) 239-6200. For more information, visit www.ZeroHourShow.com.

Before or after the show, pay a visit to the storefront Best Burgers and Shakes, directly across from St. Clements, which serves 8.5-oz. burgers, great fries and onion rings, and premium ice cream 16 oz. shakes.

More Holiday Entertainment ~
The Big Apple's Own Circus

Artistic and creative Directors Paul Binder and Michael Christensen like to call the Big Apple Circus New York's own circus "because it was born right here in our own back yard." The spectacular 32nd holiday edition of the one-ring up-close-and-personal European-style cirque has pitched its Big Top in Lincoln Center's Damrosch Park for Bello Is Back!, a celebration centered on the return of skyscraper hair daredevil clown Bello Nock. It plays through January 18.

The title is in tribute to the return to the fold of the daredevil clown with the skyscraper hair, Bello Nock. Founding A.D. Paul Binder notes, "Our new edition has Bello doing all sorts of edge-of-the-pants and edge-of-the seat antics. Along with Bello we have an impressive roster of globe-trotting artists and colorful production numbers. The Big Apple Circus is family entertainment in the purest sense."

This circus symphony of performers from 11 countries includes juggler extraordinaire Picasso Jr., contortion by the Long Twins, and hand-to-hand acrobatics by the Curatola Brothers. Guiming Meng juggles colossal Chinese ceramic jars and balances them on his head.

The always eagerly-anticipated Christine Zerbini and Sultan Jumisbayev are back with a roaring display of galloping througbreds, Roman circus-style. Zerbini, sister of Ringling star Sylvia, is a ninth -generation circus performer. Her mother was a famed aerialist; her father, Tarzan, is a legendary animal trainer and circus owner.

There's never a shortage of thrill acts at the Apple. Some of the most breathtaking acts is Brazil's David Martins on the "Wheel of Wonder"; Regina Dobrovitskay offering beauty with thrills, swinging from high above the ring on her trapeze and an eye-catching act flying over audiences wrapped in aerial silks; and soaring leaps, flips, and double and triple somersaults by the Aniskin Troupe off a five-inch wide bar onto a trampoline.

For more laughter, there's Big Apple's "incomparable paragon of love and laughter," Grandma [Barry Lubin. International Clown Hall of Fame inductee], who's always trying to duplicate what Bello and the thrill acts do with sidesplitting results.

The best thing about the B.A. is that no seat among the more than 1,600 is more than 50 feet from the ring.

The Big Apple Circus is staged by veteran clown Steve Smith, with original music copwritten by award-winning Broadway composer Michael Valenti.

Tickets are $28 - (premium seating) $135 and available at the Big Apple's Lincoln Center box office, online at www.bigapplecircus.org or by calling (888) 541-3750. There is a special 9:30 P.M. New Year's Eve performance with a post show meet-and-greet.

Rare Revival

Theater for the New City, the Yip Harburg Foundation, and the Harlem Repertory Theatre are presenting a rare opt to catch the world premiere of a new adaptation of the 1951 allegorical political musical satire, Flahooley. The original has a book by Yip Harburg and Fred Saidy [Finian's Rainbow] and lyrics by Harburg with music by Sammy Fain, one of America's most popular composers. It plays through January 2 at TFTNC [151 First Avenue, between Ninth and Tenth Streets].

This new adaptation by Harlem Rep A.D. Keith Lee Grant and Art Perlman has been germinating for three years. Grant directs/choreographs the 10-member cast, which includes Yip's grandson Ben Harburg. Music direction/arrangements are by Michael Roth, with puppet design by Daniel Fergus Tamulonis.

On Bway, the short-lived Flahooley, a revue with a 40+ cast, featured Barbara Cook in her legit debut, the long forgotten Lulu Bates, Irwin Corey, Louis Nye, Nehemiah Persoff, the unique vocal artist Yum Sumac, Ernest Truex, acclaimed ballet dancer Anthony Tudor, who also choreographed, and the Bill Baird Marionettes. Songs included "Who Says There Ain't No Santa Claus," "The World Is Your Balloon," and "He's Only Wonderful."

Tickets are $8, $10 for student and seniors. For reservations and more information, visit www.harlemrepertorytheatre.org.

Telecast of La Boheme

In October, the pairing of one of the most beloved operas of all time, La Boheme, with a contemporary "dream team" of singers, Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón, set the stage for a silver screen romantic blockbuster. On December 23 at 9 P.M. PBS' Great Performances broadcasts the lush film adaptation the glory of Hi-Def. Could the timing be better? It a perfect fit for the holiday season given the first two acts unfold on Christmas Eve.

"This film, this music, this story will beguile not just opera lovers," states Austrian director Robert Dornhelm.

Critics raved that this film is one of the best realizations of an opera since Francesco Rosi's 1984 Carmen. "Although it was filmed on soundstages," explains Dornheim, "it's very much a movie rather than an embalmed theater presentation." In addition to the stunning singing, there are impressive visuals, tracking shots, close-ups; and split-screen effects.

Viewers will recall Netrebko and Villazón with super tenor Placido Domingo from last season's telecast of Three Stars in Vienna. Netrebko's starring appearances on Great Performances at the Met [I Puritani, Roméo et Juliette, and Lucia di Lammermoor].

Discussing the differences between "live" and film, Netrebko says, "The camera is intimate. It comes close to you. Your expressions - the eyes, the mouth - are reduced to minimal. You have to put a lot inside your eyes, to have the expression inside yourself."

Dornhelm was Oscar nom for The Children of Theater Street and Karajan, or Beauty as I See It, which aired on G. P., offering a retrospective of conductor Herbert von Karajan on the occasion of his 100th birthday.

John Walker and Bill O'Donnell produced for THIRTEEN and WNET'S G. P..

For a preview and the entire interview with anna Netrebko, visit:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/episodes/la-boheme/interview-with-anna-netrebko/896/

Something Holiday Viewing

What did women want - back in the 1900s? Sarah Ruhl's In the Next Room or the vibrator play, being presented by Lincoln Center Theater at the landmark Lyceum, is adult holiday fun that tries to answer that question. It's slow going for a while, but there're plenty of laughs and poignant moments as two upstate New York couples enter the Age of Edison [electricity] with a new anxiety eliminating machine. Wet-nursing also fits snugly into the plot. Truth being stranger than fiction, the play's based on fact. You may not even recognize Michael Cerveris for a few minutes; and, in quite the holiday finale, you see a lot of him. Gorgeous Laura Benanti gets to sing a few notes, and the pace would be quicker had she more to sing. You have to wait until the beginning of Act Three [just after intermission] for the show's scenestealer. Chandler Willams sweeps in - in the guise of an ultra romance painter obsessed with poetry and himself and eats every bit of scenery that's not nailed down [but in a good way].

Who says there are no good roles for women over 40 [50!; 60!!]? Meryl Streep debunks that myth in It's Complicated! [Universal]. There's nothing too complicated about or much new ground broken by Nancy Meyers' [What Women Want, Something's Gotta Give] film but, courtesy of Streep; Steve Martin, in one of the best roles of his career; and especially Alex Baldwin, there's tons of fun. Streep, cooking again and as radiant a screen presence as there ever was, gets high and also gets high on her ex, rollickingly played with total abandon and lack of ego by Baldwin. Enter Martin, and, as he and Big B compete for Streep, some hilarious adult situations develop. A perfect holiday film for gals; and an opt for Streep fans to see her in a new light.

Posted by Ellis Nassour at 12:00 AM | Permalink

The holidays are upon us. Theatergoers dreaming of a white Christmas don't have to dream, there's lots of snow falling in several of the seasonal entertainments.

Support theater! Tickets to shows make shopping so easy and are great stocking stuffers. Is there anything that makes someone smile when they dip into a hung stocking more than tickets to a show [well, other than keys to a car, condo, sailing on Royal Carribean's Oasis of the Seas, a week in Paree]?.

There's so much frantic running around and stress, then it's all over in an instant. Through all this, the true meaning of the season is often forgotten. The best wish for anyone celebrating their special holidays is a return to the seriousness of purpose in our lives, especially in such hard times when so many are needy.

This is a point poignantly made in vastly entertaining and unique ways by Marc Kudisch and Jeffry Denman, who spent last holiday season on Bway in the ultimate holiday show - White Christmas, as the Holiday Guys. In song, dance, and comic bits in their Gotham Comedy Club show, they explore the joys of Hanukkah and Christmas, and with lots of gift giving - not to mention guest stars.

"The show is our doorway into our personal feelings and views of the holidays," says Kudisch, "of course from our skewered point of view."

Even though mounted quickly and with hardly a rehearsal before the first show last week, to Kudisch and Denman's credit, it's also one of the most entertaining shows in recent years. The guys have game; and aren't at all shabby in the area of production design.

Two more performances, December 21 and 28. Tickets are $30 and $45, plus two-drink minimum. To reserve, call (212) 367-9000. For more information, visit www.gothamcomedyclub.com.

The point is also made, but more subtlety, by Michael Feinstein and David Hyde Pierce, in his club debut, in their delightful Holiday Celebration at Feinstein's at Loews Regency, where with a couple of hilarious exceptions [such as their "You're the Top" duet and Pierce's discourse from Spamalot, "You Won't Succeed on Broadway"], the songs and some very fancy tinkling of the keys not only by Feinstein but also Pierce, who is classically-trained, raise the spirit.

In the words of one of their duets, they are "The Best of Friends"; not to mention a mutual admiration society. "Working with David is a true joy," states Feinstein, "because he's kind, talented, and the ultimate professional. I never know what he'll do or say. He's dangerously spontaneous! David learned our duets faster than I could and made many suggestions steming from his years as a music major. He can read music and I can't. My education has been deeply enhanced by watching him. When it comes to things like timing, tone of voice, motivation, and such, David makes it look so easy; yet I've rarely seen anyone work harder."

When Feinstein sits at the piano in a single spot and croons a great old chestnut such as "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," it is so breathtakingly touching that not only does it give you goosebumps but it also makes you want to run right out and drop cash in every Salvation Army bucket.

Admission is $95 - premium seating at $250, plus $40 food/beverage minimum. For shows at 10:30 P.M., $75, no minimum. To reserve, call (212) 339-4095 or book online at www.feinsteinsatloewsregency.com or www.ticketweb.com.

Speaking of Feinstein, if you're looking for stocking stuffers look no further than his Sinatra Project CD [Cocord; SRP $19] and the more recent Power of Two [Harbinger; SRP $15], the album of songs from his Feinstein's show co-starring Cheyenne Jackson. Of the 15 tracks, 17 songs, there are standout, lushly romantic renditions of "We Kiss in a Shadow" [King and I] and "So in Love" [Kiss Me, Kate].

Holiday Inn

Irving Berlin's White Christmas, the stage musical reinvention of the beloved film is back for a second season on Broadway through January 3. The movie musical starred Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen. Headlining the 2009 cast of 33 are James Clow as Bob Wallace [Crosby] and Tony Yazbeck as Phil Davis [Kaye] - G.I. buddies out of the foxholes and now crooning and dancing their way to TV and recording fame. Playing the Haynes sisters, Betty [Clooney] and Judy [V-E] are Melissa Errico and Mara Davi, hopefuls trying to make it in show biz. Of course, they meet and, along with snow and a good deed in the air, they either immediately or finally fall in love.

Joining these newcomers to the show is David Ogden Stiers [Major Winchester on M*A*S*H, among numerous other TV/film roles] as General Waverly, who now owns a Vermont inn mortaged to the hilt and faced with a holiday season without snow.

Not a newcomer to the show, the indefatigible Ruth Williamson is back on Broadway from W.C.'s last season Los Angeles sit-down to provide comic relief as Martha, the congenial inn manager. She steals every bit of scenery not nailed down and stuns audiences with her Merman belt.

The stage adaptation of W.C. not only has songs featured in the film but also other Berlin standards. There are dazzling tap and production numbers set to "I Love a Piano," "Blue Skies," "Let Me Sing and I'm Happy," and "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm." There are poignant moments, too, with "Count Your Blessings" and "How Deep Is the Ocean?" Other tunes include "Let Yourself Go," "Sisters," "The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing," "Love, You Didn't Do Right By Me," and, of course, the title tune, for which the entire audience joins in.

The book by David Ives and Paul Blake is adapted from the 1954 screenplay, which was based the 1942 screeplay for Holiday Inn, which co-starred Crosby. Berlin won a Best Song Oscar for that song that will forever epitomize the holiday season, "White Christmas."

Though slapstick circumstances, and very much in the spirit of Judy and Mickey, the foursome arrive to find lots of room at the inn - due to not a speck of snow; and the general in debt up to his Santa Claus hat. In an instant, an entire Broadway company arrives on the next train. To keep the general afloat, they put on a show in the barn that oddly looks like a Broadway theatre .

Tony and Drama Desk-winner and former song and dance man Walter Bobbie [Chicago] directs. Tony and DD-nominated Randy Skinner [42nd Street] is choreographer.

There are lots of newcomers in the ensemble. Skinner estimates the debuting cast members at about a third. "It's a real pleasure to give a dancer their first Broadway show," he says. "Your first time on Broadway is very special. We have eight dancers making their debuts - Abby Church, Sara Edwards, Chad Harlow, Matthew J. Kilgore, Jason Luks, Taryn Molnar, Dennis O'Bannion, and Richard Riaz Yoder."

There's one dancer who's making White Christmas his perpetual annuity. Drew Humphrey has the distinction of being with the show all six years in various sit-downs.

Martha on Broadway and Tour

There's been lots of invention in the revamping of White Christmas. One of the biggest changes involves inn manager Martha, a role that wasn't, per se, in the film. There was an inn caretaker, played by Mary Wickes, but the role has been drastically reinvented.

Regarding Ruth Williamson, Martha on Bway; and Lorna Luft, Martha in White Christmas' first national tour, Walter Bobbie states, "There are no carbon copies here, but very strong, vivid personalities. They are uniquely-gifted Broadway pros who have fine tuned Martha to their singular talents. When they sing, Ruth and Lorna really knock it out of the park, but with a surprisingly different swings of the bat."

Lorna Luft

She's back in the "good ole U.S.A." and, says Lorna Luft, who's portraying Martha in Irving Berlin's White Christmas' first national tour, "happy, thrilled to be here after two seasons in the U.K. edition."

"I loved our British cast," she exclaims, "but I don't think the creative team had a full understanding of the show. White Christmas is American as apple pie. We didn't get to bring the show to the West End but played Edinburgh, Plymouth, Southhampton, and Cardiff [Wales]. After that, I called my agent and pleaded, 'Tell them to let me come home!'"

Being part of W.C. is "the type of experience where I have to pinch myself to make sure it's real. Certainly there's no other show that casts the holiday spirit better than White Christmas."

She felt she'd be perceived as a stranger coming to the American company. "Everyone had been together so long. I was the new kid on the block. It felt like my first day in school. On the first day of rehearsal, I had this ache in my stomach. But Walter [Bobbie] was so kind and generous. I can't sing his praises enough as a director. He's kind, considerate, and awfully smart."

Luft states she's having a blast with her cast: Stephen Bogardus [Bob], David Elde [Phil], Kerry O'Malley [Betty], and Megan Sikora [Judy]. Bogardus and O'Malley are from last season's Bway cast. "I'm in awe. They can do it all - act, sing, act, dance. We have an ensemble that couldn't be more wonderful or more talented. And, oh, can they tap! But, the best part for me is doing the show in the right accent!"

She delivers one of Berlin's brightest tunes, "Let Me Sing and I'm Happy." She notes that it's been fun to play with the character of Martha. "Karen Morrow originated Martha, and I'm honored to step into her shoes. My Martha is made up of a lot of those larger than life characters - Eve Arden, Lucy, Martha Raye, and, of course, Ethel Merman."

This is a special night for the tour. It opens tonight in St. Louis [at the Fox]. It was at the Muny where long-time exec producer Paul Blake first hatched the stage adaptation of White Christmas. The show has been further developed with David Ives as co-book writer.

In W.C., Luft was happy to be working with a friend of 20 years, Tony and DD-nominated choreographer Randy Skinner. "Our first time out was in a 1998 regional production of Girl Crazy. White Christmas is dance driven and Randy has created phenomenal numbers. No one understands and respects the era of movies' golden years and what musicals are made of as well as Randy.

"What I respect most," she continues, "is that his choreography reminds us of the masters. He carries on the tradition of such geniuses as Hermes Pan, Michael Kidd, and Gene Kelly."

She has praise for another old friend, Kelli Barclay, Skinner's assistant and frequent dance captain on shows he's involved with [as she is with the Bway company]. "She's a force of nature. Kelli wants the best for you and you want to do your best for her. I've never met anyone as positive. When I first saw her dance, I was floored. She knocked my socks off. On top of her talent, she's the most wonderful human. I'd do anything for Kelli. If she told me to jump off a bridge, I'd say 'On what foot?'"

Luft discovered the stage early. Growing up in a musical home where legends passed through on a regular basis, how could it have been avoided? "Mother didn't have to beg me to go out onstage and sing," she laughs. "I was ready, willing, and able." At 11, she made her TV debut on The Judy Garland Show. At 16, she, along with brother Joey, shared the bill with mom in 1967 in a month-long Palace engagement.

Four years later, she made her Bway theatrical debut in Promises, Promises, joining to play Fran Kubelik for it's final year. Off Broadway she took a break from comedy and musicals, replacing Ellen Barkin and working alongside Farrah Fawcett in William Mastrosimone's Extremities; and played Peppermint Patty in Larry Grossman/Hal Hackady's Snoopy. She's done years of regional theater.

Luft has name recognition in the U.K., where she starred two years ago in Babes in Arms at the Chichester Festival and, earlier this year as Hugh Whitemore's femme fatale, the American spy, in the U.K. tour of Pack of Lies.

She's also an author, her 1998 autobiography Me And My Shadows: A Family Memoir, which was adapted for a TV movie and in turn was the inspiration for her acclaimed one-woman show Songs My Mother Taught Me [written by Ken and Mitzi Welch who worked on the Carol Burnette shows; the CD is on Frist Night Records], which is arranged and music directed by her husband, Colin Freeman. Following the W.C. tour, she takes that show to Palm Springs.

"We want to bring the show to New York," Luft states, "but it's always all about the economics - finding the right theatre, coming at the right time."

She wants to do another Broadway musical and states that she'd be pleased to do W.C. on Bway next season "if it's in the cards. I pray that at least I'll be in one of the companies. I guess you can tell I'm just having the time of my life. And the cherry on top of the dessert is that we are doing incredible business. White Christmas has something for everyone!"

Irving Berlin's White Christmas plays in St. Louis through December 27, then moves to Louisville from December 29 - January 3, and closes after the January 5 - 10 engagement in Kansas City. For much more on Luft, visit her official website, www.lornaluft.com.

Hurry, Hurry, Hurry - Last Chance

The DD and Obie-winning Mint Theater Company witha celebrated reputation for re-discovering worthy but neglected gems has again found a treasure, Maurine Dallas Watkins' long forgotten backstage, backstabbing comedy So Help Me God! The original script hasn't been tampered with except to made a few trims in the three-act play, which has ageless crisp, biting dialogue.

Watkins authored Chicago, the play on which the musical is based. Mint A.D. Jonathan Bank directs. It plays at the Lucille Lortel Theatre through Sunday. This is the first time Mint has ventured away from it's West 43rd St. home of more than 15 years. The larger stage and seating capacity were pluses.

Kristen Johnston, two-time Emmy Award winner for her performance in 3rd Rock from the Sun, plays Lily, a fabulously decadent, egomanical diva who is a director's nightmare. Her antics will have you ROTFIL. In a magnificent reversal of fortune, straight out of All About Eve but 20 years before, she must fend off a challenge from her ambitious but naïve understudy, played by Anna Chlumsky [My Girl films].

Johnston has appeared on and off-Broadway in The Women, Aunt Dan and Lemon and The Skin of Our Teeth. Anna Chlumsky has done extensive Off Bway work and can soon be seen in the films My Sweet Misery and Eavesdrop.

Bank has put together a first rate cast that includes Brad Bellamy as the frazzled director [right out of 42nd Street] and the delish Catherine Curtin as Belle, a Broadway babe who's seen it all and then some. It's hard to take your eyes off her as she reacts to Johnston's antics. Sadly, you don't see much of her after Act One.

Part of the show is watching as stagehands transform Bill Clarke's sets from act to act to act. Clint Ramos has come up with some drop dead diva outfits for Johnston's Lily.

In the 30s and '40s, Watkins wrote at least 19 screenplays including 1936's Best Picture nominee Libeled Lady , Up The River [directed by John Ford and starring Spencer Tracy and Humphrey Bogart in their debuts], No Man Of Her Own [starring Clark Gable and Carole Lombard], and Roxie Hart, her film adaptation of Chicago, which starred Ginger Rogers.

Miss Watkins, who passed in 1969 is a bit of a mysterious figure. She was a journalist, playwright, and screenwriter of Oscar-nominated films, but there's no critical biography of her life, no definitive collection of her work. When she gave interviews, they weren't very revelatory. In fact, she recalled her origins in details as angelically vague as the fake past she cooked up for Chicago's murderous heroine, Roxie Hart.

After several successes, she faded into obscurity in the 40s. In later years, she became a recluse. Always heavily veiled on her rare outings. This may have been her way of handling a disfiguring facial cancer. In her will, she bequeathed over $2-million to universities to fund classical studies.

To purchase tickets, visit the box office, www.ticketcentral.com, or call (212) 279-4200.

Spoofing Broadway

Gerard Alessandrini's book Forbidden Broadway: Behind the Mylar Curtain [Applause/Hal Leonard Books; 256 pages; lavishly illustrated; SRP $25] tells the hilarious story of the revue that spoofed Bway's best in 20 incarnations over 30 years.

The FB creator has as many awards as his revue has fans, including the Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre, four DDs, an Obie, and among numerous others, two Lucille Lortel Awards. In the book, written with Michael Portantiere, Alassandrini looks back at the creation and evolution of FB with cast members including Bryan Batt, Christine Pedi, and Daniel Reichard.

Among the chapter titles are "Cats, Phantoms, and More Misérables," "Teeny Todds and Grim Hotels," and "Who's Afraid of the Light in the Piazza?". This "mockument," as he calls it, contains over 100 B&W/color photos from worldwide productions as well as those of the celebrities who came to laugh at themselves.

Theater Read

Enchanted Evenings: The Broadway Musical from Show Boat to Sondheim and Lloyd Webber [Oxford University Press, 446 pages, multiple illustrations; trade softcover; SRP $28] by Geoffrey Block mines the rich vein of American musicals. Block, a professor of music history at the Puget Sound University, digs into the history of 18 musicals, including Show Boat, West Side Story and Phantom of the Opera. "I couldn't presume to unravel the mysteries of either artistic merit or popular success for these classic shows, but rather to establish a critical framework to an understanding and appreciation." The book equally addresses the importance of Bway musical film adaptations of Broadway musicals, mainly focusing on Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd and Joel Schumacher's POTO.

On Screen

After tonight's star-studded New York premiere of Rob Marshall's Golden Globe-nominated [Comedy/Musical] screen adaptation of Maury Yeston/Arthur Kopit/Mario Fratti's Nine, hopefully GG-nominated [Drama] Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire won't be forgotten by moviegoers. In a stunning turn of events, director Lee Daniels wasn't nominated. His unsparingly raw, deeply poignant film isn't a big, splashy musical; and it's far from the ideal holiday entertainment [unless you feel your life is miserable and want to see how much worse off you could be].

It tells the harrowing story of a young black woman's abuse by her mother and her ultimate rescue thanks to caring friends. The part is brilliantly played by unknown Gabourey 'Gabby' Sidibe, who just received a GG-nom [Actress/Drama].

In addition to already becoming one of the year's most talked about films, the movie has captured honors at the Cannes, Toronto, and Sundance Festivals. There are many shattering moments and it's not always easy to watch. There is a high quota of violence, but not the shoot-'em-up, blood-spoutin' kind.

Adapted from the 1966 novel, it's the story of 16-year-old Claireece Precious Jones who endures unimaginable hardships - obese, poor, angry, barely literate, unloved, ridiculed for her aspirations, abused by her mother, and raped by her father. She is blessed in the rare instance when the public school system actually works to benefit the child. Suddenly, pregnant, with the help of new friends, her life begins to change.

Daniels says, "Precious isn't just a tale of endless abjection. It's also the celebration of a young woman's determination to free herself from the pathologies surrounding her," guided by a teacher who senses innate talents and a tough yet compassionate welfare officer.

The casting is innovative: Sidibe, an unknown; stunning Paula Patton as the teacher has a magical screen presence [and could be almost mistaken for JLo]; and Mariah Carey, in only her fourth film since the Glitter fiasco should receive award buzz for losing her glam side and appearing "unvarnished" as a welfare worker. Rocker Lenny Kravitz, and Sherri Shepherd [The View; Everybody Loves Raymond] appear in featured roles.

Sidibe is a casting coup and Daniels extracts an awesome performance from her, but there's another coup: GG-nom [Featured Actress/Drama] comedienne Mo'Nique [Special Jury Prize, Sundance] as Precious' monstrous, jealous, abusive mother. Audiences who know her TV sitcom work and stand-up will be stunned at the depth of her performance. Mo'Nique makes every heavy you've seen onscreen look like Girl and Boy Scouts helping the blind and infirmed cross the street.

Casting the + size + plum role of Precious was painstaking. Casting directors couldn't fill the role. "There weren't too many 300 lb. actresses on their agency lists," laughs Daniels. So he auditioned, as he put it, "in the hood." Sidibe was the last of over 400 put to the test.

Daniels became her champion, working day and night with her "so I knew what she was capable of pulling out of herself from that place way down deep she didn't even realize was there." Sidibe's portrayal will open many doors and lead Mo'Nique down a path to heavy dramatic roles.

The inspiration to make the film came from a horrfic childhood incident that haunts him to this day. A young girl from his neighborhood came to his family's door naked, bleeding, and crying. She screamed, "My Mommy's going to kill me!"

Considering the nature of the film, Daniels explained that the shoot was "surprisingly lighthearted. Mariah was often helping Gabby with her make-up. Lenny was helping with costumes. Mo'Nique was always embedded in the script. When she got to particularly troubling parts, like where she has to throw a baby across a room, I had to keep her away from the craft services."

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