Saturday, March 24, 2001 If you are not watching the Oscars on Sunday night: Michael McElroy and the Broadway Inspirational Voices will perform their show "UNPLUGGED!" at Rutgers Presbyterian Church (236 West 73rd Street) at 8:00 PM. Tickets: $20.00. Call 212-768-0870. Portion of the proceeds go to Lena McPhadden-Gore Youth Theater (LYT) and to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. See the Broadway Inspirational Voices website at http://broadwayinspirationalvoices.com/ On this day in 1955, The Tennessee Williams play ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' opened on Broadway. Today's birthdays include: Bob Mackie, Robert Carradine, Lara Flynn Boyle, Harry Houdini, Andrew Mellon and Fatty Arbuckle. Snoopy: A Beagle With Brains Becomes Teachers' Pet A year after Charles Schulz's death, a panel of scholars consider the political and aesthetic ramifications of "Peanuts," especially Snoopy. 'Bloomer Girl': Of Feminism and Slavery By Bruce Weber The feminism of the 1944 musical "Bloomer Girl," a revival being performed at City Center, links women's rights and slavery in a way that now feels politically correct rather than politically courageous. Two Gore Vidal Plays Gearing Up For Broadway Jones Will Be B'way's New Major Barbara Theatre Wing Honors Stroman, Taymor, Reinking With Luncheon April 16 Equity & League's NBTA Debate Prompted John Ritter & Henry Winkler to Back Union, March 23 Pay attention, we told you that this story was going to grow... The League is put in a difficult position between their members who financially benefit from the non-union shows that tour their houses and Equity who does not want non-unions included in the awards. For the League to allow this to happen is to empower Equity in a jurisdiction that they should not have. It also opens up an anti-competitive lawsuit against the League and the awards from non-union producers such as Networks and Troika and their own presenters for non-competitive business practices. Broderick Temporarily Sidelined from Bway's Producers Shaw's Gathering Will Be in Cort April 13 Artistic Producer Rosemarie Tichler to Leave Public Theater Producer Lane Closing Easy After Stage Stint, April 1 That is Stewart Lane, the producer/theatre owner, also known as Mr. Broadway. Nathan Lane has no intention of leaving The Producers. Right now. Neeson to Star in Broadway Crucible in February 2002 DIVA TALK Betty at the Bottom Line and More! New Leiber & Stoller Musical Jailhouse Rock Plans September Workshop Scott Elliott to Direct B'way Revival of The Women in Nov. 2001 Cherry Jones to Star in Broadway Revival of Major Barbara, June 15 Roundabout Roundup: Alfred Molina Faith Healer and David Morse Holy Picture Postponed Artistic Producer Tichler Leaves the Public Theater As Daring as a Darius by Forrest Mallard Thank God I'm Old by Peter Filichia Spotlight On: Peter Filichia by Andrew Barrett Lets learn something about the best writer on theatre today. He is pretty passionate about the biz! On another note, the Talkin'Broadway forum is down right now. There has to be a lot of chatterati that don't know what to do with themselves right now! It has a note that it will be back up and running by Monday. Monday! Public Lives: An Impresario's Passions, Gratified (Sid Bernstein) posted at 3/24/2001 09:10:14 AM by James Marino | Item Link Friday, March 23, 2001 On this day in 1743, George Frideric Handel's oratorio ''Messiah'' had its London premiere. Today's birthdays include: Amanda Plummer, Marty Allen, Keri Russell and Joan Crawford. Fawning over The Producers, Part 2. Even though Matthew Broderick was out last night, the crowd booed the announcement and then gave a warm welcome and greeting to the outstanding performance of Matthew's standby, Jamie Laverdiere. Blind Item Received: Overheard at Joe Allen's after the recent opening preview of a show - One of the bigger-name, Tony-toting, supporting actors in the show may be taking a weekend off after less than a month into previews to go to Montana to marry his high school sweetheart. Who is it? A weekend isn't too a lot to ask for when getting married, even in dog years. Perhaps he will take a Reindeer Boogie express... 'Wit': Death, Mighty Thou Art Margaret Edson's tough Pulitzer Prize-winning play, "Wit," is, frankly, depressing. But if you miss the new filmed version on HBO, starring Emma Thompson, you will also miss a rare experience. Musical Churches: Spiritual High Notes From a Deep River As the price of concerts in commercial halls has spiraled upward, Karen Krieger, president of the Cathedral Vesper Choir, has become an assiduous seeker of low-cost, high-quality musical performances in churches. On Stage and Off: Revivals Busy Booking Space by Jesse McKinley Jungle Red! The Women Returns to Broadway Tonys #5 by Ken Mandelbaum Love, Janis Delays Performances Starlight Express Movie in the Works Starlight Express, Starlight Express, are you real? Yes or No... What, the Broadway production didn't lose enough money? This would be like Wildhorn making Pimpernel into a movie... My Fair Lady Star Hospitalized What is this, the "Eliza-syndrome"? Didn't something similar happen to Melissa Errico? Oh that wasn't the same thing, High Society ended many more careers than one. Dick Cavett Roundabout to Present Luce’s The Women and Cherry Jones in Major Barbara Hill and Campion Bring Jones' Stones in His Pockets to Bway's Golden March 23 Hazelle Goodman to Bring Act to Broadway in 2002 Ally Sheedy to Read Guare One-Acts, March 29 Report: Flashdance to Be Fleshed Out as Stage Tuner in 2002 Olivier-winning Stones in His Pockets Begins Broadway Previews Mar. 23 Report: Liam Neeson Returning To B'way in 2002 Crucible Cicely Tyson, Maya Angelou, Sidney Poitier Plan B'way Salute to Black Troupe Mar. 25 Revamped Selena Musical to Bow in L.A. Mar. 28 Ally Sheedy Returns to Give Off-B'way Food for Thought, Mar. 29 Here is food for thought, did the producers talk to anyone from Hedwig? The 50 Best Covers of Broadway Show Tunes by Peter Filichia Mel Brooks: Just Joshing by Charles Nelson Hmmm... maybe a good idea. Psycho ex-girlfriend gets her due. posted at 3/23/2001 05:56:30 AM by James Marino | Item Link Thursday, March 22, 2001 Okay already... I have made the phone calls and emails, and everyone is denying it or claiming not to know anything... but when I get emails from all sorts of unrelated people telling me that CHICAGO: THE MUSICAL has finally been greenlighted, one has to believe that at least it is a possibility. If Rob Marshall is going to helm this project, what does that say about the future of Hairspray? Then again, with the impending strike in Hollywood, this whole point may be moot. posted at 3/22/2001 08:10:31 PM by James Marino | Item Link On this day in 1895 Auguste and Louis Lumiere showed their first movie to an invited audience in Paris; this is generally regarded as the first-ever public display of a movie projected onto a screen. It will never catch on... Today's birthdays include: Karl Malden, Stephen Sondheim, William Shatner, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Stephanie Mills, Matthew Modine and Reese Witherspoon. Broadway Takes a Detour Through the Living Room The traditional movie musical died in the 1960's and the Broadway musical is just a shadow of its postwar golden-age self, but now television is stepping into the breach with prime-time revivals of the great musicals. Bat Boy': Who Ordered the Bloody Mary on the Rocks? Even if high camp is not your style, "Bat Boy," a tongue-in-cheek Gothic morality tale that opened Wednesday at the Union Square Theater, may very well make you laugh. At Blooper Sites, the Fun Is in the Details Dance Fever: TDF to Announce Astaire Award Nominees May 1; Winners May 18 Starmites Is Now Starmites 2001, Opening OOB March 22 Tommy's Dokuchitz Sings in NYC's Cutting Room March 22 Darius de Haas to Sing Strayhorn for Songbook Series, March 22 John Simon, Irene Worth Salute Wilde at NY Public Library, March 26 & April 21 Broadway Future for Royal Family Idina is No Longer Bev Forbidden Broadway Must Find a New Home Hold Me, Bat Boy by Ken Mandelbaum Finn, Lapine, Fitzhugh Train for Muscle World Premiere in Chicago, July 2001 Sondheim and Lloyd Webber Celebrate Birthdays Mar. 22 Isn't that ironic. So does Reese Witherspoon! William Finn Royal Family Preparing for B'way After Reading Forbidden Broadway Goes House-Hunting Subways Are for Reading by Peter Filichia The Most Popular Musical Theatre Lyric by Peter Filichia The Kansas City Star: THEATER ON DISC Plays, like books, often make better listening than reading Last night kicked off the first preview of The Producers. They are still working out kinks in the set (mostly wing space problems from what Susan Stroman told the audience before the performance), but 99% of the people talking about it are screaming "HIT!" posted at 3/22/2001 08:01:05 AM by James Marino | Item Link Wednesday, March 21, 2001 Today's birthdays include: Matthew Broderick, Rosie O'Donnell, Florenz Ziegfeld, Johann S. Bach and John D. Rockefeller III. La Dolce Musto by Michael Musto The warmest show in town, A Class Act has ridden to a larger theater on a wave of oomph and goodwill—and that's coming from the Grinch that stole Broadway. Random notes: Will Edie Falco be doing the new Warren Leight play at MTC? The new Latin-themed musical at Mandalay Bay is said to be a walking Time Bomb. The opening was postponed from last Thursday with no set date to open. I never thought Greenspan was going to lower rates more than 1/2 a point. Although Broadway houses still have a backup of shows waiting to enter, I have always believed that Broadway is a lagging indicator to the economy. Wanna check out a leading indicator: look at the availability of off-Broadway spaces. Not the major ones, which have the same traffic jam as Broadway, but the smaller spaces which are more and more finding themselves with no shows in them. As the money sources have dried up in the past 3-6 months, the downturn in the market with the inevitable layoffs at the Wall Street companies, the first victims are off-Broadway shows. If the market downturn is prolonged, it will reflect on to Broadway, as it did in it's last downturn which led to the 1994-95 season when Sunset won the Tony Award for Best Musical. It was the only new musical of the season. Nominees for Helen Hayes Awards Announced Don't Cry Out Loud by Ken Mandelbaum Magic Time: Producers to Start Bway Previews at St. James March 21 Cleveland's Next Stage Fest Continues with Premieres, Workshops, Readings Bat Boy, the Musical Spread Its Wings and Opens Off-Broadway March 21 Goodman Theatre and IATSE Struggle to Reach a Contract Mel Brooks' The Producers Begins B'way Previews March 21 Bat Boy To Spread Musical Terror Off-Broadway Mar. 21 Equity Protests Non-Union Nominees for Touring Show Awards New Blood Among Top Management Posts in New York Theatres Alice (Ripley) in Woodstock Land Alabama Celebrates Its Celebrities by Peter Filichia Luker the Lovely by Peter Filichia A New Brain... posted at 3/21/2001 06:45:14 AM by James Marino | Item Link Tuesday, March 20, 2001 Today's birthdays include: Fred Rogers, Carl Reiner, Hal Linden, Spike Lee and Henrik Ibsen. I gave you my music... Independent (UK): Theatregoers rage at stars who fail to light up stage Made your song take wing... Christine Pedi Impresses With Her Parodies of Broadway's Divas For the last 10 years, while most musical-theater performers have been struggling to become Broadway stars, Christine Pedi has been impersonating them. And now, how you've repaid me: SPRING BUOYS B'WAY BUT B.O. LAGS BEHIND 2000 Total gross dips nearly 10% below last year's perf Denied me and betrayed me ... LANGE MULLS B'WAY 'JOURNEY' WITH FALLS Director saw thesp's perf in West End FLOCKHART GOES TO 'PHILADELPHIA' 'Ally' star to play ice-maiden heiress for at least 10 weeks "...play ice-maiden heiress"? Isn't she going to act? Ensign Glenn by Ken Mandelbaum Broadway Grosses: Showbiz is Tough New Babe in Crimes Critics Charmed by My Fair Lady Death Comes to Broadway Stewart Lane: Writer, Producer, Director...Star? TX's Theatre Under the Stars Stages Miss Saigon March 20-April 1 This production of Saigon has Sean McDermott (Chris), Hinton Battle (John), Emy Baysic (Kim), Edmund Nalzaro (Thuy), Joseph Anthony Foronda (The Engineer), and Misty Cotton (Ellen). Terrence McNally Is Guest of March 22 "Theater Talk" Broadway Grosses: March 12-18 - Part 1 Report: Falls Courting Lange for Journey; Hoffman and Crudup Mentioned New Dates for Macaulay Culkin's Off-B'way Melville Jean Louisa Kelly Will Be The "It" Girl at York Theatre April 17 Broadway USA! Workshops Pomerantz Musical Cupid & Psyche, March 19 Casper Seeks To Be Summer 2001's "Friendly" Musical Tuscaloosa's Calling Me ... and I'm Going! by Peter Filichia Welcome to Spring posted at 3/20/2001 08:23:04 AM by James Marino | Item Link Monday, March 19, 2001 Just got a sneak peek at the new Rocky Horror website about to be launched this evening at Midnight. Fans are going to love the site packed full of great photos and information. Another great job by David Risley and the folks at Tarantula who stole this site away from the stumbling Theatre.com. Tarantula, a marketing based web development, design and technology company, has received good industry press. Last week's Weekly Variety contained a love song about David and how he is the new media guru of Broadway. I could not agree more. If your show website is not currently produced by Tarantula, you have settled for less. On other notes: We have to acknowlege the fact the Sondheim.com has been up and running longer than all other major theatre websites. The caveat is that Sondheim.com only covers one aspect of the theatre market. But don't get me wrong, it is an incredible site. Just when you think that The Full Monty was a great little Cinderella story who had producers that did everything just right... what the hell is that commercial? It made me not want to see the show. The production values of the commercial are not worthy of the show that it is. And for those of you who are keeping track of that Erin Dilly's hair color, I did know that it had changed a long time ago... but I had not seen it until Saturday. She and I don't exactly travel in the same circles. She is waaay more cool than I am. :-) posted at 3/19/2001 12:43:03 PM by James Marino | Item Link On this day in 1859, the opera ''Faust'' by Charles Gounod premiered in Paris. Today's birthdays include: Phyllis Newman, Bruce Willis, Glenn Close and William Jennings Bryan. Talkin' Broadway Into our 5th Year I may be going out on a limb here, but I think that Talkin'Broadway can claim the oldest URL on the internet dedicated to theatre. The only other site in operation as long would be Playbill, who's began on the internet six years ago at http://piano.symgrp.com/playbill/. I think that Playbill only went to Playbill.com about 4 years ago. Semantics, I know... Congrats to TB. Met Is Ready to Rejoin Lincoln Center Redevelopment Under New Rules After its two-month secession over complaints of being ignored by Lincoln Center's leadership, the Metropolitan Opera has agreed to rejoin the center's $1.5 billion redevelopment project under new rules that would give it a far larger say. Five Seasons of Love by Ken Mandelbaum Bandon Jovanovich Joins Noll, Bracken in Paper Mill's Carousel May 30 I am assuming that Brandon will be Mr. Snow thereby replacing the aforementioned (by me! oops) Rob Evan Edward III To Be hope theatre's Inaugural Show, March 28 A new production company, called the hope theatre and formed by the siblings McAllister—Kelly, Jerry and Heather Anne—makes its inauguration with a Mint Space staging of one of William Shakespeare's so-called "lost plays," Edward III. You know what they say, "The family that produces together..." Actually, I have no idea what they say. SFX Parent Clear Channel Gets Gov't FCC Boost Amidst Cutbacks in Advertising Town Hall Celebrates Broadway Musicals of 1943, March 19 Helen Hayes Award Nominations Due Out Mar. 19 Rumor has it that the weekend "emergency" of the Jane Eyre leads (Marla and James) not being considered for Leading Actor/Actress in a Musical because they were not above the title, is over. It is said that it was just a mix up. The Tony committee didn't even know they were in Jane Eyre. They didn't even know Jane Eyre was running still. That was not even my concern this weekend -- I still can't believe that Erin Dilly dyed her hair blonde. A bunch of Broadwayers will not be in the office today as Matt Bogart's 30th BDay party broke up about 3AM this morning... Penn State beats UNC and goes to the Sweet 16! posted at 3/19/2001 07:16:25 AM by James Marino | Item Link Sunday, March 18, 2001 Today's birthdays include: John Kander, Peter Graves, George Plimpton and Vanessa Williams. Jacques Lecoq: A Prophet of Gesture Who Got Theater Moving The International Theater School of Jacques Lecoq in Paris teaches clowning, improvisation and commedia dell'arte whose graduates have collectively redefined the boundaries of physical theater for their generation. For Stoppard, a Play Must Be Just That: Play Tom Stoppard's "The Invention of Love," opens March 29 at the Lyceum Theater. Although the play has an ineffable sadness, the playwright insists it is meant primarily to entertain. "Theater is a recreation," he said. In Stoppard Plays, Biodrama Blends With Fiction Yesterday was a full day of theatre. Bill Jennings, producer of the showtunes website Mermaniac, came to town this weekend. We attended the matinee of Follies and the evening performance of Seussical. Follies: Inevitable comparisons to the Paper Mill production will be made. This production is a few steps ahead of Paper Mill's. For the most part, it is well cast, although I feel as though the cuts in the book made the show feel like it was a revue at times. Highlights: Carol Woods brings down the house with her number "Who's That Woman", as does Blythe Danner's "Could I Leave You?". Seussical: I am a bit torn with the whole David Shiner episode, on one hand the producers have to have the ability to do what they can to keep a show running. Mr. Shiner received his financial obligation but perhaps the producers did not handle the transition well. That all behind us: CATHY RIGBY IS INSPIRED CASTING. She is natural and it seems as though the role fits her as well as Peter Pan. The benefit of this: the show is once again wonderful. The cast seems as though they are truly having fun on stage (could Mary Ann Lamb be any cuter?) as it seems that with the backstage happenings settling down, the show is the thing. As usual, Kevin Chamberlin, Janine LaManna and Sharon Wilkins bring outstanding performances to the stage. Go see it. It is a new Seussical. This one works better. Tour Ends Mar. 18, But Kathleen Turner's Tallulah Still Aiming for B'way Can You Say "Quodlibet?" by Peter Filichia Tonys #4 by Ken Mandelbaum Ann Sothern, Star of Stage, Screen and TV, Dead at 92 San Diego's Woman in Black Closes March 18, Off-Bway Next Eric Grode's STAGE TO SCREEN: Going Into Hoch BDE's Broadway Theatre Archive Launches mybroadwayvideos.com, March 15 AmericanTheater Web: Theater Under the Stars Prepares for Miss Saigon After Broadway - What to Expect The Providence Journal: Scarlet Pimpernel as a song-and-dance man Two blind Items Submitted: First, as one team of Broadway producers consistently proves, "Anything's Possible" when it comes to buying out their actors. Brings new meaning to the movie title Get Carter... Second, word on the street is that three of the actors in Follies--including two whose names are above the title--may not still be in the show on opening night. 1) Seussical and Aaron Carter... which is really not new news. Am I missing something there? 2) The Follies re-casting rumors have been circulating, but I have not heard them from solid sources yet. I think that Roundabout may have a very hard time replacing anyone in this high profile revival, especially by the April 5 opening night deadline. But, if this does happen, I suppose that Frank Scardino will handle it much better than others have. Big Celebrities.com posted at 3/18/2001 09:22:54 AM by James Marino | Item Link BroadwayStars is powered by Blogger Pro! [Past News]
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