Nell Benjamin & Laurence O'Keefe. Image via Paul Lincoln.

You’ve heard of a musical being tested via an out of town tryout — but what about an after school tryout? Laurence O’Keefe & Nell Benjamin, acclaimed composers of the Tony-nominated and Olivier-winning Legally Blonde, are doing exactly that in an extraordinary collaboration with New York’s LaGaurdia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. Opening this Thursday night and running through the weekend, the students will be presenting the world premiere of Life of the Party, a new show about movie musicals in the Soviet Union, directed by Paul Lincoln. Featuring a talented (and enormous cast) and a 45 piece orchestra, this ain’t your Mama’s high school musical.

I had a chance to play “he said/she said” with the husband & wife writing team as they made final preparations for the big debut — and they had a lot to say about their cast, their inspirations and their own high school dreams.

Let’s get the basic facts out of the way first: how did you end up working with LaGuardia High School on a new piece?

Larry: We ended up working there because we were floored by the production Paul Lincoln directed there last year. It was Kismet, with a cast of about 70, an orchestra of about 45, all singing these amazing, operatic tunes. And everyone was so young, but so committed and so well trained; and the production itself looked like it cost millions. It was an amazing evening, and everything I like to see in theater but seldom get to: huge commitment, passionate execution and huge scale. And for only 20 bucks!

So when our old friends (Paul and Mary Ann Swerdfeger, the head of LaGuardia’s opera workshop) came to us after and said “would you like to create a show for the 2012 school year?”, we were very tempted. Yet at first we were doubtful we could think of anything. At first we went “uh oh, what show could we possibly do that would be 1) big enough, 2) appropriate for legit voices instead of our usual pop belting songs, 3) appropriate for students?”  But then we remembered an idea for a show that we had been turning over in our heads for more than a decade.

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With the Tony nominators meeting this weekend, I’d like to make a final plea for a few performances that I fear might be overlooked come Tuesday morning’s announcement (which I’ll be posting with my comments as they happen). We all know Newsies and Once and Death of a Salesman and Follies are likely to wrack up big nods, but please, Mr. Tony, don’t forget about:

Off-Broadway Production of "Lysistrata Jones". Photo by Carol Rosegg.

• Christina Kirk’s deft balance of caricature to reveal character as a supporting actress in Clybourne Park.

• Celia Keenan Bolger’s wickedly smart and period perfect evocation of a gifted young adventuress in Peter and the Starcatcher.

• Kara Lindsay’s winningly engaging and show-centering supporting performance in Newsies.

• Judith Light’s deeply felt and revelatory turn in Other Desert Cities.

• Phillip Boykin’s menacing yet magnetic Crown in The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess.

• Patti Murin’s warm, show-carrying performance and Lindsay Nicole Chambers‘ sassy sidekick with a vulnerable side in Lysistrata Jones.

• Hugh Dancy’s strong, essential partnering work in the delicious Venus in Fur.

• Melissa Van Der Schyff’s sweet singing and tumbleweed sense of place in Bonnie and Clyde.

Now it’s your turn. Which long-shot Tony nomination are you pulling for?  Lobby the committee with a shout out in our comments section!

Audra McDonald & Ricky Martin & the Cast of "Mary Poppins" at the 2012 Easter Bonnet Competition. Photo by Monica Simoes.

It’s time to dress you up in our love of theater with a very fashion forward news roundup…

• Broadway put on one heck of an Easter Bonnet this year as the proverbial hat was passed to the tune of $3,677,855 raised for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. The winning chapeau went to the company of Mamma Mia during a song and dance packed event featuring big stars like Audra McDonald and Ricky Martin.

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  John Carrol. Photo by Kevin McDermott.

  In any sort of clothes (or out of them) our very own Theater Buff John Carroll is a special guy. And now the Advocate magazine has named him one of their Forty Under 40, “leaders in media, politics, sports, and science, [who] are facilitating our future”.

• Cinderella is getting another makeover…and we aren’t just talking a snazzy dress made by mice. A new version of the classic fairytale is headed to Broadway next season using Rogers & Hammerstein songs from their various TV incarnations and from their catalog and featuring a new book by Douglas Carter Beane (Lysistrata Jones). Laura Osnes (Anything Goes) and Santino Fontana (Brighton Beach Memoirs) will star and Mark Brokaw (The Lyons) is slated to direct.

• The 2011-2012 Broadway season officially came to a close this week with three more openings. And what did the all-powerful New York Times have to say about the final arrivals (in the spirit of our sartorial roundup theme): Don’t Dress for Dinner feels like hand-me-downs, Leap of Faith might need to head back to the tailor and The Columnist lays star John Lithgow bare. (I’m seeing Leap this weekend so I’ll have my take next week.)

• Feel like getting decked out in gold? How about just lining yourself with the latest awards nominations from the Drama Desk. Their list is out and features a mixture of Off-Broadway and Broadway, a bunch of shows not eligible because of previous consideration (to confuse you Tony predictors) and a pack leading 10 nominations for Follies and Death Takes a Holliday.

• Everyone’s favorite theater-inspired web series Submissions Only ends its second season today with a totally bedazzled final episode, embellished with some serious spangly star power. Guest stars included Jessie Tyler Ferguson, Nick Jonas, Harvey Fierstein, Lin-Manuel Miranda and the dancing boys of Newsies.

Cory Michael Smith of "C*ck". Image via YouTube.

C*ck, the controversial new British import by Mike Bartlett, begins previews Off-Broadway on May 1 at the Duke Theater — but what exactly is C*ck? Well, first off, it’s an Olivier Award-winning play that tackles sexual politics in our post-gay world as a young man falls in love with a woman, much to his boyfriend’s displeasure. Secondly, it’s a show that is causing ripples because its title can’t be printed by some news outlets. In addition, and speaking from experience, it’s part of a phrase (“c*ck play”) that one should be very careful about googling; my browser history is still blushing. Try “c*ck play off-broadway” perhaps?

But don’t take my word for it, watch this video sneak preview as the cast and creative staff explain it all for you…

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I hope you’ve been pacing yourself because the tsunami of Broadway openings continues through the end of the week. (Maybe I’m crazy but wouldn’t a show get a lot more free publicity and buzz if it opened in a less packed couple weeks? Just saying…) Today, we’re looking at two new shows inspired by old material.

Kelli O'Hara & Matthew Broderick in "Nice Work If You Can Get It". Photo by Joan Marcus.

NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET

Acclaimed director/choreographer Kathleen Marshall (Anything Goes) whips up a Gershwin confection about a boozy playboy and a tough gal bootlegger starring Matthew Broderick and Kelli O’Hara.

“…a shiny, dutiful trickle of jokes and dance numbers performed by talented people who don’t entirely connect with the whimsy of a bygone genre.” New York Times

“…the primo supporting cast is talented enough to sell it all.” New York Post

“A bulging box of musical-theater candy.” Hollywood Reporter

“But director/choreographer Kathleen Marshall and a stellar cast ensure that the show is as charming in execution as it is disheartening in theory.” USA Today

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The mad rush to make Tony eligibility becomes a full on avalanche this week. Let’s ride the wave of openings with multiple review round-ups today and tomorrow. First up, two shows that earn gasps from the audience — when their leading men take off their shirts. (I’m not kidding.)

Caissie Levy & Richard Fleeshman in "Ghost". Photo by Sean Ebsworth Barnes.

GHOST

The teary-eyed “classic” film about romance in the afterlife, sexy pottery throwing and sassy mediums, makes it to Broadway as a visually spectacular musical with songs by pop heavyweights Glen Ballard and Dave Stewart.

“…thrill-free singing theme-park ride.” New York Times

“Overall, it’s an ambitious, carefully orchestrated work that raises the bar on technological innovation.” Associated Press

“…a lumbering megatuner with little to offer beyond a limitless array of dazzling effects.” Variety

“Much of Ghost is loud and tacky enough to wake the dead, yet there are undeniable signs of vitality from the machine side of this Broadway cyborg.” New York Magazine

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"Nice Work If You Can Get It". Photo by Joan Marcus.

The Outer Critics Circle, the first awards body to include Broadway shows each season, announced their nominations this morning. The “new” Gershwin musical Nice Work If You Can Get It leads the way with 9 nominations. Winners will be announced May 14 before the annual ceremony on May 24 at Sardi’s (that way, nominees can skip the event unless they want a free cocktail and a conciliatory shrug).

Comparing these nominations as a predictor of the Tony’s is complicated; Off-Broadway is included in some categories and eligibility may differ (I particularly note the lack of Peter and the Starcatcher, Venus in Fur & Other Desert Cities nods on this front). Check out the full list and a few quick observations after the jump:

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James Corden in "One Man, Two Guvnors". Photo by Joan Marcus.

This week’s news round-up is brought to you by the number “2″, as in hot theatrical duos taking the stage:

• Like some kamikaze European vacation (if it’s Thursday, it must be a musical), the unrelenting stream of show openings to make the Tony cutoff continued as the British farce One Man, Two Guvnors and the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Clybourne Park both bowed to rave reviews. [I'm seeing Clybourne tonight so I'll have a report next week.]

• If just seeing the word “Stingo” makes you burst into tears, then prepare yourself for a Sophie’s Choice reunion and grab the kleenex. Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline will perform a reading of Romeo and Juliet for Shakespeare in the Park’s 50th Anniversary gala, June 18. Tickets start at $1500 — perhaps that third Oscar upped Meryl’s fees.

• Another dynamic duo is taking the stage up at the Williamstown Theatre Festival this summer. Bradley Cooper (always of Alias to me) and the divine Patricia Clarkson will star in a revival of The Elephant Man. A musical version of Far From Heaven will also be in the festival — so the actress who gets to play Clarkson’s role from that film will be feeling no extra pressure, right?

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  Caissie Levy & Richard Fleeshman in "Ghost". Photo by Joan Marcus.

  Jake Gyllenhaal is not a duo. But he certainly has a nice pair of something (eyes, yes, we’ll go with eyes) — so he can be a part of this round-up. He also belongs here because he’s making his New York stage debut  in Roundabout Theatre Company’s If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet. He and his nice eyes will open September 20.

• Molly, you in trouble, girl. At least, that’s how I felt for the talented and likable leading lady Caissie Levy last night when I caught a preview of Ghost The Musical (review thoughts will wait until it officially opens). During her big, character arch defining 11 o’clock number, the extraordinarily complicated video wall set seemed to be off its tracking and the curtain was brought down. Tech problems happen in previews and are usually no big deal; the show was up and running again in 20 minutes, right from the middle of Levy’s last verse.  The tough break here is that last night was a big reviewer night. Playbill reports that many of the majors including the New York Times were there last night (they somehow do not include my name). Kudos to Levy and company for jumping back in and giving it their all but one couldn’t help but detect a note of bittersweet disappointment in Levy’s curtain call — standing ovation notwithstanding. I wanted to give her a big hug and tell her it didn’t affect my feelings about her work at all. Oh, and the name of the song she was singing — “Nothing Stops Another Day”. Indeed.

"Over the Moon". Image via overthemoonbroadway.com.

How would you like to see some of your favorite Broadway stars live (including Donna Murphy, Marc Kudisch and recent Tony-winner Nikki M. James), singing original songs by Stephen Sondheim, Tom Kitt, Stephen Schwartz and more?  We’ve got two pairs of tickets to give away to a star-studded concert celebrating the release of Over the Moon: The Broadway Lullaby Project, a 2 CD/book/e-book/documentary initiative featuring original lullabies written and performed by music theater’s best. With proceeds from the project supporting breast cancer charities and the event being hosted by the fabulous Edie Falco (The Sopranos), it all sounds like an unmissable, one-of-a-kind evening of song and good deeds.

So how can you attend the concert on May 7 at 8pm at the Stephen Sondheim Theater on West 43rd? Just tell me in the comments below which Broadway star you’d most like to come to your bedroom and sing you to sleep. Leave your comment by the end of the day Wednesday, April 25. I’ll randomly select two winners to receive a pair of tickets each and notify them via a reply to their comments on this post. [Do check back on Thursday to see if you've won and how to claim your tickets.]

And as a little preview, here’s some video of the record session for one track on the CD, “This Little World” by Michael Friedman (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson) and performed by Raul Esparza.

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