Every third Wednesday of the month, a fabulous actor/singer/dancer will fill out my nosey little questionnaire and offer a glimpse of what they look like from a bit closer than the mezzanine. For February, we’re making a leap with a buff who is jumping from one blockbuster Broadway show, Newsies, to another…

Ryan Steele.

Name: Ryan Steele

Hometown: Walled Lake, MI

Current Show/Role: Ensemble in Matilda. (In rehearsals)

The best part of the show I’m working on now is: Well it’s still pretty new, but so far one of the best parts is the excitement that EVERYONE is feeling. It’s amazing to walk into work knowing that every single person in the building is SO happy to be there. That’s how it feels over at the Shubert. We’re all having a blast.

The most challenging job in show business I ever had was: When I swung Billy Elliot. I had just come from a show that I had done for almost two years in the same track. It was a crazy feeling to suddenly have 12 tracks to learn.

If I wasn’t an actor, I would be: Some sort of teacher.

Places, Intermission or Curtain Call? Some of my favorite memories from Newsies were during intermission. It was normally 15 minutes of laughing at some crazy mishap that took place during act 1.

The best post-show cocktail in New York City is at: My boyfriend and I always seem to end up at Nizza on Ninth Avenue. Our friend is the bartender, so consequently, we’ve made friends with the rest of the staff. It’s a nice, chill vibe. I also really like The New York Beer Company.

Ryan Steele. Photo by Matthew Murphy.

After you’ve hit all the traditional sites of New York City, you should totally go to: My roommates and I have a few restaurants that we would drop everything to go to. Pipa on East 19th and Scarpetta in the Meat Packing district.

Ryan Steele. Photo by Matthew Murphy.

If I could live anywhere else in the world it would be: Right now, I can’t imagine living anywhere else. I do love New Orleans though. I haven’t traveled internationally as much as I’d like, but I imagine I would love Italy.

When I travel, the one thing I can’t leave home without is: iPod and comfy clothes.

My workout “secret” is: Oh gosh….Ummm. I don’t go to the gym haha. I try to eat healthy, and I’m lucky enough to have a job that does the working out for me.

When I’m looking for a date, nothing attracts me more than: Having a passion for something.

My favorite website to visit that you may not have heard of is: Thought Catalog. Some of the articles are duds, but most of them crack me up.

Board shorts, speedo or skinny dip? Short board shorts?

People would be surprised to learn that I: I have an app on my iPhone called Atomic Farts.

When I was 10, I wanted to be just like: The older guys at my dance studio.

Ten years from now, I’d like to be: Happy

When I feel a case of the wintertime blues coming on, the first thing I do is: Eat something super unhealthy. Food can do wonders.

Ryan Steele. Photo by Matthew Murphy.

Bertie Carvel & Lauren Ward in "Matilda: The Musical". Photo by Tristram Kenton.

Announcements about famous faces coming to Broadway have been coming fast and furious over the last few weeks, so let’s try to catch up by playing a little six-degrees of the casting couch…

• Shia LaBeouf (Transformers, Wall Street 2), whose name loosely translates as “The Beefy Gift of God,” will be making his Broadway debut in a revival of Orphans opposite Alec Baldwin.  Mr. Baldwin appeared in the 1990 Woody Allen film Alice, which also featured…

• 

  Blythe Danner. Image via PlaybillVault.com.

  Blythe Danner, who this weekend began a 12-week run as the deus ex machina Mother in Nice Work If You Can Get It. The Tony and Emmy-winning Danner last appeared on Broadway in the cast of the 2001 revival of Follies as Phyllis, which also included…

• Lauren Ward, who will be making the transfer to Broadway from the West End production of Matilda  alongside the Olivier-winning Bertie Carvel. Familiar to New York audiences for her acclaimed work in the revival of 1776 and off-Broadway’s Violet, Ms. Ward had a small role in the film comedy In and Out featuring Bob Newhart, whose self-titled sitcom also starred…

• Peter Scolari, who will reunite with his Bosom Buddies co-star Tom Hanks in the new Nora Ephron play Lucky Guy. For Newhart, Mr. Scolari competed for the 1987-1989 Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Emmy against…

• George Wendt (Cheers), who will be joining the wonderful Cory Michael Smith (C*ck) and Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) in the upcoming adaptation of Breakfast at Tiffany’s.  No word on how Kevin Bacon fits into any of this.

In honor of the Olympic games, this week’s theater news wrap-up will be extra speedy (with, I hope, bonus points for style). On your mark, get set, GO…

Marcus Stevens, Natalie Charlé Ellis, Jenny Lee Stern and (kneeling) Scott Richard Foster in "Forbidden Broadway: Alive and Kicking". Photo by Carol Rosegg.

• Something wicked (and wickedly awesome) this way comes as the ever-popular, star-skewering Forbidden Broadway makes a triumphant return this week. The limited run officially opens in September and promises all-new parodies of Porgy and Bess, Once, The Book of Mormon and Spider-Man. And if I were Ricky Martin, I’d be preparing myself for some ribbing about left arm acting.

• The New York Post is reporting that Cheyenne Jackson will be playing an adult film star opposite Henry Winkler (the Fonz!) in The Performers on Broadway this fall. That’s some casting I can get behind.

• The hit Off-Broadway revival of Closer Than Ever is getting two new leading ladies for its extension, Jacquelyn Piro Donovan (Miss Siagon) and, one of our faves, Julia Murney (Wicked). I’m checking it out this weekend so watch for a review later this week.

• Another Off-Broadway hit is proving pundits wrong and settling in for a longer run. The acclaimed drama Tribes announced an extension through January 6, 2013.

• For you cast recording collectors out there, big news as four unexpected CDs are dropping (ooh, that’s some music biz slang). Ghostlight Records preserves the original cast of Michael John LaChiusa’s latest Queen of the Mist and upstart Broadway Records is offering completists downloads or CDs of Bonnie & Clyde, Lysistrata Jones and Nick Jonas: Songs from How to Succeed…

• And finally, two dates to add to your calendar: the always-popular free concert Broadway on Broadway is scheduled for 11:30am on September 9th and the Broadway transfer of the London smash Matilda: The Musical is scheduled to begin previews March 4, 2013 at the Shubert Theatre.

Andrew Garfield & Finn Wittrock in "Death of a Salesman". Photo by Brigitte Lacombe.

It’s raining men in a drenched round-up of the week’s theater headlines:

• The superstar combo of director Mike Nichols, Oscar-winner Philip Seymour Hoffman and Andrew Garfield’s arms (at least judging by the press pic) opened last night in a revival of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman to mixed and glowing reviews. And about those press pictures, what do you think of the arty/appropriate/cool/pretentious choice to release only black and white images for the 60 year old play?

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  Gavin Creel. Photo by Monica Simoes.

  Supporting the March 20 release of his new album Get Out, my imaginary boyfriend and double Tony-nominee Gavin Creel will perform two sold out concerts at Joe’s Pub March 19. For those of us who don’t have tickets (or who are barred from attending because of restraining orders), the wonders of modern technology will allow us to watch it all via livestream on the web, Monday night at 9:30.

• Remember the Ricky Martin video where everyone is dancing around in a sexy deluge? Well, it was like that (except not so sexy, I assume) on the stage of Martin’s revival of Evita when a fire safety mechanism misfired and drenched the stage after the first preview Monday night. The Tuesday night and Wednesday matinee performances were canceled for clean-up and a rehearsal.

• Thank the Gods! My current talent crush Denis O’Hare and partner in storytelling Stephen Spinella are getting an extra week of performances now that An Iliad has been extended until April 1 at New York Theatre Workshop.

• The Olivier Awards (London’s Tony equivalent) announced their 2012 nominees including multiple nods for Broadway bound shows like Matilda: The Musical, Ghost: The Musical, and One Man, Two Guvnors. In a Billy Elliot-style twist, two acting categories featured single nominations for multiple people sharing the same role: four young Matildas, two alternating Frankensteins…and a partridge in a pear tree.

• Thinking person’s Hollywood heartthrob David Strathairn (Good Night and Good Luck) will join Jessica Chastain in next season’s revival of The Heiress. This one is definitely getting interesting.

Extra! Extra! We’ve got your quick and tasty theater news headlines for the week that was:

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  Chita Rivera. Image via PlaybillVault.com.

  Music theater deity Stephen Sondheim let slip to London’s Evening Standard that he is working on a new musical with playwright David Ives (Venus in Fur).

• The First Lady of high kicks Chita Rivera will return to Broadway next season in the first-ever revival of The Mystery of Edwin Drood, the choose-your-own ending Tony winner for Best Musical 1986.

• Hollywood heat-seekers Justin Long (Going the Distance, Mac commercials) and Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park) will be taking over the lead roles in the hit comedy Seminar beginning April 3.

• The King of creepy/awesome children’s literature Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) is making it to Broadway as the critically-acclaimed West End adaptation of Matilda The Musical jumps across the pond for a 2013 debut.

• Finally, the cast for this Monday night’s edition of Celebrity Autobiography looks crazy good. Emphasis on crazy. The line-up includes Bobby Cannavale (Mother**cker with the Hat), Mario Cantone (Sex and the City), Tony Danza (Who’s the Boss), Gina Gershon (Showgirls!!) and Jennifer Tilly (Bullets Over Broadway!!!!). If you haven’t seen this ridiculously funny evening yet, this edition looks seriously unmissable.