ON STAGE AND OFF: A Surprised 'Wild Party'

BMI Workshoppers Heard in NYC 10-Minute Musical Evening May 15

Ripley & d'Arcy James Are Under The Wilson's Big Top, May 22 in NYC

PRODUCTION NOTES by Forrest

THE VISIT is having their agent appointments this week. My question is do they have a theatre? I don't think so... I think the next show to play the Wintergarden may not have been written yet.

From the Musical Theatre Original Cast Recordings mailing list,

Date: Thu, 11 May 2000 13:13:00 -0700
From: "Max O. Preeo"
Subject: Speaking of rip-offs...

...isn't the announcement of CATS' closing extension (to September 10) one? What about all those people who bought tickets to the June "closing night," perhaps expecting it would be a major "event"? And how many more times will the "closing" be extended before it actually happens?

Max

Out of Canada at Stratford is Susan H. Schulman's FIDDLER (with Brent Carver as Tevye?!) has started previews. We hear from many people that although Brent is an odd choice, he is very good. Also, it has been a while since a major FIDDLER production, the last one we can remember is with Topol in the early 90s. Brent is going to be seen in the new piece, LARRY'S PARTY, opening in Toronto in January.

Other up north news is the premiere of MAMMA MIA, which starts previews in Toronto this week. Will it be as big of a success here in North America as it has been on the West End? We don't know. We don't think so. Our thoughts are that it is easier to run a substance-less show in the UK. When we saw it in London this past February, it played to a packed house that had a great time and sang along. It is really silly, but it is a lot of fun. But, although there are a lot of Abba fans here, they are less likey to attend the theatre than the Abba fans in the UK. We witnessed this pop/rock crossover fail in the 90s with TOMMY. The Who has a huge following and the show didn't meet financial expectations. Why they even painted the whole theatre yellow. Maybe that was the problem...

Speaking of our theatre friends in Canada... what happened to JANE EYRE?

LION KING opened up in Toronto with AIDA type of set problems and similar reviews. Is the emperor's clothes seen for what they are? LION KING has great concept and direction, but falls flat on book and (some) music. I am still smarting that RAGTIME did not win the Tony and eventually closed while LK is still grossing high. The funny part, I bet the NY LION KING has not even turned a profit yet (without paying for the theatre which is a capital expense not on the show's balance sheet). I guess that isn't so funny.

Conspiciously missing from New York City these days are Nathan Lane, Victor Garber and Mark Linn-Baker. They been seen up in Toronto shooting LAUGHTER ON THE 23rd FLOOR.

Friedlander, theater critic, dies at 48. Canadian won awards for her commentary.

Hytner Film, "Center Stage," Focuses on the Dance, w/ Bway Stars in the Cast; Opens May 12

The Contact Controversy by Sean Patrick Flahaven

On another note, we will try and get the Tony Award contest for you up and running this weekend. Aside from our usual Grand Prize of a $20 gift certificate to Footlight or Dress Circle, we have been donated four tickets to THE LARAMIE PROJECT. For those of you who don't know the show, it is a moving piece of theatre that everyone should see.

It is the unforgettable story that began on the western plains and focused the attention of the world on Laramie, Wyoming, On November 14, 1998, a month after University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard was murdered, Award-winning playwright Moisés Kaufman and members of his company traveled to Laramie and began a series of face-to-face interviews with the people of the town where the story unfolded. Over the next year, the company traveled six times to Wyoming and conducted over two hundred intensely personal documented interviews.

Memories of David Merrick. Broadway’s Bad Boy.

This article is a bunch of short interviews with people who have worked with David Merrick. It is worth a read.

Developments at 1530 Broadway Involve Loss of Two Theatres

Roundabout's former home. Nothing new, just a recap.

Patrick Stewart Faces Shubert Complaint Before Equity Panel, May 11

We are sure that the Shuberts are more concerned about the long term effects of Mr. Stewart's comments rather than their egos. Oh yeah, they also forgot about that First Amendment thing.

LaChanze Is Bubbly Black Girl in Preem of Award Rich Musical, May 26 in NYC

BBGSHCS is going to be a hot show. We have said that for years now.

Dame Edna to Leave Bway July 2 Prior to North American Tour

That's an odd time to leave. I wonder who is coming into the Booth?

Cats: Now and... until September

We thought it already had its nine lives,

Theater World Awards Announced

Sleep Tite by Ken Mandelbaum

Columbia Broadway Masterworks reissues of
Bye Bye Birdie
Finian’s Rainbow
Kismet
The Pajama Game
Show Boat

Yeah! We needed a Broadway Insider to tell us about an upcoming CD release! Lets ignore the Andrea Martin - Seussical story.

Analysis: Some Tony Nominees Find Their Biggest Competition Is...Themselves

Is this a good or bad thing for Broadway?

Critics Circle revs 'Jitney'. Wilson legiter wins best new play, 'Dead' takes musical nod. (New York Drama Critics Circle)

Eine Kleine Closed: Amadeus Shutters At Music Box May 14

It is sad to see AMADEUS close. I really liked it. Maybe if it had a mega-mix at the end it would have been "Stayin Alive".

Reading Hairspray by Ken Mandelbaum.

Sweet Smell of Success workshop
Hairspray reading
Annie Get Your Gun casting rumors
Footloose downsizing rumors

Broadway.com's sister website, Hollywood.com, had some not nice/bitchie things to say about Broadway and the Tony Awards.

Exciting Broadway News About Shows You've Never Seen!
Joal Ryan, Hollywood.com

SANTA MONICA, Calif., May 8, 2000 -- Every year, people in New York throw a big awards party for themselves called the Tonys. And every year, the national media pays attention because, gee, if it happens in New York, it must be important and, well, peer pressure is a powerful thing.

Perhaps we should remind this film-queen that Broadway is a much nicer community than Hollywood... and that PHANTOM OF THE OPERA has grossed three times more money than TITANIC.

Sean Patrick Flahaven has taken over Ken Mandelbaum's old job at Theatre.com. His column, Up to the "Minute" began the other day (Monday, May 8) with the following passage:

NEW YORK -- Welcome to the new "Minute by Minute" column. I'm very happy to be joining Theatre.com, which has set an admirably high standard for online theatre journalism.

That scared me, but maybe Sean is just settling in. Sean is no outsider to Broadway, having quite a career in many different areas. Welcome to the fray Sean!

B'Way B.O. fizzles as Gotham sizzles. Only 5 shows improve following record-breaking week.

Robert Cuccioli to Star in Off-Broadway Guardsman, May 9

PHOTO CALL: A Wonderful Town: Murphy, Benanti Star In Encores! May 7

Calista Flockhart to Join OB's Monologues, June 13

If you missed Calista in BASH, don't miss her in THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES. The show is great and so is Calista.

SFX Awarded Major 20-Year Venue Contract from State of New York

Does anyone here think that SFX is going to return Legit theatre to Jones Beach? I didn't think so.

If you have not already, you should check out the Tony Award's website. Someone finally got it right. Kind of. Good site, clean, fast loading and good content. You can find it at http://www.tonys.org/. If you cannot shell out the $500 per ticket to view the event in person, register your own Tony party at the website and get a free poster (or something like that).

I personally think that Dame Edna owes her special Tony to her press rep...

Well, nobody is ever totally satisfied with Tony nominations. Us too. Amy Spanger? I must have re-read the list a few times thinking I had missed her name. Her performance in KISS ME KATE was wonderful. Happy surprises include Laura Benanti and Michael Mulheren. The slight of AIDA is hard for me to believe. I have not seen AIDA yet, but THE DEAD wanted to make me kill myself. And if Audra wins, again, I hope not to be sitting near Marin. (Lets hope they don't sit us alphabetically.) SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER did not get a nomination because the producer's stunt with BC/EFA Easter Bonnet. (You didn't expect me to let that go, did you?)

Oh yes, the launch of Broadway.com is more disappointing than the Tony nominations. A pretty site, but painfully long on load time. Good content, but Ken Mandelbaum is not only the Judas of the web, but a boring one as well. We only wish that this one would blow out his voice.

As you can see, this site is still being developed, so the warning that we are not really open is in effect. We have removed the password protection to the site so that full testing can be tried.

Thanks for visiting.