Lauren Molina & Jason Tam. Photo by Win Lubin.

I’m back from my hiatus only to discover that the theater world continued on without me. The nerve! So let’s catch up with a few of the biggest stories in a slam bang news round-up…

• Certain theater producers better be buying everybody rounds of drinks at Bar Centrale this week, because two Broadway shows announced they have officially recouped their investments. The Tony-winning Best Musical Once and the imported farce One Man, Two Gov’nors are now playing for profit, baby. (Might I suggest that if you see a show with “three” in the title, you invest in it right now.)

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  Broadway Cast of "Assassins". Photo by Joan Marcus.

  Speaking of number one with a bullet, my favorite under-appreciated  Sondheim score, Assassins, will be heard again in New York at a one night only benefit performance for the Roundabout Musical Theatre Program. The cast of the acclaimed 2004 revival–including the snoggable Neil Patrick Harris and the divine Denis O’Hare–will reunite on December 3 for a reading of the gorgeously twisted show.

• While we’re on a Sondheim binge (“More hot pies!”), the Keen Company announced the cast for their upcoming revival of the revue Marry Me a Little. Starting Septemeber 11, the lovely Lauren Molina and the, well, lovely Jason Tam will be singing a host of Uncle Steve’s best including trunk song rarities like “Rainbows” from the much delayed film version of Into the Woods.

• I don’t know about you but I wanted to be Karen Allen (Raiders of the Lost Ark) when I grew up. I mean, seriously, she could handle her whiskey and she got to kiss Harrison Ford. She also happens to be a compelling actress with theatrical credits beyond her 80′s blockbuster film resume. All this is a long-winded way of saying that Ms. Allen will be starring in a new play, A Summer Day by Jon Fosse, starting October 10 at the Cherry Lane Theater. Don’t let anything (say, huge rolling boulders or a temple full of snakes) get in your way of seeing it.

• And while we’re thinking of Indiana Jones (go with me), the opening sequence in the second film in that series not only started with a big musical number but it took place in Shanghai…which, according to the New York Times, is now the proposed home for a multi-billion dollar entertainment complex intended to “to rival the Broadway theater district in New York and the West End in London.” (Yeah, even my head hurts trying to follow that segue.) The project, expected to be completed by 2016, is a joint initiative between Chinese partners and the folks at Dreamworks Animation SKG (Spielberg! See, it’s all connected).

Nina Arianda & Hugh Dancy in "Venus in Fur". Photo by Joan Marcus.

“There’s nothing in that.”

Those were the sage words of advice David Ives received from his father as the young playwright headed off to the Yale School of Drama. We should all have such nothing. With a career spanning influential comedies like All in the Timing and acclaimed translations of classics like the Moliere “rewrite” School for Lies, to his current Tony-nominated, Broadway hit Venus in Fur, Ives has proven those words wrong and made a life working in the theater.

During a recent discussion moderated by famed critic John Lahr at the 92nd Street Y Tribecca, Ives opened up about the highs and lows of his career in sparklingly articulate and, at times, raucously deadpan stories — from his tragically lost first play to his current much-anticipated collaboration with Stephen Sondheim.

On his unfortunate debut as a playwright: 

I got bitten by the theater bug quite early and I wrote my first play when I was nine. I took this three hundred page, sort of noir novel out of my parents’ library and I turned it into a ten minute play. For my cub scout troupe. I was going to play the lead, of course, and all my friends were going to play the secondary roles which were much smaller. But what I didn’t know is that everyone in the play has to get a copy of the script. And so I learned my lines, I passed the script on and he lost it. And it was probably my best work ever. I’m still looking for it.

On the thrill of discovering his love for theater:

The stinger really stuck in my flesh when I was seventeen and I went to see Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy in A Delicate Balance. It came through Chicago. I well remember the sensation that I had sitting in the front of the balcony for $3.65 and watching Cronyn & Tandy and feeling like I was in the front car of the Cyclone in Coney Island. Because I had never seen anything like this, something so extraordinarily passionate and eloquent. I might as well have just gone home that day and written my parents a note that said, “Dear Mom & Dad, I’m going to be a playwright. Nothing can stop me.”

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"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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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.

Joanna Gleason in "Sons of the Prophet". Photo by Joan Marcus.

You never forget your first love.

From the moment my best friend in high school eagerly slipped me a homemade cassette copy of Into the Woods, I fell for Joanna Gleason–as only a young, music-theater-lover-in-training can do. Tony voters were similarly smitten and gave her the award for Best Actress in a Musical for her sensible, sexy and deeply relatable Baker’s Wife.

The ardor was long and lingering (to this day friends of mine can still stop conversation with a perfectly timed imitation of her exasperated, stunned, “I need your shoes!”). Any time she unexpectedly appeared on a movie screen (think of her terrifying mother in Boogie Nights or priceless discomfort in Hannah and Her Sisters) or returned to the stage (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, etc.), it was met with a sigh of satisfaction, the warm glow of fond memories and reawakened appreciation for her talents.

So, this is all a long-winded way of saying Joanna Gleason is back on the New York stage in a new play, Sons of the Prophet, currently in previews…and the world feels right again. Let’s watch a few video highlights from her career to welcome her back…

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The "Follies" Girls. Photo by Joan Marcus.

FOLLIES

Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman’s legendary musical, about nostalgia and regret at a reunion of Follies girls, haunts Broadway in a lavish revival.

“This Follies looks back as much in anger as in fondness. That’s what makes it so vibrant.” New York Times

“Rather than a seamless whole, the show feels like barely connected musical numbers of varying quality.” New York Post

“Follies is the disease and the cure in one package: I’d advise you to catch it.” New York Magazine

“If this revival that comes to Broadway via an early-summer run at the Kennedy Center isn’t flawless, its transcendent moments more than offset its imperfections.” The Hollywood Reporter

“It’s head-spinning stuff, one delicious bite of candy followed by another…” Associated Press

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Photo by Joan Marcus.

Fire up those speakers, grab a microphone/hairbrush, and warn the neighbors—it’s cast album day at the Broadway Blog!

The inimitable Sutton Foster and her shipmates from the Tony Award-winning revival of Anything Goes make digital waves today as the official cast album is made available for download. For those who still associate the term “jewel case” with music and not a glittering collection of diamond tiaras, the Ghostlight Records release will also be available in “physical” copies as of September 23. Either way, you can’t go wrong with this rousing collection of Cole Porter gems.

Not to be outdone, PS Classics announced they will be heading into the studio to capture the new Broadway revival of Follies for a showtune-loving, history-correcting, two-disc set (the original Broadway cast album was notoriously cut down to a single disc). Bernadette Peters, Jan Maxwell, and the rest of the company (not to be confused with the cast of Company) will record the album October 3 & 4, in time for a late November and holiday gift-giving release. If you think you might be on Santa’s naughty list, pre-order your own copy here.

With all this talk of cast albums (never “Soundtrack,” Philistine), everybody hop into the comments and tell me which Broadway recordings you listen to the most. To get the ball rolling, my top three songs (via an embarrassing and shockingly Sondheim-free look at my iTunes “most-played” list) are…

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Ron Raines & Bernadette Peters. Photo by Joan Marcus.

A co-worker of mine (who just happens to be a very tough critic and the most delightful cranky-pants I know) motioned for me to duck into his office the other day. Fearing the worst, he stared at me and said, “I saw that new Follies last night. Best thing I’ve seen in years.” As I walked dazed back to my cubicle, I officially began to regret pre-ordering tickets to see the Broadway revival (currently in previews) for some time in September . Mid-September?! Why am I not going now? Why am I standing in the middle of the floor, not going left, not going right…and all that jazz?

Yes, it’s official, I’m losing my mind. But for those, like me, who have a long wait ahead before seeing the show and deciding for themselves if Bernadette Peters and company have hit the bulls-eye, let’s wallow in a trough of bizarre and wonderful versions of that torch song of all torch songs.  (Cut to the video after the jump…)

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Holy Moly, it’s been a wild week in theater news. With all the religious imagery, beatific boys, and epistles from on high, I don’t know whether I’m covering Broadway or the Vatican. So say a little prayer for me and let’s get to it:

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  Hunter Parrish. Image via Godspell.com.

  Hunter Parrish, the twinktastic cutie from Weeds, has been cast as Jesus in the upcoming Broadway revival of Godspell. (Why do I suddenly feel the need to confess some impure thoughts?) In all seriousness, I saw Mr. Parrish when he stepped into Spring Awakening and can vouch for his music theater skills; this could be interesting.

• Clearly, one Son of God on Broadway isn’t enough. The New York Post reports that talks are under way to transfer the acclaimed Stratford production of Jesus Christ Superstar to New York in the upcoming season. Any day now, I expect to hear that Terrence McNally’s Corpus Christi is being revived; you know, just to complete the trinity.

• God himself, Stephen Sondheim, was in a smiting mood this week, having written a very stern letter to the New York Times concerning the upcoming “reimagining” of Porgy and Bess. Debate ensued. My favorite (and most Sondheim-worthy) response came from the star of the show, Audra McDonald, on her twitter feed, “Here’s what I think…to quote the greatest musical theater composer of our time… ‘Art isn’t easy.’” Indeed.

• Praise the Lord, the ravishing Carla Gugino is returning to Broadway opposite the stellar  Rosemary Harris and Jim Dale in Athol Fugard’s The Road to Mecca — starting December 16 at the Roundabout. When she last appeared on the New York stage in the divisive revival of Desire Under the Elms, Gugino’s rivetting, performance made me a believer (and nearly converted me to heterosexuality.)  Amen!

• 

  Broadway's "Mamma Mia". Photo by Joan Marcus.

  Speaking of Greek goddesses, the producers of the Abba-riffic Mamma Mia are kicking off ten weeks of ten big events to celebrate the musical becoming the 10th longest-running show in Broadway history and to commemorate its 10th anniversary, October 18. Clearly, they enjoy a good theme. I’ll refrain from making a perfect 10 joke and simply encourage you to check their website for info on ticket giveaways, sing-a-longs and charity benefits.

• Finally, in a move that seems to be tempting the Gods, another Spider-Man is coming to Broadway. According to the Deadline.com, the webslinger in the upcoming film franchise reboot (not to mention accomplished star of The Social Network and Never Let Me Go), Andrew Garfield, will be joining Philip Seymour Hoffman in Death of a Salesman on the Great White Way. The spring 2012 production will be directed by the masterful Mike Nichols and you know what we say to that: OMG.

Danny Burstein in "Follies". Photo by Joan Marcus.

It’s August on Broadway, which means the tourists are risking second degree burns in the TKTS line and little puddles of melted stage make-up dot the sidewalks from the Theater District to Hell’s Kitchen. (Hell’s Kitchen is the neighborhood where half the chorus boys live–hence its very appropriate nickname “The Dance Belt”.) And, for our purposes, August also means there’s a calm before the September storm of openings and big news. So instead of our usual review round-up, let’s look ahead at three musicals and two plays worth getting excited about in the months ahead…

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