May 2006 Archives

The 62nd annual Theatre World Awards for outstanding Broadway and Off-Broadway debut performances will be presented Tuesday [June 6] at 2 P.M. at Studio 54.

Awards will be presented to Tony and Drama Desk nominee Harry Connick Jr. [The Pajama Game], Tony nominee Felicia P. Fields [The Color Purple], Maria Friedman [The Woman in White]; Tony nominee and Drama Desk winner Richard Griffiths [The History Boys], Mamie Gummer [Mr. Marmalade], Tony nominee and Drama Desk winner Jayne Houdyshell [Well], Tony and Drama Desk nominee Bob Martin [The Drowsy Chaperone], Tony nominee Ian McDiarmid [Faith Healer], Nellie McKay [The Threepenny Opera], Tony nominee David Wilmot [The Lieutenant of Inishmore], Tony nominee Elisabeth Withers-Mendes [The Color Purple] and Tony nominee and Drama Desk winner John Lloyd Young [Jersey Boys].

Presenters will be Lucie Arnaz [Dirty Rotten Scoundrels], Maxwell Caulfield [Tryst], Tony nominee Ralph Fiennes [Faith Healer], three-time Tony-nominee Harry Groener, Liza Minnelli [who won the TWA in 1963 for her Off Broadway debut in Best Foot Forward], Patricia Neal [who won in 1947 for Another Part of the Forest and that year was one of the first recipient of Tony Awards], Drama Desk winner Ken Page, Tony and Drama Desk winner John Rubinstein and Tony and Olivier winner Jonathan Pryce [DRS].

Several presenters will perform songs they introduced from shows for which they received their award, including Page with "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat" from the 1976 all-black revival of Guys & Dolls, where he played Nicely-Nicely; and actor/singer/composer Rubinstein with "Corner of the Sky" from Pippin.

The Awards are written and hosted by theater historian and media journalist Peter Filichia. Walter Willison, a 1971 Tony nominee for Two by Two, is director. Ben Hodge, associate editor of Theatre World, and Kati Meister are co-executive producers.

The Theatre World Awards, the oldest pictorial and statistical record of the American theatre, including the regional, are the oldest awards given for Broadway and Off-Broadway debut performances, as well as one of the oldest awards for New York actors.

Theatre World founder John Willis has been the editor-in-chief for 40 years. For his dedication and service, he received a Tony Awards Honor [Excellence in the Theater], as well as Lifetime Achievement Awards from Drama Desk and the Lucille Lortel Awards.

The TWAs are by invitation only. For further information, visit theatreworldawards.org.

Theatre World Volume 60: 2003-04 was published in May. Theatre World Volume 61: 2004-05 will reach stores in November. Both from Applause Theatre and Cinema Books.

For more information, visit applausepub.com.

STAGE AND BROADWAY LEGEND GETS BELATED BIO

There was no more celebrated stage or screen actress than the late, self-destructive Kim Stanley, who is much belatedly the subject of the aptly named Female Brando:The Legend of Kim Stanley by Jon Krampner [Back Stage Books, SRP $25 hard, 40 B&W photos, Index].

It's timed to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Stanley's greatest stage triumph, William Inge's Bus Stop and the upcoming documentary, The Needs of Kim Stanley.

Stanley, who died at age 76 of cancer in 2001, was hooked on theater after seeing a touring production of The Philadelphia Story starring Katharine Hepburn. She began her New York career in the Golden Age of 50s live TV dramas.

An advocate of the Actor's Studio, she made her stage debut in 1951's The House of Bernada Alba, and went on to establish herself as one of the greatest stage actresses of a generation that included Julie Harris, Geraldine Page and Colleen Dewhurst.

Joanne Woodward and Elizabeth Taylor said they were greatly inspired by her work. Between 1949 and 1964, her breathtaking performances in 12 Broadway shows, including Millie, the younger sister in Inge's 1953 Picnic, left audiences mesmerized.

She received Tony Award nominations for O'Neill's A Touch of the Poet [1958] and A Far Country [1961], but, strangely, not for Bus Stop, where she endeared herself to audiences as Cherie, the nightclub singer being roped into a romance in 1955's Bus Stop [a role that went to Marilyn Monroe in the film adaptation].

There were much deserved Oscar nominations for Frances [1982], playing mother to Jessica Lange in the bio pic of film star Frances Farmer, and the well-suited role of a slightly unhinged medium in Seance on a Wet Afternoon [1964]. She was cheated of an Oscar nomination for her greatest screen triumph, as Emily Ann Faulkner/Rita Shawn in 1958's seering The Goddess, by Paddy Chayefsky, which greatly paralleld her life. As difficult as she may have been, the role also took a toll on her personal life.

A little known fact, because she did it uncredited, is that Stanley was the voice of the adult Scout in 1962's landmark To Kill a Mockingbird.

She received her second Emmy as Big Mama [opposite Rip Torn's eccentric Big Daddy] in 1985's TV production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, which also starred Lange and was directed by Jack Hofsiss [Tony Award winner, The Elephant Man].

After 15 years of stage stardom, upon playing Masha in the 1964 revival of The Three Sisters, Stanley walked away from theater, to teach out West and to make rare, but captivating appearances on film and on TV. Producers and directors claimed she was determined to do things her way or take the highway. She was difficult, a claim later laid on Barbara Harris and Madeline Kahn and restricted their stage appearances.

There was archival footage of her in Rick McKay's Broadway: The Golden Age By the Legends Who Were There.

To present the compelling tale of Stanley's triumphs, depression and ultimate downfall, Krampner, author of The Man in the Shadows: Fred Coe and the Golden Age of Television, conducted more than 225 interviews with intimates, colleagues and friends.

He traces her early training, stardom and tragic descent into loneliness and, unfortunately, like Maureen Stapleton, alcoholism.

WEDDING SINGER CAST CD

The original cast recording of the Tony and Drama Desk-nominated The Wedding Singer, recorded only last month, is officially released this week [Masterworks Broadway].

Tony and Drama Desk nominee Stephen Lynch and Laura Benanti star along with Rita Gardner [The Fantasticks], Felicia Finley and Drama Desk nominee Amy Spanger.

The show, directed by John Rando and choreographed by Tony and Drama Desk-nominee Rob Ashford, has music Matthew Sklar, who also co-produced the CD, lyrics by Chad Beguelin [lyrics] and book by Beguelin and Tim Herlihy [who write the screenplay the musical is based on], all Tony and Drama Desk nominees. There's additonal music and lyrics by Herlihy and Adam Sandler, who starred in the film.

David Leonard, who has worked on CDs by Duran, Duran, John Mellencamp and Paul, also co-produced the CD.

FRED WILLARD IN RARE STAGE APPEARANCE

Movie [American Wedding, A Mighty Wind, Best in Show, Anchorman] and TV veteran funny man [inhabiting many Tonight Show sketches and, most recently, in the recurring role of Hank MacDougall on Everybody Loves Raymond] Fred Willard is making a rare stage appearance in the Abingdon Theatre Company [312 West 36th Street, between Eighth and Ninth Avenues] production of Mary Willard's Elvis and Juliet. Ms. Willard also happens to be Mrs. Willard.

The comedy, running through July 2 in the June Havoc Theatre, is directed by Yvonne Conybeare, resident director of New York's Metropolitan Playhouse. It tells how college sweethearts Juliet Jones and Elvis Lesley face the truest test of love [their upcoming nuptials] as their families come together for the first time. Elvis, of course, is a flamboyant member of the Las Vegas clan of Presley tribute artists.

David Rasche [Moonlight and Magnolias] co-stars in the 10-member cast, which also features Abington co-artistic director and co-founder [with Jan Buttram].

Ms. Willard has had many plays produced on the West Coast, including her short play Murder, She Rewrote, which has also enjoyed productions in three countries.

Tickets are $40 and can be purchased through SmartTix, www.smarttix.com, by calling (212) 868-4444, or at the Abingdon box office prior to showtime.

MORE TV STARS SHINE OFF BROADWAY

Where do the stars of hit TV shows go during hiatus? This season, as never before, the answer is Off Broadway. By now, you know the cast of Some Girl(s), at sell-out at the Lortel. Now comes the premiere of Burleigh Grime$ at Dodger Stages.

Drama Desk nominee Nancy Anderson [Fanny Hill], Drama Desk nominee Jason Antoon [Contact, Picasso at the Lapin Agile] and John Lavelle [The Graduate] co-star with James Badge Dale [24], Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Wendie Malick [Just Shoot Me, Fraiser], Mark Moses [Desperate Housewives] and Ashley Williams [Huff; Off-Broadway's The Shape of Things].

Anderson also starred on Broadway in Wonderful Town and A Class Act and was an Olivier Award nominee for her role in the West End Kiss Me, Kate.

Roger Kirby's comedy is set in the hard-knock world of Wall Street day trading. David Warren directs with choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler.

Burleight Grime$ features original music by two-time Tony and Grammy Award nominee David Yazbek [Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Full Monty], performed by a live onstage band.

Tickets are $70 and available through Telecharge.com, by calling (212) 239-6200, or in-person at New World Stages box office.

BROADWAY LOVE DUETS

Just arrived from the vaults of Sony BMG Masterworks [remember RCA, the label so many cast albums were recorded on?] is a 15 track CD that's a love letter to the Golden Age Of Broadway. It's aptly titled Falling in Love Is Wonderful, Broadway's Greatest Love Duets [SRP, $12].

The title comes from the lyric of "They Say It's Wonderful" from Berlin's Annie Get Your Gun. The disc also features pristine, remastered duets from cast recordings of Oklahoma!, West Side Story, Guys And Dolls, The King And I, Hello, Dolly!, Carousel, Show Boat and, among others, Fiddler On The Roof.

Most are sung by the Broadway legends who starred in these musicals by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Bernstein and Sondheim, Frank Loesser, Jerry Herman, Kern and Hammerstein and Bock and Harnick.

The stars include Barbara Cook, Alfred Drake, Judy Holliday, Larry Kert, Carol Lawrence, Mary Martin, Ethel Merman, Zero Mostel, Robert Preston, John Raitt and such contemporary Broadway headliners as Peter Gallagher, Malcolm Gets, Brent Carver and Carolee Carmello.

Also of interest from Sony Classical, especially for film buffs, is a two-disc collection The Essential Hollywood, culled from RCA Red Seal and Sony Classical's multi-volume compilation discs of symphonic studio recordings of the greatest film music of the last 80 years.

The film score themes and suites range from the original King Kong, Gone with the Wind and Casablanca to the James Bond films, The Godfather and Star Wars. Many of the scores are from the American Film Institute's list of "the 25 greatest film scores of all time."

The recordings use the original orchestrations and arrangements of Hollywood's most notable composers, including John Barry, Elmer Bernstein, Bernard Herrmann, Maurice Jarre, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Henry Mancini, Nino Rota, MiklÛs RÛzsa, Dimitri Tiomkin, Franz Waxman and John Williams.

The orchestras include the London Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, National Philharmonic and Royal Philharmonic.

AT THE MET [MUSEUM]

Through September 4 at the Metropolitan Museum, in the Howard Gilman Gallery [second floor], novelist, essayist and critic Susan Sontag, who died in 2004, is honored with a retrospective of her writings and musings, On Photography: A Tribute to Susan Sontag.

The exhibit features the work of Julia Margaret Cameron, Edward Steichen, Walker Evans and, among numerous others, Andy Warhol.

Opening on June 13 and up through September 10, the Met, in association with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, presents their summer blockbuster exhibition, Treasures of Sacred Maya Kings.

The 23-member 2006 Tony Award Nominating Committee has spoken.

As you would expect, there are a couple of surprises and surprise omissions. One of the omissions is rather a bit of a shocker.

It's no surprise that musicals led in the number of nominations, especially since there are more categories for them than plays. Regarding the surprise nominations, it's probably best to keep those in confidence out of loyalty to the source making the observations.

The Tonys, presented by the American Theatre Wing and League of American Theatres and Producers, will celebrate 60 years of honoring Broadway excellence on June 11.

They'll be broadcast on CBS live from Radio City Music Hall [8 - 11 P.M.]. A host is yet to be announced.

In the Play categories, the LCT revival Awake and Sing! led with the highest number of noms: 8.

Best Play nominees are Alan Bennett's The History Boys, Martin McDonagh for The Lieutenant of Inishmore, David Lindsay-Abaire's Rabbit Hole and Conor McPherson for Shining City.

At the top of the musical nominations list, The Drowsy Chaperone garnered nods in 13 categories.

The Color Purple, snubbed by the Drama Desk Awards nominating committee, is runner-up with 11 noms, with The Pajama Game coming up with nine. Other Best Musical nominees are Jersey Boys and The Wedding Singer.

Maybe with all the nominatioins for TCP, Oprah will change her mind and host the Tonys. What a ratings bonanza for the Awards if she did! We await the announcement of a host with baited breath.

Best Performance, Actor, Play nominees are Ralph Fiennes, Faith Healer; Richard Griffiths, The History Boys; éeljko Ivanek, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial; Oliver Platt, Shining City; David Wilmot, The Lieutenant of Inishmore.

In quite an unexpected move, if you were judging house capacity on the throngs waiting at the stage door of the Schoenfeld Theatre, the producers of Caine Mutiny announced they're leaving port after Saturdays performances.

Here you have one of the season's most acclaimed performances from éeljko Ivanek as Lieutenant Commander Queeg and, in the other two starring roles, top TV names David Schwimmer and Tim Daly.

Were you as jolted back into the real world as so many others were when it was reported that last week's CMC-M receipts were a mere $163,935. There should be a new rule: every gawker and autograph seeker must buy a ticket.

Paul Rudd, who was overlooked by the DD nom com, suffered the same fate at the hands of the Tony nom com, but a certain gorgeous Hollywood star will surely keep Three Days of Rain from ending before its time.

Best Performance, Actress, Play nominees are Kate Burton, The Constant Wife; Judy Kaye, Souvenir; Lisa Kron, Well; Cynthia Nixon, Rabbit Hole; and Lynn Redgrave, The Constant Wife.

The announcement that the Tony administrators had decided that Cherry Jones, a star of Faith Healer, wouldn't be eligible for this category but for Featured Actress had more than a few heads shaking and, since the pronouncement was made, some figured the administrators were up to something - for instance, to give someone else a shot in the Actress category.

Of course, not every excellent performer can be nominated, but imagine the shock yesterday morning to a majority of those who were mesmerized by the depth and emotion of Jones's spellbinding performance - the one exception, perhaps, being that theater reporter from a certain New York daily - when the two-time Tony winner didn't make the Featured cut for what would have been her fourth nomination.

Hats off to the Drama Desk nom com for not only nominating Jones but also for putting her in the correct category [Outstanding Actress].

Nominees for Best Performance, Actor, Musical are Michael Cerveris, Sweeney Todd; Harry Connick, Jr., The Pajama Game; Stephen Lynch, The Wedding Singer; Bob Martin, The Drowsy Chaperone; and John Lloyd Young, Jersey Boys.

Nominees for Best Performance, Actress, Musical are Sutton Foster, The Drowsy Chaperone; LaChanze, The Color Purple; Patti LuPone, Sweeney Todd; Kelli O'Hara, The Pajama Game; and Chita Rivera, Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life.

A much-belated Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement will be presented to multiple Tony-winning director/producer Harold Prince. The Intiman Theatre of Seattle has been selected for the 2006 Regional Theatre Tony, which is accompanied by a grant of $25,000 sponsored by Tony partner Visa USA. The Tony Administration Committee also voted a Special Tony to Sarah Jones, star and creator of Bridge & Tunnel.

Have Visa, will travel. If so, a limited number of tickets are on sale to the public. They may be purchased online at http://www.tonyawards.com/ or by calling TicketMaster, (212) 307-4544.

On the Tony web site, developed and hosted by Tony partner IBM, there's also news and feature content from Playbill. You can also enjoy a video player link for up close and personal encounters with winners; access to their acceptance speeches and the impact of winning a Tony; an archive of nominees and winners in every category from 1947; Tony trivia; and a detailed profile of the fascinating Miss Perry, among other things, a pioneer for women producers on Broadway.

THE OBIES

The 51st Annual Village Voice OBIE Awards were announced yesterday in a ceremony hosted by Lili Taylor and Eric Bogosian. For a complete list of winners of the prestigious Off Broadway honors, go to www.villagevoice.com/obies.

Congratulations to the selection committee for choosing among the 2006 honorees Dana Ivey, Mrs. Warren's Profession; Euan Morton, Measure for Pleasure; and Danai Gurira and Nikkole Salter, In the Continuum; especially since these performers were overlooked in the Drama Desk nominations.

LEGEND TO BE HONORED

Cabaret, recording, film and Broadway legend Julie Wilson will receive her due on Sunday night [May 21] in the final edition of Roasts, Toasts and Tributes. Recording legend Margaret Whiting along with Baby Jane Dexter, Steve Ross, Mark Nadler and performance artist Stephen Brinberg will be among the headliners honoring Wilson.

The event, presented by Carolyn Montgomery and Reveille Productions, is at 8 P.M. at St. Clement's Theatre [423 West 46th Street].

Wilson's illustrious, 60-year career in the theater includes Broadway, the West End and, befitting her title of "First Lady of Cabaret," all the smart supper clubs. She's been acclaimed for her charm and warmth onstage but most especially for the way she mesmerizes audiences with her interpretation of lyrics.

On Broadway, besides starring opposite Peter Allen in the infamous Legs Diamond, Wilson was a later Lalume in Kismet [1953] and a later Babe in The Pajama Game [1954].

Montgomery, a Nightlife Award-winning comedienne/singer co-hosts with Jay Rogers [When Pig's Fly] and Nightlife Award-winner Julie Reyburn.

Tickets are $20 and available at www.smarttix.com or by calling (212) 868-4444.

CLASSIC MOVIE MUSICALS ON DVD

The M-G-M slogan "More Stars Than There Are In Heaven" was never truer than in the five DVD set [Warner Home Video, SRP $60] Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory.

Celebrated stars we have come to know by their first names - June, Fred, Lucy, Cyd, Judy, Kathryn, Lena, Van, Gene, Debbie, Frank, Esther not to mention Dan Dailey and the dazzling Dolores Gray - and eye-popping musical numbers and costumes in glorious Technicolor are showcased in the package, where Gloria DeHaven, Vera-Ellen, Phil Silvers and Red Skelton also pop up.

The musicals, ranging from the beginning to the end of Metro's Golden Age, are making their DVD debuts.

They are the much underrated It's Always Fair Weather, Summer Stock, Three Little Words, Till The Clouds Roll By and the spectacular Ziegfeld Follies.

In the Warner Home Video tradition, each film has been fully restored from original camera negatives [with color correction and Dolby sound enhancing]. Each disc carries a "Making of" feature and a treasure trove of bonuses, including outtakes and vintage cartoons.

It's Always Fair Weather [1955] was conceived as a follow up to On the Town. It starred Kelly who co-directed and co-choreographed with Stanley Donen; was produced by Arthur Freed of the studio's legendary Freed Unit. OTT's Betty Comden and Adolph Green did the lyrics. Andre Previn, already a "wunderkind" at only 25, composed the score. Previn, Comden and Green received Academy Awards nominations.

As MGM musicals go, this was one highly original film. It was also Kelly/Donen's first in Cinemascope and great effort was made to take advantage of the wide screen ratio.

The story centers on WWII buddies Kelly, Dailey and famed dancer/choreographer Michael Kidd who vow to reunite in 10 years. When they do they discover their lives have moved in different directions.

Boxing, Madison Avenue and a new medium called TV combine to restore their bond.

Problems arose even before production began. One-time best friends Kelly and Donen clashed over control of the film. Another cause of friction: Gray, who appeared on Broadway in Comden and Green's Two On the Aisle, the short-lived Carnival in Flanders [Tony Award], Destry Rides Again [Tony-nominated], the short-lived Sherry!, 42nd Street [as a later Dorothy Brock]; and, to great, great acclaim, on the West End in Annie Get Your Gun and Follies].

Gray, with a rep for being high strung and difficult, and Kelly butted heads over just about everything. As brilliant as Kelly's dancing was, Gray's was just as brilliant [and, in a stunning gown by Helen Rose, she was singing, too]. He became insanely jealous and fought, and sometimes succeeded, to have her part reduced.

Kelly took it another step further, totally alienating Donen and Gray, by lying to her that the picture was running over-budget and that her one big number, "Thanks, But No Thanks," [with Gray and a huge male chorus on an ingenius set] would have to be shot in one take.

MGM, the great Metro, didn't have enough cameras available? Gray was furious, but when she found out it was Kelly attempting to get back at her, she set out to out-dazzle him. She succeeded.

The number, if, indeed, shot with one camera as legend has it, looks absolutely impossible and is one of musical cinema's underrated dance production numbers.

That one sequence alone should have been enough to make Gray a major Hollywood star, but, says Miss Comden, "the musical was way ahead of its time and not the type the public had come to expect from M-G-M, which was known for fluff and gloss. It had a dark edge. The critics were wowed, but the public didn't respond. It was one of our biggest disappointments."

Outstanding musical highlights include Kelly's roller skating tap dance; the elegant Cyd "Those Legs!" Charisse in a k.o. of a routine with broken-nosed pugilists [even if a bit too much is required of her in the acting department] and Kelly, Dailey and Kidd's high-spirited romp using trash-can lids as dancing shoes.

Among the bonus material are three deleted musical sequences: Kelly and Charisse's "Love Is Nothing But A Racket," Kidd's 10-minute dance number "Jack and the Space Giants" and alternate takes of "The Binge," the number with the trash can lids. There's also an audio bonus of Gray's deleted vocal "I Thought They'd Never Leave."

Also in the package:

Summer Stock [1950] was to be Garland's last picture under her MGM contract [she was cast in Annie Get Your Gun, then fired]. She left on a high note with "Get Happy," one of the most spectacular production numbers of her career, which she performed in the now-classic costume of black tights, jacket and fedora.

Three Little Words [1950], starring Astaire and Skelton, is a loose bio pic of tunesmiths Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby.

Till the Clouds Roll By [1946], a very loose bio pic of Jerome Kern [portrayed by Robert Walker], begins with a awesome musical-within-a-musical recreation of the 1927 Act One opening of Kern's Show Boat and ends with a spectacular musical cavalcade of his classic melodies, climaxing with Sinatra singing Ol' Man River.

There are cameos by 25 stars [including Garland, Horne and Dinah Shore] an equal number of Kern tunes. The coup is a rare screen appearace by Fanny Brice.

Ziegfeld Follies [1946], eight directors [including Vincente Minnelli] and two years in the making, is the type of all-star revue extravaganza [no pesky plot gets in the way] only MGM could pull together. Highlights include the famed Astaire/Kelly duet and a spectacular Williams aqua number. Completing the mix, Judy, Kathryn and Lena and a bit of Verdi's La Traviata opera. Only at Metro, kids!

GODOT IN HARLEM

Celebrating Beckett's centennial year, the OBIE and Drama Desk Award-winning Classical Theatre of Harlem, now in it's seventh season, is presenting Beckett's Waiting for Godot through June 25th at HSA Theater [645 St. Nicholas Avenue at 141st Street].

Wendell Pierce [HBO's The Wire] has the role of Vladimir. Billy Eugene Jones [Gem of the Ocean, A Raisin in the Sun revival], Chris McKinney and J. Kyle Manzay co-star. The director is CTOH co-founder Christopher McElroen.

Tickets are$35, with student and group discounts available, and can be purchased by calling (212) 868-4444 or at www.smarttix.com.

WILL AND FRAN GRACE OFF BROADWAY

With Will & Grace's Eric McCormack, The Nanny's Fran Drescher, making her belated return to the New York stage, not to mention Judy Reyes [TV's Scrubs], Maura Tierney [TV's E.R.] and Brooke Smith [the hit movie, In Her Shoes] in MCC Theater's U.S. premiere of Neil LaBute's eagerly awaited Some Girls(s), one wonders if the Lortel Theatre [121 Christopher Street, between Bleecker and Hudson Streets] will have NYPD mounted calvary to control crowds such as West 45th Street has seen with the arrival of Ms. Roberts and Mr. Schwimmer.

The play, which begins performances on Wednesday [May 17] reunites LaBute with director Jo Bonney, who helmed MCC's critically-acclaimed Fat Pig last season. The strictly limited engagement ends Saturday, July 8.

Set in hotel rooms in Boston, Chicago, Seattle and Los Angeles, Some Girl(s) is described as "an irreverent stumble into the heart of darkness that is the modern single male." It follows Guy [McCormack], a soon-to-be-engaged Alpha male and NYC writer as he pays a last visit to ex-girlfriends. Drescher, in a long stretch from her nanny duties, portrays a Boston professor.

Some Girl(s) had its world premiere at the West End's Gielgud Theatre in May, with David Schwimmer making his London stage debut as Guy.

Tickets are $65-$70 and may be purchased through www.Ticket Central.com or by calling (212) 279-4200.

CELEBRATING JULE STYNE

On Monday night [May 22] in Jim Caruso and TheaterMania.com's series at Birdland [315 West 44th Street], record label PS Classics will celebrate the release of Jule Styne in Hollywood with Maria Friedman, Leslie Uggams and, among others, Norm Lewis live in concert.

The CD features and the concert will highlight the Tony-winning and five-time Tony-nominated composer's standards, such as "I'll Walk Alone" and "It's Been A Long, Long Time," Broadway tunes from Gentleman Prefer Blondes, Gypsy, Funny Girl and Bells Are Ringing [lyrics by Leo Robin, Sondheim, Bob Merrill and Comden and Green, respectively], and gems from his film repertory, including his 10 Academy Award-nominated songs.

Showtime is 7 P.M. Admission is a $30 cover and $10 food/drink minimum. For reservations, call (212) 581-3080 or go online at www.instantseats.com/birdland.
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Of interest to anyone who's managed to get the hot, hot, hot seats for Roundabout's revival of The Pajama Game [the Tony-winning 1995 musical] starring the hot, hot, hot Harry Connick Jr, Kelli O'Hara, Michael McKean and Roz Ryan there's Harry On Broadway, Act 1, a two-CD set [Columbia, SRP $22] which not only contains PJGame's original cast recording but also Connick's Tony-nominated score for 2001's Thou Shall Not.

Connick, making his Broadway debut in PJGame; Tony-nomineee O'Hara [The Light in the Piazza]; and McKean will be appearing at Tower Records, 1961 Broadway at 66th Street, on Tuesday at 7 P.M. to autograph their CD. The line will surely start to form quite early.

McKean will forever be known for his role as Leonard "Lenny" Kosnowski for six seasons on the classic TV sitcom Laverne & Shirley, not to mention his celebrity impressions during the peak of Saturday Night Live in 1975.

He's no stranger to Broadway, having starred in Rupert Holmes' short-lived thriller Accomplice and, recently, as Harvey Fierstein's first replacement as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray. Then, among an incredibly long roster of film and TV work, there's his memorable rock band spoof This Is Spinal Tap.

Ryan, who as a singer gives belt new definition, was a memorable Effie in the original Dreamgirls and, not long ago, a Mama Morton in Chicago.

The season's front-runners for Best Revival have to be PJGame, directed and choreographed by Drama Desk-nominated Kathleen Marshall, and John Doyle's no-frills Sweeney Todd.

Both shows received Drama Desk revival nods and, barring cataclysmic circumstances, it would be all but unthinkable if they don't receive Tony nods. But, strange things do happen. Did you expect Chris to be booted off Idol when he was being touted as the winner?

Richard Adler-Jerry Ross PJGame's score includes the standard "Hey There," sung by Connick and O'Hara as Sid and Babe; plus the show's three megashowstoppers: "Steam Heat," performed by Joyce Chittick as the transformed [from tomboy to siren] Mae; "Hernando's Hideaway," done by Megan Lawrence with a bit of improvised piano by Connick; and "I'll Never Be Jealous Again," by McKean's Hines and Ryan's Mabel.

Among the 25 tracks [22 songs, reprises and a heart-pounding overture], Babe and the PJ factory gals, then Sid, Babe and company and, again, Sid and Babe glide effortlessly through three other winning tunes: "I'm Not At All In Love," "Once-A-Year-Day" and "There Once Was A Man."

The second disc presents Connick, O'Hara and Connick's quartet in jazz-influenced renditions of "Take Me To the Mardi Gras," "I Like Love More," "I Need To Be In Love," songs that were either in or written for Susan Stroman's 2001 Lincoln Center Theatre production of Thou Shalt Not, which ran 85 performances and starred Kate Levering [42nd Street revival], Craig Bierko [Music Man revival] and, in a performance that put him on the fast track, Norbert Leo Butz, who was Tony and Drama Desk-nominated.

DRAMA DESK AWARDS INKS CELEBS, SHOWS

The 51st annual Drama Desk Awards, hosted for the third consecutive year by Harvey Fierstein take place Sunday, May 21, from 9 - 11 P.M. in the Concert Hall of Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center [109 Amsterdam Avenue at West 65th Street].

The Awards, which honor Broadway, Off Broadway and Off Off, will be webcast by TheaterMania.com and have delayed telecasts on Thirteen/WNET, NYC TV25 and, nationally, over 25 PBS stations. A "Red Carpet" segment will feature Rex Reed interviewing arriving nominees.

Nominees for Outstanding Play are: Alan Bennett, The History Boys; David Hare, Stuff Happens; Warren Leight, No Foreigners Beyond This Point; Martin McDonagh, The Lieutenant of Inishmore; Terrence McNally, Dedication or The Stuff of Dreams; and Craig Wright, The Pavilion.

Nominations for Outstanding Musical are: The Drowsy Chaperone, Grey Gardens, Jersey Boys, See What I Wanna See, Thrill Me and The Wedding Singer.

The Awards will feature the stars of nominated plays and the stars and entertainment from nominated musicals.

Set to appear are Harry Connick Jr., Taye Diggs, Paige Davis, Fran Drescher, Victor Garber, Richard Griffiths, Angela Lansbury, Patti LuPone, Cynthia Nixon, Kelli O'Hara, Jonathan Pryce, Paul Rudd and Sigourney Weaver.

Hallie Foote will present her father Horton Foote a Lifetime Achievement Award. He was represented Off Broadway this season with Outstanding Revival of a Play nominee The Trip To Bountiful, starring Drama Desk nominee Lois Smith.

There will be performance numbers from The Drowsy Chaperone, Grey Gardens, Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well Living In Paris, Jersey Boys and Sweeney Todd. Billy Stritch will be musical director and accompany artists on piano.

The Drama Desk membership is comprised of more than 130 professional theater critics, reporters and editors.

To purchase tickets for the black-tie event at $175 each, which include a pre-Awards reception, call (212) 352-3101 or go online at TheaterMania.com. Tickets may also be purchased at the TheaterMania.com box office at the Virgin MegaStore Times Square from Noon - 6 P.M. For additional information, go to www.dramadesk.org.

NOT ON THE DD LIST

Nothing surprises when the Tony Awards and Drama Desk Awards nominating committees make their pronouncements, but we're never quite prepared for the omissions of talent we thought impressive or some of the directives from Awards headquarters.

For instance, the DD nominators chose The Lieutenant of Inishmore for their Outstanding Play category, but failed to nominate a single member of the cast or director Wilson Milam.

When questioned about this, one member of the nominating committee noted that all of the above were certainly considered but just didn't have the votes to make the final cut of six in the categories.

It was pointed out that Drama Desk's mission is to recognize excellent Off Off, Off and on Broadway, "so we have many more considerations." Regarding the one nomination for Lieutenant, the nominating committee member said, "That goes to show we were impressed with the quality of the writing."

It's true that's it's an honor just to be nominated, and also that not everyone can be nominated.

The Drama Desk nominators valiantly see upward of 500 plays and musicals in the various venues. The nomination process is a daunting task. And, of course, it's never possible to please everyone. Still...

So here are some nominations for Most Egregious Omissions of the Season, Actress/Featured Actress: Amelia Campbell, Tryst; Joyce Chittick and Megan Lawrence, The Pajama Game; Tyne Daly, Rabbit Hole; Danai Gurira, In the Continuum; Dana Ivey, Mrs. Warren's Profession; and LaChanze, Felicia P. Fields and [the Church ladies] Kimberly Ann Harris, Maja Nkenge Wilson and Virginia Ann Woodruff, The Color Purple.

For Most Egregious Omissions of the Season, Actor/Featured Actor: Danny Burstein, The Drowsy Chaperone; Chris Chalk, Defiance; Ralph Fiennes and Ian McDiarmid in Faith Healer; Euan Morton, Measure for Pleasure; Oliver Platt, Shining City; Paul Rudd, Three Days of Rain; and David Wilmot and especially Domhnall Gleeson as Davey in The Lieutenant of Inishmore.

A nomination for Most Mysterious Title should go to Conor McPherson for Shining City; and for Most Jolting, Jaw-dropping Surprise Ending to Martin McDonagh for The Lieutenant of Inishmore.

In case you're wondering why Jayne Houdyshell is not on the Outstanding Omissions list, she was nominated as Outstanding Actress by Drama Desk when Well, played Off Broadway in 2004.

BEST FEATURED ACTRESS?

Did you catch one of the items in the announcement from the Tony Awards Administration Committee referring to the performance by Cherry Jones in Faith Healer?

It reportes that the three-time Tony-nominee [taking Best Actress honors for The Heiress and Doubt], who's billed above the title [the usual barometer] would not be considered for eligibility in the Best Actress category, but as Featured Actress.

It's unknown if the play's producers made this request or if it was a decision of the Tony adm com.

In a nod to Tony-winner Rita Moreno's acceptance speech when she picked up the Best Featured Actress award for her performance as Googie in Terrence McNally's 1975 The Ritz ["The only thing I supported was my bra!" said Moreno], the only thing Jones is supporting is- is- isó; well, when you consider the performance, she's not supporting anything or anyone. She's onstage alone, barefoot, sitting in a chair and chain-smoking.

In a more rational move, the Drama Desk nominations committee saw fit to place Jones in their Outstanding Actress category.

DON'T MISS THEM

The Drama Desk Awards bestowed two well-deserved Outstanding Ensemble Performance Awards: to the nine-member cast of Lincoln Center Theatre's revival of Clifford Odets' Awake and Sing at the Belasco, which has been nominated for Outstanding Revival/Play; and, at the Public Theatre, the 16-member cast of David Mamet's seething "history play" Stuff Happens, which has been nominated for Outstanding Play.

The opportunity to catch both casts/plays end June 25.

It won't come as a surprise that a standout in AandS is three-time Tony and Drama Desk nominee Zoe Wanamaker in her first NY stage appearance since 1998's Electra.

David Hare's Stuff Happens is one of the most politically potent plays in many seasons, but there are two other reasons to see it.

In an excellent ensemble cast, there are two particular standouts: long-time character actors Peter Francis James as Colin Powell and Byron Jennings as Tony Blair.

RARE BECKETT

To celebrate Samuel Beckett's 100th birthday year, Kaliyuga Arts will present a rare staging of the playwright's All That Fall in an Equity-approved showcase May 25-June 3 at the Cherry Lane Theatre [38 Commerce Street, off Seventh Avenue South in Greenwich Village].

The Cherry Lane has been host to two Beckett American premieres, Endgame [1958] and Happy Days [1961]. This will be the first New York staging of All That Fall since 1959's Living Theatre production.

All That Fall was commissioned by BBC Radio after Beckett's astounding success with Waiting for Godot and Endgame. It was broadcast in 1956.

The play, which is described as "a riotous, existential romp," has been called "a tour-de-force in audial pornography."

The story turns on Maddy Rooney, an ancient woman "destroyed with sorrow and pining and gentility and church-going and fat and rheumatism and childlessness," and her perilous journey to meet her blind husband at the train station on what may be his 100th birthday and the succession of characters she meets enroute.

All That Fall has the largest cast of any of Beckett's plays: 11. They play humans [adults and children]. According to Beckett, most of the characters are based on people he knew in his youth.

The cast features Helen Calthorpe as Rooney and Rand Mitchell as her husband. John Sowle, co-artistic director of Kaliyuga Arts, is directing.

The play will be performed in the style of a radio play, with actors holding scripts gathered around microphones and rendering the sound effects. The cast will also provide the sounds sheep, birds, cattle, fowl, dogs, donkeys and voice inanimate objects.

Kaliyuga Arts' mission since 1986 has been to "render oddities with grace and insight." The company has produced award-winning works in L.A., S.F. and worldwide. This is their first New York production since basing here.

Performances are at 7 P.M. with Saturday matinees at 3:00. Tickets are $18 and available on line at SmartTix.com or by calling (212) 868-4444. For more information, visit http://www.kaliyuga.com/.

LANE AND BRODERICK GO DIGITAL

Curtain up on the DVD release of Mel Broooks and Thomas Meehan's The Producers [Universal Home Video, SRP $30; 2 hours, 15 minutes] with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick reprising their Tony-winning roles as get-rich-quick schemers Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom in Susan Stroman's sumptuous adaptation of the Tony-winning Broadway show.

Original cast members Tony-winner Gary Beach, as "flamboyantly untalented" director Roger De Bris, and Tony-nominee Roger Bart, as his "common-law" assistant Carmen Ghia, co-star.

When it came to casting the movie, the powers that be seemed to think that it would help the box office by pumping up the cast with some Hollywood names. It didn't.

The jury is still out on Uma Thurman's performance as luscious Swedish secretary/receptionist Ulla; and though fans of the show would have killed to see Brad Oscar in the role of Third Reich playwright Franz Liebkind, Will Ferrell acquits himself quite nicely.

There was never any illusion that the Broadway stage show would be classy. The material is tasteless and often vulgar, like in so many of Brooks films. Yet it worked, and won a record 12 2001 Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

The film rarely rises to anything approaching class but, the surprising critical shellacing the film adaptation took aside, there's much to enjoy. The DVD contains bonuses galore!

Some things can be done better onstage; others, bigger and better onscreen. Production designer Mark Friedberg superbly recreated West 44th Street on a soundstage, including Sardi's, Shubert Alley and the Shubert Theatre.

Movie musicals buff Stroman has recaptured the production on film in a throwback to the old-fashioned spectaculars she popcorned her way through as a kid.

More so than onstage, Lane seems to be channeling Zero Mostel's unbeatable performance in the original film from the twisted mind of Brooks. Lane and Broderick play off each other with hilarious results, particlarly at their initial meeting in the "We Can Do It" sequence.

Lane's gift for comedy is well known, but it's Broderick who's full of surprises. He explodes onscreen, expanding his stage persona with ab fab slapstick and never sounded better on the vocals.The latter is certainly true with Broderick's "I Wanna Be A Producer" number, where he transforms from mousy accountant to a Merrick-wanna-be. It's great fun when those file cabinets pop open revealing girls, beautiful girls, in miles and miles of smiles and pearls.

Beach shines throughout. What is his little nod of a salute in the Broadway musical, still playing [as he is] at the St. James, to Judy Garland's "Born in a Trunk" sequence in A Star Is Born is now an all-out tribute.

The splashy opening number, "Opening Tonight" and other ensemble moments feature a roster of theater names; among them: Las Vegas Phantom and Annie Get Your Gun's Brent Barrett [in high leather drag!], George Dvorsky, Kathy Fitzgerald [from the stage musical], Hunter Foster [currently starring in the stage show], Judy Kaye, Andrea Martin, Nancy Opel, Marilyn Sokol and Karen Ziemba [not to mention Jai Rodriguez as Sabu!]. John Barrowman, gone Germanic blonde, as the singing stormtrooper, adds a jolt of theatricality to the "Springtime for Hitler" number, especially with his clarion tenor.

There's over 30 minutes of "never-before-seen" material, including "King of Broadway," which was cut from the film, outtakes; a feature titled Analysis of a Scene: I Wanna Be a Producer, which has an extended version of the number; behind the scenes footage; plus feature commentary with director Stroman.

[Photos: 1, 5, 6, 8 and 9) JOAN MARCUS; 7 ) MONIQUE CARBONI; 10 and 11) MICHAL DANIEL; 12) ANDREW SCHWARTZ]

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The official cut-off date for Tony eligibility for the 2005-2006 seasons is Wednesday, May 10. On May 16, Tony winners Phylicia Rashad, Natasha Richardson and Liev Schreiber will announce the nominations live from the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, where an impressive exhibition has been mounted: The Tony Awards Celebrate 60 Years of Excellence.

The 60th annual American Theatre Wing's Antoinette Perry "Tony" Awards, named in honor of the 30s and 40s actress/producer, are co-presented by the League of American Theatres and Producers. They'll be broadcast on CBS from Radio City Music Hall on Sunday, June 11. Broadway's multiple, Tony-winning producer Elizabeth I. McCann is again managing producer.

The Awards host has yet to be announced. Will it be Oprah? Will it be Billy? Could it possibly be Katie or Julia?

Doing the introductions will be Wing chairman Sondra Gilman, Wing president Doug Leeds and League president Jed Bernstein.

The Tony Awards Celebrate 60 Years of Excellence exhibition is on the first and second floors of the Library's Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center. It features original window cards from each Tony-winning play [1947's All My Sons right through to last season's Doubt] and musical [from 1949's Kiss Me Kate to last season's Monty Python's Spamalot].

It's open through June 10 from Noon to 6 P.M. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and to 8 P.M. on Thursday. Admission is free.

The official Tony Awards web site, www.TonyAwards.com, is developed, designed, and hosted by Tony Awards partner IBM.

You can purchase Awards tickets and enjoy a video player link for up close and personal encounters with winners; access to winners' acceptance speeches and the impact of winning a Tony on their careers ; an archive of nominees and winners in every category from 1947; Tony trivia; and a detailed profile of the fascinating Miss Perry, among other things, a pioneer for women producers on Broadway.

ENCORES! SEASON ENDS WITH GERSHWIN AND GALA

Victor Garber, back where he belongs [NY theater] during hiatus from primetime TV stardom, will be singing Gershwin at Encores! Of Thee I Sing as John P. Wintergreen, the National Party's candidate for president of the United States in the 1931 satire of politics and romance. Performances at City Center are May 11 - 15. The special Monday performance is a benefit for City Center.

Garber, a long-time Broadway fav, has been Tony-nominated for Damn Yankees, Lend Me A Tenor, Deathtrap and the 1985 revival of Little Me. Other credits include the original Broadway casts of Arcadia, Noises Off and, as Anthony, in Sweeney Todd.

He's been Emmy-nominated for the ABC miniseries Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows, and the TV blockbuster Alias. Films include Titanic, The First Wives Club, Sleepless in Seattle and Legally Blonde.

Tony and Drama Desk winner Jefferson Mays [I Am My Own Wife] co-stars as the "highly forgettable" vice president, Alexander Throttlebottom. Also featured are Tony-nominee Jennifer Laura Thompson [Urinetown; Wicked as Glinda] playing presidential love interest Mary Turner; and Jenny Powers [Meg, Little Women].

Jonathan Freeman, Michael Mulheren, Lewis J. Stadlen [who's done everything], David Pittu [Stuff Happens], Eric Michael Gillett and Raymond Jaramillo are among the large supporting cast.

Thompson has appeared in Encores!'s Pardon My English and Strike Up the Band!

Of Thee I Sing was the first musical to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. George Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind wrote the book. The musical was revived four months after it originally closed in 1933 and in 1952.

The score includes "Love Is Sweeping the Country," the classic "Who Cares" and the title tune, which was a huge hit in the 30s.

Tony-winning director John Rando [Urinetown], two-time Tony-nominated choreographer Randy Skinner and musical director Paul Gemignani head the creative team.

Skinner choreographed Encores! 1999 Do Re Mi, starring Nathan Lane and Randy Graff, which was music directed by Gemignani.

"It's such a supreme pleasure to work with a real pro such as Victor," says Skinner. "Wintergreen is a great part for him. He knows what he's doing! This is one of the Gershwin's best scores. It's got three hit tunes, but one of the things that makes it unique is all the wonderful choral music. I'm so blessed to have such an incredibly-talented ensemble [14 singers and eight dancers], and Mara Davi [Maggie in the upcoming ACL revival] and Jeffry Denman [The Producers], the two dance leads, have two wonderful dance numbers, including 'Love Is Sweeping the Country.'"

Skinner, who assisted Gower Champion on choreographing the tap numbers for the original 1980 42nd Street and created new choreography for the 2001 revival, promises a big tap number that will open Act Two.

Prior to coming aboard this season as Encores! musical director, Gemignani music directed and conducted 35 Broadway shows, including On the Twentieth Century, Evita!, Crazy For You and the acclaimed Kiss Me, Kate revival. In 2001, he was honored with a Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement.

"Of Thee I Sing has one of the best overtures every written for a Broadway show," notes Gemignani. "Gorgeous music by George Gershwin. Conducting this score with our wonderful orchestra is something I've looked forward to."

The performance schedule will be: 8 P.M. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday; and 2 P.M. Saturday, as well as 6:30 on Sunday. Single seats are available at the City Center box office, through CityTix at (212) 581-1212, or online at http://www.nycitycenter.org/. Prices range from $90 to $25.

The May 15 benefit will begin at 6 P.M. with cocktails, followed by the performance. Dinner will be served after in the City Center Atrium. Honoree City Center board chairman Raymond A. Lamontagne will be presented with the Fiorello H. LaGuardia Award, given for distinguished service to New York City and to City Center, by Paul Newman, whose not-for-profit Newman's Own food line is the lead sponsor of Encores! 2006 season.

Proceeds from the gala will go to support City Center's dance and theater performances, education programs, and efforts to ensure its continued vitality and excellence. For Gala tickets, call (212) 763-1205.

For more on George and Ira Gershwin, including lyrics to their songs, visit gershwinfan.com.

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL'S CORTEO

Fans of Cirque du Soleil have come to expect lavish, Felliniesque productions under the blue-and-yellow "grand chapiteau," and Corteo, the newest edition to hit New York, through Sunday, July 2, on Randall's Island, certainly doesn't disappoint. There's enough high and low-flying and acrobatic skill for just about everyone. The surprise is that some of the most memorable moments are the simplest.

Corteo, which means "cortege" in Italian, and segues from the joyous funeral procession of a clown through the spectacular moments of his life as he's suspended, E.T.-style, on the journey from earth to the hereafter - guided by a herald of some very agile angels.

Cirque founder and CEO Guy Laliberte has long made a tradition of juxtaposing the charmingly ridiculous with what looks impossible. But with touring Cirques and Cirques in Las Vegas, Orlando and overseas [seems they're spreading almost as fast as those Starbucks!], how do you keep it fresh? You pump some new blood and thinking into the mix. He did. Of the 14 "creators" on Corteo, half are working with Cirque for the first time.

Amid fantastical sets by Jean Rabasse [including a stunningly-painted double proscenium scrim], special effects and Dominique Lemieux's phantasmagorical costumes, the cast of 55 plus from 16 countries [Argentina, Armenia, Belarus, Brazil, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Israel, Kenya, Russia, Spain and, among others, the U.S.] perform old-fashioned vaudeville, clowning and breathtaking acrobatics by athletes and Olympic gymnasts at the peak of their prowess.

Under Daniele Finzi Pasca's artistic direction, there's power juggling [the Teslenko family], high-flipping on teeterboards [Stephane Baauregard, Viachaslau Hahunou and others], balancing and twirling on giant hoops [Petar Stoyanov, Yuliya Raskina, others], chandelier swinging [Evelyne Allard, Julie Dionne, others] and a duo silk strap act [Dmytro Grygrov and Olesia Shulga].

Then there's upside down tight-wire walking and upright tight-wire walking [Anastasia Bykovskaya] in ballet point shoes and bare feet that climaxes in a difficult climb up a 40-degree diagonal wire.

The jaw-dropping finale, "Tournik," features a troupe of multi-nationals bouncing to great heights on a trampoline net and being flung through the air from human trapezes to human catchers - doing double and triple somersaults as they soar.

In all this glitter and awe, Ms. Pasca introduces a bit of innovation with the show's biggest surprise - which, ironically, comes in a small package: Valentyna Pahlevanyan of the Ukraine, the very petite star who literally steals the show.

"Think you've seen what Cirque du Soleil has to offer?" reads one bit of promotion. When it comes to Ms. Pahlevanyan, the answer would have to be a resounding No.

Whatever Ms. Pahlevanyan lacks in physical statue, she more than makes up for in class, glamour and comic and acrobatic ability.

In a magical sequence called "Helium Dance," Valentyna stops the show floating through the cavernous tent attached to gigantic helium-filled balloons and being gently passed back and forth by audience members squealing with delight.

In another sequence, the beautifully-staged "Adagio," she and husband Grigor, about her size, do hand-balancing and contortion on a pivoting ring set on a revolving platform.

No Cirque du Soleil would be a Cirque without a unique score and this edition has four composers: Philippe Leduc, Maria Bonzanigo, Michel Smith and Jean-Francois Cote. The richly-orchestrated live music ranges from the weird to the sublime with lots of percussion, even a bit of bagpipes and some tango and samba rhythms.

Especially in Corteo, it would be impossible to dismiss the contributions of Nathalie GagnÈ's make-up design.

Among the corporate sponsors are American Express, Celebrity Cruises and, locally, WABC-TV and The New York Observer, but you still have to buy tickets. Prices are: $60-$95, adults; $42-$66.50, children; and, weekdays and the Friday afternoon performance, $54-$85.50 for seniors [65 and over] and students [13 and over, with I.D.].

For Corteo tickets and performance schedule, go to cirquedusoleil.com. To purchase by phone, call (800) 678-5440. For 20 or more tickets, contact [email protected] or call (800) 450-1480.

No matter how you arrive - by car or the special buses at the Lexington Avenue 125th Street subway station [$3 roundtrip, if transferring from the subway with your Metro card; $5 otherwise], there's a lot of walking involved. Wear comfortable shoes.

When you get to the Cirque grounds adjacent to the stadium, a small reward awaits: free samples of Haagen-Dazs most performances.

If you have about an extra $125 to spare or you're celebrating a very special occasion, looking to impress or want to experience Cirque in the lap of tented luxury, you might consider the Tapis Rouge experience, which starts one hour before showtime.

In a candlelit atmosphere, highlighted by holograms, unexpectedly comfortable inflated furniture and showcases of costumes and memorabilia, a limited number of guests [250 is the cap] enjoy an array of gourmet food, free-flowing Champagne, wines, a Bombay Sapphire open bar with specialty drinks served in elegant Art Deco crystal, soda and juices for the kids and a lavish array of intermission desserts.

Executive chef Ricky Esquivel has as many suprises up his sleeve as does Ms. Pasca in the "grand chapiteau": hors d'oeuvres of edible orchids stuffed with chicken, jumbo shrimp from a pottery spoon station, coconut chicken with peanut sauce, sweet potato and roasted pepper and curry Aioli dips, roasted bell pepper soup served in a large shot glass and mini-pizzas. The standout dessert is a strawberry Champagne smoothie.

Prices for this extravagance are $220 for adults and $154 for children [2-12] and include valet parking, priority seating, a $15 Corteo program and parting gift. For reservations and tickets, use the contact information above.

Even in Tapis Rouge, you won't be exempt from souvenir temptation. There's a large boutique, featuring among other items, stunning decorative masques, priced from $10-$500.

On sale in all gift boutique areas is the new 90-minute highlights DVD of Corteo [SRP: $29], with six bonus features, including two behind-the-scenes mini-docs. It's available from the Cirque online boutique: cirquedusoleil.com, where you will also find much information on all Cirque shows and products.

The DVD is also available in music outlets and Amazon.com. The score CD will be available later this month on Movement/Cirque du Soliel Musique.

LADY LUPONE

Tony and Olivier Award-winning Broadway fav Patti LuPone, Drama Desk-nominated [surely with a Tony nom nod to follow] for her role as Mrs. Lovett in the acclaimed John Doyle no-frills revival of Sondheim's Sweeney Todd, revives her one-woman show The Lady with the Torch on Monday, May 22 at 8 P.M. at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont. The one-night-only concert benefits Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS.

The event also celebrates the recent launch of Ghostlight Records's CD of Lupone's show, which she premiered last year in sold-out engagements at Feinstein's at the Regency, L.A.'s Cinegrill and S.F.'s Plush Room in San Francisco followed by Carnegie Hall.

Director/lyricist Scott Wittman, a Tony-winner for Hairspray, conceived The Lady with the Torch and directs. He conceived and directed Lupone's 1995 solo Broadway show and is responsible for the concept and lyrics of Martin Short's upcoming Fame Becomes Me.

Orchestrations are by Sondheim veteran Jonathan Tunick, with musical direction by Chris Fenwick - conducting a 10-piece orchestra.

Lupone's repertory of torch ballads are by Arthur Schwartz, Jule Styne, Billy Barnes, Stan Kenton and June Christie, Johnny Mercer, George and Ira Gershwin, Willie Nelson and Cole Porter. She is dedicating the concert in memory of her longtime musical director Dick Gallagher.
Tickets [$50 to $500] are available online at http://www.broadwaycares.org/ or by calling Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, (212) 840-0770.

MARIA FRIEDMAN LIVE AND ON CD

"The first lady of the British musical stage" Maria Friedman, whom Broadway audiences were introduced to last November as the star of Andrew Lloyd Webber and David Zippel's short-lived The Woman In White, has released her American debut CD, Now and Then [Sony Classical].

Long considered a premiere interpreter of Sondheim's work, she puts her acclaimed dramatic vocal power to good use on "Finishing The Hat," from the Pulitzer Prize-winning Sunday In the Park with George, a sexy take on "Broadway Baby" from Follies and, accompanied in an extraordinarily rare appearance on piano by Sondheim, "Children and Art" from SundayÖGeorge.

Now through June 3, Friedman is performing selections from her CD in her act at CafÈ Carlyle [Madison Avenue at 76th Street], her third appearance there and a salute to Sondheim, "who," notes Friedman, "is solely responsible for my career." Musical director is Nicholas Archer.

On Now and Then Friedman widens her reach. There are stellar interpretations of Cole Porter ["I Happen To Like New York"], Rodgers and Hart ["My Romance"], Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin ["The Man That Got Away"], Jacques Brel ["If You Go Away"] and, with the title tune, Michel Legrand.

In addition, she performs a poignant rendition of Charlie Chaplin's "Smile." In a contemporary vein, Friedman does Kate Bush's "The Man With The Child In His Eyes."

There're two personal favorites: "In the Sky," an anti-war song popularized in the 40s in Lithuania's Vilna Ghetto, once known as the "Jerusalem of Lithuania," which was completely destroyed by the Nazis; and "Guess Who I Saw Today" by Murray Grand and Elisse Boyd. Of the latter, Friedman says, "I just love this song! You'll be convinced this is a sweet love ballad with a happy ending and then comes this surprise twist."

As Woman In White was about to open, Friedman was diagnosed with breast cancer. Between treatments, she valiantly returned to perform and garnered excellent notices for her performance as Marian Halcombe, the sister trying to right her wrongs, in the Gothic thriller.

On the West End, she won Olivier Awards for her one-woman show Maria Friedman: By Special Arrangement, portraying Mother in Ragtime and Fosca in Passion. There were Olivier noms for SundayÖGeorge, Lady In The Dark, Roxie in Chicago, The Witches of Eastwick; and TWIW.

The West End cast double CD of TWIW is available on EMI.

For more on Friedman, visit at www.aboutmaria.com.

To catch Friedman live at CafÈ Carlyle Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8:45 P.M. and Fridays and Saturdays at 10:45, call (212) 570-7189. There's no minimum, but there is a $75 cover.

WICKED CAST AND FRIENDS HOST BENEFIT

On Monday, May 15, in what promises to be a big event for theater fans young and old, the cast of Wicked and special guests perform Broadway Acoustic Soul, a concert of classic Broadway tunes with a bit of a twist. It will benefit Quilts for Kids. It takes place at 7 P.M. at Central Presbyterian Church [593 Park Avenue at 64th Street].

Carol Kane, Megan Hilty, Eden Espinosa, Jenna Leigh Green, Ben Cameron, Brandi Chavonne Massey, Rhett George, Marty Thomas and Shoshana Bean will be joined by Tituss Burguss and Donnie Kehr [Jersey Boys], Krisha Marcano [Color Purple], Greg Reuter [Spamalot], Peter Matthew Smith [Hairspray], Eric LaJuan Summers [Wedding Singer], Tony-nominee Daphne Rubin-Vega [Rent], Tony-winner Adriane Lenox [Doubt), the cast of Altar Boyz; and Broadway Boys.

Broadway Acoustic Soul is produced and directed by Anthony Galde and Schele Williams, who produced the hugely successful all-star Hurricane Katrina benefit Broadway to Bourbon Street at the Gershwin last fall.

Quilts designed with the Wicked and other shows' logos and signed by the casts will be auctioned by Michael Maloney of ABC's Extreme Home Makeover.

Quilts for Kids is a grassroots organization begun in 2000 by Linda Aria where discontinued designer fabrics are transformed into quilts for children with life threatening illnesses and those battered and abused. QFK, with 30 chapters worldwide, has saved over one million pounds of fabric from landfill and converted them into 30,000 quilts.

Tickets for Broadway Acoustic Soul are $150, which include a 6 P.M. reception with casts and gift bag, and $100; $50 for students with I.D. To reserve, call (215) 295-5484.

THE NUN'S STORY

The BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, birthplace of Avenue Q, ACL and The Little Shop of Horrors, in collaboration with Mel Miller's Musicals Tonight!, will present a sneak preview of The Tragic and Horrible Life of the Singing Nun. The presentation will take Monday, May 15 at 6:15 P.M. at the 45th Street Theatre [354 West 45th Street, between Eighth and Ninth Avenues].

The musical, by Andy Monroe and Blair Fell and based on Fell's play, is a homage to Jeanine Deckers [Sister Luc-Gabrielle] the Belgian nun who became a chart-topping pop star under the name of Soeur Sourire with the 1963 song "Dominique."

Deckers was celebrated in the media and introduced on Ed Sullivan's top-rated CBS variety show Toast of the Town, but what the public doesn't know is that after she became a household name, her hit faded and she left the religious life, Deckers' career and life evolved into a nightmare of addiction, depression, betrayal by the Church and a tragic end in 1985.

The Tragic and Horrible Life of the Singing Nun, says Fell, "is mostly fiction and strictly libelous! While it adheres to the bare bones of Jeanine's life, it owes more to the tradition of backstage melodramas such as Imitation of Life, All About Eve and The Valley of the Dolls, not to mention Beyond the Valley of the Dolls."

Musical Mondays Theatre Lab producing director is Frank Evans, with Mary Ellen Ashley and Anne Bernstein as consulting producers.

HIGH TIMES ON THE HIGH LINE

The trendy Gansevoort Market [a.k.a. the Meatpacking District] and surrounding area is going to have it's own music festival this month next year along the developing Highline Park, thanks to David Bowie.

Along with David Binder, the Broadway/Off Broadway producer [A Raisin in the Sun revival, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, De La Guarda] and veteran nightlife and concert promoter Josh Wood, Bowie is establishing the High Line Festival, to be held annually over a 10-day period. He will also be the creative voice behind the Festival and in charge of choosing "a diverse collection of artists and musicians, who inspire me and capture my point of view."

Events will take place at street level and at neighboring venues alongside the High Line, a public park being created from abandoned elevated 1930s rail tracks from the West 30s to Gansevoort Street in Greenwich Village. It's New York's biggest and most prestigious public works project in over 50 years.

The Festival will include music, nightlife, visual art, performance and film - featuring superstars and emerging talent. It will culminate in a large, outdoor concert by Bowie and special guests, which will mark the singer's first New York concert since 2003.

In Bowie's footsteps, a different world-class artist will be selected each year as the High Line Festival's curator.

For more information about the High Line project, visit www.thehighline.org.
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