Broadway Musical Theater

Maybe it's a little unfair to include Zeta-Jones on this list because of her musical-theater roots, but she's too good not to include. A classic Broadway belter, she easily out-sings (and out-dances) her costars in Chicago, alternating between brassy (''All That Jazz''), comical (''I Can't Do It Alone''), and sweet (''Nowadays'').

Gardner, Fuller, Mason, Boston Play Shows at Westchester's Emelin Theatre

The Emelin Theatre in Westchester County, NY, continues its fall "Theatre in Concert Festival" with upcoming performances by Karen Mason, Emmy Award winner Penny Fuller, Tony Award winner Gretha Boston and Grammy Award winner Marcus Hummon.

The Mamaroneck, NY, theatre is now under the artistic directorship of Michael Bush, whose vision for the venue is eclectic � concerts, cabaret performances and recent or new plays and musicals.

The "Theatre in Concert Festival" (including readings and cabaret-style concerts) launched Nov. 17 with Everyone Expects Me to Write Another Streetcar. Some of the shows in the festival were seen in the summer 2007 Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's Cabaret & Performance Conference (artistic-directed by Bush).

The series will end Dec. 6 with the Emelin's Broadway Holiday Cabaret, a one-night gala performance featuring the stars and artists from the entire festival.

Broadway Ticket Availability

"Passing Strange," a musical created by a singer-songwriter known as Stew, was a hit off-Broadway earlier this year for the Public Theater. Now the show is moving uptown, opening Feb. 28 on Broadway. Preview performances begin Feb. 8 at the Belasco Theatre.

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'Make Me' a fine revue

At the start of "Make Me a Song," a recording of the title song, sung by some unknown guy with a deep, flat voice, is blasted through the theater. At the same time, a neon image is lit up of a large, older man's face (i.e. William Finn). Then an actor takes the stage, looks up at the image, and mouths "Who is that?"

The emotional power of a William Finn song is Paralyzing. Shattering. Cathartic. Awesome. It's a shame that his output consists only of the "Falsettos" trilogy, "A New Brain," "Elegies" and "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee." But, just as the title of his new revue suggests, Finn knows how to write an extremely well-crafted musical theater song.

Among the post-Sondheim generation of Broadway songwriters (Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, Jason Robert Brown, Adam Guettel, Michael John LaChuisa), William Finn stands out because his songs, whether slow or up-tempo, are vividly detailed character pieces that extend musical theater writing to unseen psychological capacities.

B'way talks to resume

With the lucrative Thanksgiving week looming, striking Broadway stagehands and theater producers say they will start talking again on Saturday. Local 1 and the League of American Theatres and Producers jointly announced yesterday that they will resume negotiations "at an undisclosed place and time." Thanksgiving weekend is one of the best times for business on Broadway, with many shows selling out. It may have added to pressure for the union and producers to reignite their deadlocked negotiations, which have languished since last week. "Today's announcement . . . is a very important step forward," said New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The stagehands walked off the job Saturday, shutting down 27 plays and musicals. (AP)

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'Grinch' cast performs on N.Y. street

Cast members from the Broadway musical "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" sang on a New York street Tuesday night after they were kept from performing onstage.
About 30 performers sang "Who Likes Christmas," a number from the show, and led about 200 spectators in chanting, "We want Grinch!"
Striking Broadway stagehands removed their picket line at the St. James Theater, home to "The Grinch," and agreed to go back to work because the show is a limited-engagement production in danger of closing, The New York Post reported Wednesday.
However, Jujamcyn Theaters , the group that owns the St. James, refused to allow the show to go on, arguing it would only be allowed to reopen when the strike is over, the Post said.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Helen Freedman scheduled a full hearing on the matter for Wednesday.

Fiddler on the Roof

Cast members conveyed the rudiments of the simple characters, delivering lines sincerely while, at the center, Leon Zionts as Tevye glowed with charming warmth. Director Patti Folmer's staging was effective, especially when she brought in a massive chorus, making the production itself seem a kind of community, a perfect effect for the tale.

The program book, meanwhile, is another example of small-theater group amateurism. In its 23-paragraph and three-page section called "Who's Who," it lacks any biographical information about the creators of the show. Surely someone in the audience would want to know that Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick wrote songs for seven other musicals including the Pulitzer Prize- and multi-Tony Award-winning Fiorello and the glorious She Loves Me. Book-writer Joseph Stein has major Broadway credits too, 13 musicals and four plays.

Talks between Broadway stagehands and producers break down; Thanksgiving performances canceled

Negotiations broke down Sunday after a weekend of marathon meetings between Local 1 and the League of American Theatres and Producers.

"We are profoundly disappointed to have to tell you that talks broke off tonight, and that no further negotiations are scheduled," Charlotte St. Martin, the league's executive director, said in a statement.

"Out of respect for our public and our loyal theatergoers, many of whom are traveling from around the world, we regret that we must cancel performances through Sunday Nov. 25," she added.

Bruce Cohen, a spokesman for Local 1, the stagehands' union, said that before the talks broke off, the producers informed the union that what the local had "offered was simply not enough."

The union declined further comment.

The canceled performances of 27 plays and musicals during what is traditionally one of Broadway's best weeks represent millions of dollars of lost income.