DONATIONS, UNDERWRITING
KEEP THE SHOW ON THE AIR


By Bud Wilkinson

Bud's Buzz

CD Reviews

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UNDERWRITING SUPPORT
SOUGHT FOR PROGRAM

HARWINTON, Conn. (Nov. 16, 2008) - What began as a lark on KOY radio in Phoenix in late 1997, and grew into a money-losing business when radio stations around the country began asking if they could carry the show, has now been reduced to hobby status. One person cannot produce, market and distribute the show, while working fulltime elsewhere, and still have time to try to bring in revenue to cover the operating expenses and the hours spent each week in getting a show such as Broadway's Biggest Hits on the air.

Frankly, with the economy suffering, as much as I enjoy doing the show, I'm no longer willing to fund Broadway's Biggest Hits and am now seeking underwriting support to enable the show to retire current accumulated debt of $25,000, pay its future bills and continue through 2009. Thanks again, though, to listeners who contributed nearly $2,000 in 2008 to keep the weekly performances coming. It wouldn't have made it otherwise.

In looking back, I have a hard time believing that it has been more than 10 years since Broadway's Biggest Hits rolled out nationally. What began as a local program called Sunday Showtunes on KOY radio in Phoenix became a national show on the first weekend of October 1998. It now reaches more than 100,000 theater lovers each weekend.

The show launched with the belief that radio listeners would embrace the music of Broadway and not once have they disappointed me. They've been enthusiastic and supportive - even as affiliates have come on gone.

During the past decade, the show shifted its base of operation from Phoenix to Connecticut so as to have easy access to Broadway shows and to Broadway stars, who have always willingly come on the program. Guests over the years have included Patti LuPone, Bernadette Peters, Kristin Chenoweth, John Cullum, Marc Kudisch and Raul Esparza, to name just a few.

My memories of producing and hosting the show include some funny moments. There was the time that I visited then-affiliate WBYM in Norfolk, Virginia on a very rainy day to do the show live and the roof in the studio caved in. There was also a live remote broadcast on WOKY in Milwaukee from a sports bar. Trying to compete for the attention of customers when Tiger Woods was going for a major title on a Sunday afternoon wasn't easy.

Broadway's Biggest Hits currently airs on a solid lineup of stations that includes San Francisco's Green 960, Seattle's KIXI, Denver's KEZW, Phoenix's KOY, New Haven's WQUN, Syracuse's WTLA and Cape Cod's Ocean 104.7.

The show is essentially a two-hour promo for Broadway - its shows, and its people - and it deserves to be around for another decade. Besides keeping the lights on, underwriting support will give the show the opportunity to build its affiliate lineup and reach even more lovers of Broadway fare.

If you're in a position to help, or know someone who is, please let me know. My email is: budw@broadwaysbiggesthits.com and the office phone number is 860-485-0700.

After committing so much time, effort and cash to Broadway's Biggest Hits, I'm not yet ready to pull the plug - but I'm getting close.

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LISTENER GIFTS
SUSTAIN SHOW

HARWINTON, Conn. (June 30, 2008) - Back in January, with some reservations, I asked listeners to step up and donate to help keep the show on the air through its 10th anniversary in early October. Some two-dozen of the 150,000 listeners who tune in every week did so, contributing approximately $1,000, enough to cover the annual cost of Internet distribution of the show to affiliates as well as office supplies.

Realistically, Broadway's Biggest Hits needs $5,000 a year to minimally cover production costs, marketing and expenses related to working in New York. And that doesn't count the eight hours needed to get the show out each week.

While the generosity of the few loyal listeners who contributed convinced me to keep the show going at least through the 10th anniversary, more help is needed immediately to sustain what is truly a labor of love for me.

To those who have contributed, thanks again.

To those who haven't, Broadway's Biggest Hits needs your support now!

The address for donations by check is:

Broadway's Biggest Hits
227 Whetstone Road
Harwinton, CT 06791

Or you can pay through PayPal by searching for Broadway's Biggest Hits or Stanley A. Wilkinson (my full name).

If you have a question or a comment or would like to discuss donating, please email me at budw@broadwaysbiggesthits.com or leave a message during business hours (9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday) at 860-485-0700.

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SHOW SUSTAINED
BY LISTENER GIFTS

HARWINTON, Conn. (March 3, 2008) - In just a few weeks, Broadway's Biggest Hits will marks it 500th performance. And, come October, the show will celebrate its 10th anniversary. It has been a remarkable run, a run that will continue thanks to the support of listeners.

Back in January, with some reservations, I asked listeners to step up and donate to help keep the show on the air through the 10th anniversary. While less than two-dozen of the 150,000 who tune in every week did so, they've given nearly $800. That's enough to at least cover the annual cost of Internet distribution of the show to affiliates.

Realistically, Broadway's Biggest Hits needs a minimum of $5,000 a year to cover full production costs, marketing and expenses related to working in New York. And that doesn't count the hours needed to get the show out each week.

However, the generosity of the few loyal listeners who have contributed has convinced me to keep the show going at least through the 10th anniversary, and maybe come back in a couple of months and do some more on-air begging.

To those who have contributed, thanks again.

To those who haven't, Broadway's Biggest Hits needs your support!

The address for donations by check is:

Broadway's Biggest Hits
227 Whetstone Road
Harwinton, CT 06791

Or you can pay through PayPal by searching for Broadway's Biggest Hits or Stanley A. Wilkinson (my full name).

If you have a question or a comment or would like to discuss donating, please email me at budw@broadaysbiggesthits.com or leave a message during business hours (9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (ET) Monday through Friday) at 860-485-0700.

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DONATIONS NEEDED
TO SUSTAIN SHOW

HARWINTON, Conn. (January 8, 2008) - For more than nine years and for 480 performances, Broadway's Biggest Hits has served up two hours of "The Best of Broadway" every weekend for thousands of loyal listeners in the U.S. and Canada.

As producer and host, I've considered the show a labor of love, always being thrilled by positive feedback from listeners. More disheartening, though, has been the lack of consistent advertiser support. The result in 2007 was the loss of thousands of dollars.

While that's also been true in past years, it has now reached the point where the continued red ink has become financially unviable - despite all efforts at cost containment.

Unfortunately, some expenses cannot be trimmed or eliminated - such regular trips into New York City to interview guests and the distribution of the show to affiliates. There's also the cost of office supplies, telephones, studio equipment and the web site, and that doesn't account for the 15 or so man-hours per week to get a show recorded and out the door.

You get the idea.

Yes, Broadway's Biggest Hits seriously needs and would appreciate your financial support in 2008.

Yes, I'm asking listeners for non-tax deductible donations to help underwrite the continued success of Broadway's Biggest Hits.

Frankly, I've debated for a long time about asking for such support. For a "commercial operation" to beg for money struck me as tacky - until the owner of WJIB in Boston went to directly to listeners earlier this year with a similar appeal, and managed to get the station's annual operating costs covered in a short period of time.

WJIB is a one-man show, and so is Broadway's Biggest Hits. There's no big corporation backing the program, no big syndication company landing the show new affiliates and no rep firm selling the ads.

It's just one person trying to please everyone who tunes in.

If every listener gives $1, well, the show will be rolling in brass. But that certainly won't happen.

But if 1,000 listeners send $12 - that's $1 a month - that $12,000 would keep Broadway's Biggest Hits operating without a financial worry through our 10th anniversary in October.

Do the math. Is Broadway's Biggest Hits worth 25 cents a week?

Or is it worth maybe $1 a week to hear contemporary and classic Broadway songs that you can't get anywhere else on traditional radio?

Whether it's $1, $12, $52 or even more, all donations will go directly to sustaining the show, and making it and the web site better.

All I can offer in return is a vow to eliminate all "national" commercials from Broadway's Biggest Hits; that is, the ones that I've been selling. Local stations will continue to sell the commercial time that's allotted to them.

And I also promise to continue to present "The Best of Broadway" every weekend.

The address for donations by check is:

Broadway's Biggest Hits
227 Whetstone Road
Harwinton, CT 06791
Or you can pay through PayPal.

If you have a question or a comment or would like to discuss this appeal, please email me at budw@broadaysbiggesthits.com or call during business hours (9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday) at 860-485-0700.

I'm committed to continuing to air Broadway's Biggest Hits and am convinced there are enough listeners across North America who want to hear it for years to come.

Thanks for listening.

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CASTING DIFFERENT
IN NEW "PYGMALION"

NEW YORK (October 28, 2007) - Who hasn't grown accustomed to the movie musical "My Fair Lady," which starred Rex Harrison as phonetics professor Henry Higgins and Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle, the lowly flower girl who gets plucked from a London gutter and molded into a lady?

It won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1964, with Harrison claiming the Oscar for Best Actor, and has been a TV staple for decades, airing most recently a week ago on TCM.

Would you believe the two leads of the current Broadway revival of "Pygmalion," the George Bernard Shaw play that provided the basis for the Lerner and Loewe musical, which was a stage hit in London and on Broadway before being transferred to film?

"I have never seen the musical version," admitted Jefferson Mays, who stars as Higgins in the play that opened recently at the American Airlines Theatre. "It's a horrible confession to make and, obviously, culturally barren."

Mays sees his lack of knowledge as a benefit, though, in taking on the part. "I don't have Rex Harrison hanging over my shoulder, although I did grow up with the cast album," he said, explaining that "My Fair Lady" fans will see a character in "Pygmalion" that is quite different from the Higgins that Harrison portrayed.

"The Higgins that I'm trying to fashion with (director) David Grindley and everybody else in the company is sort of an anarchic schoolboy run wild," Mays continued when we chatted last month.

"He and Pickering have created this robot, this 'fembot' in their garage and are trotting it out to show to mom and to society at large, and then are astounded when the robot turns out to be a human being. I'd like to think that my Higgins is very sort of young and visceral and sort of a loose cannon."

Playing Eliza and making her Broadway debut in the Roundabout Theatre Company production is Claire Danes, who also reported that she has never seen "My Fair Lady," although she's fully aware of the musical's lofty status.

"People are much more familiar with 'My Fair Lady' than they are with 'Pygmalion.' I think they assume they have a more intimate understanding of the play than they do, but I think that will be enjoyable for them because they'll get to discover it," she said.

Also starring in "Pygmalion" are Boyd Gaines as Col. Pickering, a part played by Wilfrid Hyde-White in the movie, and Jay O. Sanders as Eliza's father, Alfred Doolittle, who was played by Stanley Holloway both on stage and in the motion picture.

Physically, the cast differs tremendously from that of the movie.

"David went after that quite specifically. He wanted to make it younger, more vital," Sanders reported. "I think it's very, very well cast, with the exception of me, of course. I think everybody fits what they're to do and their role and the interplay with each other, but it's not what you've seen before or what you expect, so it helps open the play itself. It kicks it in the butt, so to speak, and gets you to reconsider, and that's the best of what a revival can do."

No doubt even some knowledgeable theatergoers will attend "Pygmalion" with a subconscious expectation of hearing the classic "My Fair Lady" songs of Lerner and Loewe, such as "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face," "Get Me to the Church on Time," "The Rain in Spain" and "Wouldn't It Be Loverly?"

"Shaw's original script is so well integrated into the musical that you do expect a great orchestral swell to happen when you utter some of the lines, but there is simply no music to follow," said Mays, touching again on his own lack of knowledge of the musical. "I think it must be an advantage; it must be, because Rex Harrison left such an indelible print on people's memories, so I think I'm living in blissful oblivion."

Gaines reported that an equally big difference between "Pygmalion" and "My Fair Lady" is the play's enhanced ambiguity and less definite ending.

"It seems a different beast altogether. It's much more dramatic. It's much darker, to its benefit. What I think is great about Shaw is that he creates these problems where everyone is right and wrong. He doesn't resolve them. He'll create an incredible strong argument for one thing and then another character will come along and create its equal opposite, and doesn't necessarily resolve them," said Gaines.

"The play, it seems to me, is a different beast altogether, much leaner and more muscular and certainly more ambiguous. Shaw deliberately left this somewhat hanging in the air and I think that's a more honest and realistic view what the circumstance would lead to."

Mays agreed. "It is indeed shocking. The ending is so abrupt and so ambiguous that I think the audience is going to be a bit gob-smacked by that," he said.

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"THE RITZ" CAUSES
BRUISES GALORE

NEW YORK (October 14, 2007) - What's black and blue and bruised all over? The stars of "The Ritz," the Terrence McNally farce that's currently playing at Studio 54. Kevin Chamberlin and Rosie Perez aren't complaining, not really, but their bodies are taking a beating in this comedy that's set in a gay bathhouse.

"The only problem with acting in a farce is that you get bruised a lot. I'm covered in bruises. I have to slide under beds and I'm not a thin guy," said Chamberlin, who plays Gaetano Procolo. The character owns of a sanitation company and finds himself in need of a safe haven when a mobster decides to make him the target of a hit.

"I find this out and I jump in a cab and I say, 'Take me to the last place in the world where anybody would think of looking for me' and the cab driver takes me to a bathhouse. I think it's a Jack LaLanne spa. The comedy ensues when I slowly realize it's a gay bathhouse filled with lots of colorful characters."

Perez plays one of those characters, torch singer Googie Gomez, who performs a nightclub act in the bathhouse and whose aspirations exceed her talent.

"She takes it very, very seriously. In her mind and in her world, she is a consummate professional that should be on Broadway," said Miss Perez. "She's completely committed to her life and her craft and the people around her. She mistakes Kevin Chamberlin's character for a Broadway producer and she will do anything - and I mean anything - to get on that stage."

That means accepting some bruises.

"I know I'm killing Kevin because I have to do a leg up over his shoulder. It's just horrible. I'm bruised from head to toe," she reported.

First staged on Broadway in 1975 and starring Jack Weston and Rita Moreno, who won a Tony Award for her portrayal of Googie Gomez, this revival of "The Ritz" retains the time frame and the dialogue of the original.

"We're doing it period - 1974. Everybody's growing their sideburns long and letting their hair grow," said Chamberlin, who was joined at a press event prior to the start of previews on September 14 by Perez and McNally, who has been advising the actors but not tinkering with the script.

"I resist any impulse to rewrite it because I think a playwright, probably if you left him to his own resources, could be in rehearsal with his first play the rest of his life because every day you're slightly different," said McNally.

Some changes were necessary when "The Ritz" originally tried out in Washington, D.C. for three weeks, most notably the addition of a prologue that explains why all of the characters are in the bathhouse.

"I wrote a scene, probably wrote it in 10 minutes, (and it) made such a difference," McNally recalled, adding that changes to the set were also made. "We repainted the set a very warm red. The original set was battleship gray and someone said it's very hard to get a laugh playing against this battleship gray set."

Chamberlin likes the three-level set that "The Ritz" employs. "It has the crumblings of an old art deco place, which is perfect for Studio 54 because Studio 54 is crumbling, literally," he said.

Perez, meanwhile, has taken a liking to McNally's words. "I like the way that he writes how people truly speak. It's very convoluted but yet it's very concise and the message and the heart that he wants to deliver, it's very direct," she said.

That said, "The Ritz" is still a farce, which means lots of energy and doors being slammed.

"A lot of comedy and a lot of really poignant stuff, too. My character goes through a really cool arc of being a very fearful man to really coming into his own," said Chamberlin, who is using his hiatus from the Lifetime television series "State of Mind" to return to Broadway where he received Tony Award nominations for "Dirty Blonde" and "Seussical."

Directed by Joe Mantello, "The Ritz" runs through December 9.

"There's nothing offensive in the show. It's an innocent farce. As with farces, there are broad primary colors that the characters are painted in. I think it's an equal-opportunity offender. There are stereotypical Italian mobsters. There's incredibly stereotypical gay men," said Chamberlin.

And bruises for all involved.

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BUNDY EXCELS
PLAYING ELLE

NEW YORK (Sept. 22, 2007) - In the Broadway musical "Legally Blonde," Laura Bell Bundy plays a fashion-conscious sorority sister with a lot more brainpower than anyone suspects. The character of Elle Woods, who gets dumped by her college sweetheart and then follows him to Harvard Law School, displays spunk and smarts, and they're traits that Bundy possesses as well.

Not only is the 26-year-old Kentucky native a Broadway star, she's an aspiring country singer with a recently-released CD and a knack for changing accents at a moment's notice, slipping from neutral to full throttle drawl. On the CD titled "Longing for a Place Already Gone," she's billed simply as "Laura Bell."

"I'm Laura Bell Bundy as an actress. I'm Laura Bell as a country singer. I did that on purpose because I didn't want one thing to stop me from doing the other," Bundy explained recently during an interview in her hot pink dressing room in the basement of the Palace Theatre.

"I wanted the reputation for the country music to stand on its own without the Broadway reputation. I didn't want the Broadway singing style to get in my way; for people to have a preconceived notion about the way that I sound because I'm singing one way on stage and one way on the album."

As the title suggests, the CD represents her past and, perhaps, her future.

"It's one of those CDs that doesn't really create a mood, it more like takes you on a journey. I call it 'Y'alternative' 'cause it's sort of indie country. It's a throwback to like Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard. Those are like my big influences," said Bundy.

"I titled it 'Longing for a Place Already Gone' because I sort of long for music that was before my time or memories that have passed or decades that I was never even a part of; that I wanted to be a part of. I have an affinity for the past and generations that I wasn't a part of."

Bundy's recent past on Broadway has seen her originate the role of Amber Von Tussle in the musical "Hairspray" and play Glinda in "Wicked." Choreographing "Hairspray" was Jerry Mitchell, who made his Broadway debut as a director with "Legally Blonde."

"There's a little bit of codependency with my relationship with Jerry because he relies on me to tell the story and I rely on him to tell me whether I'm telling the story right, and if it's believable or not," said Bundy.

"When he cast me in this I think he trusted me from the beginning and really wanted me to play this part. His confidence in me strengthened my trust in him and vice versa, so there's a lot of trust in our relationship and there was a lot of freedom for me to explore, but he drew a great picture and guideline of what I should do."

While "Legally Blonde" with its frothy, upbeat music and girl-power theme can easily be dismissed for being yet another attempt by Broadway to cash in on a movie hit - Reese Witherspoon played Elle in the big screen - the musical does exhibit some fresh plot twists, some clever dance routines, and an infectious enthusiasm.

"There (are) a lot of things that are a little bit different from the movie. I actually think there's more emotional weight and there's a little bit more heart to our show. Some of the relationships are more developed than they are in the movie," said Bundy.

One major difference is the degree of growth of the character of Elle.

"There's so much I can do with her. I never leave stage so it's an opportunity for me to really dig in and go into her and her emotions and her experiences and try different things and immerse myself in the character and the emotions of the character."

All of those emotions and experiences will be on display before a much larger audience on September 29 when MTV - in what is a very rare occurrence for a Broadway show - will televise "Legally Blonde" in its entirety. It was on that same network on Sunday night that the MTV Video Music Awards managed to grab some headlines thanks to a performance by pop singer Britney Spears - who once understudied for Miss Bundy Off-Broadway in "Ruthless: The Musical."

Ruthless is the manner in which the tabloids and even some mainstream media have treated Spears in recent years, and Bundy is skeptical of much of what's been reported.

"The only thing we've seen of how this person has destroyed (her) life is what the media says. I don't believe any of it anyway. It's none of my business. I don't care," said Bundy, the emphasis in her voice revealed in her slipping into a natural Southern accent.

"It's a shame that every 'mistake' is in the public eye, but we all know that every mistake that we've ever made was actually one of the greatest lessons we've learned. And so, in that way, I say 'Make all your mistakes, mess your life up, make it as funky as you can because you will get more perspective and you will become a wiser person and you will grow.' It's easy to look at people and be happy for their suffering and I don't even know if she's suffering. We don't know if any of that's true and we shouldn't care."

What Bundy does care about is living life with gusto - just like Elle Woods. "I embrace life," she said. "I embrace the opportunities that come along in life and I think that we should embrace life and we should try anything and everything," she said.

That's her verdict.

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BROADWAY PREPS
FOR STRONG FALL

NEW YORK (Sept. 1, 2007) - Familiarity breeds box office on Broadway, especially with musicals. That's certainly why yet another revival of "Grease" opened recently and why the new Mel Brooks tuner "Young Frankenstein" and Disney's "The Little Mermaid" will appear by year's end.

"Grease" was first staged on Broadway more than 35 years ago and ran for eight years. It was revived in 1994 and lasted four years. The new version, starring Max Crumm as Danny Zuko and Laura Osnes as Sandy Dumbrowski, opened August 19 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre.

The reviews, which were mixed-to-bad, won't matter. Thanks to the TV reality show "Grease: You're the One That I Want," which aired on NBC for 12 weeks back in the winter and cast the lead roles, ticket sales had already reached the $8 million mark by the end of March - four months before previews even began. The advance has now reportedly hit $15 million.

"Young Frankenstein" is arguably Mr. Brooks' funniest movie - unless you favor "Blazing Saddles" - and the addition of more songs to lead up to "Puttin' on the Ritz" can only serve to pique interest in his follow-up to "The Producers."

Topping "The Producers," which took home a record 12 Tony Awards in 2001, will be difficult, but "Young Frankenstein" features a cast that includes such talented performers as Roger Bart, Megan Mullally, Sutton Foster, Shuler Hensley and Andrea Martin. It begins previews on October 11 at the Hilton Theatre and opens November 8.

"The Little Mermaid," which is based on the animated Disney movie, will occupy the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, recently vacated by "Beauty and the Beast." Previews begin November 3 with opening night set for December 6.

One other musical coming this fall is "Lone Star Love," starring Randy Quaid in his Broadway debut. "Lone Star Love" transplants Shakespeare's "The Merry Wives of Windsor" to the Old West. Other stars include Robert Cuccioli and Dee Hoty. It begins previews at the Belasco Theatre on November 1 and opens December 3.

Drama will be represented this autumn in seven plays:

"Mauritius" - F. Murray Abraham, Dylan Baker, Bobby Cannavale, Katie Finneran and Allison Pill star in this Theresa Rebeck play that begins previews at the Biltmore Theatre on September 13. Opening night is October 4.

"Cyrano de Bergerac" - Kevin Kline and Jennifer Garner, making her Broadway debut, will star in this limited-run production at The Richard Rodgers Theatre. Previews begin October 12 and opening night is November 1.

"The Farnsworth Invention" - This new play from Aaron Sorkin tells of the advent of television, which Philo T. Farnsworth developed and Radio Corporation of America head David Sarnoff claimed as his own. Hank Azaria will play Sarnoff and Jimmi Simpson will play Farnsworth. Performances at the Music Box Theatre begin October 15 for a November 14 opening.

"Rock 'n' Roll" - The new Tom Stoppard play transfers from London and begins previews at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on October 19. Opening night is November 4. Original London cast members Brian Cox, Sinead Cusack and Rufus Sewell star.

"The Seafarer" - This Conor McPherson play also comes over from London with original cast members Conleth Hill and Jim Norton being joined by Ciaran Hinds, David Morse and Richie Coster. Previews begin October 30 at the Booth Theatre in advance of a November 15 opening.

"Cymbeline" - A cast of 26, topped by Michael Cerveris, John Cullum, Martha Plimpton, Phylicia Rashad and Jonathan Cake, will take the stage in Shakespeare's "Cymbeline" at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre. Previews begin November 1 with the opening set for December 2.

"The Homecoming" - Raul Ezparsa, who most recently starred in the revival of "Company," will be joined by Ian McShane and Michael McKean in a limited run of this Harold Pinter play. Previews begin November 23 at the Cort Theatre. Opening night is December 9.

Comedy will also be found this fall:

"The Ritz" - Rosie Perez and Kevin Chamberlin will star in the Terrence McNally play that's set in a Manhattan bathhouse. Previews commence September 14 at Studio 54. Opening is October 11.

"Is He Dead?" - Norbert Leo Butz stars in this new Mark Twain comedy, adapted by David Ives. Previews begin at the Lyceum Theatre on November 8 with opening night on November 29.

"November" - Nathan Lane will play the president and Laurie Metcalf will star as his aide in this David Mamet play at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. Previews begin December 20 with opening night planned for January 17, 2008.

Also on tap this fall will be a sixth Broadway staging of George Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion," which was first presented on Broadway in 1914 and later adapted into the musical "My Fair Lady." Claire Danes will make her Broadway debut as Eliza Doolittle and Jefferson Mays will play Professor Henry Higgins. Previews begin September 21 at the American Airlines Theatre. Opening night is October 18.

Finally, also having a limited run will be Chazz Palminteri's "A Bronx Tale," with Palminteri making his Broadway debut. It begins performances October 4 at the Walter Kerr Theatre and opens October 25.

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"BEAUTY" ENDS
INCREDIBLE RUN

NEW YORK (August 3, 2007) - Belle was beautiful, the Beast was gracious, and Gaston was a lout, played one last time with glee by Donny Osmond. Amidst cheers, tears, and cast members snapping photos on stage during the curtain call, "Beauty and Beast" closed Sunday night at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre after more than 13 years and 5,464 performances. The Disney musical ranks as the sixth longest running show in Broadway history.

"It was crazy 'cause I flew in from London and I had just a minimal amount of the time for rehearsals, just to refresh my memory. It was like getting on a bicycle," reported Osmond at the post-performance party at Cipriani of stepping back into the cast to play the overbearing Gaston one last time. "There are certain things that I couldn't remember but I just threw myself into the role and had the time of my life tonight."

So did those in the audience, who stopped the show several times with standing ovations.

"It was really emotional. There was this kind of palpable energy in the audience. It was filled with love," said John Tartaglia, who played the candelabra Lumiere from last November through mid-May and who attended for the final performance.

"For so many people, including myself, 'Beauty and the Beast' has been a show that has always been there. We all appreciate the longevity of it. I was very emotional watching and knowing I was part of that legacy. By the end of show, I was a total wreck."

Also in the audience was former Belle and Milford native Christy Carlson Romano. "I definitely cried," she said. "At one point, Steve Blanchard, who plays the Beast, was getting a little bit emotional. I could sense that just because I know the man and I worked with him. I felt for him and I started crying then."

Blanchard, whose duty it was to introduce the creative team behind "Beauty and the Beast' after the final performance had finished, said he sensed the connection between those on stage and those in the darkened auditorium throughout the evening.

"It was extremely emotional and extremely heartfelt. You could tell the entire house of 1,500 people were just giving us everything and were so in love with us. It was an amazing experience 'cause we shared it with them," he said before reflecting on the experience of having played the Beast for eight years and more than 3,350 performances.

"Anybody can do a show for six months or a year, but when you do a show for that long, you discover so many different layers and facets of the character. Every single year I discovered something new and just got deeper and deeper and richer and richer, and that's what made me stay so long."

"Beauty and the Beast" grossed more than $425 million during its Broadway run, and provided memories not only for those who got to see it but for those who starred as well.

Tartaglia joined the cast after originating the roles of Princeton and Rod in the more adult puppet musical "Avenue Q."

"For me, it was a huge challenge to go from originating a role that I got to make my own and that I never had to prove to anybody because nobody had ever done it before to coming into a show that was so established, that had its cogs oiled and had its gears going," he recalled.

"It was definitely a different challenge but in some ways it was even more fulfilling because the story is so universal. 'Avenue Q' was for adults. To be able do a show for families and to be able to see so many five-, six-, seven-year-old kids. This was their first Broadway show and to look out every night and see that was really rewarding because I remember that experience - seeing my first Broadway show - how that changed my life."

For the record, Tartaglia listed the revival of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" as his first Broadway musical. "I remember going home that night and not being able to go to sleep because I was so excited by it," he said.

Anneliese Van Der Pol, who was the show's last Belle and who stars on the Disney Channel series "That's So Raven," acknowledged that emotions overcame her as well on closing night but was grateful for experiencing of the demands of working on Broadway. "Beauty and the Beast" marked her Broadway debut.

"As an actress, I've learned the steadiness of it and to go to bed early because you have work the next day," she said. "It's hard, hard work. It really is. I'm used to television where it's not such hard work."

Going into the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in the fall will be a new Disney musical, "The Little Mermaid." Performances begin Nov. 3 and opening night is set for Dec. 6.

The closing night party for "Beauty and the Beast" was a time, though, for warming feelings and happiness.

"It's more fun to do the closing show because no matter what happens people are there to have a party. That takes the pressure off immediately, so then you just go out and have a good time," said Osmond, whose career in entertainment has touched upon nearly all showbiz fields.

"With recording, you can perfect something. With television, you can perfect something. That's why Broadway, live performances period, will never go away because it is the ultimate test of an entertainer. What you do is what they get and you can't go back and rewind it and redo it. It's a real test of talent and if you can pull it off, good for you."

- - - -

SHAIMAN CREATES
"HAIRSPRAY" BEAT

NEW YORK (July 28, 2007) - Composer and lyricist Marc Shaiman had a solid clue back in early April that the new movie version of the musical "Hairspray" would be a hit after attending a test screening of what was then considered to be a work in progress.

"Normally then you go back and work on it some more and you have a second preview. Then you work on it just little bit more and you have a third preview. That is what's normal," Shaiman explained.

"Our first preview went so well that they canceled the rest of our previews. Our director says, 'That's what's called one and done.' The audience at that movie theater enjoyed it in the same way that the Broadway audience enjoyed it, so even though there are details that are different, the basic oomph of it is just like it is on Broadway. It has the same joy to it."

"Hairspray," the effervescent story of an overweight Baltimore teenager who yearns to be on TV dance show, has been a Broadway success at the Neil Simon Theatre for four years, grossing more than $200 million in that time.

The new movie raked in $27.5 million in its first weekend of release alone, the biggest opening ever for a musical, and more than double what the original John Waters motion picture version starring Rikki Lake as teenager Tracy Turnblad grossed during its entire run in 1988.

In the movie, Nikki Blonsky plays Tracy with John Travolta cast as her mother, Edna Turnblad. Marissa Jaret Winokur and Harvey Fierstein originated the two roles on Broadway.

Other stars in the movie include Christopher Walken as Tracy's father, Wilbur; Amanda Bynes as her best friend, Penny Pingleton; Allison Janney as Penny's mom, Prudy; Brittany Snow as Amber Von Tussle; Michelle Pfeiffer as Amber's mom, Velma; Queen Latifah as Motormouth Maybelle; Zac Efron as Link Larkin; Elijah Kelley as Seaweed; and James Marsden as TV dance show host Corny Collins.

Shaiman, along with lyricist Scott Wittman, infused "Hairspray" with the spirit of the early 1960s by writing such now familiar songs as "Good Morning Baltimore," "Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now" and "You Can't Stop the Beat." He said it wasn't difficult replicating the sound of the era when music came on 45rpm records.

"I'm well versed in those records. I grew up in the '60s. I was born in October of 1959, so that music is just in my body and in my brain. And then I happened to work on many projects as a young adult that were about '60s music and '60s records, so by the time it came time to write 'Hairspray,' I had encyclopedic knowledge of every bass line, of every drum part, of every little tambourine fill. That was easy," he said.

"The thing for 'Hairspray' was for Scott and I to walk the tightrope of pop music vernacular and still write theater songs that keep an audience involved with the character and the story. On the other hand, it's perfect because the music of the '60s, Phil Spector and such, was so theatrical. Things like 'Leader of the Pack' (and) 'It's My Party.' These are story songs that had characters."

The movie version of "Hairspray" isn't identical musically to the stage version. "Before filming started, we wrote two new songs. We actually wrote a few new songs but only two made the cut," recalled Shaiman, who sat down on a couch in the 35th floor lobby lounge of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel overlooking Central Park to talk about "Hairspray."

"There was one new song for Tracy and one new song for Link Larkin. Only the song for Link remains. The song we wrote for Tracy was for a spot that even on Broadway we always knew there's no time for her to stop and have her sing a whole song right now. We tried it for the movie and the same thing happened. The engine needs to keep going."

Besides musical differences, there are other cosmetic changes as well in the "Hairspray" movie.

"I hope people won't pick apart the little things, like 'Oh, why isn't she wearing a purple dress? Where is the spangled this or that?' There are some changes that just about the logistics of movie making," said Shaiman.

"Some of the changes are, for better or worse, sometimes about the scheduling of actors. Like Penny Pingleton's mother, as played by Allison Janney. The only way to get her was to work within her schedule and that schedule did not allow her to - like the show - to show up at the end."

The strong opening weekend showing of the movie "Hairspray" suggests that it had much broader appeal than movie experts anticipated, but Shaiman probably wasn't surprised.

"One of the greatest things about 'Hairspray' is just to go and stand near the front of the audience and look up at them during the last 15 minutes where you see people of all ages, colors, creeds, all with the exact same expression on their faces. It's the funniest thing to see. Scott calls it the 'kindergartners on crack' look. It's just so funny to see a 60-year-old man and a 10-year-old girl with the exact same expression on their face. That is a joyous experience that I wish everyone could have."

More satisfy, though, for Shaiman is the far-reaching impact of the Broadway show. "We've written a show that when junior high schools and high schools do it, the little fat girl finally gets the lead and the funny little boy gets to play another one of leads, albeit in a dress. These two outsiders are going to get the leads in their high school musical. I can speak for Scott and myself that it is ultimate dream come true for us."

- - - -

CULLUM RELISHES
"110 IN THE SHADE"

NEW YORK (July 21, 2007) - John Cullum's connection to "110 in the Shade" dates back more than 40 years to when he auditioned for the role of Starbuck, the mysterious stranger who promises to bring rain to a parched town in the Texas panhandle, in the original Broadway production of the musical.

He didn't get that role, but he has appeared in some two-dozen Broadway productions, taking home Tony Awards as Best Actor in a Musical for "Shenandoah" in 1975 and "On the Twentieth Century" in 1978. He's also starred in "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever" and "Urinetown."

Cullum's currently back on the stage playing family patriarch H.C. Curry in the Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of "110 in the Shade," which continues at Studio 54 through July 29th.

"It was no-brainer when I found out that Audra was going to be doing it," said Cullum when we met recently in his dressing room following a Wednesday matinee. The Audra he refers to is Audra McDonald, who plays his unmarried daughter, Lizzie Curry.

"I said, 'Sure, that's enough for me,' but then when I read the play, I thought the book is better than the play. It's tighter. It makes the points it wants to make and doesn't go off on tangents."

"110 in the Shade" features a book by N. Richard Nash, who adapted his play "The Rainmaker" into the musical. Set in 1936, it centers on the character of Lizzie, who still lives at home and who frets about becoming, to use the term of the time, an old maid. The music came from Harvey Schmidt and lyrics from Tom Jones.

Cullum calls it's a "feel-good show" and it truly is. "It is a story of hope and it has a certain kind of almost mythological things that happen in it. You've got this strange character that comes out of the woodwork so to speak; the Starbuck character, that is almost magical and yet he's really just a conman," said Cullum.

"Because of his needs and because of Lizzie's needs coinciding at the same time and his ability to touch her and her ability to move him, you have a wonderful love story that begins, and it becomes a triangle with File, the sheriff. It's a wonderful story."

Steve Kazee plays Starbuck, while Christopher Innvar plays File. Chris Butler is cast as the elder of Lizzie's two brothers, Noah Curry, and Bobby Steggert plays Jimmy Curry.

The show opens with the song "Gonna Be Another Hot Day," and the cast drips with perspiration.

"Lonny Price, the director, wanted to get us to have a real feeling for the drought, a feeling of being absolutely overwhelmed by the heat, so he had us go to a big place where they have saunas and we sat in this big studio with a lot of steam heat. We sat there and talked about the play," Cullum recalled. "I went through that process and then they wanted to do that process (again) three weeks later and I said, 'No, no, if you've ever played Houston, as I have, for a couple of weeks you don't need to be reminded of what the heat can be in Texas.'"

While a period piece, "110 in the Shade" doesn't come off as feeling dated, perhaps because of the timelessness of the characters and perhaps because of the music. Cullum singled out the orchestrations of Jonathan Tunick.

"Jonathan Tunick has made musical arrangements that to my mind and memory are much better than the original," Cullum said. "The original actors were wonderful actors - I know all of them, all the people that were in that show, and I thought they were wonderful - but when you put Audra into this part, it's a different kettle of fish. She plays with such power and strength. She brings a different dimension to it and the cast around her (are) very strong people, so you get a little tougher production than the original."

Starring in the original production were Inga Swenson as Lizzie, Robert Horton as Starbuck, Stephen Douglas as File and Will Geer as H.C.

Cullum's character comes off as warm and wise, yet authoritative when the situation dictates. "People are on my side because they want Lizzie to be loved and they know that her father loves her with unconditional love and he believes in her. Finally, he's the one who turns out to be right, not the rest of them. The younger brother says she has to act like (town flirt) Lily Anne Beasley in order to get a guy and the older brother says she's plain and she's not ever going to get married. I'm the one who thinks that she's a really wonderful woman."

It is McDonald, a four-time Tony winner for "Carousel," "Master Class," "Ragtime" and "A Raisin in the Sun," who commands the most attention, and she cuts loose in the song "Raunchy," which she performed with Cullum on this year's Tony Awards telecast.

"She's an amazing performer and you have top watch yourself or you end up just watching her. You try to participate when you can. I think we work very well together," said Cullum.

While all actors can look back on parts that they never should have accepted, Cullum is building some fond memories doing "110 in the Shade."

"The more I do it, the more I think I made a very wise choice. It's a show that I like to come to the theater to do and it meets with a wonderful kind of response from the audience. I'm having a ball doing it," he said.

- - - -

ZIEMBA PULLS
THE "CURTAINS"

NEW YORK (June 23, 2007) - Unlike the character that she plays in the Kander and Ebb musical "Curtains," Karen Ziemba has never had to step into a lead role on stage due to the show's star suddenly being murdered during a curtain call. But, like most actors, she has had to unexpectedly rise to the occasion because of unforeseen circumstances.

There was that time back in the late 1980s when she was a chorus member in "Teddy & Alice," a short-lived musical in which Len Cariou played Teddy Roosevelt and Nancy Hume played the president's daughter, Alice. Ziemba was also understudying the part of Alice and, one day, Miss Hume lost her voice.

"I went on in the middle of the first act, for the first time, in her costumes. She was about 5-foot-3 and I'm about 5-foot-7. I was squeezed into her costumes but I did it and triumphed. It was fine," reported Ziemba, also recalling, "I was terrified but once I got on stage I was very comfortable."

Her assumption of leading a role in "Curtains" - actually, it's a role and a role within a role as "Curtains" is built around a musical within a musical - happens a bit more dramatically.

"Curtains" opens as the curtain comes down on the dreadful musical "Robbin' Hood," which is trying out at Boston's Colonial Theatre. The year is 1959. All is well, unless you consider that the leading lady can't sing a lick and gets murdered amidst the applause. This creates a backstage whodunit to be solved by police Lt. Frank Cioffi, played by David Hyde Pierce.

Everyone in the company, it seems, is a suspect.

There's the producer, Carmen Bernstein, played by Debra Monk; her husband, Sidney, played by Ernie Sabella; and her actress daughter, Bambi Bernet, played by Megan Sikora.

There's composer Aaron Fox, played by Jason Danieley, and his estranged lyricist partner and ex-wife Georgia, who get tapped for the lead role, played by Ziemba. There's dead star's understudy, Niki Harris, played by Jill Paice, with whom the detective is developing a crush.

There's also "Robbin' Hood's" director Christopher Belling, played by Edward Hibbert, and "Robbin' Hood's" leading man, played by Noah Racey, with whom Ziemba also shared a stage four years ago in the musical "Never Gonna Dance."

The list of potential murderers in the mystery musical goes on and on. As the action unfolds, the body count rises, despite the fact Lt. Cioffi has the theater under lockdown.

"'Curtains' is a show that's very surprising. You walk away from it just elated because it's fun," said Ziemba, chatting in her dressing room at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre before a matinee.

"It's very, very funny from beginning to end. You care about the characters. There's a murder mystery going on, so there's a lot to think about during it, but then all of a sudden you'll see this beautiful big dance number. It's got a little bit of everything. It just makes you feel good. For lack of a better phrase, you get your money's worth."

"Curtains" is the 11th show on Broadway that Ziemba's worked in over the past 32 years. Sh's a four-time Tony Award nominee, including one for "Curtains," and a one-time winner for "Contact."

"I think I have a reputation of 'Ask Karen Ziemba to do it and she'll at least try it once.' I'm one of these people that say 'yes' a lot and I'm always willing to work on new projects or try new things whether I'm getting $1.50 a week or an exorbitant amount," said Ziemba of the fact she often seems to have a job.

Or maybe it's because she followed some sound advice that she received at any early age.

"My grandmother, who sang for City Opera in the '40s and 50s, said to me, 'Never forget your ensemble - the people you're on stage with, because they're the people that make you look good and they're the people that share the stage with you and give you power and give you strength. Never treat them like they're lesser or not as important,' and that has served me."

What's striking about the cast of "Curtains" is the overall experience level. Pierce mostly recently starred in "Monty Python's Spamalot," was previously seen on the TV comedy "Frasier," and won a Tony Award this year for "Curtains." Monk has 13 Broadway credits on her resume and was a Tony winner in 1993 for "Redwood Curtain." Hibbert most recently appeared in "The Drowsy Chaperone."

"We're very fortunate," said Ziemba. "It's all about raising the bar for each other and giving each other that respect. Also letting each other make mistakes and picking up the pieces and jumping in when you need to do that, and taking care of each other, being responsible. These people know how to do that and want to do that."

While "Curtains" lacks is a truly memorable John Kander and Fred Ebb song, such as "All That Jazz" or "All I Care About" from "Chicago" or "Cabaret" or "Money" from "Cabaret," two of the team's other musicals, it does have songs that fit the moment. There's Lt. Cioffi lamenting his career as a detective when he'd much rather be a show doctor for musicals in "Coffee Shop Nights" and producer Mrs. Bernstein exhorting the troupe to continue with the show in "Show People."

"They do write very distinctive songs - Freddy being an incredible lyricist-poetic and John with his well known vamps," said Ziemba, referring to the catchy opening notes to many Kander and Ebb songs, such as "Roxie" from "Chicago."

"They really know how to build a song musically but also Fred Ebb would choose words that were very tasty and very surprising because he was so intelligent and clever and also very heart-felt and romantic at times.

"Curtains is an homage to all the old musicals that we grow up on - movie musicals, Broadway musicals - so you do get a feeling of this sort of like Golden Age of Broadway in the '50s and their music is very indicative of that in this show.

Ebb died in September 2004, long before "Curtains" reached its final form. Kander and Rupert Holmes, who also wrote the final book for "Curtains" following the death of original book-writer Peter Stone in 2003, provided additional lyrics.

In another song, "I Miss the Music," as composer Aaron Fox, Danieley sings of missing the writing partnership he enjoyed with his wife.

"He sings this song about missing working with me but it's also about missing the relationship and missing the times we have together and how we finish each other sentences," said Ziemba, suggesting that the song's lyrics can also be interpreted as Kander missing the working relationship he shared with Ebb for 40 years.

"He wrote that song by himself, so John Kander's turned out to be a pretty good lyricist himself."

- - - -

BOUBLIL, SCHONBERG BACK
WITH "THE PIRATE QUEEN"

NEW YORK (May 10, 2007) - If there were an easy recipe for success on Broadway, every show would be a hit. Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg certainly combined the proper ingredients for the epic "Les Miserables," which opened in 1987, ran for 16 years and ranks as the third longest-running show in Broadway history. They had another hit in 1991 with "Miss Saigon," which lasted 10 years, and they now have their newest musical, "The Pirate Queen," setting sail on stage at the Hilton Theatre.

"We don't have recipes because each time you're learning that you know nothing when you're trying to put a show on stage," said Schonberg, who sat with his writing partner for an interview in a comfortable lounge inside the theater the day before the show's April 5th opening. "I must say we have our instinct, our tricks and how to tell a story, what we like, so altogether we try to be very different each time."

But there are similarities between the three shows.

"They're all political in a way," added Boublil. "All these shows are rooted in a very political background even without us being political about it. We always try to have a part of history in these shows, which has changed the lives of the people who are the leads of the shows."

Whereas "Les Miz" was set in strife-ridden France in the 19th Century and "Miss Saigon" had the Vietnam War in the 20th Century as the background, "The Pirate Queen" goes all the way to the 16th Century and Ireland to tell the tale of clan chieftain Grace "Grania" O'Malley.

Stephanie J. Block, who previously starred in "The Boy from Oz," plays the title character, a heroine who is described as "a pirate, chieftain, lover and other."

Politics is seen at several levels, ranging from British oppression at the hands of Queen Elizabeth I (played by Linda Balgord) to Grania's arranged marriage to the son of the leader of a rival clan, instead of to the man she really loves. Hadley Fraser plays her soul mate Tiernan, while Marcus Chait plays Donal, the man she's forced to marry her to merge the clans.

"What's interesting in 'The Pirate Queen' is that it's the story of one woman who is fighting to be who she is, a powerful woman who wants to have an active place in society, although she lives in a period of time when women have no power at all," Boublil explained.

"Even the Queen of England was also fighting in a way to establish her power against male domination of the time, so the evening is really about the feminine condition in a time when women had no power."

"The Pirate Queen" was the idea of Irish producers Moya Doherty and John McColgan, who brought "Riverdance" to the world.

"At the beginning, we were a little reluctant to do a show because the subject was not coming from us. It was coming from John and Moya and, at the same time, we have never been keen about biography of people," Schonberg recalled. "We were still hesitating and I had already written the first 25 minutes of the show, so we thought it was a good sign to keep going on working."

Schonberg supplied the music for "The Pirate Queen," Boublil handled the lyrics, and they teamed on the book. Prior to coming to New York, the musical had a tryout in Chicago last fall.

"The biggest challenge has been to make the story clear. The most difficult part of it was to understand clearly in the first 10 minutes of the show, like in any show, who the people you are going to have a journey with and spend two hours and a half with, who they are exactly and why you want to have a journey with them Š and make it as emotional, as enjoyable as possible," said Boublil.

The history of Ireland and the relationship between Ireland and England meld into the story. "They were not real pirates in the sense of the pirates of the Caribbean," said Boublil of the Irish seafarers. "They were called pirates by the English because they were looting their ships, but in fact they were trading. They were people who had a relationship with France, with Spain. The big animosity with England was based upon religion and that's the big relevance, which still applies today."

Added Schonberg, "We are trying to tell to the audience a little bit of their own stories - the story of women fighting for their position in a tough world, in a man's world; the love story between two people, the impossible love story. It's all a little bit the story of the audience. If you don't have onstage a mirror for the audience, it's irrelevant and useless."

Being an Irish show, "The Pirate Queen" is dotted with step dancing as well as swashbuckling.

"We had to find a very difficult mix between the kind show we write, like 'Les Miserables' or 'Miss Saigon,' historical drama, historical epic drama, and a tradition which we were not too familiar with, the Irish tradition," said Boublil.

That meant "including a lot of Irish dance, a lot of Irish sounds. Little by little it lead to something very exciting because we realized we shouldn't use the normal orchestra in the pit for this show. We realized that we could use the best dances of 'Riverdance' without making a parody of 'Riverdance.' We realized that we could serve a dramatic purpose with that story, exactly like we did with 'Miss Saigon' when we had to mix Asian sounds with the Western world. It was a fascinating experience for us."

- - - -

RAUL ESPARZA HEARS VOICES
BEING BOBBY IN "COMPANY"

NEW YORK (April 5, 2007) - Raul Esparza admits to hearing voices. Not the voices outside of his dimly lit dressing room at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre where he was chatting recently about the Broadway revival of "Company," rather the ones that echo from the past every time he steps on stage as Bobby, the musical's perpetual New York bachelor who fears commitment and marriage.

"You're stepping into part of Broadway history because all the voices of the people who have done the show before, they sort of do ring in your head - Larry Kert and Dean Jones and Elaine Stritch and Barbara Barrie. They're all there," he said, recalling cast members from the original production of "Company" that opened in 1970 and won six Tony Awards, including best musical. "We're all part of the same river. It's really something that occurs to me almost every performance of the debt and what you carry forward, which is an amazing feeling."

"Company," which boasts the music and lyrics of Stephen Sondheim and a book by George Furth, was last seen on Broadway in a limited engagement in 1995. The current revival opened on November 29 with John Doyle directing. Doyle repeats an eye-catching tactic he used in last year's revival of another Sondheim musical, "Sweeney Todd," by having the actors play instruments instead of employing a pit orchestra.

"The word 'revived' is actually true. It has been given an entirely new life," said Esparza. "The show is usually done in very '70s sort of sitcom format. People accuse it of being dated and they accuse Bobby of being a role that is nothing but a cipher that everybody bounces off of with these great songs. In this case, what we're doing is a production where John Doyle has brought out human beings in this story. It's funny as hell but it's not a sitcom. It is people who are wounded and you can see that."

Making up the wounded are five married couples whose lives are in various states of disarray, but who are intent on offering advice to their friend Bobby, a 35-year-old serial dater who strings along three women at a time.

"One of the things that Sondheim is so particularly great at writing is not just the ambivalence of what it means to grow up in this role but also the way that sometimes we say things that we don't mean at all," Esparza continued.

"Bobby is someone like all of us who is at a place in his life where his actions are not necessarily catching up with his thoughts anymore. What he does and who he wants to be are not matching. I think we all get to the place in our life where we start to go, 'Wait a minute. Who am I going to be as an adult? When am I going to accept the things that I can't change? When I am going to be OK in my own skin?' And that's all of us."

Bobby's pain, his doubts and his confusion are palpable as portrayed by Esparza, who has previously starred on Broadway in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," "Taboo," "Cabaret" and "The Rocky Horror Show."

"We're all Bobby in that way. It doesn't matter what the issue is. In this case, it does have a lot to do with commitment and a lot to do with marriage. Sexuality is addressed in this show in order to simply to dismiss that. It has so much to do with someone who is finally going to make a commitment to (himself) as much as to someone else. We all go through that in life. Everybody's Bobby in the audience. It's one of the reasons I think the show can be both so funny, 'cause we recognize ourselves in the couples, and then so moving 'cause we all know the fear and the heartbreak and the loneliness that it is just to be human."

Memorable Sondheim songs in "Company" include "You Could Drive a Person Crazy," "The Ladies Who Lunch," with Barbara Walsh playing the role of Joanne that Stritch originated, and "Being Alive," which is done by Esparza.

"People accuse Sondheim of being a cold writer, an acidic writer, a writer who has no emotion, but his plays are simply dripping with emotion. He's not sentimental but it's full of sentiment. There's nothing easy about it and it's very adult and it requires, too, that you participate in the show. It's interesting to see a musical where a character that steps forward and says 'I love you' and doesn't mean a word he's saying. It takes the audience a moment to get that mindset," said Esparza.

"Another thing that happens in this play and with George Furth's outstanding book is that you get to feel smart as audience members. Those jokes are pretty fast and very clever and if you get the humor here, it's a wonderful feeling to feel that smart."

What Doyle has done as a director is to strip away the normal trappings of musical - that is, massive sets - to allow the instrument-playing cast to extend their characters through the music that they themselves provide.

"The biggest different here is that it feels like you're actually inside the music; you're in the orchestra. You hear it differently every night. Sometimes you'll hear a particular sound in your left (ear) that you never heard before. That's interesting. It keeps it fresh,' said Esparza.

"The great climax of the show, 'Being Alive,' which is one of the seminal Sondheim songs, is a song where in this case there are 14 people on the stage making it happening. It's not just a solo for me. This is a show where I could not give the performance I give or get the response I get from the audience without the other actors contributing, not just as musicians but as actors."

By the time "Being Alive" wraps up Bobby's journey into adulthood, both audience members and cast members, but most notably Esparza, feel drained.

"It's a completely exhausting experience. It's one of those things where I feel like I hope that I am able to deliver and that I am worthy of the song and I can land it. You want to put every last ounce of your heart into it and I try to do that every single performance."

At that point, Esparza isn't hearing voices, only prolonged applause.

- - - -

NEW CONTEST LAUNCHED,
AFFILIATE WMRD VISITED

HARWINTON, CT (February 25, 2007) - Over the years, Broadway's Biggest Hits has staged a number the contests, but not as many as I might have liked for the simple reason that it's difficult to design a contest that's fair for all listeners.

It's no secret that the program is pre-recorded - usually more than a week in advance of airing - and affiliates play the show in a variety of time slots; some on Saturday, some on Sunday and some both days. As a result, it requires a little creativity to have a contest that gives every listener an equal chance of winning.

This weekend, the show begins a new contest that I hope is fair. I've assembled a montage of snippets from various Broadway musicals and invite everyone to enter via e-mail by providing the correct song title and the name of the musical from which the song is taken. To hear the montage, just tune in the show either over-the-air or online.

Everyone who has supplied all the correct answers will qualify to possibly win. I'll drop the names of those who qualify into a hat and start pulling names. The winners will get cast recordings until the supply runs out. I have CDs of "Wicked," "All Shook Up," "Tarzan" and many, many others to give away.

Winners will be notified by e-mail and the prizes will go out by mail. I hope everyone finds the contest to be clever and the montage to be at least a little challenging.

Because of the lag time between the recording of the show and the actual air date(s), the first winner(s) won't be announced on the show until the weekend of March 10-11. Good luck.
--
Because Broadway's Biggest Hits affiliates are spread far and wide, I don't often get the chance to visit the stations that carry the program, but this past week was an exception as I drove cross-state to WMRD (AM 1150) in Middletown, CT to be a guest on Ginny Wolf's "Spotlight" show. (That's Ginny in the picture.)

WMRD and sister station WLIS (AM 1420) in Old Saybrook, CT are Broadway's Biggest Hits new affiliates, and they air the show twice each weekend - at 10 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.

Ginny's show, which is heard at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, focuses on the arts in Connecticut and she's an enthusiastic advocate, who just happens to love Broadway as well. Our pre-recorded get-together can be heard this week.

Thanks, Ginny, for your hospitality!
--
For months, I've been considering launching a weekly e-newsletter for listeners and the word today is that I'm no closer to a decision. There's certainly sufficient interest for a newsletter and certainly enough news and info to pass along. What's lacking is the time to produce it. Stay tuned.

- - - -

"UNORIGINAL" BROADWAY
HEAVILY INTO RECYCLING

HARWINTON, CT (January 25, 2007) - The note from an acquaintance in New York came not via email, rather in an actual envelope delivered to the mailbox in front of my house. The sender, a retired Hartford Courant and New York Times editor who is a big theater fan, recounted having recently seen the current revival of "A Chorus Line."

"It's an exact copy of the original - no changes whatsoever (except some lighting, I'm told). I was disappointed. Why? Who knows? Maybe I've just lost my enthusiasm for it," Dick Mooney wrote.

I'd have accepted his explanation without a thought had he not prefaced his mini-review with the assertion that he went to see the musical "because I consider 'A Chorus Line' to be one of the GREATEST," an unmistakable signal that he was fully open to being to be pleased.

His muted reaction to "A Chorus Line" mirrors a feeling of disillusionment with Broadway that I've been experiencing of late, a feeling that Broadway is unwittingly and ultimately being victimized by its own success and a growing suspicion that Broadway is now alienating its core audience of traditional musical-theater lovers.

Will longtime fans of musical theater really get excited by such upcoming shows as "Legally Blonde," "Shrek," Xanadu" and a warmed over "Grease," its leads cast in prime time on a tacky reality TV show? Excuse me, but shouldn't Broadway ticket prices guarantee higher caliber talent than a "Broadway Idol" contest can generate?

Maybe traditional lovers of musical theater no longer represent the core. Maybe Broadway has broadened its appeal so much that it has become more amusement park than cultural entity; that what was once special is now ordinary. Maybe Broadway has fully reduced itself to being just another player - albeit an expensive one - in the entertainment spectrum.

I'd like to think this isn't the case. Over the past year or two, I've gotten a kick out of the spirited revival of "The Pajama Game" with Harry Connick Jr. and Kelli O'Hara, found "Mary Poppins" to be truly magical (if a bit long), and even appreciated "The Light in the Piazza" (again with Miss O'Hara) and "The Apple Tree," but was bored by the likes of such "commercial" shows as "Tarzan" "Lennon" and "All Shook Up." I didn't even bother with "The Wedding Singer."

Having "Legally Blonde," "Shrek," "Xanadu" and "Grease" in the pipeline wouldn't be a problem if more shows arrived on Broadway in the course of a year, but with a high-cost business model that demands wide appeal, and with long-running shows holding too many theaters hostage, too few shows open each season.

"Mamma Mia!" has monopolized the Cadillac Winter Garden Theatre for five years, while "The Producers" has played the St. James Theatre for six. "Chicago," "Beauty and the Beast" and "Rent" have lasted for 10 years each, and "The Phantom of the Opera" has run an amazing 18 years.

Yes, the end is probably near for "The Producers" - the next tenant at the St. James is said to be Mel Brooks' next movie-turned-musical funfest, "Young Frankenstein" - but "Mamma Mia!," "Chicago" and "Phantom" certainly aren't going anywhere soon.

"Beauty" will come to an end at the end of July but taking its place in November at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre will be another Disney tuner, "The Little Mermaid."

The paucity of theaters means that only five musicals - "Curtains," "The Pirate Queen," "LoveMusik," "Legally Blonde" and "110 in the Shade" - will open in the next five months:

"Curtains" is a new musical comedy with music by John Kander, lyrics by the late Fred Ebb and a book by Rupert Holmes. David Hyde Pierce plays a detective investigating murder on the set of a Broadway musical. It begins previews February 27 at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre with opening night set for March 22.

"The Pirate Queen" is the newest musical from Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg ("Les Miserables" and "Miss Saigon"). Stephanie J. Block stars in this tale of Irish pirate chieftain Grace O'Malley. Previews start March 6 at the Hilton Theatre with opening night on April 5.

"LoveMusik" has Michael Cerveris and Donna Murphy teaming up to play German composer Kurt Weill and his muse, Lotte Lenya, respectively. Harold Prince will direct. It begins previews at the Biltmore Theatre on April 12. Opening night is May 3.

"110 in the Shade" has Audra McDonald, John Cullum and Steve Kazee starring in a limited run of the musical that's based on the Richard Nash play "The Rainmaker." Previews begin at Studio 54 on April 13 with opening night scheduled for May 9.

"Legally Blonde" casts Laura Bell Bundy as Elle Woods, a sorority sister who decides to go to Harvard Law School after her boyfriend dumps her. With Valley Girlish opening number, "Ohmigod, You Guys," and what will no doubt be a scene-stealing (if not scene-eating) canine owned the central character, "Legally Blonde" certainly isn't aiming for traditional theater fans. It launches previews at the Palace Theatre on April 3 and opens April 29.

In his note, Mooney noted "because of my disappointment with 'Chorus Line,' I'm not going to see the new 'Les Miz' until enough people tell me it's still really great. I saw that one three or four times, too. Loved it. But I have the impression that this rerun may be just a rerun, in which case I'd rather remember Colm Wilkinson."

As a fan of "Les Miserables" myself, I've avoided it for the same reason. I don't want to risk being disappointed by a show that was plopped in a theater presumably because some sets existed and it seemed like easy money. It is doing well, though, and recently extended what was to have been a limited run through the summer.

New York Yankees icon Yogi Berra once said of a restaurant, "Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded." The same logic can now be applied to Broadway, which had its best week ever the last week of 2006 when attendance hit 314,310 and grosses totaled $29.1 million.

There's no arguing the commercial success of current shows like "Wicked," "The Lion King," "Jersey Boys," "The Color Purple," "Monty Python's Spamalot," Mamma Mia!," "The Phantom of the Opera," "Beauty and The Beast, "The Producers," "Hairspray" and "Chicago."

The problem is that the majority of them are what might best be described as "unoriginals," derived from movies or song catalogues, rather from original thinking. For every genuinely fresh show like "The Drowsy Chaperone" or "Avenue Q" that occasionally comes along and becomes a hit, there are many more attempts to cash in by merely modifying a previous success story.

With too few theaters available, and the high cost of mounting shows demanding familiar titles that are easy to promote, it doesn't leave much for the traditional musical theater lovers to get excited about over the course of a season. That's why I'm already rooting for the whodunit "Curtains." But I still suspect that Broadway is now "too crowded" for the expectations of many of us to be considered.

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