Which old witch?  The Wicked witch!  On October 30th, 2003 a Broadway musical was born and now 4 years later that green witch is still flying high!  Who would have thought that a musical prequel to The Wizard of Oz, which opened to fairly tepid reviews, would make it to its 4th anniversary.  The show is not just surviving, it is thriving - actually defying gravity (I can hear you groaning).  Wicked now has productions in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.  There is a successful tour and international productions in London, Stuttgart, Tokyo and Melbourne.  There are cd's, dolls, books, posters, green monkey stuffed animals, sunglasses and life size dolls of Idina Menzel and Kristin ...

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When I first moved to NY over 10 years ago, I went to see the original production of Les Miz.  I sat in the center orchestra, row 5 and watched (one by one) as the characters died - right in front of me.  I wept like a baby.  A baby!  Now, many years later, the revival of Les Miserables is closing. It was just announced that the show will shutter on January 6th, 2008 after almost 500 performances.  I am not terribly upset about this.  Frankly, I thought it was too soon to revive Les Miz and the word on the production was not great.  Many whispered that  it felt like "Lean Cuisine Les Miz", heated up in the microwave and served to the B'way tourists.  I didn't see the production, so ...

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This season has become a virtual boxing match with three stunning big name actresses battling it out to be the Heavy Weight Champion of "The Broadway".  Jennifer Garner (Alias and 13 Going on 30), Claire Danes (My So Called Life and Evening) and Rosie Perez (Do The Right Thing and Fearless) all take major roles in Broadway shows and we need to see who is going to emerge victorious!In the first corner we have "Dancing Danes" in the yellow trunks making her B'way debut in Pygmalion.  In the other corner we have "Gritty Garner" battling it out in Cyrano de Bergerac in the purple trunks.  In the last corner (I know, I know - there are only supposed to be 2 corners) we have Rosie Perez throwin...

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Last night marked the opening of A Bronx Tale, the one man show starring Chazz Palminteri, and I was there to cover the Red Carpet!  It was a night of stars and questions at the Walter Kerr Theater on 48th Street on "the Broadway".  I took my place in the press line at around 5:45pm (the show's curtain was at 6:35pm - it is a B'way tradition to start performances earlier on opening nights) and prepared to watch the festivities and report them back to you.I quickly met a lovely couple from Long Island who had driven in to the city to see the show and we began chatting.  With digital camera in hand, they were anxious to see some celebs.  They didn't seem to know too much about the show the...

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This an event.  Two words.  First word - four syllables.  Someone famous is a....yes, celebrity.  Second word.  Sounds like - parades.  No, not pomade.  Yes.  Charades.  Put it together.  Yes.  Celebrity Charades.  Wow.  It might be hard to play charades, but it is harder to write as if you're playing charades.  It doesn't quite work.  Ok, the whole point here is that a bunch of really famous people are going to play charades - for a good cause.The LAByrinth Theater Company (the kewl NY theater troupe that was started by the even kewler Philip Seymour Hoffman) is hosting a benefit to raise money for the company.  They have come up with a fun way to earn some dollars - Celebri...

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Research.  Research.  Research.  I never stop researching for the blog here at Two On The Aisle.  I spend hours toiling in the stacks of the library and days pouring over dense articles on the arts.  Ok, I am lying.  I spend a lot of time surfing the internet.  Hey, that is how we get are info these days!  I found some interesting things as I clicked around The World Wide Web yesterday and I thought I would "hook you up".  Am I too old to use the phrase "hook you up"?  Actually, I don't think people use the phrase "hook you up" anymore.  I digress.  How about I just tell you what I found.  Here you go.Click HERE to take a look at some new photos from The Little Mermaid.  The ...

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Many on Broadway are worrying about déjà vu this week.  It wasn't so long ago that a roller-skating mishap sidelined James Carpinello from Xanadu and left him bedridden on opening night.  Now, the news of Roger Bart's back injury and questionable return date to Young Frankenstein has many wondering if the same fate awaits the Mel Brooks show.Bart has been out of the show since the matinee on October 13th with lower back problems, but the official spokesman for YF does not have a return date set for Mr. Bart.  All involved with the show believe that he will be back in time for opening, but no one seems to be able to confirm that and some are wondering if he will be back AT ALL.  A Bro...

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This Thanksgiving he'll "Walk Like a Man" right out of the theater.  That's right; John Lloyd Young, who won a TONY for his performance in Jersey Boys, is exiting the show for new and exciting projects.  He really was the "Apple o...

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There are some movie stars and television actors that breeze into NYC and dabble in the theater.   They find a plum role and parachute in for 3 or 4 months, cause a stir, grab the headlines and then disappear (think Julie Roberts last season).  Then there are those that are in for the long haul.  They do new plays in small theaters (Marisa Tomei) , they build long term relationships with exciting theater companies (Michelle Williams and Philip Seymour Hoffman) and they seem genuinely interested in tackling the challenges of live theater that are inherently different from the demands of film and television (Mary Louise Parker).  I would like to add another name to the list of those actor...

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