Saturday, March 05, 2005

[ B ]  Christian Slater Begins Performances in Menagerie Earlier Than Expected

[ P ]  Christian Slater to Enter Cast of The Glass Menagerie March 4

Features:

[ WP ]  Don't Cry for Her By Chip Crews
Patti LuPone's Star Has Dimmed, But Life, and Her Many Roles, Go On

[ TS ]  It's the witching hour by RICHARD OUZOUNIAN
Wicked, the back-story of The Wizard of Oz, is a behemoth on Broadway and a quick sell here

[ LAT ]  Russia's scene is revised By Steven Leigh Morris
Money matters, popular tastes, even competition from film for the services of actors put challenges to a repertory system that long has nourished a vital stage tradition.

[ NYT ]  Bolshoi Theater to Undergo Major Reconstruction By SOPHIA KISHKOVSKY
Moscow's Bolshoi Theater will close for a long-delayed renovation aimed at making it a world-class facility.

[ B ]  PHOTO OP : Romance Opens with a Rousing Fete

[ P ]  PHOTO CALL: Philip J. Smith, a Titan of Broadway, Is Honored by Jewish Group

[ P ]  PHOTO CALL: Off-Broadway Gets a Little God and a Little Pop with Opening of Altar Boyz

[ P ]  PHOTO CALL: Betty Buckley Returns to the Cabaret With New Show at Cafe Carlyle

[ P ]  PHOTO CALL: Public Ponders The Last Days of Judas Iscariot at the Hands of Guirgis

"Dirty Rotten Scoundrels":

[ B ]  Were New York Critics Taken with Dirty Rotten Scoundrels?

[ B ]  Quotable Quotes: Dishing with the Company of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

[ P ]  PLAYBILL ON OPENING NIGHT: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels: Teamwork and Schemework

Reviews:

[ CT ]  Applegate is 'Sweet' but lacks confidence By Michael Phillips

[ TM ]  The Siegel Column
Barbara & Scott have a lot of good things to say about Betty Buckley's show at the Caf� Carlyle. Plus: Great performances in Counsellor-at-Law, Pyretown, and Hurlyburly.

[ B ]  CDs: You Have Made Me Love by Ken Mandelbaum
CYRANO (Decca Broadway)

[ NJ ]  One man has no past; another sees no future BY PETER FILICHIA
"The Drawer Boy."

[ WP ]  'Saint Joan,' in Need of Indulgence By Tricia Olszewski

[ NYT ]  THEATER REVIEW | 'A MAN'S BEST FRIEND'
Those Zany, Sweaty Clowns By JASON ZINOMAN
If you find clowns in sex clubs funny, or using babies as baseball bats, then Jeffrey M. Jones's crackpot farce may be the show for you.

[ TB ]  Uncle Vanya
Review by Lindsey Wilson

[ WP ]  POP MUSIC: Eartha Kitt
Review by Joe Heim

[ HC ]  A 'Moon' Slowly Begotten By MALCOLM JOHNSON
Acting Unequal To Past Until Play Nears Its End

News:

[ TM ]  American Songbook's Passion Concert with LuPone, Cerveris, and McDonald Will Be Televised Live

[ B ]  Vieira, Dickinson, Alt, Gibson & Vetrini to Guest Star in Pieces (of Ass)

[ TM ]  Gasteyer, Hoffman, Vilanch, et al. Miscast in MCC Benefit

[ P ]  O'Brien and Stoppard, Exploring The Coast of Utopia, Will Make Landfall at Lincoln Center in Autumn 2006

[ P ]  Liz Callaway, Jennifer Holliday, Faith Prince and More Set for Boston Pops Season

[ P ]  On the Road Again: Family Trips Come Alive in Chicago Premiere of Comedy Leaving Iowa March 4

[ P ]  PLAYBILL.COM'S THEATRE WEEK IN REVIEW, Feb. 26-March 4: Critical Split

[ P ]  Michael Pennington to Star in David Greig�s Donmar Play

[ P ]  Lark Bites Into Apple Cove, a Dark Comedy About a Gated Community, March 9-16 in NYC

[ P ]  Sharon and Aimee Osbourne, Jenny Éclair and Naomie Harris Set for London Monologues

[ P ]  Dinner with Spamalot Director Mike Nichols to Benefit Friends in Deed

[ P ]  Karen Mason Explores Her Musical Journey to Broadway April 18

[ P ]  "Phantom" DVD to Hit U.S. Stores in May; International Release Dates Announced

[ P ]  Today In Theatre History: MARCH 5

[ P ]  DeLaria, Duncan, O�Donnell and White Join Dame Concert

[ P ]  Tighe Father and Daughter Play Family Members in A Reckoning; Opens March 5

[ P ]  ENO Brings On the Town to London Town March 5

[ P ]  Aquila's A Very Naughty Greek Play, Tearing a Page Out of Aristophanes' Book, Opens March 5 in NYC

[ P ]  Amanda Peet Replaces Marisa Tomei in This Is How It Goes

[ B ]  Amanda Peet Replaces Marisa Tomei in This Is How It Goes at the Public

[ P ]  Richard Nelson Appointed New Playwriting Department Chair at Yale School of Drama

[ NYT ]  Arts, Briefly
Compiled by LAWRENCE VAN GELDER
Rob and Kathleen Marshall.
posted at 3/5/2005 10:04:00 AM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link

Friday, March 04, 2005

[ NYT ]  Arts, Briefly
Compiled By LAWRENCE VAN GELDER
Warehouse of Dramas; Peet Replaces Tomei

"Dirty Rotten Scoundrels":

[ BR ]  Comic command of the grand con By ROBERT FELDBERG
The show, about two con men, is simply one of the most deliciously funny, smashing entertainments of the last 20 years.

[ ND ]  Those 'Scoundrels' have pulled it off BY LINDA WINER
It has been a long time coming, but the 2004-05 season finally has a big new musical that Broadway can feel unashamed - heck, thrilled - to call its own.

[ HC ]  'Rotten' It Certainly Is By MALCOLM JOHNSON
Vulgar, Obnoxious Musical Wastes Talents Of Fine Cast

[ WP ]  'Scoundrels': A Little Dirty and a Lot of Fun By Peter Marks
Falling in love may be too much to ask of an evening with "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," but there are plenty of reasons for falling in like.

[ NYT ]  THEATER REVIEW | 'DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS'
The Art of the Con, Reprised By BEN BRANTLEY
Though shot through a rowdy spirit of self-parody, "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," starring John Lithgow and Nobert Leo Butz, never straightens out of a queasy slouch.

[ NYP ]  'ROTTEN' TO THE FORE By CLIVE BARNES
In every way, this is a superior musical � but what makes it one of the season's major Broadway players is every handsomely honed aspect of its production.

[ NJ ]  Grand theft, Broadway: Audiences get their money's worth at frothy new musical starring Lithgow and Butz BY MICHAEL SOMMERS
The ease and expertise with which "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" seduces viewers is the signature of director Jack O'Brien. He and his collaborators have done a splendid job of making this event such a four-star treat.

[ Y ]  'Scoundrels' Reasonably Entertains By MICHAEL KUCHWARA, AP Drama Critic
"Scoundrels" never quite hits the giddy heights its predecessor climbed to with ease, and while it works very hard to do so, the effort shows.

[ TB ]  Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Review by Matthew Murray
You become keenly aware at every juncture that this musical has little original framework of its own, that it's been cobbled together from (superior) parts of other recent shows, most notably The Producers, Sweet Smell of Success, and Hairspray.

[ SUN ]  The New Pros & Cons of Broadway BY JEREMY McCARTER
"Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" is a clever and engaging new Broadway musical. That's the trouble.

[ DN ]  Oh, what a 'Dirty Rotten' shame! by Howard Kissel
There's nothing dramatic about the way it develops. There's never a moment when you sense there's something going on beneath the seductive surface. It's all on a single level.

[ USA ]  You'll gladly let 'Scoundrels' take your money By Elysa Gardner
* * � out of four

[ CT ]  Fizzy 'Scoundrels' is full of crass fun By Michael Phillips

[ TM ]  Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Reviewed By: David Finkle

[ B ]  Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Review by Eric Grode

[ TM ]  Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Reviewed By: David Finkle

[ NYT ]  Slide Show

[ DN ]  MGM attuned to Broadway BY DANIEL DUNAIEF
It started last night with "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" and is expected to continue next month with "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang."
No, MGM isn't dusting off its hallowed 4,000-film library, but instead is creating what it hopes will be new hit Broadway musicals from its most popular vintage films.

Other Reviews:

[ NYT ]  THEATER REVIEW | 'I HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE'
Life: Go Back and Do It Over Until You Get It Right By ANDREA STEVENS
As demonstrated by the Pearl Theater Company in its production of this 1937 play, there isn't much wiggle room when you are a device instead of a character.

[ NYT ]  THEATER REVIEW | 'THE GOD BOTHERERS'
How to Help the Third World? A Satirist Tells How Not To By JASON ZINOMAN
Richard Bean's play challenges the audience's liberal prejudices, and that makes it something of a change of pace.

[ NYT ]  MUSIC REVIEW | BETTY BUCKLEY
A Spring Collection of Song, Woven From Fleeting Memories By STEPHEN HOLDEN
Betty Buckley gathers unlikely songs under a common umbrella in her smart, carefully balanced show at the Caf� Carlyle.
See interview below.

[ NYT ]  MUSIC REVIEW | NELLIE MCKAY
Open a Vein and Sing: The Personal and Political Entwine By STEPHEN HOLDEN

[ TB ]  The Drawer Boy: Small, Sensitive Drama Comes to Paper Mill by Bob Rendell

[ TB ]  Sweet Charity
Chicago Review by John Olson

[ NYP ]  WE'RE THE REAL VICTIMS By FRANK SCHECK
VICTIMIZATION seems a topic ripe for satire. But "After Ashley" � about a young man who becomes a media darling after his mother is murdered � doesn't quite do the trick.

[ NJ ]  Verdict still out on 'Judas' BY MICHAEL SOMMERS

[ HC ]  A Profane Farce From David Mamet By MALCOLM JOHNSON
Playwright Known For Drama Delivers A Frenetic Comedy

Features:

[ TM ]  Peter Filichia's Diary
When Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse wrote about the good old bad old days in their 1972 musical, how accurate were they?

[ P ]  DIVA TALK: Catching Up with Tony Winner Betty Buckley

[ LAT ]  Whole new worlds yet to conquer By Nelson Handel
A star in 'Miss Saigon,' a hit in 'Aladdin,' Lea Salonga hopes a concert tour reignites her career.

[ BG ]  Actor Mackie lands some plum parts and takes a lucky Oscar punch By Maureen Dezell

[ DN ]  To courtroom star, absurdity rules supreme By CELIA McGEE
Fresh off "The Exonerated," Bob Balaban opened this week as a prosecutor in David Mamet's "Romance."

[ BH ]  Deja vu all over again: Ben Gazzara takes on Yankee quipster Yogi Berra By Terry Byrne

[ SFC ]  For Dennehy, a chance to play a real-life 'hero' by Edward Guthmann
Thanks to Lois on All That Chat for the link.

[ CCT ]  Dennehy to shed light on blacklisted Trumbo by PAT CRAIG
Thanks to American Theater Web for the link.

[ BR ]  Bea Arthur sings her Broadway tunes By JIM BECKERMAN

[ B ]  Quotable Quotes: Bonding with the Boys Behind Altar Boyz

[ LAT ]  Yearning to be heard By Lynne Heffley
Native Voices, a theater initiative at the Autry center, aims to present Native American perspectives. Up next: a reworked classic.

[ HC ]  Alyssa 'The Cat' By FRANK RIZZO
From An Early Age, Actress Bresnahan Has Had Muscular Parts

[ HC ]  Whose House Is It? By FRANK RIZZO
Former Home In Cuba Inspires Playwright's Exploration Of Clash Between The Past And The Present In `The Cook'

[ BS ]  Actors, Educators, Critics: Brustein and Eustis Have a Talk

[ BS ]  The Acting Bug Nests in The Lakes of Vegas

[ WP ]  It's What's Outside That Counts By Hetty Lipscomb
COSTUME DESIGNER Sekula Sinadinovski isn't one for the isolation of the studio.

Thanks to American Theater Web for the following features!

[ PPG ]  Brian Murray eager to tackle a magical role in 'Tempest' By Christopher Rawson

[ PPG ]  Prior Prosperos By Christopher Rawson
The Public Theater's Prospero, Brian Murray, has seen many other Prosperos, starting with John Gielgud (twice), generally considered the greatest of the 20th century.

News:

[ B ]  Jeffrey DeMunn Withdraws from Manhattan Theatre Club's A Picasso

[ BS ]  Santa Barbara Theatre Scene Gets Dramatic By Tom Jacobs
A bitter power struggle at Santa Barbara's only Equity theatre company has led to the formation of a rival troupe with impressive Los Angeles connections.

[ P ]  Today In Theatre History: MARCH 4

[ P ]  Doubt Begins California Run with Linda Hunt and Jonathan Cake, March 4

[ P ]  �Glitter and Be Gay�: Candide Begins New York City Opera Run March 4

[ P ]  Spam Radio: Monty Python's Spamalot Creators and Stars Talk and Sing on NPR, March 4

[ P ]  Always Be Closing: Tickets for Broadway Revival of Glengarry Glen Ross Go on Sale

[ P ]  Michael Ball Extends His Woman in White Stint

[ P ]  The Awesome '80s Prom Will Perform at Virgin Megastore March 6

[ P ]  Playwrights Horizons Snags Recent High School Grad to Play College-Bound Daughter in Memory House, With Dianne Wiest

[ BS ]  Dodger Costumes Remains Uncloaked
posted at 3/4/2005 09:35:00 AM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link

Thursday, March 03, 2005

News:

[ SFC ]  'A Chorus Line' revival to test its muscles at Curran tryout by Steven Winn

[ B ]  New Broadway Chorus Line to Tryout in San Francisco in Summer 2006

[ P ]  Chorus Line to Play San Francisco Before Reaching Broadway in 2006

[ P ]  Travolta as Edna? Co-Director Credit for Mitchell and O'Brien? Hairspray Director Weighs In on Movie Version

[ R ]  Christians Accuse BBC Over Jerry Springer Musical By Andrew Cawthorne
In the latest protest against the publicly funded broadcaster over its January broadcast, the Christian Institute filed a complaint at Britain's High Court accusing it of discriminating against Christians and breaking its own charter.

[ B ]  Newcomer Zvereva Lands Lead as Wiest's Daughter in Memory House

[ B ]  Comedian Spike Milligan Explored in Ying Tong at New Ambassadors

[ TM ]  Benefit for The Artist's Crossing Slated for March 21

[ P ]  Doctor Dolittle, Sweeney Todd and Wonderful Town Set for New 5th Avenue Season

[ P ]  Spacey�s Old Vic Needs £13 Million Repairs

[ P ]  TV and Theatre Star Johnston Cast in Nicky Silver Pilot

[ P ]  Erik Ehn Appointed Dean of California Institute of the Arts

[ P ]  Wright's Orange Flower Water to Get New York Premiere March 26

[ P ]  Govich, Burrell, Leung, Roland and McVey to Star in North Shore Millie; Casting Complete

[ P ]  Michael Cumpsty Added to 92nd Street Y Reading of "Iliad" March 7

[ P ]  McCarter Theatre to Present World Premiere of Rebeck�s The Bells; Casting Complete

[ P ]  Stritch, Wilson and Ziemba to Celebrate Dorothy Fields March 19-21

[ P ]  Colella and Gets to Join Jason Robert Brown for North Hollywood Concert

[ P ]  Meryl Streep to Be Part of Theatrical Evening by Oscar-Winning Filmmakers

Features:

[ R ]  Industrial Musicals Offer Odes to Tractors, Toilets By Jon Kalish
By day, Steve Young toils as a comedy writer for David Letterman. By night, he's an archeologist, historian and sociologist of sorts. Or maybe he's just a demented, obsessed collector.
Young has the definitive collection of industrial musical recordings.

[ TM ]  Boys Will Be Boyz By: Joseph Marzullo; text by Michael Portantiere
The opening of the new Off-Broadway hit Altar Boyz is celebrated with a party at Crobar.

[ B ]  VIDEO: Opening Night: Altar Boyz

[ B ]  VIDEO: Behind the Scenes: Backstage at Wicked

Reviews:

[ SUN ]  Betraying the Betrayer by JEREMY McCARTER
Stephen Adly Guirgis may be the most extravagantly talented, maddeningly wayward playwright in America.

[ TB ]  Fiction
Pittsburgh Review by Ann Miner
posted at 3/3/2005 04:08:00 PM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link

[ CT ]  Broadway sees profits in female buying power by Michael Kuchwara
posted at 3/3/2005 11:02:00 AM by James Marino | Item Link

[ BS ]  Low-Cost Power for NY Theatres?
The New York state Assembly may soon consider legislation that would provide low-cost electric power to Broadway and Off-Broadway theatres.

[ LAT ]  Coens, Kaufman lend an 'Ear' by Don Shirley
Filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen and Charlie Kaufman are collaborating on a theatrical production, "Theater of the New Ear," set for April 28-30 at St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn, where it will be taped for broadcast on Sirius Satellite Radio.
Among the eight cast members are Meryl Streep, Steve Buscemi, Hope Davis and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

[ B ]  Jersey Boys, Featuring Story and Songs of Four Seasons, Looks to Fall B'way Bow

Features:

[ TM ]  Loose Lips By: Brian Scott Lipton
Joan Van Ark plays a meddling mother-in-law in La Jolla. Plus: Lynn Ahrens on Dessa Rose.

[ DN ]  David Hinckley's Critic at Large: Critics called it a turkey - but watch it fly
When the critics reviewed writer Tyler Perry's new film, "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" on Friday, I think it's fair to say most of them weren't giving mad love.

[ NYP ]  CINDY ADAMS
Liza Minnelli; John Lithgow.

[ BSUN ]  Hurston renaissance By Mary Carole McCauley
The controversial, fiery and profound author and playwright is being rediscovered, with Loyola College -- and Oprah Winfrey -- helping to light the way.

[ BS ]  The Audience Is Laughing--or Not
Why are audiences so fickle? Can an entire audience simply lack a funny bone?

[ VV ]  Spring Preview: Tolerance Levels by Michael Feingold
Master director Peter Brook brings a frayed community Tierno Bokar, a multicultural fable

Thanks to American Theater Web for the following articles:

[ DFP ]  'Phantom' star loves the road BY MARTIN F. KOHN
David Cryer has been touring in the musical for 12 years

[ NYO ]  Chita: Rivera Takes Tiny Stage by Rex Reed

[ OCR ]  Laguna stage sets season By PAUL HODGINS
Playhouse's '05-'06 lineup features an Albom play, a Farrell premiere and a new Christmas show.

"The Last Days of Judas Iscariot" - Reviews:

[ NYT ]  THEATER REVIEW | 'THE LAST DAYS OF JUDAS ISCARIOT'
Judas Gets His Day in Court, but Satan Is on the Witness List By BEN BRANTLEY
Colorful speech and flashy performances can't disguise the impression that the new play by Stephen Adly Guirgis is a heavily footnoted position paper on a big subject.

[ NYP ]  GETS TOO BIG FOR ITS KITSCHES By FRANK SCHECK
Examining the concept of divine forgiveness through the fate of the title character, the play strains so hard for irreverence that it dilutes its message in a sea of comic shtick.

[ ND ]  Christ's betrayer gets day in court BY GORDON COX

[ ATW ]  Faith, Religion Explored in Guirgis' 'Judas'
Review by Andy Propst

[ TB ]  The Last Days of Judas Iscariot
Review by Matthew Murray

[ B ]  The Last Days of Judas Iscariot
Review by Eric Grode

[ TM ]  The Last Days of Judas Iscariot
Reviewed By: Dan Bacalzo

[ NYT ]  Slide Show

Other Reviews:

[ DN ]  No show of farce by Mamet by Howard Kissel
A lot of the humor is politically incorrect, which might be effective if it were funny, which it seldom is.

[ NYP ]  'ALTAR BOYZ' BAND HAS MASS APPEAL By FRANK SCHECK
This cheerfully harmless musical boasts a one-joke premise, but the joke is sufficiently well-executed and funny to make the slight evening entertaining.

[ ATW ]  Absurdities Played Realistically in The God Botherers
Review by Andy Propst

[ VV ]  Talking Trash: A Lesson in Beckettian Acting by Charles McNulty
Endgame

[ Y ]  Beckett's 'Endgame' Isn't Bleak By JOSH HOFFNER, Associated Press Writer

[ VV ]  Fine New Twist on a Crime-Tinged Media Satire by Michael Feingold
After Ashley

[ VV ]  The Vatican Ponders Whether Natives are Real People Too by Alisa Solomon
The Controversy Of Valladolid

[ VV ]  A Potent Dose of Laurel & Hardy Medicine
Sightlines: by Alexis Soloski

[ VV ]  A Drama so Small and Acute it Almost Infuriates by Michael Feingold
On the Mountain

[ VV ]  Four Fragmented Takes on Sophocles' Yokasta
Sightlines: by David Kornhaber

[ ATW ]  Sondheim's The Frogs - The Recording
Review by Andy Propst

News:

[ HC ]  Fabrique To Play Ella Fitzgerald At Theaterworks by Frank Rizzo
Playwright Richard Nelson is the new chairman of the play-writing department at the Yale School of Drama.
Second item.

[ TM ]  Harvey Fierstein Will Host Drama Desk Awards Ceremony for Second Consecutive Year

[ B ]  Fiddler Star Harvey Fierstein to Host the 2005 Drama Desk Awards

[ B ]  Michael Ball Extends Stay in London's The Woman in White

[ PTR ]  Death of actress Jilline Ringle stuns City Theatre staff, co-stars By Alice T. Carter

[ PPG ]  Obituary: Jilline Ringle / Actress with height, talent and heart By Christopher Rawson

[ INQ ]  Obituary: Jilline Ringle, 40, comic actress star By Douglas J. Keating

[ P ]  Today In Theatre History: MARCH 3

[ P ]  Skins Get Shed at La MaMa March 3-13

[ P ]  Ruprecht Sings! Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, the Musical, Opens March 3

[ P ]  Moonlight & Magnolias, a Backstage Tale of "Gone With the Wind," Begins March 3 at MTC Stage I

[ P ]  Orlandersmith Explores Irish and Nuyorican Lives in World Premiere of Raw Boys, Starting March 2 at Philly's Wilma

[ P ]  PS Classics Records Lone Star Love Cast Album March 2

[ P ]  Hartford Stage Serves Eduardo Machado's The Cook; Opens March 2

[ P ]  Hiding Behind Comets Extends to April 17 at 29th Street Rep

[ P ]  Connecticut-Set A Moon for the Misbegotten Opens at Long Wharf Theatre, March 2

[ P ]  Manhattan Ensemble Theater Postpones Fire on the Mountain and Kiss

[ P ]  Stephen Sondheim, Scott Schwartz and Judy Kaye Featured in 2005 Berkshire Theatre Festival Season
posted at 3/3/2005 08:17:00 AM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link

Wednesday, March 02, 2005

Features:

[ B ]  Personal Favorites: The '90s by Ken Mandelbaum

[ P ]  MARQUEE VALUE: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at the Longacre

[ P ]  PHOTO CALL: Little Women Will Live on in Song, Cast Records Album Feb. 28

[ B ]  VIDEO: Opening Night: Shockheaded Peter

News:

[ P ]  Baranski, Cook, Cumming, Garber, Murphy and Peters Serenade Sondheim at Roundabout Gala

[ P ]  Tony Winner Krakowski Hosts Behind-the-Scenes Special "Broadway Backstage" on ABC, March 5

[ P ]  Rinne Groff's Inky Gets Staging by Women's Project in NYC; Loretta Greco Directs

[ P ]  Von Essen to Star in Kander and Ebb�s Cabaret

[ P ]  Broadway Murder Mystery Unfolds in NBC's "Law & Order: Trial by Jury" Debut with Orbach, March 3

[ P ]  Caribbean Island Boy Comes of Age in Quiara Alegria Hudes' Award-Winning Yemaya's Belly, at Portland Stage

[ P ]  Cast Set for Mamet The Voysey Inheritance Adaptation San Francisco Debut at A.C.T.

[ P ]  Tony Winner Santiago-Hudson Joins McReele Star for A Soldier�s Play in Boston, March 7

[ P ]  Cedar Lake Arts Gets Raw, March 6-21

[ P ]  It Ain't Over: Gazzara Is Yogi Berra Again, This Time in National Tour of Nobody Don't Like Yogi

[ P ]  Williamstown's Jenny Gersten Takes Helm at Naked Angels

[ P ]  New Live Reality Show to Explore Sex and Other Matters

[ P ]  Melba Is Back for Moore at Joe�s Pub This Spring

[ P ]  Dame Edna Everage Offers Actors' Fund Performance April 3

[ P ]  Christiane Noll to Sing at Duplex; Song List Announced

[ P ]  New York City Opera to Present Most Happy Fella in 2006

[ P ]  Full Cast Announced for London Guys and Dolls

[ P ]  Immodesty Blaize to Bring Burlesque to London

[ B ]  Gina Gionfriddo's After Ashley Extends Through April 3 at the Vineyard

Reviews:

[ B ]  Did Altar Boyz Answer the Prayers of New York Drama Critics?

[ SUN ]  Mamet's Court Is in Hysterics by JEREMY McCARTER
What the hell has gotten into David Mamet?

[ NJ ]  A fine 'Romance': Mamet play draws laughs with sharp humor BY MICHAEL SOMMERS

[ JN ]  'Romance' is a Mamet undertaking By JACQUES LE SOURD

[ TB ]  Judy Blazer
Cabaret Review by Warren Hoffman
posted at 3/2/2005 04:16:00 PM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link

[ NYP ]  PLAY SIMON SAYS By MICHAEL RIEDEL
MANY of Neil Simon's most popular plays have been autobiographical.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Simon's latest play is a stage adaptation of his best-selling 1996 memoir, "Rewrites."

[ V ]  Lions Gate 'Mad' for Perry plays
Studio to release playwright's work on DVD

[ B ]  Brian Stokes Mitchell to Play Beaumont on Piazza Dark Nights

[ P ]  Sondheim Sings! Sony BMG Plans Cast Album Re-Releases With Bonus Material; PS Classics Inc. Mines Sondheim Archival Gold

[ P ]  Jilline Ringle, Vivacious Philly Actress-Singer Who Did It Her Way, Dead at 40

Features:

[ NYP ]  SHTICK 'N' SPAM By BARBARA HOFFMAN
FIRST came the Trekkies, then the "Rocky Horror Show" and "Lord of the Rings" nuts.
Brace yourself now for the Spamheads - the Monty Python fans who throng Shubert Alley, desperate for tickets to "Spamalot."

[ DN ]  No biz like shoe biz By JOE DZIEMIANOWICZ
Scoring tickets to the much-ballyhooed "Monty Python's Spamalot" is hard.
Getting your hands on killer rabbit slippers at the Sam S. Schubert Theatre's merchandise stations is impossible.

[ NJ ]  Now they're partners in crime BY VALERIE GLADSTONE
Actors Norbert Leo Butz and Sherie Rene Scott dash across West 45th Street for a bite to eat before the evening curtain of their new musical, "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels." Like a couple of kids at recess, they banter as they enter a restaurant.

[ DN ]  A 'Rotten' way to succeed By JOE DZIEMIANOWICZ
Norbert Leo Butz isn't one of those actors who does reams of research or constructs detailed histories to create a character.

[ TM ]  Peter Filichia's Diary
There's more than one musical about a modern woman searching for love in 1920s New York.

[ DN ]  Latino theater benefit is race against the clock By ROBERT DOMINGUEZ
Sitting bleary-eyed on the darkened stage of INTAR Theatre, Carmen Rivera and five other playwrights scattered around the building have barely five hours left to complete one-act plays.

[ B ]  FRESH FACE: Geraldine Hughes by Alixandra Liner

[ NYT ]  BOLDFACE NAMES
And Mom Said She Loved That Movie By JOYCE WADLER
"After Ashley"; Andrew Lloyd Webber.

[ NYT ]  Heavenly Fish and Tuna Melt: Notable Names Dine In By ELAINE LOUIE
Boldface names, artists and power couples don't always eat where they can be spotted. Sometimes they order in, just like the rest of us.

[ P ]  PHOTO CALL: Pearl's I Have Been Here Before Opens with McNally in Audience

"Romance" - Reviews:

[ ND ]  Flagrantly foul, and so much fun BY LINDA WINER
The script is arguably the most skillfully constructed farce since Michael Frayn's "Noises Off."

[ NYT ]  THEATER REVIEW | 'ROMANCE'
All Rise, Mamet's Court Is in Session and Unraveling By BEN BRANTLEY
At their considerable best, David Mamet's plays provide shots of theatrical adrenaline. This one has the impact of an over-the-counter sleeping pill.

[ R ]  Review: Romance By Alexis Greene (Hollywood Reporter)
Rarely has Mamet roared into farce at such full throttle and with such pleasurable results as in "Romance."

[ NYP ]  MAMET'S DISORDER IN COURT By FRANK SCHECK
While completists will no doubt not want to miss it, "Romance" stands as distinctly minor Mamet.

[ Y ]  'Romance' a Roller-Coaster Ride By MICHAEL KUCHWARA, AP Drama Critic
This "Romance" is inspired, nonstop foolishness.

[ ATW ]  Mamet's Romance An Incisive Farce
Review by Andy Propst

[ TM ]  Romance
Reviewed By: David Finkle

[ B ]  Romance
Review by Eric Grode

"Altar Boyz" - Reviews:

[ Y ]  'Altar Boyz' Spreads Cheer By MICHAEL KUCHWARA, AP Drama Critic
Amen. Spreading ecumenical good cheer, "Altar Boyz" has arrived at off-Broadway's Dodger Stages where it should be preaching to enthusiastic crowds for some time to come.

[ TB ]  Altar Boyz
Review by Matthew Murray
If you've lost faith in the American musical comedy, Altar Boyz will make you believe again.

[ DN ]  Thank heaven for 'Altar Boyz'! by Howard Kissel
If laughter is a form of salvation, my soul is clean.

[ ND ]  A boy band that raises its voices in praise BY GORDON COX
The show, which chronicles the final New York City concert of the Boyz' "Raise the Praise" tour, is only as funny as its songs.
Thank the Lord, then, that many of those songs are very funny indeed.

[ NYT ]  THEATER REVIEW | 'ALTAR BOYZ'
Disciples of Pop Croon and Bop to Save the Masses By CHARLES ISHERWOOD
Ebullient performances ensure that this smoothly executed show about a Christian pop group is an enjoyably silly diversion.

[ ATW ]  Altar Boyz: Bubblegum Pop To Save the Soul and Tickle the Funnybone
Review by Andy Propst

[ NJ ]  Charming 'hymns' light up 'Altar Boyz' BY MICHAEL SOMMERS

[ B ]  Altar Boyz
Review by William Stevenson

[ TM ]  Altar Boyz
Reviewed By: David Finkle

Other Reviews:

[ NYT ]  THEATER REVIEW | 'LINGOLAND'
Celebrating a Wordsmith By ANNE MIDGETTE
This homage to Kenward Elmslie, a poet of the theater, is a grab bag of a present. It's hard to pin him down in one lighthearted evening.

[ TB ]  Sus Manos (Her Hands)
Review by Lindsey Wilson

[ LAT ]  A house in search of a play By Daryl H. Miller
La Jolla's state-of-the-art Potiker Theatre needs better material than the slight farce, "Private Fittings."

[ ND ]  Dogma of dehumanization BY LINDA WINER
"The Controversy of Valladolid."

News:

[ NYT ]  Teenager Says Death of Actress Was Accident By SABRINA TAVERNISE

[ LAT ]  NPR slates theater series by Don Shirley
National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" is presenting an eight-part series, from Thursday through April 21, on the issues facing America's nonprofit theaters.

[ BS ]  SAG, AFTRA Okay TV/Theatrical Pact

[ NYT ]  Arts, Briefly
Compiled By LAWRENCE VAN GELDER
Harold Pinter; Actors Ratify Contract; Naked Angels Theater Company.

[ NYT ]  Peter Foy, Who Sent Performers Flying, Dies at 79 By MARGALIT FOX

[ P ]  Today In Theatre History: MARCH 2

[ P ]  So Help You God: LAByrinth Swears in Off-Broadway with The Last Days of Judas Iscariot

[ P ]  Keen Company Schedules Outward Bound, Postpones Oppenheimer

[ TM ]  Stephen Sondheim's 75th Birthday To Be Celebrated With Special Events and a Collectible
posted at 3/2/2005 08:02:00 AM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link

Tuesday, March 01, 2005

Features:

[ P ]  THE LEADING MEN: Pros and Cons By Wayman Wong
March brings St. Patrick�s Day, so here are three "Leading Men" blessed with more lucky charms than a leprechaun: Norbert Leo Butz (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), Christopher Sieber (Spamalot) and Tyler Maynard (Altar Boyz).

[ P ]  PLAYBILL.COM'S BRIEF ENCOUNTER with Neil Pepe
Why did it take so long for a David Mamet world premiere to happen at the Off-Broadway theatre he created?

[ P ]  A Merry New Band of Pythons
Monty Python's Spamalot brings to Broadway that most elusive of treasures-inspired lunacy.

Reviews:

[ NJ ]  Ties that bind? Revived Crossroads produces intriguing study of marriage BY PETER FILICHIA

[ NJ ]  'Sister Week' needs sharper direction: Sparring sibs need sharper direction BY PETER FILICHIA

[ NJ ]  Historic debate hits home BY MICHAEL SOMMERS
"The Controversy of Valladolid."

"After Ashley":

[ P ]  After Ashley with Culkin and Paquin Extends Off-Broadway Through April 3

[ B ]  Critics Take In Kid Stars Culkin and Paquin in After Ashley Off-Broadway

[ NJ ]  Victims fail to win sympathy in 'After Ashley' BY MICHAEL SOMMERS

[ CU ]  Review: After Ashley

[ P ]  PHOTO CALL: Culkin and Paquin Ponder What Happens After Ashley at the Vineyard

News:

[ P ]  Cariani Exits Fiddler March 13, Converting to Orthodox; Fierstein and Martin Extend Stay in Shtetl

[ B ]  Modern Orthodox Welcomes New Stars Crane and Egolf March 8

[ B ]  Kennedy Center Season to Offer Christine Baranski as Mame

[ P ]  Mame � with Christine Baranski � to Be Part of Kennedy Center's 2005-2006 Season

[ TM ]  Kathleen and Rob Marshall To Receive "Mr. Abbott" Awards

[ P ]  Rob and Kathleen Marshall Honored with "Mr Abbott" Award on March 7

[ B ]  Broadway Grosses: Cold Weather, Hot Box Office

[ P ]  Planet Banana Orbits Ars Nova in Manhattan March 18-May 7

[ P ]  Flaherty and Ahrens Take Part in Lincoln Center "Platform Series" March 9

[ P ]  Chita Rivera's March 1 Performance at Feinstein's Canceled

[ P ]  Max Casella, Didi Conn, Aida Turturro Join John Turturro in Off-Broadway Souls of Naples

[ P ]  Solo Performer Mike Daisey Flies Without a Net in All Stories Are Fiction at P.S. 122

[ P ]  Annual Tony Party to Honor Stockard Channing

[ P ]  Tony Nominations Announcement Scheduled for May 10

[ P ]  Reissue of 1973 Sondheim Poster to Benefit BC/EFA

[ P ]  Chat with Original Pippin Star Offered March 6

[ P ]  Timeless Divas! Returns to NYC April 3

[ P ]  Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story to Play York Theatre

[ P ]  Applause Books of Manhattan to Close Its Doors on June 30

[ P ]  McArdle Heads to the Chatterbox March 3

[ P ]  Harold Pinter Announces Retirement from Playwriting

[ TM ]  Helen Hayes Award Nominees Announced

[ P ]  James Earl Jones, Frank Loesser, Craig Wright, Allegro Among Nominees in 2005 Helen Hayes Awards in D.C.

[ TM ]  Spelling Bee Will Transfer to B-R-O-A-D-W-A-Y
posted at 3/1/2005 06:09:00 PM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link

[ CNN ]  What Christina Applegate is doing now
'Married ... with Children' actress about to hit Broadway
posted at 3/1/2005 02:39:00 PM by James Marino | Item Link

News:

[ BBC ]  Pinter 'to give up writing plays'
Dramatist Harold Pinter has said that he is to give up writing plays and focus on other forms of writing.

[ B ]  Spelling Bee Starts at Broadway's Circle in the Square April 15

[ P ]  To Bee: New Spelling Musical To Open on Broadway May 2 at Circle in the Square

[ NYT ]  Arts, Briefly
Compiled By LAWRENCE VAN GELDER
"Spelling Bee," "Jerry Springer," live ads in London's "Saturday Night Fever."

[ WP ]  Hayes Award Nominees: Surprises Large & Small By Jane Horwitz

[ HH ]  2005 Helen Hayes Awards Nominees - Complete List

[ P ]  Broadway Grosses: Feb. 21-27

[ V ]  Broadway box office stages February high
B'way shows fetch $15 mil

[ INQ ]  Kimmel is still falling short on finances By Peter Dobrin
Hopes of getting out of debt are waning, with a skimpy endowment and concern over new rivals.

[ TM ]  Applause Theatre Books Will Close Its Doors on June 30; Major Discounts in Effect

[ BS ]  Cornerstone Theater Co-Founder Bill Rauch Resigns

[ V ]  Actors' Fund fetes thesp
B'way vet Channing to be honored at event

[ P ]  Today In Theatre History: MARCH 1

[ P ]  Welles Meets Olivier, Leigh, Plowright and Tynan in New York Pendleton Premiere Orson's Shadow, March 1

[ P ]  Altar Boyz Opens Off-Broadway March 1

[ P ]  Peace in Our Time? Mamet Addresses the Absurd Question in Romance, Opening March 1

"After Ashley" - Reviews:

[ NYT ]  THEATER REVIEW | 'AFTER ASHLEY'
A Mother's Untimely End, a Father's Effort to Cash In By CHARLES ISHERWOOD
Despite some fine work from Anna Paquin and Kieran Culkin, this play on social ills is sabotaged by the conflicting impulses in the writing.

[ R ]  Review: After Ashley By Larry Worth (Hollywood Reporter)
Despite its gutsy premise and hard-working cast, "After Ashley" is less compelling than any given episode of "America's Most Wanted."

[ ND ]  Snared in a tragic duet of rap and rape BY LINDA WINER

[ ATW ]  After Ashley: Television Voyeurism Skewered
Review By Andy Propst

[ B ]  After Ashley
Review by William Stevenson

[ TB ]  After Ashley
Review by Matthew Murray

Other Reviews:

[ NYT ]  THEATER REVIEW | 'JABU'
Lark in the Comfort Zone With a Master of Discomfort By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON
Elizabeth Swados's play about the French playwright Alfred Jarry, while entertaining and funny, is about as provocative as a bowl of ice cream.

[ CU ]  Jabu

[ ATW ]  Pentecost: A Medieval Fresco Inspires a Rich Tapestry of Contemporary Debate and Drama
Review by Andy Propst

[ TB ]  Pentecost
Review by Matthew Murray

[ TM ]  Pentecost
Reviewed By: David Finkle

[ TM ]  The Siegel Column
Notes on the solo shows Belfast Blues, Shylock, and My Price Point. Plus: Unknown Andrew Lloyd Webber at Joe's Pub.

[ TM ]  Lingoland
Reviewed By: Marc Miller

[ ATW ]  On Second Avenue: Those were the days....
Review by Andy Propst

[ Y ]  Important 'Controversy' Made Bland By PETER SANTILLI, Associated Press Writer
In the new off-Broadway production of Jean-Claude Carriere's "The Controversy of Valladolid," which opened Sunday at the Public Theater, an important and compelling play is undone by a bland, pedestrian treatment.

Thanks to American Theater Web for the following stories:

[ SD ]  This 1886 update isn't a perfect fit By Anne Marie Welsh
Feydeau's "Private Fittings," adapted by Mark O'Donnell, directed by Des McAnuff, with Jessica Boevers, Chris Hoch and Joan Van Ark.

[ OCR ]  Updated farce opens theater By PAUL HODGINS
The La Jolla Playhouse christens the Potiker with 'Private Fittings.'

[ JN ]  Big-name stars By PETER D. KRAMER
Jack Klugman and Louis Zorich start a three-city regional tour in "The Value of Names" on Friday in White Plains.

Other Features:

[ B ]  PHOTO OP: In the Studio with the Company of Little Women
posted at 3/1/2005 09:06:00 AM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link

Monday, February 28, 2005

[ P ]  Dodgers Costumes Closes Shop Leaving Vast Inventory in Limbo

Features:

[ B ]  Q & A: 2/28/05 by Ken Mandelbaum

[ P ]  PHOTO CALL: Slava's Clowns Bid Adieu to "The Gates" of Central Park

Thanks to American Theater Web for the following features!

[ NY ]  Influences: John Lithgow By Boris Kachka
The forces that shaped a dirty rotten scoundrel.

[ NY ]  Tennessee Waltz By Boris Kachka
Jessica Lange threatened never to return to Broadway. Why�s she taking another spin in The Glass Menagerie?

News:

[ STARS ]  Mario Lanza Society of New York Schedules Tribute Luncheon

[ P ]  Between Heaven and Hell: Protested Jerry Springer-The Opera Still Planning Broadway Run
The controversial London hit Jerry Springer-The Opera will come to the Broadway stage despite recent protests in the UK, according to production spokespersons.

[ P ]  Gasteyer, Hoffman, Martin, Pasquale, Vilanch and Wopat to Be Miscast for MCC, March 14

[ P ]  The Genesis of Spamalot and More Play at Monty Python Screen Series in NY and LA

[ TM ]  Bay Street Theatre Announces 2005 Mainstage Season

[ B ]  Brit Burlesque Queen Immodesty Blaize Books West End Engagement

[ P ]  Ludlum Biography Ridiculous! Released in Paperback March 21

[ P ]  Doug Hughes Directs Rebecca Gilman Adaptation of The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter at Atlanta's Alliance

[ P ]  Equity-LORT Talks Begin Again on Feb. 28

[ P ]  Glass Menagerie Delays Broadway Opening Until March 22

[ P ]  A Globe Theatre for New York Suggested for Governor's Island

Reviews:

[ TB ]  Pacific at Steppenwolf Garage Theater
Chicago Review by John Olson

[ TM ]  The Controversy of Valladolid
Reviewed By: Dan Bacalzo

[ CU ]  The Controversy of Valladolid
posted at 2/28/2005 04:27:00 PM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link

We received this e-mail from the head honcho of a major regional theatre:

[ B ]  The Glass Menagerie Opening Moved to March 22; Slater Starts Perfs 3/8

[ TM ]  The Glass Menagerie, With Slater Instead of Roberts, Delays Broadway Opening

[ NYT ]  Arts, Briefly by CATHERINE BILLEY
'Glass Menagerie' Delayed

Features:

[ TM ]  Peter Filichia's Diary
Phyllis Diller and Penny Orloff have plenty to share with Filichia about their new books.

[ TM ]  Heart and Soul By: Dan Bacalzo
A wholly spirited conversation with the cast and director of Altar Boyz

[ ND ]  Busy Bob Balaban BY GORDON COX
If the actor seems to be ubiquitous, it's because he is

[ NYP ]  ORBACH'S LAST SCENE By ADAM BUCKMAN
AILING Jerry Orbach made it through his final scenes with a little help from his friends.

[ OCR ]  Raitt was always a class act by PAUL HODGINS
Long after his performing career was over, the star still knew the secrets of commanding a room.
Thanks to American Theater Web for the link.

"The Controversy of Valladolid" - Reviews:

[ NYT ]  THEATER REVIEW | 'THE CONTROVERSY OF VALLADOLID'
Putting a Religious Foot in the Mouth of Conquest By CHARLES ISHERWOOD
The dust-dry historical drama makes an unexpected return at the Public Theater in this forensics exercise with little more vitality than C-Span.

[ ATW ]  Valladolid Examines Colonialism, Barbarism
Review by Andy Propst

[ TB ]  The Controversy of Valladolid
Review by Matthew Murray

[ B ]  The Controversy of Vallodolid
Review by Edward Karam

[ SUN ]  With God on Their Side by JEREMY McCARTER
Though it's hard to believe it today, there was a time when all sorts of violent deeds were carried out in the name of religion.

[ SUN ]  Learning to Think Like a Conquistador by JEAN-CLAUDE CARRIERE
In crafting "The Controversy of Valladolid," its author faced a problem: how to get modern audiences to take the bad guy seriously.
The playwright on how he shaped his play.

Other Reviews:

[ NYT ]  CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK
The Wooster Group: An Ensemble Tailor-Made for an Age of Anxiety By BEN BRANTLEY
The Wooster Group's "House/Lights" seems like one crazy, exotic head trip, until you notice its resemblence to daily life in the 21st century.

[ NYT ]  CONNECTIONS
The Fissures of Tyranny and Liberty By EDWARD ROTHSTEIN
LONDON - When Derek Jacobi peers into another character's eyes in the brilliant production of Friedrich Schiller's "Don Carlos," now being staged here in the West End, his glance probes like a finger poking at flaccid flesh. And when he speaks, the ferocity of his voice has such commanding physical presence it seems to cast a shadow.

[ NYT ]  CABARET REVIEW | TONYA PINKINS
From the Arlen Limelight to His Nooks and Crannies By STEPHEN HOLDEN
Her embattled character in "Caroline, or Change" was nowhere in sight when Tonya Pinkins took the stage on Saturday in this installment of Lincoln Center's American Songbook series.

[ B ]  DVDs: Love with All the Trimmings by Ken Mandelbaum
ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER (Paramount)
MY SISTER EILEEN (Sony/Columbia)

[ TM ]  Jabu
Reviewed By: David Finkle

[ B ]  Jabu
Review by Katie Riegel

[ TB ]  I Have Been Here Before
Review by Matthew Murray

[ TB ]  The Shooting Stage
Review by Warren Hoffman

[ TB ]  A Man�s Best Friend
Review by Lindsey Wilson
For those of you who were desperately hoping to find a play combining squids, smelly clowns, tumors, psychotic angels and Andy Warhol, dream no more.

[ CU ]  Critical Darling

[ NYT ]  DANCE REVIEW | "DOUBLE FEATURE"
A Daughter Lost and Found in a Tribute to Silent Movies By JACK ANDERSON
The first part of Susan Stroman's choreographic tribute to silent movies saw three impressive debuts.

[ ND ]  Life's songs go on without the singer BY GORDON COX
A dead icon of Seattle rock casts a shadow over the characters in "On the Mountain," the latest play from Christopher Shinn.

[ CU ]  Endgame

[ TB ]  A Crowd Pleasing Singin' in the Rain at the 5th Avenue Theatre
Seattle Review by David-Edward Hughes
With Michael Gruber and Michael Arnold.

[ TB ]  Bad Dates
Pittsburgh Review by Ann Miner

[ TB ]  Sound Advice: Standards by Rob Lester
Sally Mayes, Nancy LaMott, Franc D'Ambrosio & Billy Porter.

"McReele":

[ B ]  Were New York Drama Critics Won Over by Stephen Belber's McReele?

[ CU ]  McReele

[ B ]  PHOTO OP: Off-Broadway's McReele Opens with Fanfare

[ P ]  PHOTO CALL: Roundabout Presents World Premiere Play McReele with Mackie and O'Keefe

News:

[ DN ]  Panned film laughs all the way to bank BY DAVID HINCKLEY
"Diary of a Mad Black Woman," savaged by critics and playing in about half as many theaters as most new films, earned $22.7 million. It edged Will Smith's "Hitch" to become the weekend's top-grossing film.

[ V ]  Webber shakes up RUG
Co. keen on divesting four of 12 London playhouses

[ Z ]  '24' Bad Girl, 'Karen Sisco' Land Pilot Roles
"Karen Sisco" star Carla Gugino will star in the CBS alien-contact drama "Threshold."
Dylan Baker ("Spider-Man 2"), Natasha Henstridge ("She Spies"), Judy Greer ("13 Going on 30") and Will Estes ("American Dreams") are also part of the latest round of pilot casting.

[ INQ ]  'Lion King' to hit Phila. in June '06 By Desmond Ryan

[ Y ]  Peter Brook Wins $1M Dan David Prize
PARIS - Peter Brook has won a $1 million Dan David Prize for having made an "outstanding" impact on his field.

[ Y ]  Manilow Opens Las Vegas Show to Full House

[ V ]  The hills are alive, at last, with 'Music'
Over 18,000 tickets sold for 'Sound's' stage perfs

[ B ]  Gardner and Hoty to Star in Transport Group Musical The Audience

[ TM ]  Robert Brustein Discusses His Letters to a Young Actor With Oskar Eustis at Public Theater

[ P ]  Eyewitness Blues, a Fusion of Blues, Jazz and Poetry, Is Next at New York Theatre Workshop, Starting March 1

[ P ]  It Started With a Dream: Pamela's First Musical To Get World Premiere in California in April 2006

[ P ]  Fascinating Aida Returns to Theatre Row in April

[ P ]  Brent Barrett Extends Chicago Engagement Through March

[ P ]  The "Ramblers" Return! PS Classics Will Record Lone Star Love Cast Album

[ P ]  Kansas City's Musical Theater Heritage Stages Carousel in Concert and Premieres America in Song in 2005

[ P ]  Will Bombay Dreams Play Bombay?

[ P ]  Free Reading of Martinez's My First Radical Presented Feb. 28

[ P ]  Sirius Satellite Radio: Steel Magnolias' Delta Burke and Marsha Mason

[ P ]  Real Life Father and Daughter Play Feuding Family Members in US Debut of A Reckoning

[ P ]  Hugh Jackman to Play Vegas; Wolfe to Direct

[ P ]  Legends! to Play Broadway with "Dynasty" Stars Collins and Evans

[ B ]  Dynasty's Joan Collins & Linda Evans to Reunite for Legends!

[ P ]  Today In Theatre History: FEBRUARY 28

[ P ]  Callaway and Bradley to Salute Arlen, March 22-26

[ P ]  Billy Porter Is a Ghetto Superstar at Joe's Pub Opening Feb. 28

[ P ]  Ronald Harwood�s The Dresser Opens in London Feb. 28

[ P ]  Little Women Cast Album Recorded Feb. 28 by Ghostlight Records

[ P ]  Friends and Colleagues Will Remember Peter Zeisler, Co-Founder of Guthrie Theater, Feb. 28 in NYC

[ P ]  Young Actors Paquin and Culkin Open After Ashley Off-Broadway, Feb. 28

[ P ]  Cort Theatre Box Office Opens Feb. 28 for On Golden Pond
posted at 2/28/2005 08:59:00 AM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link

Sunday, February 27, 2005

[ NYT ]  Cut From the Oscars: Cartoon Characters' Sins By DAVID M. HALBFINGER
ABC executives have forced Robin Williams to drop a comic song from the Oscars show that might well have proved one of the most political and racy numbers of the broadcast, despite the fact that the network and the show's host, Chris Rock, have been promoting the night as anything but tame.
For a bit of material, Mr. Williams predictably turned to Marc Shaiman...

[ I ]  Now 'Jerry Springer - The Opera' is forced to stay off Broadway By Anthony Barnes
A Broadway run of the musical Jerry Springer - The Opera has been scrapped in the fallout from a Christian fundamentalist group's campaign against the award-winning show.

[ I ]  The lone Christian voice who has smoked the Jerry Springer show out of Broadway By Anthony Barnes
Who is Stephen Green? Who does he represent? And how on God's earth did he close a multi-million-pound Broadway show from Camarthen?

[ DP ]  "Hedwig" creator's parents are tearing down a wall By John Moore
As play hits Springs stage, devout pair praises gay son's work
This is a great read � and an interesting counterpoint to the "Jerry Springer" stories above.
Thanks to American Theater Web for the link, and for the following link too.

[ IS ]  Musical partnership produces a spoof with a big message By Peter Szatmary
Partners in work and in life, composer-lyricist Marc Shaiman and lyricist Scott Wittman earned a 2003 Tony Award for best score for "Hairspray" by creating upbeat songs about tolerance.

[ TCM ]  Guest Programmer: Stephen Sondheim
The celebrated composer/lyricist presents six of his favorite movies. Tuesday March 22nd, including...

[ P ]  Barbara Cook, Patti LuPone and More Join Wall to Wall Stephen Sondheim Concert; Details Announced

[ V ]  Who has Time for the cover?
B'way stars grace magazine's cover less and less

The New York Times' Spring Theater 2005 Section:

[ NYT ]  The New British Invasion By CHARLES ISHERWOOD
A confluence of British directors teamed with American classics suggests that American directors may not be equally esteemed by producers, at least when it comes to the classics.

[ NYT ]  A Season of Men Behaving Badly By DAVID CARR
At last, bile-spewing, misogynistic, self-destructive men can bask in the love of the audience.

[ NYT ]  No Greasepaint, Just the Roar of the Cast By JESSE GREEN
A first rehearsal can be awesome, or an awful mess. For the 50 people staging the new musical "Dessa Rose," it was magical.

[ NYT ]  Picking Up a Broadway Tab By JESSE McKINLEY
A look at the itemized expenses for the Broadway musical "Caroline, or Change," which closed last year, shows some of the ways costs can start to pile up.

[ NYT ]  Interactive Graphic: Picking Up a Broadway Tab

[ NYT ]  THE BEST OF THE REST
Singing Knights and the Voices of God By JASON ZINOMAN
The offerings on stage this spring include a musical with dancing knights, two Tennessee Williams revivals and a satire about a Christian boy band.

[ NYT ]  ONE TO WATCH | ACTRESS, 'MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT'
Sara Ramirez By ANNE MIDGETTE

[ NYT ]  ONE TO WATCH | ACTOR, 'ON THE MOUNTAIN'
Ebon Moss-Bachrach By LIESL SCHILLINGER

[ NYT ]  ONE TO WATCH | ACTRESS, 'THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA'
Victoria Clark By ANITA GATES

[ NYT ]  ONE TO WATCH | PLAYWRIGHT, 'THOM PAIN (BASED ON NOTHING)'
Will Eno By ROBIN FINN

[ NYT ]  ONE TO WATCH | ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, LES FRERES CORBUSIER
Alex Timbers By JASON ZINOMAN

[ NYT ]  ONES TO WATCH | HEADS OF THE EUGENE O'NEILL THEATER CENTER, WATERFORD, CONN.
Preston Whiteway and Richard Kuranda By ERIK PIEPENBURG

[ NYT ]  ONE TO WATCH | ACTOR, 'ALL SHOOK UP'
Cheyenne Jackson By ERIK PIEPENBURG

[ NYT ]  ONE TO WATCH | ACTRESS, 'MCREELE'
Portia By JAN HOFFMAN

[ NYT ]  Audio Slide Show: Season of Revivals
Charles Isherwood, a theater critic for The Times, shares his thoughts on the new season.

"Dirty Rotten Scoundrels":

[ ND ]  Is this town big enough for both? BY BLAKE GREEN
'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels' opens amid the buzz for 'Spamalot.' Could it be 'Full Monty' vs. 'Producers' deja vu?

[ BSUN ]  Baltimore dynamo put her faith in 'Scoundrels' By J. Wynn Rousuck
Amanda Lipitz saw script's potential, and helped bring it to life on Broadway

[ NYP ]  NORBERT LEO BUTZ By BARBARA HOFFMAN

[ NW ]  A Star: No Ifs, Ands or Butz
Actor Norbert Leo Butz goes for the big score in Broadway's 'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels'

[ V ]  Star sighting on Great White Way
B'way may have chance to make a celeb with Butz
Norbert Leo Butz gives a star turn in "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels." Newsweek has already proclaimed "A Star: No Ifs, Ands or Butz." And Gotham's three dailies weigh in as well with laudatory profiles before the March 3 preem. Butz definitely delivers. But will Broadway?

There's also an interview with Norbert in today's Times, but it does not appear to be available online.

Features:

[ NJ ]  Broadway casting call: Men only BY STUART MILLER
It's boys' night out at the New York theater these days, with the all-male casts of "12 Angry Men," "Democracy," "Glengarry Glen Ross," "Romance," "Altar Boyz" and "Pillowman" (which has the glimpse of a female).
"There's a lot of testosterone on stage right now," says Jon Pankow, one of the "12 Angry Men."

[ NYT ]  700 Memories of Childhood in Long Beach By MARCELLE S. FISCHLER
ONSTAGE at the Broadhurst Theater, Billy Crystal bounded out the screen door of a brick Cape Cod, a replica of his childhood home at 549 East Park Avenue in Long Beach.

[ NYT ]  For Shakespeare, a Home That's a Castle? By ROBIN POGREBIN
The architect Norman Foster has designed an adaptation of Shakespeare's Globe Theater that would fit inside the crumbling castle on Governors Island.

[ NYT ]  A Playwright Stakes Out New Ground Beyond Her Own World By JULIA M. KLEIN
Dael Orlandersmith's new play, "Raw Boys," about Irish and Puerto Rican immigrants, marks a departure for the playwright, whose work to date has focused closer to home.

[ NYT ]  When Chekhov Meets Whoopee Cushion By DAVID HOCHMAN
THE funniest show on Broadway this month might have been the one inside the third floor men's room of a McDonald's in Times Square.

[ P ]  STAGE TO SCREEN: Looking Back at the Films of 2004 and Perry's "Diary of a Mad Black Woman"

[ P ]  DIVA TALK: Lloyd Webber's Unexpected Songs, Tony Winners at the Cabaret Plus News of Egan and LaMott

[ NYT ]  DIRECTIONS | TRANSPLANTS
Manhattan Improv By WARREN ST. JOHN
Theatrical nomads coming may stop in for a quick six-week run, or perhaps as long as nine months - too long for a hotel, but not long enough for a lease - and find their life turned upside down.

[ NYT ]  DIRECTIONS | ECONOMICS
Artful Dodging By ERIC DASH
The Internal Revenue Service received more than 570,000 tax returns from people who listed themselves as artists, writers and performers last year, but many of them probably did not have a clue about what they could claim as legal deductions...

[ NYP ]  IT'S THE FULL MONTY By STEPHEN LYNCH
"Spamalot" officially opens March 17, but here's a sneak preview of how the cast - including Tim Curry, Hank Azaria and David Hyde Pierce - runs the goofy gamut from A to Z.

[ LAT ]  The play's the thing, at last By Dinah Eng
Writing for film and TV brought John Ridley riches, but reviving one of his old stage projects brought deeper rewards.

[ LAT ]  Child's play it isn't By Rob Kendt
Composer David O made his name in L.A. with his sophisticated and dramatic work, and now he's writing for a much younger crowd.

[ WP ]  Letters: Actor and Patriot
The passing of John Raitt not long after the death of Jerry Orbach brought to mind an appearance in the early '60s by the two men in Washington in their celebrated roles in "Carousel" and a cast party put on by a local patron of the arts after the opening.

[ P ]  The Birth of the Bee
Six young people on the edge of adulthood compete in the new William Finn-Rachel Sheinkin musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

[ INQ ]  Can't keep a good mystic down By David Patrick Stearns
Rasputin rises again, in a promising musical scored by a Delco rocker/composer.

[ B ]  PHOTO OP: Stars Come Out to See Chita at Feinstein's

[ B ]  PHOTO OP: A Merry Opening Night Party for On the Mountain

[ P ]  PHOTO CALL: Shinn Leads Company Up The Mountain at Playwrights Horizons

[ P ]  PHOTO CALL: Tony Roberts Plays the Endgame at New York's Irish Rep

Thanks to American Theater Web for the following features!

[ JN ]  Casting Broadway
James Earl Jones, Leslie Uggams and Denzel Washington are the latest actors of color who've been cast in Broadway roles traditionally played by Caucasians.

[ JN ]  Portrait of a lady By GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
Mercedes Ruehl interview.

[ P-I ]  Rep's new director a 'steadying influence'By JOE ADCOCK
Just now, David Esbjornson is migrating from life A to life B.

[ FW ]  Little Old Broadway
The University of Texas at Arlington has scored a coup in doing the world premiere of the musical Little Old Broadway. Co-author and co-composer is Richard M. Sherman, the Oscar-winning composer who, along with his brother Robert, shared responsibilities on the movies Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, among others.
posted at 2/27/2005 10:34:00 AM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link

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[Past News]

BROADWAYSTAR'S FIVE DAY FORECAST

2007-08
Broadway Season

June 28 - Old Acquaintance (AA)

July 10 - Xanadu (Hayes) [Robert Ahrens, Dan Vickery, Tara Smith/B. Swibel and Sarah Murchison/Dale Smith]

Aug 19 - Grease (Atkinson)

Oct 4 - Mauritius (Biltmore) [MTC]

Oct 11 - The Ritz (54)

Oct 18 - Pygmalion (AA)

Oct 25 - A Bronx Tale (Kerr)

Nov 1 - Cyrano de Bergerac (Rodgers)

Nov 4 - Rock 'N' Roll (Jacobs)

Nov 8 - Young Frankenstein (Hilton)

Nov 9 - Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (St. James)

Nov 10: Local One Strike Begins

Nov 28: Local One Strike Ends

Dec 2 - Cymbeline (Beaumont)

Dec 3 - The Farnsworth Invention (Music Box) [Dodger Properties with Steven Spielberg, Dan Cap Productions, Fred Zollo, Latitude Link and the Pelican Group]

Dec 4 - August: Osage County (Imperial) [Jeffrey Richards, Jean Doumanian, Steve Traxler, Jerry Frankel, Steppenwolf]

Dec 6 - The Seafarer (Booth)

Dec 9 - Is He Dead? (Lyceum)

Dec 16 - The Homecoming (Cort) [Richards, Frankel]

Jan 10 - The Little Mermaid (Lunt)

Jan 15 - The 39 Steps (AA)

Jan 17 - November (Barrymore)

Jan 24 - Come Back, Little Sheba (Biltmore)

Feb 21 - Sunday In The Park With George (54)

Feb 28 - Passing Strange (Belasco)

Mar 6 - Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Broadhurst) [Stephen C. Byrd]

Mar 9 - In The Heights (Rodgers)

Mar 27 - Gypsy (St. James)

Mar 29 - Macbeth (Lyceum)

Apr 3 - South Pacific (Beaumont)

Apr 17 - A Catered Affair (Kerr) [Jujamcyn Theaters, Jordan Roth, Harvey Entertainment / Ron Fierstein, Richie Jackson and Daryl Roth]

Apr 24 - Cry Baby (Marquis)

Apr 27 - The Country Girl (Jacobs)

Apr 30 - Thurgood (Booth)

May 1 - Les Liaisons Dangereuses (AA)

May 4 - Boeing-Boeing (Longacre)

May 7 - Top Girls (Biltmore)

TBA - Godspell

2008-09
Broadway Season

Oct 16 - Billy Elliot (Imperial)

Nov 08 - Dividing the Estate (a Shubert theater)

Dec 14 - Shrek: The Musical (Broadway) [DreamWorks]

Talked About
Not Scheduled Yet

TBA - 50 Words

TBA - Addams Family (Elephant Eye)

TBA - American Buffalo

TBA - An American Vaudeville [Farrell, Perloff]

TBA - The Beard of Avon [NYTW]

TBA - Being There [Permut]

TBA - Benny & Joon [MGM]

TBA - Billy Elliot

TBA - Brave New World [Rachunow]

TBA - Breath of Life [Fox]

TBA - Busker Alley [Margot Astrachan, Robert Blume, Kristine Lewis, Jamie Fox, Joanna Kerry & Heather Duke]

TBA - Broomhilda

TBA - Bye Bye Birdie [Niko]

TBA - Camille Claudel [Wildhorn]

TBA - Camelot

TBA - Carmen [Robin DeLevita and The Firm]

TBA - Catch Me If You Can

TBA - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon [Bob and Harvey Weinstein]

TBA - Cry Baby [Grazer, Gordon, McAllister, Epstein]

TBA - Designing Women [Alexis]

TBA - Don Juan DeMarco [New Line]

TBA - Dreamgirls [Creative Battery]

TBA - Duet

TBA - Equus

TBA - Ever After [Adam Epstein]

TBA - Fallen Angels (Shubert) [Kenwright]

TBA - Farragut North [Richards]

TBA - Father of the Bride

TBA - The Female Of The Species (TBA)

TBA - Fool For Love (AA) [Roundabout]

TBA - Girl Group Time Travelers

TBA - Golden Boy

TBA - Harmony [Guiles, Karslake, Smith, Fishman]

TBA - Hitchcock Blonde

TBA - The Importance Of Being Earnest

TBA - Jerry Springer: The Opera! [Thoday, McKeown]

TBA - Jesus Hopped The 'A' Train (Circle)

TBA - Josephine [Waissman]

TBA - Leap of Faith

TBA - A Little Princess [Ettinger, Dodger]

TBA - Midnight Cowboy [MGM]

TBA - The Minstrel Show - Kander and Ebb and Stroman

TBA - Moonstruck [Pittelman, Azenberg]

TBA - Mourning Becomes Electra [Haber, Boyett]

TBA - Monsoon Wedding

TBA - The Night of the Hunter

TBA - The Opposite of Sex [Namco]

TBA - Orphans

TBA - Pal Joey [Platt]

TBA - Paper Doll

TBA - The Paris Letter

TBA - The Philadelphia Story

TBA - Peter Pan

TBA - Porgy and Bess [Frankel, Viertel, Baruch, Routh, Panter, Tulchin/Bartner]

TBA - The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert

TBA - The Princess Bride

TBA - Princesses [Lane, Comley]

TBA - Poe the Musical

TBA - Rain Man [MGM]

TBA - Robin Hood

TBA - Secondhand Lions

TBA - South Pacific

TBA - Speed-the-Plow

TBA - Stalag 17

TBA - Starry Messenger

TBA - Syncopation

TBA - A Tale Of Two Cities

TBA - Torch Song Trilogy

TBA - Turn of the Century

TBA - West Side Story

TBA - The Wall [Weinstein, Mottola, Waters]

TBA - Will Rogers Follies [Cossette]

TBA - The Wiz [Dodger]

TBA - Zanna [Dalgleish]

This list is compiled from various sources. If you have corrections to the Broadway Season, please contact us.

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2007-08Broadway Season

2008-09Broadway Season

Talked AboutNot Scheduled Yet

2007-08
Broadway Season

2008-09
Broadway Season

Talked About
Not Scheduled Yet