I'm so glad Jay Johnson's Tony-nominated show, JAY JOHNSON: THE TWO AND ONLY! is on tour (perhaps a Canadian date might be in the cards?) I still think about that show (see my previous posts here and here), and now at least I have a chance to take my kids to see it. What's also really cool is that the original "Bob" from Soap is now in the Smithsonian Institute along with Charlie McCarthy, Jerry Mahoney, and Kermit the Frog!

According to this article from Playbill:

Jay Johnson, whose solo show Jay Johnson: The Two and Only! was nominated for a 2007 Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event, hopes to eventually bring his acclaimed production back to New York.

The show, which celebrates the art of ventriloquism, will kick off a national tour in Ithaca, NY, in October. "We're going to start in the fall, start small, work up," Johnson told Playbill.com at the annual Tony nominees press reception. "I hope someday to come back and play New York again for some time."

Johnson, who is perhaps best known for his several-year stint on the award-winning ABC series "Soap," says his Broadway run was something he never really expected. "It seemed to be out of my reach, just as a Tony nomination might have been at the time," he says. "I just wanted to perform in theatres rather than clubs. I wanted that theatrical experience rather than the supper-club experience. So that was my goal, [but] to get to perform at the apex of that venue was great.

"Just to walk on [to a Broadway] stage and to know how many people have walked on that stage [before you]," he adds, "there's nothing like that feeling, and you are absolutely a part of it."

The Two and Only!, which opened at the Helen Hayes Theatre in September 2006 after an acclaimed Off-Broadway run, featured several "co-stars": Amigo, Darwin, Long John La Feat, Nethernore -- the Bird of Death, Spaulding, Arthur Drew, Jackie and Ga Ga, Squeaky and Bob. The latter, the infamous sidekick of the famed ventriloquist, was recently acquired by the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

"There was an original Bob that we used on 'Soap,'" Johnson explains, "and later we had a duplicate made that was a little bit better, so that particular Bob was used for a couple of years on the show. You wouldn't recognize the difference because it's mainly mechanics that we changed, but that original Bob went into the Smithsonian Institute [May 15]. He will sit with Charlie McCarthy and Jerry Mahoney and Kermit the Frog. . . . That is -- as incredible as this [Tony] experience has been -- a whole other incredible experience."

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Dominic Cavendish strips bare the usually closely guarded finances of a West End hit
May 30, 2007
The [London] Daily Telegraph

A week on Saturday, Daniel Radcliffe will take his final curtain-call in Equus, hop back on his broomstick and fly off to shoot the next Harry Potter film, his reputation as an actor transformed.

By general consensus, he more than made the grade as anguished Alan Strang, the horse-crazed teen hero of Peter Shaffer's 1973 play.

Displaying a confidence beyond his tender years, he has put his child-star beginnings into eclipse with a blaze of pure talent.

The two men who saw to it that his professional stage debut went with an alchemical bang - producers David Pugh and Dafydd Rogers - will be left to count their takings and pat themselves on the back before moving on to stake out the terrain for a Broadway transfer.

In the 10 years since they teamed up, they've displayed a rare gift for putting together West End shows that stand out from the common commercial herd in a market that gets tougher all the time.

Their biggest hitters have been Yasmina Reza's Art, which the pair turned into a long-runner like no other by refreshing the cast on a 12-week basis, and The Play What I Wrote, the Right Size's ingenious tribute to Morecambe and Wise which, thanks to Pugh's and Roger's behind-the-scenes graft, boasted the nightly thrill of a celebrity cameo appearance.

The pair haven't been laughing all the way to the bank. Their biggest flop was the shortlived follow-up to The Play What I Wrote, Duckastic, a bird-brained comedy about Las Vegas illusionists Siegfried and Roy, which made no splash whatsoever at the box-office and lost £1.1million, almost bankrupting them.

But, all told, the 86 investors to whom they turn with each project can take heart from their portfolio: Art generated a colossal 636 per cent return; The Play What I Wrote a 150 per cent return; a tour of Rebecca, starring Nigel Havers, which got them back on their feet after Ducktastic, yielded a 79 per cent return, grossing £5.5million.

In themselves, these are fairly unusual figures to read: the industry practice is for producers to hold information about their takings, or lack of them, close to their chests.

"Everyone is so secretive," Pugh exclaims, cheerily chain-smoking away in their chic attic office at the top of Wyndham's Theatre, "and we don't understand why. We've always been open. Believe it or not, we're not in this for the money; we're in it because we enjoy doing it so much."

In the case of Equus - aptly enough given their young star's willingness to bare all - they're prepared to be especially candid about the financial workings of the production. "What we can't yet give is a figure for profits because it's not over," says Pugh, "but it's doing terrifically well."

Equus, they maintain, is the most expensive production of a straight play yet to hit the West End, costing £700,000 to bring to the Gielgud - twice the capitalisation cost of The Play What I Wrote.

A lot of factors piled on the pounds: the cast size (there are 14 in the company), a six-week rehearsal period, the high-spec onstage seating for the audience, and also the need to cement the pre-opening publicity with a fresh advertising campaign capitalising on the glowing reviews for Radcliffe in the starring role opposite Richard Griffiths as psychiatrist Dysart.

"There was a misconception that we sold out in advance," says Rogers, 38, who is as quietly unassuming as Pugh, 48, is camply extrovert. "But there really wasn't a safety net of 'If he can't do it, never mind'. We needed the rave reviews. It was never going to be a success unless he could do it. That opening night was nerve-racking."

With an almost universal critical thumbs-up, the recoupment came nine weeks into the 16-week run.

Surely some of the bums on seats could be put down to the opportunities for ogling celebrity flesh? Perhaps, they concede.

"But what I'm really proud of," says Pugh, "is that there hasn't been a night when we've had a giggle or a wolf-whistle. We've brought people into the theatre, some who've never been before, and we've held their attention. That's the achievement."

The last revelation, as they enter the final furlong of Equus's time in London, is not a financial one but a personal one.

While their dealings with Peter Shaffer, in their bid to secure the rights to revive the play, go back eight years and their passion for the work itself, in both cases, goes to their youth, Pugh's association with Daniel Radcliffe goes right back to the teen star's birth.

"Daniel's mum [Marcia Gresham] was my assistant when I had offices on Shaftesbury Avenue," Pugh explains. "So I was there for his birth at Charing Cross hospital, and, when she came back after three weeks, she brought him with her. Daniel spent the first nine months of his life in my office in a moses basket!"

There's a twist of fate so neat you'd swear the West End worked according to laws laid down by the great J K Rowling herself. DC

Where the Equus money went

Set-up costs
£100,000 - rehearsals
£300,000 - physical production costs (set-design, costumes etc)
£150,000 - marketing/advertising
£150,000 - fees to creative team
Subtotal: £700,000

Operational costs during the run
£90,000 per week (rising post-recoupment in excess of £100,000)
Of which:
£20,000 - theatre "contra" deal (staff costs, theatre running costs)
£10,000 - rent
£60,000 - company costs

Equus recoups after nine weeks
£300,000 - max gross figure of takings for capacity house per week
From gross box-office takings: sundry royalties to creative team
Then, once operational costs have been deducted, net profit divided 60 per cent to the investors, 40 per cent to the producers

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I saw the second preview of the 5th Avenue Theatre's production of WEST SIDE STORY, which opens on May 31. Even though I've seen the 1961 film version about a thousand times, I'd never seen a professional production of WEST SIDE STORY.

My first exposure to the brilliance of the score was in junior high English class. For some reason we had to act out a scene from a play or musical, and my group ended up doing a fabulous rendition of "Officer Krupke", complete with staging and dance moves. I, needless to say, was brilliant. But enough about me...

WEST SIDE STORY was based on a concept by Jerome Robbins, and its book was written by Arthur Laurents, its music by Leonard Bernstein and its lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Of course the entire original production was famously directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins.

David Armstrong, the Producing Artistic Director of 5th Avenue Theatre writes in the program:

When WEST SIDE STORY opened on Broadway in 1957 it was a shockingly new approach to musical theater. This modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet was set in a world of gang violence that was "ripped from the headlines" of the day. The anxious music, the dynamic staging and the intense subject matter were initially off-putting to many theatergoers. 50 to 100 people walked out on each performance throughout the original Broadway run. It was not until the release of the film version in 1961 that the show found a broad audience and came to be seen as a classic.

Today WEST SIDE STORY isone of the most popular and beloved of all musicals, but it has lost none of its punch and power. Its themes of racial conflict, immigration, and "at risk" youth are as vital today as when the show was first written. And its story, music, lyrics and choreography are just as engaging, moving, and thrilling.

I totally loved the 5th Avenue Theatre production! It really is amazing how fresh and compelling the show is, especially when you think you know it well and have heard the music again and again throughout the years. And the choreography is so iconic, yet doesn't feel dated at all. Directed by Bill Berry, musical directed and conducted by Ian Eisendrath, with original choreography recreated by Bob Richard, The 5th Avenue Theatre produced the show in association with Spectrum Dance Theater.

This was a great idea -- the dancing in the show was breathtaking. It's such an integral part of the whole storytelling of WEST SIDE STORY, I imagine that the show would suffer greatly without terrific dancing. Lara Seefeldt, from Spectrum, played Anybodys and was really great and endearing in what I've always considered sort of a tough role.

The whole cast was amazing and featured Louis Hobson as Tony, Maegan McConnell as Maria, Michael D. Jablonski as Riff, Manoly Farrell as Anita and Miguel A. Romero as Bernardo. I particularly liked Anita and my favorite number was "America". Sean G. Griffin who played Doc was also a standout for his intensity and emotion. As an audience member you feel what Doc is feeling -- why do they have to act like this? Why does it have to end so badly? Also, I was surprised at how effective "I Feel Pretty" is at the top of the second act. It's kind of a fluffy song, but coming after the death of Berbardo and Riff, your stomach is clenched at Maria's happiness because you know it will end in moments. So, fluffy works! (it doesn't work as well in the movie where they moved it up-front, so it's fluff without tension)

Everything about this production works -- great set, great costumes, lighting, and a fabola orchestra. I was lucky enough to see the wanderprobe the previous Friday night (like a sitzprobe, but the actors do the blocking and dancing in addition to singing) and got to hear the orchestra. Hearing those melodies played by this 25 piece orchestra really was something. I got chills during "Maria"!

WEST SIDE STORY is playing at The 5th Avenue Theatre until June 17. Next season's line up looks pretty hot as well, with LONE STAR LOVE, INTO THE WOODS (w00h00!), WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND, JERSEY BOYS (w00h00!), MAME, and CABARET.

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By Joseph P. Kahn, Boston Globe
May 21, 2007

If invited to play with the Boston Pops, Paul Simon would be wise to avoid his hit song "The Boxer," and go with "The Sound of Silence" instead. Otherwise, audiences at Symphony Hall, site of a fistfight during a recent Pops concert, might take Simon's lyrics too literally . Assuming they're paying attention at all, that is.

The so-called Brawl at the Hall may be an extreme example of audience misbehavior -- it was reportedly touched off by one concertgoer's refusal to quit yammering while the band played on -- yet by no means is it an isolated incident. While few rise (or fall) to the level of balcony fisticuffs, other disruptions, from the rustle of candy wrappers to conversations better suited for the lobby, can be more than minor irritants. They can effectively ruin a show for patrons and performers alike.

Factor in triple-digit ticket prices, and Netflix and take out pizza suddenly look way more attractive.

Consider the plight of Uta Renz , a Boston Symphony Orchestra subscriber of seven years' standing, who's rethinking her options in light of what she calls "my worst experience ever" at a BSO concert last February. In a letter to BSO managing director Mark Volpe two months ago, Renz described what happened.

"To our left sat a blond woman who . . . continued whispering and tapping people after the music began," Renz wrote. "At one point, she opened her cellphone and waved it around . . . as if taking a photograph of the orchestra."

Rebuked by the woman after asking her to put away the cellphone, Renz complained to an usher. The woman was escorted out of the hall, Renz went on, but returned later and continued bothering others until the concert was nearly over.

Last week Volpe responded with a letter to Renz calling such situations "challenging" and admitting his staff "should have handled the matter more effectively." Renz was also offered two free tickets to a Tanglewood concert. However, she's still debating whether to scale back her BSO subscription or drop it altogether.

"At these ticket prices," Renz says, "if they don't take the decline of civility more seriously, I'm voting with my feet."

Symphony Hall isn't the only arts venue pondering rules of etiquette and how to enforce them. New Repertory Theatre artistic director Rick Lombardo says it's a hot topic among theater managers.

"One problem we're starting to see a lot is BlackBerries," says Lombardo, referring to the portable wireless devices everyone seems to be carrying these days. "People will start text-messaging in the middle of a show, thinking they're being quiet and not disturbing anybody. But anyone sitting behind them can see the screen glowing, and so can the actors onstage. It's incredibly distracting."

At one Manhattan play he recently attended, Lombardo says, two audience members nearly came to blows over a more prosaic problem: a bag of potato chips one was crunching within earshot of the other.

"I really think things are getting worse," Lombardo says. "In the old days, people would be chagrined if someone told them to be quiet. Now there's this feeling of, I can do whatever I need to do whenever I want to do it."

Avid Boston theatergoer and WGBH trustee Peggy Charren agrees that this sense of entitlement is having a negative effect on how audience members conduct themselves. Charren, who attends scores of plays every year, says it's not that more people are talking during shows these days. It's that those who do talk get more belligerent when asked to be quiet.

"They have this idea that if they want to make noise sitting in the fourth row, they can," she says. "When someone taps them on the shoulder, they seem genuinely shocked. That's why I wasn't surprised by what happened at the Pops."

Entitlement cuts both ways, both Lombardo and Charren point out. People paying top dollar to see a play don't want any distractions, either. "There's a divide on both sides," Lombardo concedes.

According to Boston Lyric Opera director Janice Del Sesto , opera fans are a different breed. Because the action onstage is so intense, she says, audiences tend to transfer their emotions to what's happening there, not upon one another.

"The most aggressive behavior happens when someone gets carried away by a familiar aria and starts singing along -- and gets tapped on the shoulder by a neighbor," says Del Sesto. "Mostly we have a pretty calm and happy audience, though."

Whether the Pops fight, footage of which popped up all over the place, signals a growing problem is unclear. What seems more certain is that as arts organizations strive to become more audience-friendly, rules of conduct get trickier to enforce. Ten years ago, when cellphones and pagers started becoming a problem for theater managers, Stagebill published a list of rules governing theater etiquette. Among them: Do not wear too much perfume or cologne; mind small children; turn off all electronic devices; unwrap candies before the curtain goes up; and do not talk, hum, sing along, or "beat time with a body part."

In her latest version of "Emily Post's Etiquette" guide, manners guru Peggy Post added a chapter titled "Performances and Public Places." One topic covered is what to do when someone sitting near you in the theater won't shut up. (Basic advice: Assess situation, politely remind offender to be more mindful of others, get help if other tactics fail.)

"People have always been rude," Post says, speaking from her home office in Florida. "I doubt it's any worse these days, except maybe they're more frustrated. Are there more incidents? There seem to be , but maybe they're just in the media more."

As for Lombardo, he says his organization is inching toward the "gentle reminder stage" of educating audiences on the rules of decorum.

"If that doesn't work," he adds, "threats are possible."

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My daughter had to write an essay for her string music class, and she chose to write it about the fabulous film Amadeus which tells the story of Salieri and Mozart. So, being the good mother that I am, I thought it would be a good idea if she saw the play as well. We were lucky enough to catch the closing-night performance of the Stage Centre Productions' presentation of AMADEUS at the Fairview Library Theatre.

The play AMADEUS was written by Peter Shaffer in 1979 and was inspired by the short play Mozart and Salieri, written by Aleksandr Pushkin. In 1980, it premiered on Broadway, featuring Ian McKellan and Tim Curry in the lead roles. It was revived again in 2000, and both productions were nominated for several Tony awards. In 1984, the film version starring F. Murray Abraham as Salieri and Tom Hulce as Mozart won 8 Oscars. Christine Ebersole was also in the film, and she is now starring on Broadway in GREY GARDENS, and Tom Hulce is one of the many producers of SPRING AWAKENING. I also remember seeing a production of the play in Toronto at the Hummingbird (O'Keefe) Centre when it first toured.

The Stage Centre Productions production of AMADEUS was designed and directed by L.Garth Allen, music directed by James Pinhorn and starred Roger Kell as the Antonio Salieri and Brad Emes at Mozart.

From the program:

This provocative play revolves around a confrontation between mediocrity and genius. Antonio Salieri is the established court composer in the court of Austrian Emperor Joseph II. Enter younge Mozart, perhaps the greatest musical genius of all time. The greatest tragedy lies in Salieri's realization that there is no connection between virtue and talent.

Actually, although his laugh was slightly irritating in both the film and the play, Mozart didn't seem to be all that bad a guy to me. Everyone else in the court seemed so fake and pretentious, and I'm sure they behaved just as badly (or worse) in private!

The girls and I really enjoyed the play. It was well acted with great production values (the costumes were awesome!) and it was nice to see the (approximately) 230 seats sold out. At $25 a ticket ($15 for students) community theatre is so wonderfully accessible. And it is always great to be reminded that yes, people really do like to go and see live theatre. And it made me want to go and play and listen to some Mozart!

So, what is a Nipple of Venus actually made of?

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Better polish up those apples kids!

This is one class you want to be on time for and do all your homework! I certainly wouldn't want to get on this teacher's bad side and get a phone call home...

Oh, and I may be wrong, but I don't think Alec Baldwin stars on Ugly Betty. I thought he was on 30 Rock...fact check anyone?

According to this article on Broadwayworld:

Alec Baldwin will again teach an acting class this summer at East Hampton's Ross School Summer Program. Baldwin will guide a select group of 20-22 actors with professional aspirations through an intensive one week professional acting class from August 6 - 10.

Prior to his four previous summer workshops at LIU/Southampton College and Ross School, Baldwin received numerous applications for this 30-hour workshop from across the country. The applicants, selected through an audition process, helped form an intimate and eclectic class which received the personal attention and advice of both Baldwin and his teaching partner, Michael Disher.

Baldwin, a Long Island native and resident of Amagansett, continues his passion for teaching by annually dedicating one week to the development and educational training of professionally motivated actors.

The workshop includes monologue and scene work, and in-depth script and character analysis. Thus far, 75 students have had this opportunity. All applications are personally reviewed by Mr. Baldwin with an eye toward those with a serious commitment to theatre.

Baldwin, who currently appears on the hit sitcom "Ugly Betty," recently appeared Off-Broadway in Entertaining Mr. Sloane. He received a Tony Award nomination for his work in the 1992 revival of A Streetcar Named Desire, and has also appeared on New York stages in Twentieth Century, Prelude to a Kiss, Loot and Serious Money. His many film credits include The Hunt for Red October, Glengarry Glen Ross, Pearl Harbor, The Aviator and The Cooler, for which he received an Oscar nod.

The deadline for completed applications is June 8, 2007. For applications and additional information, call Ross School at (631) 907-5117 or e-mail dsilverblank@ross.org

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I got an e-mail from my friend and director Jamibeth Margolis (she directed PLANE CRAZY at NYMF 2005) about a reading of a new musical. This looks really cool! The music is by Artie Singer who wrote "At The Hop"!

And none other than Derek Keeling (of "Grease You're The One That I Want") is in the reading! Break a leg Jamibeth!

Here's the info from the e-mail:

DREAMWEAVERS
A New Musical

Proudly presented by Good Show Productions, Inc.

Music by Artie Singer (writer/producer of the 1950s Classic "At the Hop")
Book by Lisa Russo Gressen & Sherry Love Gressen
Lyrics by Marjorie Baderack & Artie Singer
Additional Lyrics by Lisa Russo Gressen & Sherry Love Gressen

Musical Direction/Arrangement by Michael Thomas Murray
Directed by Jamibeth Margolis

Starring:
Joan Barber, Nicole Bocchi, Linda Cameron, Kristy Cates, Briana Davis, John Dewar, Eric Gunhus, Kristin Huffman, Brian Hutchinson, Michael Jacobs, Derek Keeling, Brent Kuenning, Daniel Langhoff, Steve Luker, Susan Molloy, Devynn Pedell, Marci Reid, Lorraine Serabian, Jill Melanie Wirth, Michael Yeshion, and Emma Zaks

Monday, May 21st at 7pm and Tuesday, May 22nd at 2pm

The Dramatists Guild of America, Inc.
Frederick Loewe Room
1501 Broadway, Suite 710 (Between 43rd & 44th Streets)
New York City

RSVP: dreamweaversrsvp@yahoo.com or (212) 330-8608

Connect with the magic...

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Tony, Tony, Tony...

It's that time of year! This morning the Tony nominations were announced. It's interesting to note that LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL is up for best book and best score but not for best musical. I also think that SPRING AWAKENING should get a special Tony for the most producers.

According this article in Playbill:

The 2006-2007 Tony Award nominations were announced May 15 by Tony Award winner Jane Krakowski and former Rent star Taye Diggs at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

Spring Awakening, the new musical that was a hit Off-Broadway before opening on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, garnered 11 Tony nominations, the most of any show of the season. Both the Tom Stoppard trilogy, The Coast of Utopia, and the new musical Grey Gardens, received 10 nominations.

Nominees for the 61st Annual Antoinette Perry "Tony" Awards follow:

Best Play
The Coast of Utopia
Frost/Nixon
The Little Dog Laughed
Radio Golf

Best Musical
Curtains
Grey Gardens
Mary Poppins
Spring Awakening

Best Book of a Musical
Curtains, Rupert Holmes & Peter Stone
Grey Gardens, Doug Wright
Legally Blonde The Musical, Heather Hach
Spring Awakening, Steven Sater

Best Original Score
Curtains
Music: John Kander
Lyrics: Fred Ebb, John Kander & Rupert Holmes

Grey Gardens
Music: Scott Frankel
Lyrics: Michael Korie

Legally Blonde The Musical
Music & Lyrics: Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin

Spring Awakening
Music: Duncan Sheik
Lyrics: Steven Sater

Best Revival of a Play
Inherit the Wind
Journey's End
Talk radio
Translations

Best Revival of a Musical
The Apple Tree
A Chorus Line
Company
110 in the Shade

Best Special Theatrical Event
Jay Johnson: The Two and Only
Kiki & Herb Alive on Broadway

Best Performance By a Leading Actor in a Play
Boyd Gaines Journey's End
Frank Langella Frost/Nixon
Brían F. O’Byrne The Coast of Utopia
Christopher Plummer Inherit the Wind
Liev Schreiber Talk Radio

Best Performance By a Leading Actress in a Play
Eve Best, A Moon for the Misbegotten
Swoozie Kurtz Heartbreak House
Angela Lansbury Deuce
Vanessa Redgrave The Year of Magical Thinking
Julie White The Little Dog Laughed

Best Performance By a Leading Actor in a Musical
Michael Cerveris LoveMusik
Raul Esparza Company
Jonathan Groff Spring Awakening
Gavin Lee Mary Poppins
David Hyde Pierce Curtains

Best Performance By a Leading Actress in a Musical
Laura Bell Bundy Legally Blonde The Musical
Christine Ebersole Grey Gardens
Audra McDonald 110 in the Shade
Debra Monk Curtains
Donna Murphy LoveMusik

Best Performance By a Featured Actor in a Play
Anthony Chisholm Radio Golf
Billy Crudup The Coast of Utopia
Ethan Hawke The Coast of Utopia
John Earl Jelks Radio Golf
Stark Sands Journey's End

Best Performance By a Featured Actress in a Play
Jennifer Ehle The Coast of Utopia
Xanthe Elbrick Coram Boy
Dana Ivey Butley
Jan Maxwell Coram Boy
Martha Plimpton The Coast of Utopia

Best Performance By a Featured Actor in a Musical
Brooks Ashmanskas Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me
Christian Borle Legally Blonde The Musical
John Cullum 110 in the Shade
John Gallagher, Jr. Spring Awakening
David Pittu LoveMusik

Best Performance By a Featured Actress in a Musical
Charlotte d'Amboise A Chorus Line
Rebecca Luker Mary Poppins
Orfeh Legally Blonde The Musical
Mary Louise Wilson Grey Gardens
Karen Ziemba Curtains

Best Direction of a Play
Michael Grandage Frost/Nixon
David Grindley Journey's End
Jack O'Brien The Coast of Utopia
Melly Still Coram Boy

Best Direction of a Musical
John Doyle Company
Scott Ellis Curtains
Michael Greif Grey Gardens
Michael Mayer Spring Awakening

Best Choreography
Rob Ashford Curtains
Matthew Bourne and Stephen Mear Mary Poppins
Bill T. Jones Spring Awakening
Jerry Mitchell Legally Blonde The Musical

Best Orchestrations
Bruce Coughlin Grey Gardens
Duncan Sheik Spring Awakening
Jonathan Tunick LoveMusik
Jonathan Tunick 110 in the Shade

Best Scenic Design of a Play
Bob Crowley & Scott Pask The Coast of Utopia
Jonathan Fensom Journey's End
David Gallo Radio Golf
Ti Green and Melly Still Coram Boy

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Bob Crowley Mary Poppins
Christine Jones Spring Awakening
Anna Louizos High Fidelity
Allen Moyer Grey Gardens

Best Costume Design of a Play
Ti Green and Melly Still Coram Boy
Jane Greenwood Heartbreak House
Santo Loquasto Inherit the Wind
Catherine Zuber The Coast of Utopia

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Gregg Barnes Legally Blonde The Musical
Bob Crowley Mary Poppins
Susan Hilferty Spring Awakening
William Ivey Long Grey Gardens

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Paule Constable Coram Boy
Brian MacDevitt Inherit the Wind
Brian MacDevitt, Kenneth Posner, and Natasha Katz The Coast of Utopia
Jason Taylor Journey's End

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Kevin Adams Spring Awakening
Christopher Akerlind 110 in the Shade
Howard Harrison Mary Poppins
Peter Kaczorowski Grey Gardens

Regional Theatre Tony Award
Alliance Theatre, Atlanta, GA

The 61st Annual Antoinette Perry "Tony" Awards -- saluting the best of the Broadway theatre season -- will be presented June 10 at Radio City Music Hall. A host has yet to be named.

The Tony Awards are presented by Tony Award Productions, a joint venture of the League of American Theatres and Producers and the American Theatre Wing.

Visit www.tonyawards.com for more information.

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I was looking at the photos from the Drama League Awards presented on May 11 at the Marquis Hotel in New York, and it dawned on me that these photos look like I took them at some family function. These are some of the most beautiful faces and in-shape bodies you'll ever see, and most of these photos are tres unflattering! I mean, lighting? Hello? In some ways it is nice because it makes the theatre industry feel very accessible, unlike Hollywood, where everybody always looks perfectly amazing in photos taken at a gala function. Looking at the photos it also dawned on me that the incredibly familiar looking actress who plays (or played) Ellis Grey on Grey's Anatomy is Kate Burton. Duh, I know I’m probably the only one just making that connection now, but hey, she actually looks good in her photos!

According to this article on Broadwayworld.com:

The 2006-07 Drama League Awards were presented at the 73rd Annual Drama League Awards Ceremony and Luncheon on Friday, May 11, 2007 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square. Bernadette Peters, Chita Rivera, Christine Ebersole, Tony Kushner, Liev Schreiber, Audra McDonald, Ashley Brown and Jonathan Groff were among the presenters; Gary Beach hosted.

The awards were as follow: Distinguished Performance Award - Liev Schreiber; Distinguished Production of a Musical - Spring Awakening; Distinguished Production of a Play - The Coast of Utopia; Distinguished Revival of a Musical - Company; and Distinguished Revival of a Play - Journey's End.

The Broadway transfers of Grey Gardens and The Little Dog Laughed were previously nominated for Drama League Awards during their earlier Off-Broadway runs in 2006, and are thus ineligible this season. The production of Deuce removed itself from consideration for this year's awards, and will be considered next season. The cut-off date for this season's Drama League Awards was Sunday, April 22. At Friday's ceremony, the Drama League also presented its three previously-announced annual specialty awards: John Kander and Fred Ebb (posthumously) received the Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre Award, Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening) received the Julia Hansen Award for Excellence in Directing, and the not-for-profit charity organization Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS received the Unique Contribution to the Theatre Award.

For more information on the Drama League, visit www.DramaLeague.org. Visit this link for a complete list of nominees, as well as a list of the 78 performers who were nominated for the Distinguished Performance Award.

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Elaine, Oprah...Oprah, Elaine

A good friend of mine, and vocal coach extraordinaire, Elaine Overholt, will be coaching the cast of HAIRSPRAY the movie for their appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. As you know, Elaine has vocal coached the cast from the beginning so this is very exciting! The entire show will be about HAIRSPRAY and they tape next Wednesday. The whole gang will be there -- Travolta, Pfeiffer, Latifah, Walken, Nikki Blonsky (the new young star), Zac Efron, and Elijah Kelley.

Elaine won't be "on" the show, but will be there to coach Nikki Blonsky and Zac Efron for their live performances! However, once Oprah meets Elaine I'm sure she'll insist on having her "on" the show! Congrats Elaine!

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See y'all in the Beer Tent!

I received the following e-mail from Deanna at The Toronto Fringe Festival asking for me to post it. I had such a great time last year with THE TALE OF PIGLING BLAND that I thought, hey, what the heck?

Here's the info from the e-mail:

The Toronto Fringe Theatre Festival is the city’s largest festival and one of its most exciting summer events. Now in its 19th year, the 2007 Fringe will take place from July 4-15 and will feature over 130 productions at 25 venues in and around the Annex. There’s something for every taste: comedy, drama, dance, children's shows and more. The festival also hosts a beer tent, two outdoor patios and a free nightly Cabaret. For more information, please visit our website at www.fringetoronto.com.

KIDSVENUE
Now in its 8th year, the KidsVenue at The Toronto Fringe Festival has entertained and educated children from 4-15 years of age. Held at The Palmerston Library, the KidsVenue has something for everyone: puppetry, dance, musicals, fairy-tales and more! Tickets are $5 for children 15 and under and $8 for adults. For more information, please visit our website at www.fringetoronto.com.

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Edmontonian among victims of 'brazen' thief
By David Staples, The Edmonton Journal
Sunday, May 06, 2007

Playwrights and theatrical agents are outraged and astonished that an American theatre producer from Kent, Ohio, engaged in the serial plagiarism of a number of well-known Canadian plays.

Since 1999, Jack L. Herman has been acquiring the scripts of Canadian plays, putting his own name on them, claiming copyright over them, and sometimes staging his own productions at his amateur theatre company, as well as authorizing productions of the stolen plays by other companies. "He is a thief, a fraud, a plagiarist," says one of his victims, Edmonton playwright David Belke. "The whole situation has been shocking in its intent and almost comedic in its brazenness."

"It's annoying," says another victim, playwright Kim Selody of St. Catharines, Ont., adding that if writers don't get their deserved royalties it harms their ability to keep working. "It's a disrespect for the primary creator."

Prominent New York literary agent Beth Blickers has never heard of another plagiarist in the theatre world such as Herman. "My writers have certainly caught errant productions over the years thanks to the Internet, but never found their play with someone else's name on it. That's really ballsy and pathetic to an astonishing degree. And, in the day and age of the Internet, it's downright stupid."

The plagiarized plays include at least three prominent plays: Suddenly Shakespeare written in 1988 by Selody, The Reluctant Resurrection of Sherlock Holmes written in 1992 by Belke, and I'll Be Back Before Midnight by Peter Colley.

Colley's play has been called the most popular stage play in Canadian history by the Globe and Mail and was made into a Showtime movie starring Heather Locklear and Ned Beatty.

Herman's versions of the plays had similar or even identical titles: Suddenly Shakespeare, The Unexpected Return of Sherlock Holmes, and Before Midnight! The scripts are almost word-for-word the same as the original plays.

"Maybe he has some kind of dreams of being a playwright and doesn't want to go through the effort of actually being one," Colley says.

Buying the rights to his play would only have cost a few hundred dollars, so Colley wonders why Herman bothered to steal it. "Why would you put your neck on the line for such a trivial amount?"

Herman was only caught in September when a Sherlock Holmes fan noticed the similarities between Belke's play and the plot description of Herman's Unexpected Return, which was being performed by a Los Angeles theatre company.

The Holmes fan, Peter Blau of Bethesda, Md., contacted Belke, who then worked with his agent, Dale Harney, to uncover Herman's plagiarism by comparing scripts from the two plays.

Herman almost immediately admitted to plagiarizing Belke's play and paid a $2,500 out-of-court settlement.

He only plagiarized, he says, to help his small Ohio theatre company survive. "I am ashamed of what I did. I have done what I can to try to make restitution financially to Mr. Belke. I have personally apologized to him and I would like to see the matter put to an end at this time."

Herman insists he plagiarized only Belke's play and no others. When confronted with evidence that he had, in fact, plagiarized Colley and Selody's plays as well, he said, "My attorney has advised me not to talk to you anymore, thank you."

= = =

Case of the Purloined Play
When acclaimed local writer David Belke learned that a play shockingly similar to his own was being staged in Los Angeles, he and his agent were hot on the trail of the perpetrator
By David Staples, The Edmonton Journal
Sunday, May 06, 2007

David Belke's hit play The Reluctant Resurrection of Sherlock Holmes is known for its clever plot, but it has nothing on the twists in the true-life tale that unfolded after Belke discovered the play had been plagiarized.

In recent months, Belke and his agent, Dale Harney, have used their own detective skills to track down and nail the culprit, Jack L. Herman of Kent, Ohio, a serial plagiarist of the theatre world and a man who carries around a terrible secret.

Belke's investigation into Herman started last fall -- at 12:55 p.m. on Sept. 25, 2006, to be precise -- when Belke got an e-mail from one Peter E. Blau of Bethesda, Md., who wrote: "The Unexpected Return of Sherlock Holmes, a comedy by Jack L. Herman, is being performed at the Sierra Stage in West Hollywood, and it appears to be a slightly revised version of your The Reluctant Resurrection of Sherlock Holmes (1992) ... Please tell me more ..."

Belke had never heard of Peter E. Blau, who turned out to be an avid Holmes fan. Belke didn't know what to make of Blau's curious e-mail. "I was really quite puzzled by it. What he was saying was so weird."

Belke's 1992 play had been a runaway hit at Edmonton's Fringe Theatre Festival and elsewhere. A month-long run at Edmonton's Mayfield Theatre in 2005 had earned Belke $40,000, the biggest payday of his long and acclaimed career as a playwright. The play has been staged in several other cities by other theatre companies, who paid Belke the standard fee, 10 per cent of the house for professional companies, about five per cent for amateur companies, which amounted to paydays of a few hundreds dollars to a few thousand dollars for the playwright.

The play itself revolves around a haunted country manor, Baffleur Grange. Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the famed Sherlock Holmes books, is called in to solve the mystery of the haunting, only to find himself haunted by the character of Holmes, whom he had grown tired of and had stopped writing about a few years earlier.

On the Internet, Belke could only find a few descriptions of this new Holmes play in the What's On section of the Los Angeles Times. The descriptions provided little information, but one blurb did say that Unexpected Return was set at Baffleur Manor, which seemed odd to Belke. It was possible, he realized, that another playwright could have come up with the same idea as he had for a play about Doyle and Holmes, but the similarity of the names of the settings in the two plays, Baffleur Manor and Baffleur Grange, made him wonder if something more was afoot.

At once, Belke called Harney, who for the past 18 months had been trying to sell Reluctant Resurrection as a movie-of-the-week franchise in Hollywood. Harney offered to use his L.A. contacts to find out more about Unexpected Return and its producers, Coconut Productions.

Harney found a website for Coconut that listed the characters in Unexpected Return: Holmes, Doyle, Desmond, Abigail and Rose Westhaven, Robert Scrimshaw and others. Only one name was different than the names of the characters in Belke's play, that of Tomas Markoveitch, who had been rechristened with a French first name, Dumas Markoveitch.

Harney tracked down Coconut's producer, Bill Wolski, a used-car buyer and aspiring actor and writer, who had moved to Hollywood from Ohio in 2002 to pursue a theatrical career.

Wolski didn't know what to make of Harney's story. Coconut was a small theatre company, he told Harney, just a bunch of budding actors who had chosen a play they loved, one that had been written by Wolski's good friend, Jack L. Herman, who still lived in Ohio. Herman had staged the play with amateur companies in Ohio several times, Wolski said, first in 1999, then in 2000, 2002 and 2005.

This had to be a misunderstanding, Wolski thought to himself. He was sure Herman had written the play because when Herman was at work on the script back in 1999, he had approached Wolski and told him he was writing in one particular character, Dumas, with Wolski in mind for the part.

Wolski also knew that Herman was quite vigilant about protecting copyright of his plays and had stapled to the front page of every script a note that said, "Copyright, 1999 Herman Plays & Publications. Caution: Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that The Unexpected Return of Sherlock Holmes is subject to royalty. It is fully protected under copyright laws."

Wolski called Herman to sort out the matter. As soon as Wolski described Harney's allegations, Herman sounded sad, and a bit angry.

"Well, I guess I should have seen this coming," he told Wolski. "You being out in L.A. and producing my play and giving it as much publicity as you can, someone was bound to try and ride my coattails.

"I guess I should have gotten myself a lawyer before this happened, knowing it very well could happen. Someone is obviously trying to lay claim to my intellectual property."

That evening of Sept. 25, Wolski again talked to Harney, and the two went over the scripts of the two plays, Harney reading lines from Belke's version, Wolski checking them with Herman's version. The two plays started differently, but only because Herman had axed Belke's short opening scene. After that, the two plays ran almost word for word the same. Harney would read one line, only to have Wolski finish it.

"Oh my God, this can't be," Wolski said at last. "I can't believe this."

But, a moment later, the reality sunk in. "This is definitely a case of plagiarism. There is no doubt about it."

The next morning, Wolski called Herman and told him: "These scripts are very, very similar."

Herman didn't deny it, but had an explanation. He had been working with others on the script over the Internet, sending them copies to get their feedback and input. Someone in Canada must have seen his script and decided to put their own copyright on it, he said, essentially alleging that Belke was the thief, not him.

Wolski told Herman he had better call Harney and Belke to sort out this mess.

While Harney was dealing with Wolski and Herman, David Belke was doing his own sleuthing.

Hearing that Herman had first staged the play in 1999, Belke immediately wondered how the Ohio man had ever gotten his hands on the script. Belke had written his play on a typewriter. There were no electronic copies of it.

The most likely source, Belke decided, was the Playwrights Union of Canada, which sells copies of Canadian plays around the world. He contacted the union, and soon received a faxed copy of an invoice for six plays, including Reluctant Resurrection, sold to Jack Herman of Kent, Ohio, in 1999.

Harney was armed with this invoice when Herman called him on Sept. 26. At once, Herman launched into a rambling story about how he had been writing a play and collaborating with other people on the Internet, and that one of them must have stolen much of Belke's play without telling him, so that explained the similarities between the two works.

"Jack," Harney said, trying to stop Herman's babbling.

"Jack," he repeated, but still Herman continued his rapid-fire explanation.

"JACK!"

At last Herman shut up.

"Jack. I am holding the invoices from the Canadian playwrights union as we speak. The Reluctant Resurrection of Sherlock Holmes is right there."

There was a long pause.

At last, Herman spoke. "I'm sorry. I lied. I plagiarized it."

A short time later, Herman called Belke to apologize. Belke asked him why he had stolen the play.

"We were a small community theatre company and we couldn't afford the rights to your play," Herman said. "So we just did it without your permission."

"So that's why you performed my play," Belke said. "But why did you put your name on my play?"

"Well, I put my name on the play because I thought the community would be more likely to get behind the work of a local playwright."

By then, Belke realized he wasn't dealing with a professional theatre artist. "Obviously, you're in amateur theatre," he told Herman. "Jack, just what do you do for a living?"

Again, there was a long pause and silence.

And that's when Herman revealed his terrible secret.

"I know this is going to sound bad," he said. "I'm a police officer. A detective."

Belke could feel the synapses in his brain misfiring for a moment. "You're kidding!" he roared.

"No, no," Herman said quietly.

Belke had one other thing to ask: why had Herman changed the first name of the Polish character Tomas Markoveitch? "You didn't change a word, but why in God's name did you change the name of that character to Dumas?" he said, giving the name a French pronunciation.

"I just thought the character was such a dumb ass," Herman replied, "so I changed his name to dumb ass."

Now, to understand Belke's reaction, you have to understand the proud and prickly artistic temperament. Belke loved his Tomas Markoveitch character and now this plagiarist, this philistine, had literally changed him into a dumb ass.

"I must admit that at that single moment I had never hated a man more in my life," Belke says.

Next, Herman called Wolski to apologize, but Wolski refused to answer the phone. Instead, Herman e-mailed him a note riddled with misspellings: "I am guilty of plagurizing Mr. Belke's work. I never meant to hurt anyone. ... But I am sorry Bill.

"... I have brought shame on myself, my family and my friends. I may loose my job, my home ... everything. But one of the things that I regret the most though is compemising your trust in me as a friend. I want you to know that it has never been easy knowing that I didn't write this work."

Herman repeated his claim he only plagiarized to help his struggling theatre company, but

Wolski didn't buy it. He clearly recalls Herman being proud of his Holmes play and promoting the play to various theatre companies.

Wolski and his own L.A. company decided to cancel their run of the play, refund the ticket money, and send out a press release outlining Herman's plagiarism. To this day, Wolski refuses to accept Herman's apology.

"I haven't spoken to him since. I absolutely refuse to. I think he's a liar. I think of him as a bad person."

Having uncovered Herman's plagiarism, Harney and Belke were determined to make him pay. "It's less about the money," Belke says. "It's more he kidnapped my child and tried to pass it off as his own. It was a theft of something I hold dear to my heart.

"On the one hand, you've got to admire the man's chutzpah, the sheer idiotic courage that he felt he could get away with it. But the fact of the matter is, he did get away with it for seven years. Probably what he was thinking is: who in Canada is going to notice?"

Belke also knew that in 1999 Herman had purchased five other plays, and several of them had the exact same names as other plays that Herman was now claiming as his own. If Belke didn't make a point with Herman, perhaps he would plagiarize many other works.

In the end, Herman agreed to pay Belke $2,500 in an out-of-court settlement.

Today, Jack Herman is at work at his policing job of 18 years at the Portage County Sheriff's Department, where he is in charge of concealed weapons permits.

In a phone interview, he repeats he only plagiarized Belke's play to help a failing amateur theatre company. "I'm not a bad person, I just did a bad (thing)," Herman says. "... It didn't seem like it was going to affect or hurt anybody. Of course, looking back now, I realize it was completely the wrong thing to do. I wouldn't appreciate it if someone had done it to me."

Herman says he was "a little shocked" the matter was still being talked about after he had settled with Belke. "Obviously, with my professional career, I don't want to have this kind of problem."

Herman says he has, in fact, written several plays. But did he plagiarize any others?

"No, no, that was the only play that I had that I needed to."

But in 1999, he bought five other plays besides Belke's, including Suddenly Shakespeare, the 1988 play by Kim Selody of St. Catharines, Ont. Herman's theatre company produced a play with the same name in 2000, with Herman claiming authorship.

Did he plagiarize that one?

"No, I did not plagiarize that one, no."

After talking with Herman, The Journal obtained copies of scripts from both Herman's version of Suddenly Shakespeare and Selody's version.

The two plays are almost exactly the same, word for word.

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I raced out to buy the new Michael Buble CD (yes I still buy CDs) "Call Me Irresponsible". Actually I was in the store buying the awesome 3-disc DREAMGIRLS DVD anyways (more on that later) so I thought, why not? I always like the mix of songs he covers -- lots of classic Frank Sinatra tunes, pop tunes, original stuff, and musical theatre songs that have been artfully rearranged by David Foster.

I love the new CD! I think my favorite track is "It Had Better Be Tonight", the Henry Mancini song that I first heard in THE PINK PANTHER movie.

From this post on the always dependable Wikipedia:

Meglio Stasera (known in English as It Had Better Be Tonight), is a 1964 song with music by Henry Mancini, Italian lyrics by Franco Migliacci, (songwriter) and English lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was composed for the original installment of the film series The Pink Panther.

It showcases a young actress named Fran Jeffries, who sings the song while slowly dancing around a fireplace at a ski lodge where all the principal players of the film are gathered.

But what is with his touring schedule? Why no Toronto dates? For that matter, why no Canadian dates? Has he forgotten us that quickly? And quite frankly, from the list on his website (michaelbuble.com) most of his dates are in Europe. First Barbra, now Michael. Sheesh.

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Something about this product sort of struck my fancy...

From this post on Boing Boing:

Attua Aparicio Torinos designed a line of funny white coffee mugs with cartoon animal parts on the bottom. Also available in pig and rabbit for £10.00 from Thorsten Van Elten.

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Forget Vienna, I wanna go to Vegas!

I've been a huge fan of Bette Midler since I first tapped along to her rendition of "In The Mood" at the old Roland and Romaine Dance Studio on Bloor Street.

I've seen her in concert only once in Toronto and she was amazing. I've got the albums, the sheet music, and of course who can forget her poignant send-off to Johnny Carson? And I vividly remember sitting on the end of the bed in some hotel room in San Diego, watching her sing "Stay With Me Baby" on TV (it was one of her older concerts) and by the end of the number I was blubbering like a baby. Oh, and I was also one of the seven people who loved her short-lived TV sitcom "Bette".

According to this article in Playbill:

Star of stage, screen and song, Bette Midler, has signed a two-year deal as the new resident artist at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

Midler, who will succeed Grammy winner Celine Dion, will begin performances Feb. 20, 2008. Her new show -- which promises "plenty of girls, gags and guffaws, her incomparable humor, the best song catalogue in American music and her fabulous 'Kiss My Brass' section" -- will play five nights a week at 7:30 PM. Dark nights are Mondays and Thursdays.

In a statement the award-winning Midler said, "Get ready Vegas 'cause here I come! Caesars Palace will never be the same and to all those critics who have accused me of being 'tacky,' 'too much' and 'over the top' I say, you ain't seen nuthin' yet!"

Caesars Palace president Gary Selesner added, "Caesars Palace has set the standard for entertainment in Las Vegas by continually booking the biggest and best acts the city has ever seen including Celine Dion and Elton John. Adding the inimitable Bette Midler to The Colosseum's family of entertainers adds yet another jewel to our crown."

Tickets, priced $95, $140, $175 and $250, are now on sale by calling 1-877-7BETTEM (723-8836) or by visiting www.ticketmaster.com.

Bette Midler made her Broadway debut as Tzeitel in the original Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof. She returned to the Great White Way in several concerts: Bette Midler, Bette Midler's Clams on the Half Shell Revue and Bette! Divine Madness. She was awarded a Special Tony Award in 1974 for "adding luster to the Broadway season."

Midler's screen credits are extensive and include Oscar nominations for her performances in "For the Boys" and "The Rose." She is also the recipient of Grammy Awards for Record of the Year ("Wind Beneath My Wings, 1989), Best Pop Vocal Performance Female ("The Rose," 1980) and Best New Artist (1973).

For more information visit www.bette.aeglive.com.

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How do I hitch a ride to Vienna?

Actually, I'm really saving my strudel for Michael Arden, (not Barbra!) one of the four Broadway leading men who will join her Diva-ness on her European tour. I was so sorry I missed Arden in THE TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGIN'. I saw him perform "Blowin' in The Wind" at Broadway on Broadway and loved him! (see my previous post).

Hmmm, let's see, who would I pick as "my boys" to back me up on my tour? How 'bout: Michael Arden, John Lloyd Young, Daniel Reichard, and Hugh Jackman...

According to this article in Playbill:

American audiences may have been treated to the sounds of Il Divo during Barbra Streisand's recent U.S. concert tour, but international audiences will hear a Broadway sound.

Playbill.com has learned that four of Broadway's leading men -- Michael Arden, Peter Lockyer, Sean McDermott and Hugh Panaro -- will join the Academy Award-winning actress during her forthcoming European tour.

As previously announced, the concert -- co-directed by Streisand and Richard Jay-Alexander -- will play London, Austria, France and Ireland with additional tour dates to be announced shortly. The award-winning performer will be backed by a 58-piece orchestra, and concertgoers can expect to hear such tunes as "Evergreen," "People," "The Way We Were" and "Don't Rain on My Parade."

Designated proceeds from the tour will support Streisand's philanthropic initiatives and will be distributed through The Streisand Foundation.

The current tour itinerary follows:

June 21 in Vienna at the Schloss Schonbrun
June 26 in Paris at the Bercy
July 10 in Nice at the Nikaia Stadium
July 14 in Dublin at the Castletown House
July 18 in London at the O2 Dome

Michael Arden was most recently on the Broadway stage in Twyla Tharp's The Times They Are A'Changin'. The young actor made his Broadway debut as Tom Sawyer in the revival of Big River, and his other New York stage credits include Bare: A Pop Opera, The Vampire Lestat, It's Only Life and Harold & Maude. Arden's regional credits include Ace; God of Vengeance; Falsettoland; Art, Song Dance; West Side Story; Songs for a New World; The Common Pursuit and A Winter's Tale. A graduate of the Juilliard School, Arden's compositions include Easter Rising and As You Like It.

Peter Lockyer has been seen on Broadway in La Boheme, Cyrano -- The Musical, Miss Saigon, The Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables. He portrayed Marius in the tour of Les Miz and Chris in the tour of Miss Saigon. Lockyer was also seen in the TV version of Gypsy as Yonkers.

Sean McDermott's Broadway credits include Grease, Falsettos, Miss Saigon and Starlight Express. He was seen Off-Broadway in Boys in the Band and in the national tours of South Pacific and Starlight Express as well as the international tour of West Side Story.

Hugh Panaro's Main Stem credits include The Phantom of the Opera, Lestat, Side Show, Show Boat, The Red Shoes and Les Miserables.

For more information visit www.barbrastreisand.com or www.cpitour.com.

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It is particularly popular with the well-educated and current college-age students
BY: Director Lee Rainie and Bill Tancer, General Manager of Global Research at www.Hitwise.com
April 2007

More than a third of American adult internet users (36%) consult the citizen-generated online encyclopedia Wikipedia, according to a new nationwide survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. And on a typical day in the winter of 2007, 8% of online Americans consulted Wikipedia.

There has been ongoing controversy about the reliability of articles on Wikipedia. Still, the Pew Internet Project survey shows that Wikipedia is far more popular among the well-educated than it is among those with lower levels of education. For instance, 50% of those with at least a college degree consult the site, compared with 22% of those with a high school diploma. And 46% of those age 18 and older who are current full- or part-time students have used Wikipedia, compared with 36% of the overall internet population.

In addition, young adults and broadband users have been among those who are earlier adopters of Wikipedia. While 44% of those ages 18-29 use Wikipedia to look for information, just 29% of users age 50 and older consult the site. In a similar split, 42% of home broadband users look for information on Wikipedia, while just 26% of home dial-up users do so.

All told, the use of Wikipedia is more popular on a typical day than some of the more prominent activities tracked by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, including online purchasing, visiting dating websites, making travel reservations, using chat rooms, and participating in online auctions.

The popularity of Wikipedia
Several Web traffic measuring firms say that Wikipedia is one of the most heavily visited sites on the internet. comScore Media Metrix, the Web traffic measuring firm, regularly says that monthly traffic to the cluster of Wikipedia sites positions them in the top 10 global sites.

Likewise, data from Hitwise consistently registers Wikipedia in the top 10 most popular sites on the entire Web. Moreover, in the cluster of sites that are focused on educational and reference material, Wikipedia is by far the most popular site, drawing nearly six times more traffic than the next-closest site.

Why is Wikipedia so popular?
Hitwise data suggest several reasons for the popularity of Wikipedia: First, there is the sheer amount of material on the site, covering everything from ancient history to current events and popular culture. Because authors can create and edit entries at any time and in any location, new entries about emerging tech terms, celebrities or political scandals can be published or updated within a matter of minutes. In total, Wikipedia claims over 5.3 million entries, 1.6 million of them in English.

Second, Wikipedia's dramatic growth is strongly correlated with Americans' affection for search engines. Over 70% of the visits to Wikipedia in the week ending March 17 came from search engines, according to Hitwise data.

Wikipedia’s article structure helps explain this. Many of the pieces in the encyclopedia are full of links to other Wikipedia articles and other material on the Web. One of the prime factors in Google's search results algorithm is the number of links connected to a given webpage. Thus, Wikipedia's culture of encouraging internal and external links gives Wikipedia material a shot at very high Google rankings on many keyword queries. In fact, Wikipedia has become the #1 external site visited after Google's search page, receiving over half of its traffic from the search engine.

Convenience is likely a big factor, too
In addition to having some logistical advantages in drawing traffic, Wikipedia is probably popular for other reasons as well. Research on other subjects by the Pew Internet Project has shown that the convenience of using sites makes a difference. In our "Science Online" report, we found that science knowledge-seeking online is driven a lot by convenience -- more so than a sense that science information online is more accurate than other sources. Convenience mattered to 71% of those seeking science information, compared with 13% of those who said using the internet gave them more accurate information. In addition, our research about seekers of science information showed that users do a lot of checking using other offline and online sources of science information beyond the sites they find easily through search engines.

This finding also mirrors work we have done about the way people get health information and get political information online. The ease of using the internet to find information quickly seems a constant for many kinds of data hunts online.

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Check out this awesome birthday tribute to Stephen Sondheim from the cast of "Desperate Housewives" on YouTube! My eldest daughter, a huge DH and SS fan, sent me the link! The show's creator, Marc Cherry, is also a huge Sondheim fan and every episode is named after a Sondheim song.

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By Stephen Castle in Brussels for The Independent [UK]
Published: 28 April 2007

The curtain is about to come down on theatres that misquote reviewers on billboards or in other advertising, thanks to an EU directive which will outlaw misleading publicity.

The legislation, which will come into force in December, will make it illegal to extract a positive word or phrase from a theatre review if that paints a misleading picture of the article as a whole. Lawyers are already warning that producers will have to be more careful in the future when using selective quotes in publicity material.

The European Commission said that musicals and plays could fall under the scope of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, although it is a much broader piece of legislation.

Helen Kearns, European Commission spokeswoman on consumer affairs, said: "This is a very far-reaching set of new rules that comes into force in December this year to ensure that consumers can trust the things they are told by businesses.

"It is policed on a case-by-case basis by the Office of Fair Trading. It should apply to misleading advertising right across the board from airline tickets to theatre tickets."

The law bars any advert that contains "false information" or any claim that "deceives or is likely to deceive the consumer" so that it "causes or is likely to cause him to take a transactional decision that he would not have taken otherwise".

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The cast will be singin' in the rain!

I can't wait. I love to see shows in tryout and then catch them on Broadway to see how they change. I better grab my umbrella!

According to this article in Playbill:

Young Frankenstein, the eagerly awaited new Mel Brooks musical, will have a pre-Broadway tryout this summer in Seattle.

Variety reports that the Brooks-Thomas Meehan musical will play an Aug. 4-Sept. 1 stint at Seattle's Paramount Theatre. Although Chicago hosted the pre-Broadway tryout of Brooks' smash hit The Producers, the producer of Frankenstein have chosen the city that hosted the tryouts of Hairspray and The Wedding Singer; those musicals both played the Fifth Avenue Theatre.

Young Frankenstein, based on Brooks' 1974 film, has a score by Brooks, a book by Brooks and Thomas Meehan and direction and choreography by Susan Stroman -- the same team that turned The Producers into Tony gold.

The design team comprises Robin Wagner (set design), William Ivey Long (costume design) and Peter Kaczorowski (lighting design). All three also designed The Producers.

The likely stars of Young Frankenstein are Tony Award winners Shuler Hensley (in the role of the monster, played by Peter Boyle in the film) and Sutton Foster (Inga, the Teri Garr role), along with the former "Will & Grace" star Megan Mullally (Elizabeth, the Madeline Kahn role).

Frankenstein is aiming for a Halloween opening on Broadway. A theatre has not been announced, although the likely suspects are the St. James Theatre, The Producers' long-time home, or The Hilton Theatre, where The Pirate Queen recently opened to mixed reviews.

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I imagine it's a lot easier to be naked when it's warm outside! The reason I'm imagining is that we're still using dressed talent at this reading -- but we're in L.A. now, so I'm hopeful that we'll get the nudity going soon...

Here's the exciting news: The Academy for New Musical Theatre (ANMT) is presenting a concert reading of NAKED IN AMERICA -- THE MUSICAL.

That's right! On May 21, 2007 at 7pm in North Hollywood, ANMT's Main Hall will be the sight of a concert reading of the musical I co-wrote with Greg Silva, NAKED IN AMERICA -- THE MUSICAL.

The Academy of New Musical Theatre was founded by John Sparks (also the Artistic Director) and exists "to foster and to advance the state of new musical theatre production."

From the AMNT website:

ANMT's roots go back 30 years to the teachings of our first mentor, Lehman Engel, a pre-eminent Broadway musical director. The Academy became a non-profit corporation in response to an ever-growing interest in the international musical theatre community. Our community includes writers of new works, and the producers, directors, choreographers, actors, and singer who make those works come alive.

Here's the info from the promotional flyer:

NAKED IN AMERICA -- THE MUSICAL

A Full-Frontal Assault

Book by Greg Silva and Suzy Conn
Lyrics by Suzy Conn
Music by Greg Silva

Monday May 21, 2007 (7:00pm)
The Academy for New Musical Theatre
Main Hall
5628 Vineland Avenue
North Hollywood, CA

Admission is free
For reservations e-mail gerg@mindspring.com
For more information, visit www.anmt.org.

NAKED IN AMERICA -- THE MUSICAL

This wry and sometimes shocking musical revue exposes the naked truth about our attitudes towards nudity, sex and violence in modern-day America.

NAKED IN AMERICA -- THE MUSICAL asks the hard questions: Where did these values come from? Where will they take us? How much is too much? What's the big deal?

Rated PG (Pretty Graphic -- Not Recommended for Prudes!)

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I saw this and at first I was horrified. Then, I thought, maybe this is what theatre is all about. This would never happen/have impact in a movie theatre. This stimulates discussion and highlights intolerance in a way that no amount of TV show letter writing campaigns could ever create. Yeah for theatre! Down with intolerance!

From this post on Boing Boing:

Josh says: Have you guys heard about the protest against Mike Daisey's monologue at the ART's Zero Arrow Theatre in Cambridge, Mass., on Thursday? A group of 87 Christian teens, parents, and teachers didn't like the language he used when joking about Paris Hilton so they poured water over his handwritten notes and walked out. I've blogged about it this morning. I don't see anything in the Globe or anywhere else -- except for in the blogosphere -- about what happened. There's an excellent video on YouTube of the whole thing.

I am performing the show to a packed house, when suddenly the lights start coming up in the house as a flood of people start walking down the aisles -- they looked like a flock of birds who'd been startled, the way they all moved so quickly, and at the same moment ... it was shocking, to see them surging down the aisles. The show halted as they fled, and at this moment a member of their group strode up to the table, stood looking down on me and poured water all over the outline, drenching everything in a kind of anti-baptism.

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I think I need my blue blankie!

Although I'm very excited about YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN coming in the fall, I'm bummed about THE PRODUCERS finally closing on Broadway after six years (but still On Tour). For me, THE PRODUCERS put the joy and fun back into Broadway. The lyrics and music and dialogue have become a daily part of my family's life! Not a day goes by that we're not quoting something from that show. Mel, it's good to be the King!

According to this article in Playbill:

The Mel Brooks-Thomas Meehan hit Broadway musical comedy The Producers -- like the titular Leo and Max -- will walk into the sunset after the 3 PM April 22 performance.

The record 12-time Tony Award-winning 2001 smashzilla closes three days after its sixth anniversary (which was April 19), following 33 preview performances and 2,502 regular performances at Broadway's St. James Theatre.

Director-choreographer Susan Stroman is expected to be on hand at the Sunday curtain call.

Mel Brooks' new musical, Young Frankenstein, with a score by Mel Brooks, a book by Brooks and Thomas Meehan and direction and choreography by Susan Stroman -- the team that turned The Producers into gold -- will likely play the coveted St. James Theatre next. A further announcement about the production (including dates, casting and more) is imminent.

P.S. Uh guys, what's with the scorched earth policy on Web sites for closed shows? THE PRODUCERS' "Forbidden. You don't have permission to access / on this server." sets a new standard in mothballed shows, originally set by SWEENEY TODD's "RIP Sweeney Todd" title bar message over a blank page. Can't you sell some CDs or something? The show may be off the stage, but it lives on in the minds of fans, and the Web can keep that alive. How about links to the Tour, CDs, DVDs, books -- THE PRODUCERS generated an amazing amount of swag. Geesh.

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To my Queen...the Shakespeare poem on the back of an envelope
by DAVID WILKES, London Daily Mail
20th April 2007

A 'new' poem by William Shakespeare has been published for the first time. He was our greatest dramatist, but even William Shakespeare wasn't above buttering up his sovereign. That was the intention of an 18-line poem addressed to Elizabeth I which has been officially attributed to him for the first time.

The verses, called "To the Queen by the Players", are thought to have been written as an epilogue for a Royal command performance of AS YOU LIKE IT given at court on Shrove Tuesday in February 1599. The poem was found 30 years ago in a manuscript collection of Elizabethan court poetry, but its authenticity has been disputed ever since.

However, Shakespeare scholar Jonathan Bate, of the University of Warwick, has decided to include the poem in the latest edition of the writer's collected works. He said: "Some people believe it is by Shakespeare, some people do not. I am now 99 per cent certain it was written by Shakespeare. We know from records that Shakespeare's company played at court on the day the manuscript refers to, but unfortunately we don't know which play they performed.

However, the allusion in the first line of the poem to the 'dial hand' of a clock chimes with some of the language in AS YOU LIKE IT, which was new in 1599.

"When plays were put on at court, it was a requirement that there should be a prologue and an epilogue tailor-made for the occasion. Shakespeare was probably in the habit of dashing some lines down on the back of an envelope and then chucking them away. By chance, this one example has survived."

A Royal Shakespeare Company spokesman said the poem, which could well have been spoken by Shakespeare himself, is written in the same style as the epilogue to A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM.

The verses, called To the Queen by the Players, are thought to have been written as an epilogue for a Royal command performance of As You Like It. "In its command of language and rhythm, it has the utter assurance that is unique to the mature Shakespeare," she said. "Though only 18 lines long, it's a precious addition to the canon."

American scholars William Ringler and Steven May came across the poem three decades ago in the notebook of a man called Henry Stanford. He is known to have worked in the household of the Lord Chamberlain, who was in charge of court festivities.

The editors of the last Complete Works of Shakespeare to be published, the 1986 Oxford edition, decided to omit the poem. But it appears in the RSC Complete Works of Shakespeare, edited by Professor Bate and Eric Rasmussen of the University of Nevada, which was published on Thursday.

Professor Bate added: "This poem has been known to scholars for many years and has previously been published in an academic journal, but this is the first time it has been included in a Complete Works." The poem is due to be read today -- the present Queen's birthday -- on Radio 4's Today programme by actor Geoffrey Streatfeild, who is a member of the RSC.

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MIA, MAMMA MIA!

I was thrilled to hear that joining Meryl Streep in the film version of the musical MAMMA MIA! is Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan, and Christine Baranski. And they're all in London now recording the film's soundtrack. Bloody marvelous!

But can Colin and Pierce sing? I guess my answer to that is WHO CARES!!! Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bond in the same film? Be still my foolish heart! And of course I love Baranksi -- she became one of my favs wheh she was on the Cybil Sheppard show "Cybill" back in the mid '90s.

According to this article in Playbill:

Tony Award winner Christine Baranski, who was back on the New York stage earlier this season in Regrets Only, will join the previously announced Meryl Streep for the film version of the international hit musical Mamma Mia!

Liz Smith confirms previous reports that Baranski will be part of the movie musical. The cast, now in London to pre-record the film's soundtrack, will also feature Julie Walters, Colin Firth and Pierce Brosnan.

Baranski will play the role of Tanya in the motion picture, which is being directed by Phyllida Lloyd, who will be making her feature-film debut. Lloyd helmed both the London and Broadway mountings of the long-running musical.

London's Daily Mail also recently reported that three songs from the stage show have been dropped: "Thank You For the Music," "Under Attack" and "Knowing Me, Knowing You." The movie, however, introduces another ABBA song to book and screenplay writer Catherine Johnson's storyline, "When All Is Said and Done."

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Hollie Howard stars as a Thoroughly Marvelous Millie!

There's still time to catch the fabulous Hollie Howard (who played Holly Banks in the 2005 NYMF production of PLANE CRAZY) as Millie Dillmount in the Carousel Dinner Theatre's production of THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE. Directed and choreographed by Marc Robin, THORUGHLY MODERN MILLIE plays until April 28.

Hollie has garnered great reviews during this run, like:

In Carousel's production, Millie is played by the delightful Hollie Howard. Howard's vocals are wonderful, and she’s particularly suited to the song "Jimmy," one of the few from the movie that survived in the transfer to the stage. The other is the title tune, "Thoroughly Modern Millie." Howard is also a talented comedic actress.
-- By REX HUFFMAN, T-R Entertainment Editor

It sounds like it's a fantastic production. Don't miss it!

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You can take the man out of OH! CALCUTTA!, but you can't take the OH! CALCUTTA! out of the man!

My fabulous husband gave me Season One of MAUDE, one of my favorite TV shows from the 1970s, starring Bea Arthur, Bill Macy, and Adrienne Barbeau (among many others). I loved the theme song, which was written by Alan and Marilyn Bergman and Dave Grusin:

Lady Godiva was a freedom rider
She didn't care if the whole world looked
Joan of Arc with the Lord to guide her
She was a sister who really cooked

Isadora was the first bra burner
And you're glad she showed up (Oh yeah)
And when the country was falling apart
Betsy Ross got it all sewed up

And then there's Maude
And then there's Maude
And then there's Maude
And then there's Maude
And then there's Maude
And then there's Maude
And then there's

That old compromisin', enterprisin', anything but tranquilizing,
Right on Maude!

I miss those great TV show themes! Here is a handy website that has all the lyrics to shows from the '50s, '60s and '70s.

Of course when I was watching the show as a kid, I didn't know that Bill Macy had bared it all in the original cast of OH! CALCUTTA! Well, it didn't take long for Bill to start stripping down again on MAUDE. That's right, in the second episode entitled "Doctor Doctor", Carol's young 7-year old son Phillip is caught "playing doctor" behind the garage with a young female neighbor. The girl's conservative father, Dr. Arthur Harmon (played by "Different Strokes" actor, Canadian Conrad Bain) is livid and an argument ensues between him and Maude about sexual freedom. Of course Maude's position is that the naked body is beautiful and the kids shouldn't be ashamed.

Later in the show, Bill Macy gets totally drunk and proceeds to strip down to his underwear in front of Carol and Maude, and both the women are horrified. I thought it was great that not only the conservative guy was shown to have "hang ups", but even liberals can harbor some hang ups about nudity as well. We actually address that very point in one of the scenes in NAKED IN AMERICA -- THE MUSICAL.

Needless to say, since it was primetime, Bill Macy kept his boxers on!

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Do I hear a reunion? Jaimibeth and Seth together again!

Jamibeth Margolis and Seth Weinstein who directed and musical directed (respectively) PLANE CRAZY at NYMF 2005, are working together again. This time they've teamed up for a production of the Rodgers/Sondheim/Laurents show, DO I HEAR A WALTZ at the Arvada Center just outside Denver (which looks gorgeous, BTW).

Here's the e-mail I got from Seth:

I am currently the musical director of "Do I Hear a Waltz?" at the Arvada Center, just outside Denver. We start previews tonight and open on Tuesday. If you're in the area between now and May 13, please come see the show!

More information click here.

Previews April 13 to 15 and Runs April 17 to May 13

Music by RICHARD RODGERS - Lyrics by STEPHEN SONDHEIM
Book by ARTHUR LAURENTS
Directed by JAMIBETH MARGOLIS
Musical direction by SETH WEINSTEIN

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I just received word from Seth Weinstein, composer of HOW TO SAVE THE WORLD AND FIND TRUE LOVE IN 90 MINUTES, informing me that the official Off-Broadway cast album is now available! I really enjoyed this show when I saw it in December, and I'm excited to finally get the CD. Congrats Seth!

Here's the e-mail from Seth:

I am delighted to announce the release of the cast recording of "How to Save the World and Find True Love in 90 Minutes." The recording contains 19 tracks from the show, including these favorites:

"Why Are All the Good Men Unconscious?"
"I'm in Love With a Terrorist"
"When the Music Played" (The Celine Dion Song)
"Save the People"
Bonus track: the sassy female trio "Love Is," cut from the Off-Broadway production.

The CD comes with a 16-page booklet containing lyrics and color photos. It is available on-line for $14.95 and will soon be available at Colony Music in New York City.

Please click here to purchase your copy!

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by Dave Munger, scienceblogs.com
Posted on: April 12, 2007

Cognitive decline as we age is all over the news lately. "Brain fitness" products are available for cell phones, Game Boys, and Xboxes, all designed to prevent the natural decline in cognitive ability as we age. There's even a significant body of work suggesting that this sort of product really can work.

But some of the brain games can be dull, repetitive work: memory tasks, number games, and optical illusions, while endlessly fascinating to cognitive scientists, might be less appealing to the general population.

Researchers Helga and Tony Noice believe that training in the theater arts has similar cognitive benefits, with the added benefit of actually being quite enjoyable to its participants. Together with Graham Staines, in 2004 they developed a controlled study to test their idea. They recruited 124 older adults, age 60 to 86, to participate in one of three study groups, by posting notices in senior centers in DuPage County, Illinois, offering a chance to participate in "arts training":

Ah, but which art? Will you be learning about painting landscapes, playing the oboe, reciting Shakespeare, or writing verse? Only those who sign up will find out.
After everyone agreed they could attend all nine 90-minute sessions over the course of a month, one group was assigned to participate in a theater workshop, one group studied visual art, and one group received no training at all. Each group took a variety of cognitive tests at the beginning and end of the month. Everyone was paid $50 after completing the study. Here are the results:

The theater group improved significantly more compared to the control group in each of the measures (there was much less variance in the psychological well-being scores than in the other tests, so those small gains are significant). For problem solving and well-being, the theater group also improved significantly more than the visual arts group. The theater group also had the lowest drop-out rate of any group: All theater participants attended all 9 sessions, while 8 of the 44 visual arts students dropped out, despite the fact that all participants said they enjoyed the sessions.

Noice et al. continued to study the theater students for four months after the study, and found their performance on all tests was maintained for the entire post-study period.

The team argues that their results demonstrate that theater training -- even over a relatively short time period -- can help prevent cognitive decline associated with aging. They even speculate on some of the reasons why it is effective: Theater, they claim, requires sustained attention to the task in a way that other activities do not. Actors must stay in character for the duration of a scene, unlike studying visual art, where viewers might "rest" in between viewing different images. Also, the participants consistently remarked that theater was "new" to them, and novelty appears to be a key component of brain fitness.

The team says it would like to try other types of training in the future to see if they can find similar effects. We've reported on a study conducted that same year which showed IQ gains in children who studied music compared to kids who studied drama or nothing at all. This suggests that musical theater might beat music or theater alone as a brain fitness product!

(Noice, H., Noice, T., & Staines, G. (2004). A short-term intervention to enhance cognitive and affective functioning in older adults. Journal of Aging and Health, 16(4), 562-585.)

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Hallelujah!

I am very excited, happy and otherwise overjoyed to announce that four selections from [tos] can be purchased through the mail. Yes, for the outrageous-but-totally-worth-every-penny price of $10/song you can order "A Way Back To Then", "Two Nobodies in New York", "What Kind of Girl is She" and "Secondary Characters". I wonder how they came up with those four? Three of those are sung by Heidi and/or Susan. Why not "Part of it All" or " An Original Musical"? And unfortunately my fav song, "Die Vampire, Die" isn't available...yet. Sniff.

Oh well, my kids are still uber-excited. Myrna is thinking "A Way Back to Then" would be a killer audition piece for her. I asked Vince Scuderi, who is responsible for handling this financial transaction over at Williamson Music (a division of The Rogers & Hammerstein Organization) when the rest will be available and he said, and I quote, "I have no ETA at this time for a vocal selections publication from this show". I also asked if he could send the stuff to Canada and he most graciously replied, "I guess it's OK that you're in Canada. Haven't had any Canadian problems, yet."

Yet?

Yikes! Better make sure the ol' check-a-roo doesn't bounce or Vince will come looking for me.

Here's the link with all the info for sheet music requests.

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Congrats to [tos]ser Heidi Blickenstaff!

Heidi, who is best known to me as "Heidi" in [tos], has been cast as Carlotta in Disney's THE LITTLE MERMAID, opening December 2007. I'm also specifically looking forward to seeing Tituss Burgess (JERSEY BOYS) as Sebastian, and Sherie Rene Scott (DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS) as Ursula!

According to this article in Playbill:

The ensemble has been announced for the new Disney musical The Little Mermaid, which will make its world premiere at The Denver Center for the Performing Arts' Ellie Caulkins Opera House July 26 with an official opening Aug. 23.

As previously announced, Sierra Boggess will head the cast in the title role with Sean Palmer as Prince Eric, Norm Lewis as King Triton, Tituss Burgess as Sebastian, Eddie Korbich as Scuttle, Jonathan Freeman as Grimsby, Derrick Baskin as Jetsam, Tyler Maynard as Flotsam, Cody Hanford and J.J. Singleton as Flounder and Sherie Rene Scott as Ursula.

The remainder of the cast will comprise Adrian Bailey, Cathryn Basile, Heidi Blickenstaff (Carlotta), James Brown III, Robert Creighton, Cicily Daniels, John Treacy Egan (Louis), Tim Federle, Merwin Foard, Bahiyah Sayyed Gaines, Ben Hartley, Meredith Inglesby, Michelle Lookadoo, Joanne Manning, Alan Mingo Jr., Zakiya Young Mizen, Betsy Morgan, Arbender J. Robinson, Bret Shuford, Jason Snow, Chelsea Morgan Stock, Kay Trinidad, Price Waldman and Daniel J. Watts.

After its Denver run ends Sept. 9, the musical will arrive at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, current home of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Nov. 3 with an official opening Dec. 6.

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My kids and I were lucky enough to catch EDWARD SCISSORHANDS at the Hummingbird Centre during its brief four-night engagement in Toronto. Next stop for this show is Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre, April 25 to May 14.

The audience was the youngest musical-theatre crowd I have seen in a long time! It seemed that a lot of the audience was made up of "Edward Scissorheads" -- goth fans of the movie -- as they came dressed mainly in black with many buckles and zippers. There were a handful of the typical theatre-going adults, and a smattering of kids. The Hummingbird is pretty cavernous, so it wasn't full, but the audience made up in enthusiasm, what they lacked in size.

EDWARD SCISSORHANDS was devised, directed, and choreographed by Matthew Bourne, with music and arrangements by Terry Davies, including themes from the original motion picture by Danny Elfman. (Original story and motion picture directed by Tim Burton.) In the program the cast is listed and each role is shared by at least two people. Edward is played by Sam Archer or Richard Winsor, but since the Hummingbird didn't post the actual cast for that evening's performance, and they didn't include an insert of any kind, I don't know who to congratulate for an amazing performance! Way to go Sam or Richard!

I really enjoyed this show and would highly recommend it to adults and kids alike. The dancing was simply wonderful, a combination of many styles from ballet, to modern to "just movement" and back again. It reminded a bit of the Twyla Tharp choreogrpahy in MOVIN' OUT. It really was breathtaking, and surprising how much story can be told with just dance, costumes, sets and music (ie. no speaking or singing). It's a pretty intricate story with many characters and I didn't have any trouble following it. Of course, I've seen the movie, but that was a while ago.

One of my favorite aspects of the show was the brilliant set (set and costume designed by Lez Brotherston). Very true to the spirit of the film, it really completed the magical feeling of the story. I particularly liked the way the houses in the town were done with forced perspective. I also liked the way the dancing and costumes and set were used to make the audience laugh. Usually I associate laughing with witty dialogue or lyrics so it was really refreshing to laugh at a visual. I guess it's sort of like watching a silent film. My favorite musical moment was the memorable Danny Elfman movie theme.

From the 5th Avenue Web site:

"Matthew Bourne and New Adventures present their latest creation -- a magical new adaptation of the classic Tim Burton motion picture Edward Scissorhands.

A treat for the whole family, this touching and witty gothic fairytale tells the story of a boy created by an eccentric inventor who dies leaving him alone and unfinished. Left with only scissors for hands, Edward must find his place in a strange new suburban world where the well-meaning community struggles to see past his strange appearance to the innocence and gentleness within. London's theatrical dance sensation, Edward Scissorhands is a must-see event.

After global success with his inspired interpretations of Swan Lake, Nutcracker! Highland Fling and the multi-award-winning Play Without Words, Matthew Bourne has recently choreographed the hit musical, Mary Poppins, currently performing on Broadway. A five-time Olivier award-winner, he is also the creator of the world's longest-running ballet production and is the only British director to have won the Tony Award for Best Director and Best Choreographer of a Musical (1999 for Swan Lake).

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The saga continues from my previous post.

In the weekly ACLCL newsletter that I get, there was an interesting note from Mel Atkey, author of Broadway North, about the latest TheatreworksUSA production of ANNE OF GREEN GABLES by Gretchen Cryer and Nancy Ford that is currently playing at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in New York:

MEL ATKEY (melatkey@hotmail.com)

This time it is I who have something to rant about.

I've you've read my book Broadway North, you will know how strongly I feel about Canadians telling their own stories and about not having our culture raped from outside. Well, recently a musical of Anne of Green Gables opened at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in New York (the same place that, many years earlier, played home to Billy Bishop Goes to War). But this was not the Anne we know and love -- it was by American writers Gretchen Cryer and Nancy Ford, who created "I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking it on the Road".

How could this happen, I wondered? It is not yet 70 years since L.M. Montgomery's death, and Campbell and Harron hold the exclusive rights to adapt that story for the musical stage. The answer is that, while the United States has, in theory, subscribed to the Universal Copyright Convention, they do not recognize any claims to a copyright on work published before 1923. (Even if the author is still alive!) So while Anne is protected virtually everywhere else in the world, in the U.S. it is fair game. What is the point of a copyright convention if it doesn't protect our copyrights universally? Of course, they may not get away with it: the Anne of Green Gables Licensing Authority also protects Anne as a registered trademark, and it would appear that Cryer and Ford have not applied for a license. I've also discovered that there are at least a half a dozen other Anne musicals, all written by Americans, including one that even has a song called "Kindred Spirits". I wonder how they would feel if I wrote a musical based on Romeo and Juliet and called it "West Side Story".

I see nothing in their copyright law that could prevent it. I have admired Cryer and Ford's previous work, but surely this is morally wrong if not illegal. It may not be "piracy" but it is at least "privateering".

Hmmm, interesting! But lets put all the legal, and copyright issues aside for a moment. I guess the issue for me still remains...have we really run out of new material? Are there absolutely no new inventive stories that can be made into musicals? Are there absolutely no original musicals with new stories being written anywhere? Of course there are.

TheatreworksUSA has a history of only making musicals out of well-known books, which appears to be a successful strategy because the material is proven and audience appeal is already there. Consequently, I imagine you can save on marketing dollars, which could definitely help the bottom line. But do we now have to resort to writing musical versions of famous books that have already been made into successful musicals in order to gain audience recognition?

And it's not like the book had great personal meaning for these writers. They state very clearly in their Broadwayworld.com interview that they hadn't even read the book when TheatreworksUSA commissioned them to turn it into a musical. As Nancy Ford states in that interview, "Well TheatreWorks drew us to it because I think Gretchen Cryer who wrote the book and I may be the only 2 women in the world who never read this book when we were growing up."

Hey, work's work.

Well, it's something to think about anyways. And I think I'm going to have some ice cream.

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By Shankar Vedantam, Washington Post
Monday, April 9, 2007

The Greek theater of Epidaurus has long been considered a marvel of acoustics. Over the years, people have come up with a number of explanations as to why those who sit in the back of the semicircular theater, built in the 4th century B.C., can hear performers on the stage with such clarity.

One theory was that it had to do with the wind patterns in the area, but modern actors performing on windless days sounded just as clear.

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology this month showed that the secret is in . . . the seats. Nico Declercq and Cindy Dekeyser found that the seating, which is carved from limestone, creates an acoustic filter that screens out low frequency crowd noises and reflects higher frequency sounds from the stage.

In a paper in the April issue of the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, the researchers said that while the filtering also suppressed part of the range of frequencies of the human voice, "the human nerve system and brain are able to reconstruct this fundamental tone by means of the available high frequency information."

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Proudly hanging in my kitchen is an "On Broadway! Theater Posters from the Library of Congress" 2007 Calendar.

Last year I had a beautiful MOMA calendar which was very stylish (yet not wildly functional), so this year I went back to the old fashioned "grid" style.

On the inside flap is listed all the Tony Award Winners for Best Musical (and the writers) from 1949 (KISS ME KATE) to 2005 (SPAMALOT). Very handy.

Every month is a full-color picture of an original Broadway musical poster:

January: MAME starring Angela Lansbury
February: SILK STOCKINGS starring Heldegarde Neff and Don Ameche
March: FADE OUT FADE IN starring Carol Burnett and Dick Shawn
April: WILDCAT starring Lucille Ball
May: FLORA THE RED MENACE starring Liza Minnelli
June: REDHEAD starring Gwen Verdon
July: WEST SIDE STORY starring Carol Lawrence, Larry Kert and Devra Korwin
August: PURLIE starring Cleavon Little, Melba Moore and John Heffernan
September: PAINT YOUR WAGON starring Eddie Dowling
October: CAN-CAN starring Lilo (in the air-conditioned Sam S. Shubert Theatre, no less! Costumes by "Motley"...hmmm, perhaps I should get a single name...)
November: A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM starring Zero Mostel
December: MAE WEST in person as DIAMOND LIL (with a "brilliant supporting company of 50"!). I love the media quotes on this one:
"A Triumph of Sex over sense" -- Robt. Garland, N.Y. Journal America
"Fabulous...it is Performing In The Grand Manner" -- Brooks Atkinson, N.Y.Times

There is also a little synopsis the show of the month, along with a few song selections.

In addition, sprinkled through each month are key historical Broadway dates. For example, today in 1971 FOLLIES opened at the Winter Garden Theatre. On April 6 in 1947, the first Tony Awards were held, at the Waldorf=Astoria Hotel. On April 21 in 1949 Patti Lupone was born in North Port, New York. And on April 29, 1968, HAIR opened at the Biltmore Theare. On the same day in 1996, "its musical descendant, RENT, opened at the Nederlander Theatre."

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My Chicago-residing friend Greg Silva is looking for musicians for the production of PROMISES, PROMISES he is musical directing (see my previous post). Here's his e-mail:

PIT BAND (Grove Players in Downers Grove)

Pianist/Conductor, Bass Player, Drummer, Trumpet Player, Synth-Player needed!

For production of "Promises, Promises", by Burt Bacharach & Neil Simon!

Rehearsals: Sat. Apr. 21 (morning); Wed. Apr. 25 (evening); Thu. Apr. 26 (evening).

Performances: Fri.-Sun. Apr. 27-29, May 4-6, May 11-13. Fri.-Sat. (evening), Sun. (afternoon).

Pianist/Conductor needed for rehearsals starting Mon. Apr. 16.
Pay: $150; more for pianist/conductor
CONTACT: GREG SILVA, MUSIC DIRECTOR
H. 312-944-0302; C. 312-933-9145
E-MAIL: GERG@MINDSPRING.COM

Historic theatre company. Fun group!

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By Lyn Gardner, The Guardian [UK]
Wednesday April 4, 2007

In 1984, a survey found that only 12% of artistic directors in British theatres were women. Last year, 22 years on, another survey found this figure had risen - but only to 19%. In that same 22-year period, women have risen in the workplace, becoming entrepreneurs, leaders of companies, editors of national newspapers, yet the doors to British theatre buildings seem to have remained largely closed.
But it looks like change is in the air. While the National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company are run by men, the appointment of Vicky Featherstone in late 2004 as the first artistic director of the National Theatre of Scotland was seen as significant. An increasing number of women are now easing themselves into jobs in major theatres. It seems that at long last in British theatre, the women are coming. Overleaf, we talk to seven artistic directors about the challenges they've overcome, the risks they've taken and their ideas of how the industry is changing.

Erica Whyman
Age: 37
Job title: Chief executive of Northern Stage.

Career: At Northern Stage in Newcastle since late 2005. Was associate director at English Touring Theatre, then artistic director of Southwark Playhouse. Became artistic director of the Gate in 2001.

"We live in a genius culture. It manifests itself as the all-seeing, all-knowing artistic director whom everyone serves. It's the idea of a visionary - untouchable and inevitably male. Women are uncomfortable about this image because it is not rooted in collaboration, or indeed reality.

Theatre has been slower to change than the rest of the world, but in the past 10 years things have moved quicker. There are women everywhere now, from people like myself running buildings, to those running touring companies: Emma Rice at Kneehigh, Nancy Meckler and Polly Teale at Shared Experience, Roxanna Silbert at Paines Plough. It changes the climate. It has to - because change is overdue.

Having more women running buildings means there will be a shift. The old-fashioned male style of leadership has the artistic director coming up with projects, and then everyone doing them. I don't work like that. I lead on the projects that I'd like to direct, but there are seven or eight different voices in there right from the beginning.

Talking to other women, I think they tend to work like that too. We're more comfortable with it; it's more effective and brings in new blood. This can only be a good thing for theatre, which is often seen as being rather closed and clubby.

It is not just women like myself who help that change. Michael Boyd at the RSC has been fantastic at enabling women directors. When women in any number start directing at a national company such as the RSC, it shifts something in the consciousness and creates greater confidence. It's that old thing about men panicking if a woman is in charge. Every time a woman gets the chance to do the job and does it well, something changes.

Now, more and more women directors are contacting me with projects. It means that the pool is getting wider, where a few years ago it was just the same two or three names coming up. There's now a substantial number of women out there - and they won't be stopped."

Natalie Abrahami
Age: 27
Job title: Joint artistic director of the Gate, London (with Carrie Cracknell - see below).

Career: Her production of Alexandra Wood's The Eleventh Capital has just finished at the Royal Court. Won the James Menzies-Kitchin award producing Play and Not I at BAC in 2005. Was then director on attachment at the National Theatre Studio.

"The Gate didn't invite joint applications for the job of artistic director, but Carrie Cracknell and I knew we wanted to work together. Maybe that desire to collaborate is a female thing. We knew it was a risk to apply as a pair, but it worked. Carrie and I had met on the National Theatre studio directors' course in 2004. There were nine women and three men, so that shows how theatre is changing.

A lot of the directors I admire are women, but it's their work, not their gender, that interests me. I've always been aware of being a woman in a male-dominated profession, but I've never felt my gender was a problem. Plenty of male artistic directors have helped me along the way. But women who decide to become directors are a self-selected group. It is not an easy profession: you don't just have to be creative, you have to be pushy and able to sell both yourself and the work you want to make.

It's easy to say gender doesn't matter, but my generation is really benefiting from the women who went before us; people like Erica Whyman and Gemma Bodinetz. If you see those women in positions of power, you feel more confident about applying for jobs. You know that if they've done it, the path is possible.

It's not a surprise that the Gate has such a history of appointing women artistic directors. It is a place for emerging artists and is therefore probably more in tune with the idea of rising young female directors. It is prepared to take risks. What needs to happen is for those risks to happen higher up the ladder. The more established a theatre, the more conservative it often is. But I feel really optimistic that sometime soon a woman will run the National Theatre."

Josie Rourke
Age: 30
Job title: Artistic director of the Bush, London.

Career: A new-writing specialist, she trained at the Donmar, recently directing David Mamet's The Cryptogram. In 2005 she became an associate director of Sheffield Theatres. Last year she made her RSC debut with a highly acclaimed King John.

"I had never thought about being a director until I heard Deborah Warner and Katie Mitchell speak in Manchester while I was at college. They felt like kindred spirits. I thought: yes, directing is something I'd like to do.

I've never felt any gender bias, but I do sense a change. I've always been struck by how many really strong women work in theatre - people like Fiona Clark, the producer at the Bush - but few of them are artistic directors. Perhaps it's to do with women supposedly being organised and nurturing rather than creative.

Not that I've ever experienced any problems. People such as Michael Grandage, Michael Boyd and David Lan have been really generous. But maybe I've been lucky. What I have found is that getting the chance to work with other women directors is inspiring. When I did King John for the RSC, it shared a cast with productions being staged by Marianne Elliott and Nancy Meckler. The chance to discuss casting with them was fantastic. I learned a lot.

Women like Erica Whyman and Rachel Kavanaugh getting big jobs in big reps helps too. Without them, it would have been quite an imaginative leap for me to apply for the Bush.

What's happening now in British theatre has been a long time coming. Theatre will be different in the long-term. But we shouldn't forget the women who went before us. They struggled and made sacrifices to be directors. Now my generation is reaping the rewards. We're very lucky"

Gemma Bodinetz
Age: 40
Job title: Artistic director of Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse.

Career: Trained at the Royal Court Theatre under Max Stafford-Clark. Became associate director at Hampstead Theatre. Was appointed artistic director of then-failing Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse in 2003.

"When people imagine an orchestra conductor, they tend to think of a man with a shock of white hair. When people think of the artistic director of the National Theatre, they might imagine a man in an Armani suit with a shaved head. Those stereotypes still exist. As long as they do, it's harder for women to get those jobs. But we are moving on.

Vicky Featherstone at the National Theatre of Scotland is an inspiration. We need role models, although it never crossed my mind that being a woman would be an impediment to my career. I was always just worried about doing good work. But maybe I'm part of the first generation who can say that, because of the pioneers who came before us.

I don't think I run Liverpool theatres with a feminine agenda. But I do keep an ear out for those voices that have to be heard; 54% of the writers we have under commission are women. Subconsciously, I suspect there is a female sensibility. I'd like everyone to think I'm nurturing, supporting and developing; those are probably more strongly female characteristics.

Running a building is a real challenge if you're a mother. You feel pulled this way and that, but that's true of any woman in a demanding job. The delight of the 21st century is that fathers find it hard to combine being artistic directors and dads, too.

What has changed in the past few years is the economics of regional theatre. Once it was thought of as dusty and dull, now there's more money - and a younger generation of directors and writers have been enticed into the regions, knowing that the work they can do there is as exciting as anything they can do in London.

Inevitably some of those new opportunities have gone to women - writers and directors - so the pool is getting bigger. The more women there are running national institutions and buildings, the more will be doing it in the future."

Carrie Cracknell
Age: 26
Job title: Joint artistic director of the Gate, London (with Natalie Abrahami - see above).

Career: Did a Masters in directing at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Winner of the Bruce Millar award for young Scottish directors. Founded Hush Productions which created the site-specific work, Broken Road, winner of a 2005 Edinburgh Fringe First.

"Men have always called the shots in British theatre; it must have an effect on what is seen on our stages. It's time we women got a little more angry and petulant. If we don't like what we see, we should do something about it. But it is happening, and it is not just to do with theatre, but with the fact that, generally, women in society feel more able to express their opinions and take control of their lives.

I find directing both thrilling and extraordinarily difficult. It is the hardest thing I can do, which was why I wanted to do it. It was only after I started that I realised how few women there are running theatres and in positions of power. Why is Vicky Featherstone the only woman running a national company? The women of my generation are lucky. We haven't had to have the energy, vision and endless pushing of the women who went before us. Even for women just 10 years older than me, it must have been much harder.

I do wonder about how women combine a career in theatre with motherhood. The two are not really compatible with the late hours. But we're seeing more and more women do it. Katie Mitchell, who I assisted on The Seagull, has a young child. I saw at close quarters how hard it was, but also how she rose to that challenge - to make exciting, ambitious work. So you can do both.

Increased funding for theatres has led to increased opportunities for women. It does worry me that if funding is hit, there will be fewer opportunities. And it will be the men that grab them. You need a lot of people on the vine, not a few, for something to flower."

Rachel Kavanaugh
Age: 37
Job title: Artistic director of Birmingham Rep.

Career: First female artistic director at Birmingham Rep. Worked at major rep stages including West Yorkshire Playhouse, Sheffield and Bristol Old Vic.

"I've never felt there was any glass ceiling in theatre or that I was denied jobs because of my gender. A lot of my chances have been given to me by men. But I did resist applying for artistic directorships for a long time. I don't know whether that was because I couldn't see other women around doing these big jobs. I like to think that it was just because I was enjoying my freelance career.

But seeing Gemma at Liverpool and Erica at Northern Stage did make a difference. It made me think I could do that too. Now I'm here, I'm too busy to be lonely, and there is a supportive network of other artistic directors. When I got the job, a lot of women rang me up to say how pleased they were.

It is not entirely accidental that, though there have only been 10 plays written or adapted by women on the main stage here in the past 10 years, in my first season there are three. There are plenty of fantastic women writers around; their place is on the main stages, not just in the studio spaces. I feel that very strongly, maybe because I've worked on those big stages so much. I can't say if a man doing my job would have thought the same. My thinking was that these were the best plays to do. The fact they're by women is great, too.

I've jumped in at the deep end. I haven't had experience of running smaller buildings first. Sometimes it's scary, particularly as there's public money at stake. But I don't see why I shouldn't learn on the job. I think women are often more cautious, whereas men just say: 'I know I can do that.' As more women take on these jobs and succeed, the question of gender in theatre will be a thing of the past."

Lisa Goldman
Age: 41
Job title: Artistic director of Soho Theatre, London.

Career: For 10 years ran The Red Room, whose successes include Anthony Nielson's Stitching. Initiated the Young Writers programme at Soho Theatre in 2000.

"I couldn't do this job if I had a family. It's too full-on. Running a theatre is time-consuming. You get obsessed. I recognise that as a danger. When it comes to management, men and women are perceived differently. Men are allowed many different styles of operating; woman tend to be thought of as either nurturing or a bitch. It is as true in theatre as it is in the business world.

I don't allow myself to get obsessed by the question of gender in this job; that's probably easier at Soho, as it has a tradition of women artistic directors. I certainly don't think there was a gender aspect to my appointment. I like to think I got the job because I was the best candidate. That's the only way it should ever be.

All the plays in my first season are about marginalised voices, but in fact none are by women. That will be addressed. But the issue I think British theatre in the 21st century has to face up to is less about gender than class. British theatre is still very white and Oxbridge-dominated. I worked for years for no money. That's what you have to do to get started, and it puts the middle classes at a huge advantage.

Women are certainly under-represented in theatre buildings. The recent little sweep-in of women means theatre is changing. We need a more representative landscape."

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If only my dad was still around to see this...

Yes, this video from the Hungarian production of ALTAR BOYZ certainly brought back memories from my childhood. No, I wasn't raised by singing Hungarian priests. My dad used to take us on trips back to Hungary (where he was born) and other European countries, and we'd spend all our time sightseeing from church to church to church to church!

So, enjoy the music, the lyrics, and the church.

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Newspapers are poised to claw back lost advertising by attracting big brands to their own online operations

By Richard Wray and Katie Allen, The Guardian [UK]
Saturday March 31, 2007

The migration of advertising spending to the internet is fast leaving traditional newspapers and even TV stranded.

Breaking through the £2bn barrier for the first time last year, online advertising now accounts for 11.4% of all ad spending in the UK compared with 10.9% for newspapers. The gap is getting wider, as growth in online advertising - at 41% in 2006 - far outstripped growth in national newspapers - at 0.2% - and TV, which saw advertising revenues drop 4.7%.

Credit Suisse, the investment bank, puts the unenviable position in which the newspaper industry finds itself in stark terms: "Overall, we believe 'money follows eyeballs' and that eyeballs will continue to decline in newspaper readership" as more and more people turn to the web. Among people aged 12-24, for instance, the internet makes up 30% of their media consumption.

People using search engines accounts for the largest portion of online advertising and is predominantly the domain of new media companies such as Google and Yahoo! Search advertising allows companies to vie for position on search engines, so when a user looks for cheap TV sets, a holiday, an iPod or a car, their brand comes out on top. Search marketing is the antithesis of traditional advertising. Traditional TV, radio and print advertising relies upon brands interrupting a connection between an individual viewer or reader and content meant to inform or entertain them.

"However, in search engine media, the advertiser is the content itself," according to Warren Cowan, founder and chief executive of Greenlight, a search-marketing group. He said: "In search engine marketing users request the advertising they see. No other type of advertising has been able to tap into this type of 'user solicited' advertising".

'Pay and pray'

Search also provides advertisers with a direct connection between the success enjoyed by their advert and the amount they pay. Traditional media, in contrast, works on the equivalent of "pay and pray".

Nick Hynes, chief executive of the search marketing agency the Search Works, said: "In search you only pay for the advertising when someone clicks on the search result. That process is measurable and trackable. You can tell exactly which key words, like 'cheaper car insurance', you should be listing on and you can see how many customers who click on the result will transform into customers. You don't waste any money. This is revolutionary in the world of advertising."

But advertising is not only about persuading a person to prefer a particular item. A lot of advertising is tied up with creating and sustaining brands. It is this aspect of ad spending that has been lacking in the rampant growth in online advertising, because building brands is an amorphous concept that is hard to quantify. Until recently, the internet advertising industry has sold itself as offering the ultimate in measurability.

Phil Georgiadis, chief executive of Walker Media, said: "The truth of the matter is that in many ways you could say search marketing and Google is the enemy of the brand. By definition, what they do is allow unheard-of brands, who have got a product or service to offer, to sit alongside [well-known brands] without any of the infrastructure costs of building a brand offline."

"We are in a phase where people have lurched into search because they deem it to be a market they have to be in, they have to explore and they have to understand in terms of its return. In the next few years different advertisers and brands will reassess the relative priority they place on different channels."

In the early days of the web, advertisers trying to build brand awareness through banner ads or pictures on other websites risked infuriating web users by making them wait while their slow internet connection loaded up an advert. The growth in broadband internet connections, however, means brand advertising becomes much less intrusive and can become more innovative. This provides a perfect opportunity for old media to get back into the digital game.

Companies such as MySpace, Bebo and Facebook have brought together huge online communities but the nature of those communities can make it hard to project brands because people consider their online space as their own domain. Innovative brand campaigns have been created by talking directly with bloggers and allowing people to incorporate brands within their own profile pages. But these campaigns are likely to always be aimed at niche audiences, albeit large niches.

So brands are likely - so the theory goes - to return to the online operations of traditional media organisations because they can pull in a wide and general audience.

Growth hampered

Stefan Bardega, director of digital strategy at the media planning and buying agency MediaCom, said: "Where the change has happened in the last couple of years is that advertisers have realised the internet is just another media channel that can be used to generate awareness, stimulate purchase of a product offline as well as online. The money we are seeing coming in now is from brand advertisers like fast-moving consumer goods companies, who don't necessarily have a product to sell online but are using online to advertise the products they sell in the real world."

The growth of brand advertising, however, has been hampered by the inability of traditional media players such as newspapers to provide basic information - how many people are visiting their sites, for example. Different sites have used different metrics - produced by the likes of comScore and Nielsen - in different ways, creating confusion.

That situation is about to change. Earlier this week the Audit Bureau of Circulations Electronic announced plans to publish the online equivalent of the newspaper standard circulation figures on a monthly basis, with the first set of figures coming out on April 26.

Next month, meanwhile, sees the first quarterly online population report from the Joint Industry Committee for Internet Measurement Systems.

Such information has been a long time coming, according to MediaCom's Bardega. Not having proper statistics has "hurt the whole industry", he believes. "There is no common currency for online and there is no doubt about it, that has hindered the growth of the advertising market."

Age of the viral video

As broadband connections become the norm in British households, advertisers can now reach customers with more than the hated pop-up. In fact, this week's Internet Advertising Bureau figures showed so-called "interruptive" formats made up just 0.7% of the £2bn of UK online advertising spending last year.

One of the important trends for advertisers now is the use of videos which comes in many forms. One method is the viral video campaign, which relies on internet users disseminating content containing a brand message. Dove's Evolution ad created a huge viral marketing buzz around a video showing a model being made up, photographed and then digitally altered. Advertisers have also tapped into the rise of user-generated content.

Lucozade Energy will next month roll out a campaign to drive customers on to GetYourEdgeBack.com, run by Fuse Digital, the agency behind online campaigns for Mates Condoms and Carlsberg. Customers can upload home-made videos about instances when they had a dozy moment. The best one will win £10,000 and the chance to star in one of Lucozade Energy's ads. Based on a more traditional film and television methods, product placement in online videos has been around for a while in the US and is now on the rise in the UK. Advertising group MediaCom has just set up a video series about cats for pet food specialist Masterfoods and posted it on MSN. The http://perfectfit.msn.com videos focus on cat health, but, of course, also mention why viewers should buy Perfect Fit. "[It] ... is all about generating brand awareness. All the things TV has traditionally been good for, we can now do that online as well," says Stefan Bardega, a MediaCom director.

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