I am really still a school boy at heart.  It seems like only yesterday I was hanging out in the quad with my college chums, heading over to the library to do some cramming for a big test or swinging by the cafeteria to pick up some lunch.   Maybe doing a pub crawl at night to let off some steam from a hard week of work.  Ah, it seems like just yesterday!

Ok, I made all that up - my college days were not really all that idyllic.  I had a great time but it was more like I worked from dawn to dusk trying to do as much theater as I possibly could.  I didn't know where the "quad" was and I was never on the college meal plan.  I lived in the theater building (literally, I think I slept in the theater on several occasions).  While it wasn't the traditional college experience - I had a blast.  That is why it was so great to revisit those days this weekend via a few different experiences I had.

Kickin' it at Columbia

Friday night I found myself at Columbia University where I attended a production of Camino Real by Tennessee Williams directed by MFA candidate Tony Speciale.  If you know Camino Real at all, you will know that it is one of Williams' least produced plays.  It is a huge sprawling epic with a cast of thousands (ok, more like 20, but that is a ton of actors).   Speciale did an excellent job with the production that featured a stand out performance by Joe Curnutte who dazzled with star power in the central role of Kilroy.

Hangin' at Yale

Saturday I took the train up to Yale to see a production of Angels in America presented by the Yale Dramat (their undergraduate theater program).  Now you might me asking yourself, "Why Bixby?  Why did you take the train all the way up to New Haven to see a play?"  Well, this is a good question.  Because this wasn't any ordinary production.   This production was being directed by one of my favorite NYC director's Jonathan Silverstein AND it is one of my favorite plays of all time.  It was worth the trip.  Silverstein did a remarkable job directing the show and the undergrads were so passionate and committed in their performances that the entire show was an incredible treat.  Many of the actors were tackling roles that were twice their age and they did it with great skill and confidence.  Yale often has the reputation for producing the next generation of great actors (remember Meryl Streep attended their grad program) so I couldn't help wondering which one was going to be the next big star!  Maybe ALL of them. 

While I was taking my stroll down college memory lane things didn't stop here in NYC on the Rialto.  Let's get the update on a few of the happenings around town.

Lopez Flexes on B'way

Mario Lopez was everywhere last week.  You couldn't spit without hitting an article or a poster or a picture of Mario stepping into his role in A Chorus Line.  There was a TON of buzz.  I would just like to say, for the record, I wish I had a body like Mario Lopez - have you seen his biceps?  OH MY GOD!  Some producer really knows how to sell tickets to a show.  It is an old PR saying - big biceps sell seats!  (FYI that's not really a saying, but you knew that).  This week the word in the chat rooms and on the message boards is that Lopez is doing a mighty fine job in the show.  They have apparently changed things around for him ( a little more time on stage, a little more dancing).  All in all it sounds like this stunt casting might be working out nicely.  I have to get a ticket to see those biceps - um - I mean - his performance!

Tos Tixs Today

Get prepared.  You are probably going to get tired of me writing about [title of show] (perhaps you already are), but I love this show and I am uber excited about it coming to The Broadway.  Just a quick note to let you know that tickets go on sale TODAY!  So get in line or get on line and get some tixs to this super show!

Wicked SNL

A friend of mine told me that Amy Adams was on SNL on Saturday night (uh, yes Bixby that is the night that SNL is on, duh).  My friend told me that Adams sang a song from Wicked and that she rocked.  Did anyone see it?  Comments please?

Crazy Family Moves Next Door

Those wacky Westons of August: Osage County are packing everything up and moving.  Don't worry, they aren't leaving town - they are only moving down the block.  The Pulitzer Prize winning drama by Tracy Letts needs to vacate the Imperial Theater so the incoming Billy Elliot can get in there and prep the theater for their opening in the fall.  So, the gang at A:OC is taking the show over to the Music Box (literally, steps away from the Imperial) where they will set up residence for an extended run.  The show closed at the Imperial on the 20th and will re-open at the Music Box on April 29th.   Can you imagine that family packing?  Cuh-razy Time!

New Sondheim

You know how I feel about the "Sondheim Saturation" going on around town recently - now there is more.  At least this time it is NOT a revival.  Word has come that Stephen Sondheim's much work shopped new musical Bounce is headed to NYC.  John Doyle (currently helming B'way's A Catered Affair and the guy that makes actors play musical instruments) is set to direct the show which will open at The Public Theater in the fall (with an eye toward a B'way transfer).  The show has been kicking around for years.  Previously called Wise Guys, the musical had a reading at the Public in 2006 directed by Eric Schaeffer (Glory Days director) and staring Bernadette Peters.  Hal Prince staged a production at The Goodman Theater in Chicago in 2003.  It was also presented at the Kennedy Center.  This new rumor seems pretty solid.  I think we can look forward to Bounce in the fall.  A new Sondheim musical - that will be a thrilling first for me.  

Enough theater talk, I have to get back to the quad and study for my chemistry class!  Have a great week and I will...

~ See You On The Aisle