It’s no surprise anymore when Broadway attempts to add some extra pizazz to the marquee by sprinkling some Hollywood stardust, whether through film star casting or name brand titles. But four recent news tidbits caught my eye as particularly covered in tinsel (town):

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  Emilia Clarke. Image via O+M.

  It’s official: two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks is coming to Broadway April 2013 in Lucky Guy, a play by the late, beloved Nora Ephron (Sleepless in Seattle). A tale of New York journalism during the 1970′s, this play adds additional cache with its director George C. Wolfe (The Normal Heart). I imagine tickets are already sold out before they go on sale but…a boy can dream.

• If that’s not “old hollywood” enough for you, how about a new adaptation of Breakfast at Tiffany’s? Truman Capote’s classic is getting a fresh (and supposedly more faithful than the Hepburn film) adaptation by Tony-winner Richard Greenberg (Take Me Out). Those who are more fantasy geek than Tiffany’s chic will also have reason to check it out; the February 2013 bow will star Game of Thrones‘ Emilia Clarke.

• Multiple Emmy-nominee Sarah Paulson (Game Change, American Horror Story) may not have above the title multiplex stardom, but to me she’s A-list. And now comes news that she is coming back to the stage to star in Roundabout’s revival of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Talley’s Folly. Paulson will be joined in the sweet love story by recent Broadway everyman Danny Burstein (Follies…perhaps he should do La Cage aux Folles next and continue the pattern?).

• Don’t count out true Broadway glitter, though. The bigger than life new musical Giant, based on the Liz Taylor – Rock Hudson – James Dean classic, is heading to the Public starring Blog favorites Brian d’Arcy James (Smash) and Kate Baldwin (Finian’s Rainbow). Watch the video from their recent promo shoot (after the jump below) and tell me the Great White Way can’t be just as glamorous.

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Graham Rowat of "Mamma Mia". Image via YouTube.

It would seem that there’s a new cast of the long-running, Abba-tastic musical Mamma Mia and a video has surfaced showing behind-the-scenes of a recent publicity photo shoot. Now, normally I’m not one to just pass on PR of this type without some underlying news but there’s something about this clip that made me grin.

Is it the fact that it features handsome young men barely in wetsuits? Why I am appalled at the suggestion. Is it the presence of great Broadway regulars like the dreamy Aaron Lazar and the hysterical Felicia Finley (who are too young to be playing the “older” set, aren’t they? Please say they are!)? Love them but that ain’t it. Is it that I feel compelled to dish about the new Sky, he of the gleaming smile? Maybe over cocktails later.

No, it’s the simple fact that it shows the very manly, oh so dashing, “always will be in Les Miz to me” Graham Rowat in platform boots, codpiece and deep V disco gear. I hope his lovely, elegant wife, Tony-nominee Kate Baldwin, is enjoying this as much as I am. And hopefully you will too…

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The 2011 Alliance Theatre Production of "Bring It On". Image via BringItOn.com.

Sisters are doing it for themselves in a theater news round-up energized by some serious girl power…

• The award-winning songwriting team of Marcy Heisler and Zina Goldrich had a great week with Heisler winning the coveted Kleban Prize (of $100,000) for most promising theater lyricist and the team’s film to stage adaptation of Ever After getting the green light for a Broadway launch in 2013.

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  "Priscilla Queen of the Desert". Photo by Joan Marcus

  Sad news though for the “gals” of Priscilla Queen of the Desert; the disco-tastic musical posted a closing notice for June 24 after more than a year on Broadway.

• Gimme a B for Broadway because the cheerleaders of Bring It On are making a surprise limited-engagement trip to NYC this summer. Producers announced that the national tour will stop on the Great White Way in July.

• Speaking of going back to school, the actress and (delightfully parodied) Fashion Plate Chloe Sevigny (Big Love) will head to Vassar this summer to star in a developmental workshop of Abigail/1702, a sequel of sorts to The Crucible by playwright Roberto Aquirre-Sacasa. Is it too much to hope that Tituba shows up?

• OK, so this one is about a boy but somehow it still feels right. Dan Stevens, otherwise known to TV watchers as the dreamy, middle-class heir to Downton Abbey, will be wooing Jessica Chastain’s The Heiress when it opens on Broadway this fall. With these two roles, he is now officially the poster boy for marrying up.

• Finally, Broadway Blog favorite Kate Baldwin is taking on another iconic role from the golden age of music theater; she’s Marian the Librarian in the Arena Stage production of The Music Man. If simply imagining that casting isn’t enough to get you down to DC (which it should), take a listen to her singing “My White Knight” in rehearsals (at 1:13 in the following video):

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Jenny Powers and Matt Cavenaugh. Photo by Mariana Blanco.

• Have you ever met a couple that you kind of want to date, together? No, I don’t mean in a 1970′s key party way; I mean in a “I’d like to share breakfast over the Times and go for a walk hand in hand with them” kind of way. Well, it’s hard not to feel smitten with Broadway’s favorite young marrieds Jenny Powers (Happiness, Dangerous Beauty) and Matt Cavenaugh (West Side Story, the upcoming Death Takes a Holiday). They’re both charming, talented, attractive (I think we all recall Matt’s publicity stills for Urban Cowboy but I’m not linking; you’ve got to work for some things), and now they’ve released an album together. Available for sale on iTunes, Amazon and CDBaby, “Gonna Make You Love Me” features an eclectic mix of pop songs and standards, all charting a couple’s journey toward love. So maybe if you play the album, tucked into bed with the Style section and a glass of OJ, you can pretend they’re singing it just for you.
• In other music news, Playbill.com is reporting that Broadway Blog favorite Kate Baldwin recorded her recent Feinstein’s tribute to Sheldon Harnick, She Loves Him. Featuring duets with Harnick himself, the live album will be released early this summer. So congratulations to Kate on delivering another bundle of joy (following the birth of her first child last month!)
• I’m also going on record today (ok, that’s a thematic stretch…deal with it) with a few long shots and prayers for tomorrow’s Tony Award nominations. Please, nominating committee, don’t forget about: the sweeping romanticism and delicate magic of Brief Encounter; the loopy wonder of Tammy Blanchard in How to Succeed; the show-stopping supporting work of The Book of Mormon‘s Rory O’Malley; and the wrenching yet centering performance by John Benjamin Hickey in the current revival of The Normal Heart.

Arcadia. Photo by Carol Rosegg.

They say that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb but clearly “they” weren’t talking about Broadway theater. It’s like a twenty car pile-up of show openings out there, everyone trying to crash the party before the Tony eligibility deadline on April 28. Right now, there are overworked publicists surviving on nothing more than leftover pigs-in-a-blanket and fumes from their overheating blackberries. Pray for them. Here are a few bits and bobs to keep our energy up:

• The new play Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo opens tonight for a limited 16 week run on Broadway. The critical reaction to Robin Williams’ performance should be interesting to watch (and I’ll chime in next week in April’s  “To See or Not To See” round-up.)
• The box office results are in and it looks like people are responding to the fizzy (and slightly filthy) fellas of Priscilla Queen of the Desert as well as the revival of Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia. In a perfect world, Arcadia would be raking in Wicked-dough for years to come.

• If you want to be ahead of the curve, take a look at the list of musicals which received development grants from The National Alliance for Musical Theatre.  The odd-couple combo of Michael John LaChiusa (Hello Again) and Ellen Fitzhugh (Paper Moon) is certainly an eye-catcher.

We’ve made it through our first month and I want to thank everybody for reading and commenting; this should be a conversation between friends so jump on in and let me know what you’d like to see more (or less) of.  Keep up with posts by joining us on Facebook. And, finally, take a look back at some popular stories from March you may have missed:

• Tom Berklund was our first Theater Buff. You never forget your first.
• Celebrating Stephen Sondheim’s birthday led to some truly heartfelt and lovely remembrances from readers.
• Tony-Nominee Kate Baldwin kissed and told about Sheldon and Cheyenne.
• Cheap Broadway tickets.  ‘Nuff Said.
• And finally, we mounted a full-scale revolt against tyranny and bloating with the Les Miz Workout.

Once a month, a member of the theater community will pull up a chair to our cyber table and join us for a little conversation. I’ll edit the transcripts (removing the truly libelous parts) and post the results here every second Wednesday. First up…

Kate Baldwin & Cheyenne Jackson. Photo: Joan Marcus.

Singer/actress Kate Baldwin had a star-making year in 2010 with her Tony-nominated leading role in the acclaimed revival of Finian’s Rainbow, but she’d long been building an enviable reputation among music theater heavy-weights with her crystalline voice and her elegant beauty. Best known for portraying the poised and plucky heroines of classic music theater, in person she lets fly with an infectious, bawdy laugh that suggests there’s more than a bit of sassy dame brewing under those regal ingénues.

I caught up with Kate a few weeks ago at the Brooklyn apartment she shares with her husband, fellow actor Graham Rowat (White Christmas, The Boys in the Band). It had been less than a month since moving in and there was barely a box in sight; the girl doesn’t mess around. Glowing even more than usual, she was preparing for a week of performances at Feinstein’s at Loews Regency (showcasing the lyrics of Sheldon Harnick)–and the arrival of their first child in the Spring. After a quick tour of the new place, we staked out the kitchen table and chatted about her mission to bring new listeners to classic songs, the roller-coaster ride of the business and what it’s like to lock lips with a certain hunky co-star.

Tell me about your show at Feinstein’s, She Loves Him.  What inspired you to do an evening devoted to the songs of Sheldon Harnick?

Last year was Sondheim-tastic. Sondheim mania. He had a theater named after him. He had birthday parties all over the place.

Sondheim ice cream treats.

And he should be celebrated. He is our premier composer-lyricst. He’s the father of modern musical theater. But I kind of thought that if it weren’t for him, Sheldon Harnick would be the lyricist of our times. Because of his work, because of his willingness to be a part of the scene now, and the fact that he’s still trying and still writing things.

And you have a special guest who’s going to be there with you…

Sheldon is going to be joining me. Because, as we know, he is out there, he is gregarious and he loves to tell stories. And he loves the spotlight. I know no better showman than Sheldon Harnick. He loves it.

Do you enjoy performing in a smaller room, something that’s more intimate?

It’s a completely different experience because I have control over all the content. So whether or not a joke lands or an arrangement is good, it’s my fault. I can’t hide behind anybody else. Finian’s Rainbow? Anything anyone didn’t like, I can say, “I didn’t have anything to do with that.”  (laughter)  It can feel a lot more personal and risky and scary because there’s more at stake.

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