Hey all you crazy Broadway lovin' kids.  How are you all doing this Monday morning?  I am still trying to come back to reality and fully understand that it isn't a lazy July 4th weekend day any longer.  I don't really want to be back at work and makin' my way in the mad mad world.  I want to go to a swimming hole and hang out in the sun all day and eat chips and soda and pretend that I never have to work again.  But, alas, this is not meant to be and, so,  here were are you fans of "The Broadway". If  we can't have eternal vacation, well then, at least we have each other.  Let's get our B'way on.

Guess Who?

Kenny Leon (director of the Sean Combs A Raisin in the Sun) will helm the exciting new Broadway version of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.  Based on the 1967 film which starred Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy (his final film, released after his death) the B'way adaptation is expected to bow in the 2008/2009 season.  

The show is described thusly; ""following a life-altering romance in Hawaii, Joey Drayton brings her fiancé, Dr. John Prentice, home to sunny San Francisco to meet her affluent parents. Their liberal persuasions are put to the test when they find out their daughter's fiancé, while an ideal choice - a handsome, wealthy, brilliant, internationally-renown doctor from a respectable family - is African-American."

The big big question is this: who will star in the production?  Well...I have a bit of an inside scoop on this one.  The word on the street is that Donna Murphy is nearly set to take on the role of the mother (the Hepburn role).  Wowza.  This excites me.  To the core.  I love me some Donna Murphy (I know that she has her issues with missing shows - I hear ya), but I can't help being totally jazzed that she will be gracing the rialto again (and this time in a non-musical).  I hope that she decides to do this.  There are some other folks attached already.  Mekhi Pfeiffer has signed on and Phylicia Rashad is all set to go for this production.  They are having some trouble finding the right person to take on the role of the father (originated by Tracy in the film) at one point it looked as if John Larroquette (from Night Court) would join the cast, but that didn't work out.  I am interested to see who will round out this thrilling cast.  Note to Donna: Please do it!  Please!

Good bye to One Monster.  Hello to the Next.

Sutton Foster finished up her gig in Young Frankenstein on Sunday night and now will make her way to her next show where she will cuddle up with another monster - this time he is green and his name is Shrek.  Foster will be replaced by Kelly Sullivan in the Mel Brooks' Musical.  Foster isn't the only original cast member to be exiting the show; Andrea Martin leaves on July 20th and Megan Mullally will take her last bow on August 3rd.  That leaves only Roger Bart, Shuler Hensley, Fred Applegate and Christopher Fitzgerald from the original cast.  

FYI - the buzz on the new Shrek musical is getting pretty loud!  I heard that the show is going to have cutting edge theatrical stage craft - the likes of which we have never seen on "The Broadway".  What?  Yup, that is right - I heard that there is so much fancy techy stuff that the show will have 4 weeks of technical rehearsal in Seattle prior to opening.  That is an unheard of amount of time.  Then, when they come to NYC they will have another 5 weeks of tech rehearsal in the theater.  WTF?  I am telling you - that kind of time is never devoted to technical rehearsals - it must mean that they are going to be doing some pretty amazing things.  On top of all the wizardry, the word on the book and score is that it is really dang good.  I can't wait to see this.  I can NOT wait.

TOS 1st Preview

It wouldn't be a post without a little [title of show] info...the little show that could started previews on Saturday and from all accounts it was tos-tastic!  Click HERE to check out a little video of all the tossers that came out to see the show and who crammed the stage door after the show.  It is unbelievable.

The chat rooms and messages boards have been flooded with reports of the show on Saturday night.   The general opinion seems to be that the show rocked the house.  The kids of TOS have made several changes ( a few new songs and some changes to the book) and they are all making the show even better than it was before.  It is still just "four chairs and a keyboard".  They haven't added any fancy orchestra or set, it is just 4 kids making their way to "The Broadway".  

It sounds like it was a very emotional night.  It has been a very long time in the making and to finally be bringing [title of show] to the stage of the Lyceum theater must have been a magical moment for the cast and creators of this little show.  Word on the message boards was that there was a 5 minute standing ovation during the show (not at the end folks - during - in the middle of the show).  There was, of course, a big S.O. at the end too.  And then, you can see for yourself if you click HERE, the mob scene outside the theater.  I am so happy for all involved.  Did you get your tickets yet?  (that was a blatant plug - I am aware of that!).

I just checked, it is still Monday.  I guess I am slowly coming to the realization that my little weekend is over - oh, well.  I hope you all had a great holiday weekend (or just a nice plain old weekend  if you live in another country - shout out to our readers in Canada and abroad).  Let' s meet back here on Wednesday for more news and gossip from "The Broadway", shall we?  Until then, I will...

~See You On The Aisle