Saturday, March 15, 2003

Features:

[ LAT ]  Of a murder and 'Mayhem' by Mike Boehm
Mining the horror of the killing she witnessed, the playwright explores a marriage and the global unrest that tears at it.
With Megan Mullally.

[ DN ]  Curtain up on a brogues gallery by PATRICIA O'HAIRE
It's just before St. Patrick's Day and paper shamrocks decorate shop windows along upper Broadway. Hustling up the street, paying no attention to his surroundings and looking for all the world like a red-bearded Santa Claus in mufti, is Frank McGuinness, one of Ireland's better-known playwrights.

[ HC ]  'Maintenance' puts actor back in the spotlight by ERICA LAND
Billy Dee Williams oozes sophistication and character -- qualities that have been his calling card throughout his career -- as he strolls into the downtown Plaza Club.
Thanks to American Theater Web for the link!

News:

[ NYT ]  Edward Colton, Innovative Theater Lawyer, Dies at 97 by PAUL LEWIS
Edward E. Colton received the Theater Hall of Fame Founders Award in 1999 for outstanding contribution to the American theater.

[ P ]  Today In Theatre History: MARCH 15

[ P ]  VA's Signature Theatre Will Stage New Version of R&H's Allegro in 2003-04

[ P ]  Karen Akers Revisits Nine Tunes in New Algonquin Cabaret Act, April 15-May 24

[ P ]  Pippin’s Vereen Offers One-Man Show in Brooklyn April 5

[ P ]  Stacy Keach Paints Baitz's Ten Unknowns at L.A.'s Taper, March 15-May 4

Reviews:

[ LAT ]  Decades of harmony and hairdos by David C. Nichols
Nostalgic kitsch of a rare order propels "The Marvelous Wonderettes" at the Hermosa Beach Playhouse. This West Coast premiere of creator-director Roger Bean's salute to the great girl groups is wildly entertaining froth, resembling a nonspectral "Forever Plaid" in crinolines.
With Kim Huber.
posted at 3/15/2003 12:16:06 PM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link

Friday, March 14, 2003

Features:

[ P ]  My Life With Albertine: Erin Dilly, Kelli O'Hara, and Lauren Ward

[ P ]  PHOTO CALL: My Life with Albertine: Opening Night

[ BS ]  Women's History Month: Is There a Reinvented Woman on Stage?
To what extent a new vision of women represented onstage is perhaps up for grabs. Has political correctness died? Have old taboos given way to a new batch? Back Stage takes a look.

News:

[ B ]  Herman Revue Showtune Extended to May 11

[ P ]  Jerry Herman's Showtune Extended to May 11

[ P ]  Hunter Foster Sticks With Urinetown Til March 20; Pollock Joins March 21

[ P ]  Urban Cowboy Lead Cowgirl Colella Ankled at NBC's "Today Show" Taping

[ P ]  Abraham, Ward, Moses, Jones Star in Encores! New Moon, March 27-30

Reviews:

[ CU ]  My Life With Albertine Review

[ ATW ]  Foley Amiable One-Man Piece

[ CU ]  Foley Review
posted at 3/14/2003 05:46:28 PM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link

[ TM ]  Play On! by Michael Portantiere
Michael Portantiere examines the root causes of the recent Broadway musicians' strike.
posted at 3/14/2003 05:19:38 PM by Matthew Murray | Item Link

[ B ]  Injured Sissy In Sneaks For Weekend Cowboy Perfs
Leading lady Jenn Colella sprained her ankle during the cast's Today show taping earlier today and, while she will be going on this weekend, she'll be doing it without her cowboy boots. Order and all correct footwear will hopefully be restored by Monday.

[ B ]  Peters Not Pellow is Chicago's Next Billy Flynn

[ P ]  PBOL'S THEATER WEEK IN REVIEW, March 8-15: Union Square

[ P ]  Another Macbeth Arrives in London in April

[ B ]  Hynes, Caldwell & Mosher to Helm Williams Fest

[ B ]  Bratt & Margulies Headline Faye at MCC

[ P ]  "Mister Sterling" Season Finale -with Audra McDonald-Set for March 14

[ P ]  Louder Than Words: Joey McIntyre Stars in tick, tick Tour's Boston Run May 27-June 8

[ P ]  Josie De Guzman to Star in Hayworth Homage Diosa at CT's Hartford Stage

[ P ]  Stage and Screen Star Katherine Helmond Featured in Acting Company's Benefit Reading

[ P ]  Six New Musicals Heard in NYC "Musical Mondays" Series; Patsy Sings March 24-25

[ P ]  DIVA TALK: Laurie Beechman Remembered in New Film; Elegies Songs Plus NEWS of Buckley & Myers

[ P ]  Caldwell, Mosher & Hynes Named Directors for Kennedy Center's "Tennessee Williams Explored"

[ P ]  Patti LuPone Among Stars to Sing Gershwin at 11th Annual Kennedy Center Gala
posted at 3/14/2003 03:42:51 PM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link

[ B ]  Photo Op: A Perfect Evening for A Little Night Music

[ B ]  Spa Music by Ken Mandelbaum
Maury Yeston's bountiful, extravagant score for Nine contains enough music for two shows. And with the right cast, Nine --particularly its first act-- can be a series of showstoppers.
posted at 3/14/2003 09:40:10 AM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link

News:

[ NYP ]  RANKLE AND FILE by MICHAEL RIEDEL
ONE event during the musicians' strike crystallized the gulf of mistrust dividing producers from their actors, stagehands and musicians.

[ NYT ]  ON STAGE AND OFF
Video Camera Therapy by JESSE MCKINLEY
The MCC Theater's next offering, "Intrigue With Faye," stars Benjamin Bratt, who plays a husband who videotapes his wife's every move.

[ NYP ]  PAGE SIX
THE steamy, nude sex scenes Stanley Tucci and Edie Falco played nightly in "Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune" didn't require great acting, sources say.

[ TM ]  Repertorio Español Schedules Gala Celebration

[ TM ]  Avenue Q to Resume Performances on Friday, March 14

[ B ]  Deirdre O'Connell to Star in NYTW's Cavedweller

[ ATW ]  XM Radio Guests for March 14:Fox News' Roger Friedman Discusses "Chicago"; Town Hall's Scott Siegel Previews Broadway Musicals of. . .

[ BS ]  Broadway Strike Sign of Labor Flexing Bicep
The impact of the Broadway musicians' strike will carry far beyond last weekend's walkout and Tuesday's agreement. It's actually an important experience in solidarity.

[ P ]  Juliana Margulies and Benjamin Bratt to Star in MCC's Intrigue With Faye

[ P ]  Today In Theatre History: MARCH 14

[ P ]  PHOTO CALL: Paper Doll: Jackie, Oh!

[ P ]  PHOTO CALL: Broadway Bears Preview: Bea Arthur in Mame

[ P ]  Dressed to Kill Broadway: Eddie Izzard Begins A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, March 14

[ P ]  "Valley" Author Susann Stage Bio Paper Doll Opens at CT's Long Wharf, March 14

[ P ]  Arthur Laurents' New 2 Lives Begins Boston Run March 14-April 12; NYC Next?

[ P ]  Still Hurting: Calarco Directs Wilcox, van Giesen in Philly Debut of Last Five Years, March 14

[ P ]  Swank's Miracle Worker Makes Pre-Bway Debut in North Carolina March 14

[ P ]  Ethan Hawke Reads Late Henry Moss at Ireland's Abbey, March 14

[ P ]  Devil in the Flesh, The Tutor, and Once Upon a Time in New Jersey Win 2003 Rodgers Awards

[ P ]  Beauty and the Beast Star Is Mame at NSMT; Benson & Wagner Also Cast

Features:

[ LAT ]  She's ready for more lucre by Susan King
Broadway vet Rebecca Luker is looking for new challenges and wouldn't mind some film or TV work coming her way.

[ CST ]  Stage-struck at first sight by Iris Fanger
Clare Higgins, the British actress starring on Broadway in "Vincent in Brixton," was 14 years old before she ever saw a play. The convent school she attended took her class to Stratford-on-Avon to see Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale."
Thanks to American Theater Web for the link!

[ NYT ]  PUBLIC LIVES
A Poet on Broadway, Speaking in Many Tongues by LYNDA RICHARDSON
A Brooklyn poet, by way of Palestine, identifies strongly with African-Americans and "outsider" literature.

[ TM ]  Peter Filichia's Diary
Filichia speculates on what songs Scott Siegel may choose for his Broadway Musicals of 1939 evening.

[ B ]  First Person: A Place of Departure by David Ives

[ CP ]  Q&A: Sebastian Bach of Jesus Christ, Superstar Interview by A.D. Amorosi
The latest issue of the City Paper also has an interview with Jason Robert Brown, in connection with the upcoming Philadelphia production of "The Last Five Years." The interview does not seem to be on their website.

[ NJ ]  Listen to the lullaby of off-Broadway BY MICHAEL SOMMERS

[ BS ]  Inspiring Action: Stone Soup's "Breathe Free"
"Theater should both contain and inspire action," says Cara Blouin. "If we walk out of a play feeling that we are in the right, that play has not only wasted our time, but insidiously allowed us to avoid action."

Reviews – "My Life With Albertine":

[ NYP ]  ANOTHER REASON TO DISLIKE FRANCE by DONALD LYONS
"My Life With Albertine" is an arrogant and silly attempt to put Proust into a tawdry musical box.

[ NYT ]  THEATER REVIEW | 'MY LIFE WITH ALBERTINE'
A Bit of Proust and Some Music by BEN BRANTLEY
In this new musical, Proust has once again evaded the clutches of besotted artists who have tried to transform his work for their own purposes.

[ NJ ]  Songs of sweet sorrow BY MICHAEL SOMMERS
It is not necessary to read Proust's vast "Remembrance of Things Past" to appreciate the melancholy sensibilities of "My Life with Albertine," a new musical drawn from relatively few of the novel's 4,000 pages.

[ DN ]  Prissy musical Proust by Howard Kissel
The sets and costumes capture the period well, but "Albertine" reduces Proust's monumental work to something trivial and tedious.

[ USA ]  'Albertine' aims high, hits middle by Elysa Gardner
Kelli O'Hara, Chad Kimball and Brent Carver star in My Life With Albertine, an intriguing mess of a play.

[ YN ]  'Life With Albertine' is An Inert Musical by MICHAEL KUCHWARA, AP Drama Critic

[ ATW ]  Musical Achievements, Performances Cannot Sustain 'Abertine'

[ B ]  My Life with Albertine Review by Adam Feldman

[ TM ]  My Life With Albertine Reviewed By: Brooke Pierce

[ TB ]  My Life With Albertine Review by Matthew Murray

Other Reviews:

[ NYT ]  CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK
Political Plays, Alive and Fiery by BRUCE WEBER
The theater of protest is suddenly alive and well, thanks to English playwright David Edgar and his American counterparts.

[ CST ]  'Midnight's Children' BY HEDY WEISS
ANN ARBOR, Mich.--Anyone who has followed the almost surreal saga of Salman Rushdie's life over the past two decades might have been astonished to see the happily extroverted writer casually strolling across the campus of the University of Michigan on Wednesday--a canvas tote bag in hand, and no one but an academic colleague at his side.

[ LAT ]  A timely 'Delicate Balance'
A smart, darkly funny production of Edward Albee's Vietnam War-era tale has emerged at Pacific Resident Theatre. And more.
With Greg Mullavey. Plus a new play by Ray Bradbury.

[ DN ]  Women's comedy nails it by Robert Dominguez
When it comes to corporate backstabbing, skulduggery, scandals and corruption, the quartet of scheming secretaries in "Hold, Please" make Enron executives look like mailroom clerks.

[ CU ]  Hold, Please Review

[ DN ]  It's a fling and a myth by Robert Dominguez
A rollicking country-rock score, some Elvis Presley lore and a tragic Greek myth make for an uneven blend in "Heat Lightning," a music-theater piece about a singer's extramarital affair.

[ NYP ]  FUGITIVE FROM '50S & '60S by DONALD LYONS
A clever narrator makes her childhood memories a grotesquely funny portrait of a society in decay in "Bexley, OH," now at the New York Theatre Workshop.

[ B ]  The Chinese Art of Placement Review by Katie Riegel
posted at 3/14/2003 08:15:02 AM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link

Thursday, March 13, 2003

[ B ]  Tony Winner Lynne Thigpen Dead at 54
Tony Award-winning actress Lynne Thigpen died at her home in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, March 12. The actress, who had spent the last three years working on the CBS television series The District, was 54, according to a Reuters report.

[ P ]  Actress Lynne Thigpen, Tony Winner for An American Daughter, Dead at 54

[ IBDB ]  Lynne Thigpen's Broadway Credits

[ P ]  Urban Cowboy Boots Scootin' Boogies It Up on NBC's "Today Show," March 14

[ P ]  How To Succeed's Megan Mullally Fills in for Letterman on CBS, March 14

[ B ]  Albee Festival Highlights Goodman Season

[ B ]  Radiant Baby Closes Earlier than Expected
Radiant Baby will not make it through its announced extension. The bio musical about the life of Keith Haring, which was expected to run at the Public through March 23, is closing on March 16, according to a production spokesperson.

[ B ]  One-Acts by Albee & Beckett Eye Off-Broadway

[ P ]  PHOTO CALL: Rhapsody in Seth: Opening Night

[ P ]  Radiant Baby's Light Goes Under a Bushel, March 16

[ P ]  Is a U.S. Run of Witches of Eastwick Brewing?

[ P ]  Broadway Musicians' Contract to Face a Vote Next Week

[ P ]  Flower Drum Song Star Joins Silverstone and O’Neal in New NBC Pilot

[ P ]  Crazy for You Star to Film Pilot for WB Network

[ P ]  Rudetsky Celebrates Chatterbox Third Anniversary With Guest Nathan Lane
posted at 3/13/2003 03:35:28 PM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link

Strike News:

[ ND ]  Broadway to Theater Crowd: Hi, Remember Us? by Tania Padgett
The League of American Theatres and Producers Inc. and NYC & Co. are planning a promotional event within three weeks to encourage more theatergoers to come to Broadway, sources said.
The event will be called "Broadway Appreciation Week." More details may be announced within days.

[ ND ]  The Show Goes On Along Broadway by Tania Padgett

[ ND ]  Broadway Needs Harmony Over Orchestras by Joseph Dolman
People don't come to Broadway to see efficiency. Broadway shows are already an economic anachronism. Why retail a show to a few hundred people a night when you can make one compact disc and reach millions of paying customers instantly? The reason: People are willing to pay big bucks to witness the magic of creation. If Broadway's producers forget that, they will wreck an important local industry.

[ ND ]  Broadway Is Alive, Again, with Sound of Music by Neil Donohoe
Neil Donohoe has been the director and chair of the Theater Division at The Boston Conservatory for 18 years. He has directed nationally and in New England.

Other News:

[ HC ]  'Sixteen Wounded' Could Move To New York by Frank Rizzo

[ YN ]  De Rossi Is 'Arrested' for TV Pilot Cast
Harry Groener, who spooked "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" as Sunnydale's mayor, has joined the cast of the WB's comedy "Kid Mayor." Groener is a three-time Tony nominee.

[ NYP ]  CINDY ADAMS
"The Play What I Wrote" news.

[ NYP ]  LIZ SMITH
Calista Flockhart, Kate Burton and "Take Me Out."

[ P ]  Take Me Out Plays San Fran in Summer 2004; Flower Drum, Charity, Movin' Offered

[ P ]  Guettel's Light in the Piazza to Light Up Goodman Stage in 2003-4

[ P ]  Australian Hair Makes U.S. Premiere March 21

[ P ]  Are You Blue? Off-Broadway's Blue Man Group Holds Open Auditions, March 24

[ P ]  “Name That Tune”: March 30 Costume Party to Benefit MAC Outreach Fund

[ P ]  “Welcome to the 60’s”: Hairspray Sheet Music Now Available

[ P ]  “Ally McBeal” Star Calista Flockhart to Play Title Role in “All About Eve” Benefit

[ P ]  Today In Theatre History: MARCH 13

[ P ]  Caffeine, Codependence and Customer Service Heat Up Cafe Society Off-Broadway, March 13

[ P ]  Gospel of John, One-Man Show of Biblical Proportion, Plays Lamb's March 13-April 20

[ P ]  '80s Singer Lisa Lisa Joins Off-Broadway's Donkey Show, April 11

[ ATW ]  XM Radio Adds Roger Friedman To March 13 Guest Lineup; Topic will be "Chicago" Oscar Race

Features:

[ ND ]  A Grade 'A' Star by Blake Green
S. Epatha Merkerson plays an abortionist branded

[ USA ]  Matt Cavenaugh rides onto Broadway by Elysa Gardner

Reviews:

[ NJ ]  More than a little BY MICHAEL SOMMERS
In its lovely revival at New York City Opera, "A Little Night Music" proves once more to be the most romantic show in town.

[ YN ]  'A Little Night Music' Lavishly Revived by JUSTIN GLANVILLE
The City Opera orchestra, conducted by Sondheim veteran Paul Gemignani, is larger and probably better than any ensemble you'd come across on Broadway. To hear the score receive such royal treatment is reason enough to see this production.

[ ATW ]  Is Death a Woman's Only Real Choice?: Alma and Mrs. Woolf, Killing Louise
posted at 3/13/2003 12:54:21 PM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link

[ NYT ]  CITY OPERA REVIEW | 'A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC': Sondheim's Words Can Be More Vital Than Notes By ANTHONY TOMMASINI

[ NYT ]  THEATER REVIEW | 'BARBRA'S WEDDING': People, People Who Hate People, Are the Angriest People By BRUCE WEBER

[ NYP ]  A SEASON OF REVIVAL By CLIVE BARNES
In a spring season filled with revivals, the biggest thing on Broadway is bound to be "Gypsy."

[ NYP ]  WOODY? YES, HE WOULD By DONALD LYONS
No doubt the headline event of the season will be Woody Allen's off-Broadway directorial debut with "Writer's Block" (April 23), a staged version of two of his scripts. Bebe Neuwirth and Paul Reiser will lead the zany way to madness.

[ DN ]  'Music' is less than lyrical, but Sondheim still scores by Howard Kissel
Howard Kissel: Before the New York City Opera production of Stephen Sondheim's "A Little Night Music" began Tuesday night, Sondheim was given an award named in his honor.

[ DN ]  Ghost haunts play - and cast by Robert Dominguez
There is a haunting, wistful quality to "Havana Under the Sea," a new musical presented by INTAR Theatre on W. 53rd St., that extends beyond the show's metaphorical premise.

[ V ]  A Little Night Music review by Charles Isherwood

[ V ]  B'way audiences loud and clear - Returning musicians get earfuls of ovation
They came back heroes. After a four-day strike, audiences staged emotional demonstrations Tuesday night on Broadway to applaud the returned musicians.

[ B ]  Do I Hear a Waltz? by Ken Mandelbaum

[ P ]  My Life With Albertine, the Musical That Would Make Proust Sing, Opens

[ P ]  NYC's Irish Rep Has U.S. Premiere, Foley, Solo Play Kissed With Music, March 13
posted at 3/13/2003 02:58:17 AM by Matthew Murray | Item Link

Wednesday, March 12, 2003

[ P ]  Robber Bridegroom Gets Manhattan Reading With Seiber, Butler and More
The Robber Bridegroom, the 30-year-old Robert Waldman-Alfred Uhry musical set in mythical Mississippi, came alive again March 7 in a private Manhattan reading directed by Christopher Ashley.
Darn, we should have made our hint tougher. :-)

[ Z ]  Modine, Alexander and Colantoni to Bear 'Witness' on CBS
Over at NBC, Christine Baranski will join John Larroquette in the comedy pilot "Happy Family." Larroquette and Baranski will play a couple whose grown children keep returning to the fold.

[ TM ]  Photo File
Enchanted April, The Play What I Wrote, Rhapsody in Seth, etc.
posted at 3/12/2003 09:25:02 PM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link

[ TM ]  A Little Night Music review by David Finkle
posted at 3/12/2003 05:55:40 PM by Matthew Murray | Item Link

News:

[ P ]  Liam Neeson Was March 11 Surprise Guest in Play What I Wrote

[ P ]  New Musical Avenue Q Cancels March 12 Performance at Off-Broadway's Vineyard

[ P ]  PHOTO CALL: Avenue Q: Everyone Loves Lucy

[ P ]  Goodspeed Confirms Eder in Camille Claudel Musical, and Has Tammy Wynette Show in 2003

[ P ]  Nathan Lane The Man Who Came To Dinner Comes to DVD/VHS, March 18

[ B ]  Camille Claudel, Tammy Wynette Highlight Goodspeed Season

[ B ]  Starry Cast Readies for Closer Film

[ TM ]  Richard Rodgers Competition Winners Announced

Features:

[ B ]  Quotable Quotes: Chatting with Enchanted Stars

[ B ]  Photo Op: Stage Stars Go Bowling for Second Stage

Reviews:

[ ATW ]  Nothing New in Bexley, OH(!)

[ CU ]  The Chinese Art of Placement Review
posted at 3/12/2003 05:46:20 PM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link

[ TM ]  Avenue Q Cancels Wednesday Evening Performance

[ P ]  Cult Musical, What Makes Sammy Run?, Gets NY Concert "Revisal" March 26-29

[ P ]  West End's Triple Espresso to Close Early

[ P ]  The Rat Pack Remembered in Musical at London's Theatre Royal

[ P ]  Joe Egg's Izzard Appears on Letterman, March 12
With Elvis Costello as guest host - should be a lot of fun!
(BTW, when Elvis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Monday night, he thanked Rodgers and Hart for influencing his music.)

[ B ]  Michael Brandon to Star in Jerry Springer - The Opera
For a second I thought that said "Marlon Brando"... yegods...
posted at 3/12/2003 03:01:16 PM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link

Reviews:

[ B ]  CDs: What, No Cafe Crown? by Ken Mandelbaum
THE BROADWAY MUSICALS OF 1964 (Bayview)
PAMELA MYERS: THE CHANCE TO SING (LML Music)

News:

[ P ]  Audra Sings "Happy Songs" in Prince Music Theater Benefit, March 30 in Philly

[ P ]  Broadway’s Michael Mayer to Direct Dallas Roberts in New Film

[ P ]  Transplanted Heart Links Characters in Toronto World Premiere, Domino Heart, March 20

[ P ]  Kirsche Replaces Cassidy in Reprise! She Loves Me, March 18-30

[ P ]  “Chicago” Fans Find Inconsistencies in Miramax Film

[ P ]  Jennifer Holliday Sings Love Songs at May 10 Concert
posted at 3/12/2003 12:43:17 PM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link

Strike News:

[ CSM ]  A chorus of musicians' complaints by Ron Scherer and Stacey Vanek Smith
The Broadway strike ends, but a wider discord persists
Thanks to American Theater Web for the link.

[ NYP ]  STRIKE UP THE BAND! by MICHAEL RIEDEL and RYAN SABEY
Hail, hail, the band's all here! Broadway musicals were up and running last night following the end of a four-day strike by the musicians union that dimmed the lights on the Great White Way.

[ DN ]  Broadway is back in business by RALPH R. ORTEGA and PAUL H.B. SHIN
Big strike role for Mike

[ USA ]  Broadway strikes up the orchestra by Elysa Gardner

Other News:

[ P ]  Today In Theatre History: MARCH 12

[ P ]  James and Annie, Warren Leight's Second Premiere This Season, Opens in Cincinnati, March 12

[ P ]  Killing Louise, Drama of Assisted Suicide, Opens Off-Bway March 12

[ P ]  Les Miz Hits Its 16th Birthday on Bway March 12

Features:

[ TM ]  Peter Filichia's Diary
During the Broadway musicians' strike, Filichia got his theater fix at a Wild Party in Cincinnati.

[ B ]  Quotable Quotes: Talking Up Brixton on B'way

[ NYP ]  LIZ SMITH
Renée Zellweger, Kander and Ebb.

Reviews:

[ INQ ]  For laughs, everyone's favorite Soviet is back by Douglas J. Keating
Yakov Smirnoff is attempting to increase his visibility with a show he has performed in several U.S. cities over the last few months. The two-nights-a-week show is previewing in New York, where he started his career, and is scheduled to open in a Broadway theater on April 7. Yet Smirnoff has brought it to Philadelphia's Annenberg Center for another series of out-of-town performances before he subjects himself to New York critics.

[ VV ]  UNFINISHED EUPHONIES
It's Writing for the Stage, but Is It Playwriting? by Michael Feingold
Our Lady of 121st Street; Vincent in Brixton

[ YN ]  Absorbing Tales Carry One-Woman Play by JUSTIN GLANVILLE
It's not immediately clear that you're in the hands of a master storyteller when the one-woman play "Bexley, OH(!)" begins.

[ YN ]  Mulgrew Captures Hepburn in 'Tea at Five' by MICHAEL KUCHWARA, AP Drama Critic
posted at 3/12/2003 08:43:08 AM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link

[ NYT ]  Broadway Strike Ends By ROBIN POGREBIN and STEVEN GREENHOUSE
The curtains went up on Broadway musicals on Tuesday night after producers and musicians reached a settlement, ending a four-day strike.

[ NYT ]  Light the Lights
Other sectors of the city's cultural economy may possess more creativity, but few of them drive tourism like Broadway.

[ NYT ]  THEATER REVIEW: Recent Plays

[ NYP ]  A SHARP COMEDY WORKS By DONALD LYONS
THE Working Theater, which last brought us "Tabletop," Rob Ackerman's splendid look at the technicians who make commercials, is back with another take on working people - a savage comedy about four secretaries about to be downsized.

[ DN ]  Strike boosts Off-B'way by Robert Dominguez and Lance Gould
Broadway's musical breach was Off-Broadway's boon. The strike by the American Federation of Musicians Local 802 diverted audiences to Off-Broadway houses in large numbers during the four-day work stoppage.
posted at 3/12/2003 07:18:13 AM by Matthew Murray | Item Link

Tuesday, March 11, 2003

News:

[ B ]  Broadway Grosses: Strike Out
With Broadway musicals closed due to the strike for the weekend, the Great White Way was down a whopping $6,213,161 last week as compared to the previous week. Total box office receipts for last week came in at only $5,192,470.

[ B ]  Kayden Returns to Urinetown; Pollock Joins Cast

[ F ]  Blanchett, Owen Get Closer With Mike Nichols
Cate Blanchett and Clive Owen join Natalie Portman and Jude Law, who have already agreed to be in Nichols' movie.

[ P ]  Greenspan's Gender-Bent She Stoops Has Kerr, Copeland, Smith at Horizons, April 3

[ P ]  Philly's Walnut Street Will Stage U.S. Premiere of Picasso Musical, La Vie en Bleu in Fall

[ P ]  Scott Schwartz Will Helm Hair National Tour in Fall

[ P ]  Report: Ned Beatty to Be Ashley Judd's Big Daddy in Upcoming Broadway Cat

[ P ]  NYC Musical Theatre Artists Talk About Conducting and Musical Directing, March 16-April 14

[ P ]  Check Your Local Listings: "Chicago" Movie Featurettes Fill TV Schedules

Features:

[ TM ]  Tammy, Tell Me True
Tammy Grimes shares her Wit & Wisdom with TheaterMania's Michael Buckley.

[ B ]  Photo Op: Enchanted April Meet and Greet

[ B ]  Photo Op: Buicks Opens Off-Broadway

[ B ]  Photo Op: Tea Time!
posted at 3/11/2003 08:38:42 PM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link

We're back! And we're cooking with beer! Now that we return to our normal Broadway season, we get back to good "blind items":

What short-lived "cult" musical from the mid 1970's recently had a top secret NYC reading and just gotten the go ahead for a full production at The Biltmore next season? Hint: the original production starred two future Broadway legends.
posted at 3/11/2003 04:39:38 PM by James Marino | Item Link

News:

[ P ]  Jude Law to Star in Film of Closer
Jude Law will co-star with Cate Blanchett in the film version of Patrick Marber's play Closer.

[ P ]  Tricycle Stages Pinter Premiere in U.K.

[ P ]  Royal Comedy Opens at London’s Jermyn Street

[ P ]  Report: Bening and Ivey to Star in Fallen Angels on Broadway in Fall

[ P ]  Urinetown Re-Zoned: Thompson and Kayden Return March 25, Foster Exits March 18

[ P ]  PHOTO CALL: Tea at Five: Opening Night

[ B ]  Cowboy Cancels Matinees; Keeps Opening Date

[ B ]  DC's Sondheim Fest Leads Helen Hayes Noms

Features:

[ P ]  Ride 'Em (Urban) Cowboy
Bud, Sissy and Wes are back in the saddle again—singing and dancing on Broadway in a new, musical Urban Cowboy.
posted at 3/11/2003 03:32:28 PM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link

Strike News:

[ P ]  March 11 Press Conference Features Speeches from Mayor and Union and League Reps

[ P ]  Back in the Saddle: Urban Cowboy Resumes, Nixes March 12 Matinee

[ P ]  Drum Beats Again: Flower Drum Song Resumes Performances March 11

Other News:

[ B ]  Cast Set For Woody Allen's Writer's Block

[ B ]  Hairspray's Gambatese Set For Frog and Toad

[ P ]  MAC Awards Scheduled for April 14; Nominees Announced: Buckley, Feinstein Up for Top Honors

[ P ]  New Play Anthology Given Free Reading in NYC, March 31

[ P ]  Broadway and "Will & Grace" Star Megan Mullally Subs for Letterman on "Late Show," March 14

[ P ]  Broadway Grosses: March 3-9

[ P ]  “Mister Sterling” Season Finale —with Audra McDonald—Set for March 14

[ P ]  Take Me Out Plays "Tuesdays at 7" on March 11, 18 & 25 Before Returning to 8 PM

[ P ]  A Ghostly Leading Lady Surfaces in Off-Bway Musical, Havana Under the Sea, March 11

[ P ]  Leguizamo Begins Solo Sexaholix... at Los Angeles' Ahmanson, March 11

Reviews:

[ B ]  DVDs: The Fan-Dango on Film by Ken Mandelbaum
SWEET CHARITY (Universal)

Features:

[ B ]  Photo Op: The Play What I Wrote Welcomes Moore--Roger Moore!
posted at 3/11/2003 01:42:20 PM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link