After Elton recently created the list of who THEY think make the list of the 37 hottest guys in the biz.

Here are my faves (text courtesy of After Elton), a few of my additions, and a link to the After Elton list.

Nick Adams received tons of publicity last year when he was asked to wear a hoodie (rather than a tank top) as Larry in A Chorus Line so that his spectacular body wouldn’t upstage Mario Lopez, who had joined the company in the role of Zach. No worries: All that attention led to photo shoots for several magazines and a job modeling 2(x)ist underwear. Look for him next in Guys and Dolls.

Michael Berresse, was very busy on Broadway last season: He appeared as Zach in A Chorus Line (before Mario Lopez), co-starred in the Encores! production of No, No, Nanette, and directed and choreographed [title of show].

Jonathan Groff made hearts flutter when he created the role of Melchior in Spring Awakening. Then he played Claude in The Public Theater’s revival of Hair at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park but chose not to stay on board for the upcoming Broadway transfer. Most recently, he appeared in Craig Lucas’s Prayer for My Enemy at Playwrights Horizons. Look for him next on the big screen; he has a major role in the Ang Lee film Taking Woodstock, scheduled for release this summer.

Aaron Lazar took over the role of Fabrizio in The Light in the Piazza and appeared in the live TV broadcast of that beautiful show. Since then, his opera-quality tenor has been heard again on Broadway in Les Miserables and A Tale of Two Cities.

Norm Lewis would probably have a major career even if he didn’t look like this, because his bari-tenor voice is one of the warmest and most beautiful in the business. He’s currently displaying that voice and his hot body in The Little Mermaid, having previously been featured on Broadway in Miss Saigon, The Who’s Tommy, Chicago, Side Show, The Wild Party, Amour, and Les Miserables.

How did these cuties not make the list?

Jim Poulos–first replacement for Mark in Rent, all around super nice guy, with an all around super nice (and talented) wife. Currently starring in the title role at the John W. Engeman Theatre in The Foreigner.

Jeff Bowen–[tos]sers know him as…well…Jeff in [title of show], the former obsession of this humble blogger (the show, not Jeff).

Daniel Radcliffe–I know he’s only done one show, but that’s the only excuse I need to post this pic!

The rest of the sexy 37 can be found here: http://www.afterelton.com/theater/2009/1/37hottestguystheater

Perhaps another sign is the plethora of bargains to be found for Broadway and off-Broadway shows. Here are links to several half price deals that have been popping up online lately. Get ‘em while they’re hot!! Click on the link following each description for tickets.

Pal Joey on Broadway: Stockard Channing Stars in Rodgers and Hart’s Classic
Roundabout Theatre Company presents Pal Joey. Rodgers and Hart’s classic musical, set in 1930s Chicago, tells the story of a song and dance man whose dreams of owning his own nightclub lead him to leave his girlfriend for a wealthy, married older woman. The cast includes Stockard Channing and Martha Plimpton; Christian Hoff plays the title role. Full Price Tickets: $86.50 Discount Tickets: $44.00. Discount Tickets to Pal Joey on Broadway

Mary Poppins: Disney’s Classic Broadway Musical
More than your imagination will take flight at Mary Poppins, Disney’s classic Broadway musical. The nanny who’s “practically perfect in every way” will take you back to a time and place you wish you’d never left behind—and just wait until you see her fly! Full Price Tickets: $50-$110, Discount Tickets: $40-$75. Discount Tickets to Mary Poppins on Broadway

Musical Parody What’s That Smell: The Music of Jacob Sterling
New World Stages hosts What’s That Smell: The Music of Jacob Sterling. This absurd musical parody presents the character of Jacob Sterling, an eccentric and delusional musical theatre composer who presents excerpts from his repertoire, and shares the story of his struggles to keep musical theater alive and well in the 21st century. The show was a huge hit at the non-profit Atlantic stages, so don’t miss your chance to see it in its new Off-Broadway run. Full Price Tickets: $65.00, Half Price Tickets $32.50. Half Price Tickets to What’s That Smell

’80s Rock Songs Inspire New Musical Rock of Ages
The timeless rock of the 1980s and the classic “hair bands” that filled the airwaves for more than a decade have inspired this musical set in Hollywood circa 1987. Rock of Ages features big chords, big dreams and big hair, telling its story through hits from iconic groups such as Journey, Bon Jovi, Styx, Foreigner, Poison, Night Ranger, Twisted Sister, Asia, Whitesnake and rockers like Pat Benatar. Full Price Tickets: $80.50, Half Price Tickets: $41.00. Half Price Tickets to Rock of Ages

Keith Carradine Stars in Mindgame, the Acclaimed Thriller
Tony Award-nominated actor Keith Carradine (The Will Rogers Follies, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Dexter) returns to the New York stage in the New York premiere of Anthony Horowitz’s acclaimed thriller, Mindgame. Ken Russell, the celebrated director of the films Tommy, Woman In Love and The Boyfriend, makes his New York stage directorial debut with Mindgame. Full Price Tickets: $74.00, Half Price Tickets: $37.00. Half Price Tickets to Mindgame

Comedian Mike Birbiglia’s One-Man Show Sleepwalk With Me at Bleecker Street Theatre
Through his top-rated Comedy Central specials, Mike Birbiglia has emerged as one of the hottest young comics in recent years. In his new one-man show, Sleepwalk with Me, Mike explores his fears of love, honesty, and death, and discusses how his bouts with sleepwalking nearly killed him. Read more in the New York Times article about the show. Full Price Tickets: $49.50, Discount Tickets: $25.50. Discount Tickets to Sleepwalk with Me

Hedwig and the Angry Inch in Concert at B.B. King
B.B. King Blues Club presents a concert featuring songs from the hit rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch. The show features 2008 Backstage Bistro and MAC award winner Jonathan Whitton and Louise Stewart, both of whom have toured nationally in productions of the show. Full Price Tickets: $25.00, Half Price Tickets: $12.50. Half Price Tickets to Hedwig and the Angry Inch in Concert

In it, Herbert the Pervert gets lost in a musical theatre fantasy while having dinner with teenage Chris. I knew that it was lifted directly from the Little Shop of Horrors film, but a little Youtube research revealed just how directly it was lifted. Made me love it even more.

Check it out for yourself. It starts out with Ellen Greene singing and then switches to Herbert. Very funny.

Enjoy.

Tickets are now available for the upcoming screenings of the final Broadway cast of Jonathan Larson’s Rent, the Tony-winning musical that ended its 12-year-run at the Nederlander Theatre Sept. 7.

The Aug. 20 and Sept. 7 performances of the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical were filmed. A composite of the best performances from those two evenings — including the Sept. 7 finale that featured many of the show’s original stars — will be broadcast in movie theatres nationwide.

Ticketing for these events is through each partner organization. Ticketing info is listed where available.

10 Minutes of Happiness
by Roi Escudero

SYNOPSIS: ETdC Projects’ Lab presents 10 Minutes of Happiness by Roi “Bubi” Escudero, a site-specific installation-cinema™, projected on the alley’s wall at The Philip Coltoff Greenwich Village Center. Bubi’s distinctive dream-like super sized virtual murals bring together images, from her performance-art pieces presented at The New York Musical Theatre Festival: After Charlie (2004), La Playa (2005), what@trip! (2006), Antonin…mon Artaud (2007) and Bubi’s new performance-art-cinema™ piece, 10 Minutes of Happiness.

TICKET INFO: Tickets are Free! No reservations necessary.

SCHEDULE: Sep 20th, 9:00 pm, Sep 20th, 9:20 pm, Sep 27th, 9:00 pm, Sep 27th, 9:20 pm, Oct 4th, 9:00 pm, Oct 4th, 9:20 pm at The Philip Coltoff Center

8 Women: A Karaoke Murder Mystery

SYNOPSIS: Eight women gather for the holidays to discover that the master of the house has been murdered. What’s more; the telephone wires have been cut, the car has been thrown out of gear, the eight are trapped inside, and without a doubt, the killer is among them! Watch the ladies discover the murderer (and themselves!) in this live adaptation of the popular film, teeming with twists, turns, and pop music!

TICKET INFO: Tickets are $15 at the door and includes 2 drinks with admission. For reservations, email 8womenreservations@gmail.com

SCHEDULE: Oct 8th, 7:30 pm at The Loft at Professor Thom’s

Generations

SYNOPSIS: A group of disparate youths help a twelve year-old girl and her grandfather overcome potential tragedy and find common ground. Currently in development at BergenPAC, the show features a pop/rock band and a high-energy cast of ten Broadway-bound kids between the ages of nine to nineteen.

CAST/CREATIVE: Daniel Chelemer, Nicole DeLuca, Shlomo Goffstein, Angelina Kelly, Jessica Lieberman, Olivia Rand, Sara Ravid, Chloe Roe, Rachel Shamosh, Rebecca Sichel, Dan Viola. Directed by Matt Okin.

TICKET INFO: Tickets $10 available at Smarttix.com

SCHEDULE: Sep 15th, 7:00 pm, Sep 21st, 7:00 pm, Sep 22nd, 7:00 pm at Nuyorican Poets Cafe

Midnight Madness
Book and lyrics by Cynthia Meryl
Music by Jack Bender

SYNOPSIS: In this hysterical musical fable based (very loosely) on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, New York Republican mayor announces his engagement to his Democratic opponent. Meanwhile, the Fairies of Central Park are manipulating two pairs of lost lovers, a troupe of amateur actors and the mayoral candidates! Result: a rollicking tale of comic confusion set to a glorious, original score.

CAST/CREATIVE: Directed by Cynthia Meryl. Choreographed by Sherry Alban. Musical Directon by Ilene Greenbaum.

TICKET INFO: Tickets available at Smart Tix

MUSICAL SAMPLES:
I’m A Red Hot Mama
Alone in the Darkness
Casting
Tell Him What You Want
The Tall & Short Of It

SCHEDULE: Sep 18th, 3:00 pm, Sep 19th, 8:00 pm, Sep 20th, 8:00 pm, Sep 21st, 3:00 pm at The Ailey Citigroup Theater

Paley Center Television Musicals

SYNOPSIS: Saturday, September 20
2 p.m. ARMSTRONG CIRCLE THEATRE: BRIGADOON A television adaptation of the Lerner and Loewe classic about two Americans who chance upon a Scottish town that comes to life once every hundred years. With Robert Goulet, Peter Falk, Sally Ann Howes, and Edward Villella. (1966; 90 minutes)

3:30 p.m. OF THEE I SING A lavish television adaptation of the 1931 show (the first musical to win a Pulitzer Prize) with songs by George and Ira Gershwin. The satiric plot concerns the presidential candidacy of John P. Wintergreen. With Carroll O’Connor, Cloris Leachman, Michele Lee, Jack Gilford, and Jim Backus. (1972; 90 minutes)

Sunday, September 21
2 p.m. THE COLGATE COMEDY HOUR: ANYTHING GOES New acquisition! A highly truncated yet highly enjoyable presentation of the classic Cole Porter musical, with an all-star trio of headliners: Ethel Merman (reprising her Broadway role as Reno Sweeney), Frank Sinatra, and Bert Lahr. (1954; 60 minutes)

3 p.m. DUPONT SHOW OF THE MONTH: JUNIOR MISS Newly discovered! This long-lost original television musical (adapted from the Broadway comedy) about teenager Judy Graves and her family is the only collaboration between composer Burton Lane and lyricist Dorothy Fields. With Carol Lynley, Don Ameche, Joan Bennett, Jill St. John, David Wayne, Diana Lynn, and Paul Ford. (1957; 90 minutes)

TICKET INFO: These screenings are included with $10 general admission. New York Musical Theatre Members receive $8 discount admission.

SCHEDULE: Sep 20th, 2:00 pm, Sep 20th, 3:30 pm, Sep 21st, 2:00 pm, Sep 21st, 3:00 pm at Paley Center

Soul Searching

SYNOPSIS: A single New Yorker, finds the search for her soul-mate both comedic and poignant as she receives help from her three married friends, all dealing with relationship troubles of their own.. The journey has just begun…

TICKET INFO: For more info go to www.soulsearchingamusical.com For tickets, visit http://www.smarttix.com/show.aspx?showCode=SOU16 or call 212-868-4444

SCHEDULE: Sep 15th, 9:00 pm, Sep 21st, 9:00 pm, Sep 22nd, 9:00 pm, Sep 23rd, 9:00 pm at Nuyorican Poets Cafe

You Can Take the Girl Outta Brooklyn

SYNOPSIS: The humorous and touching true story of how, blessed with a remarkable streetwise voice, Susan Collins sang her way out of the Glenwood Projects to work with a galaxy of stars including Jimi Hendrix, Todd Rundgren, KISS, ELO, John Lennon, SNL and more, all in their heyday.

TICKET INFO: Tickets available at Smartix.com.

SCHEDULE: Sep 26th, 8:00 pm at The Cutting Room

OK, that covers everything at this years NYMF, so I’m going to Disneyland. No, seriously, I am. I may blog a little while I’m there or else I’ll be back in the blogosphere on Wednesday’ish.

Enjoy the Festival!

I am a Virgo.

For those who are astrologically inclined, perhaps you now understand how and/or why I have been driven to create these ridiculously detail-oriented and time-consuming posts about the myriad possibilites of musical theatre entertainment available at the New York Musical Theatre Festival, running September 15 through October 5.

Oh, I’m gay too, which, if the Virgo thing doesn’t explain it, might clear things up.

But I digress.

So far we’ve covered the Full Productions, the Dance Series and the Developmental Series. Now lets look at a few Concerts and a few Special Events.

CONCERTS

Benj Pasek and Justin Paul in Concert

SYNOPSIS: After becoming the youngest songwriters ever to win the Jonathan Larson Award last year, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Edges, White Noise) have been touted as two of the most refreshing voices in contemporary musical theater today. The boys take the stage with some of Broadway’s hottest performers (including Steven Booth, Tituss Burgess, Gavin Creel, Mary Faber, Chelsea Krombach, Patina Miller, Krysta Rodriguez, Shayna Steele, Aaron Tveit, Natalie Weiss and others TBA) to rock The Zipper with their soul and pop-infused musical styling. www.pasekandpaul.com

SCHEDULE: Sep 22nd, 10:00 pm at The Zipper Factory Theater

The Gay Agenda

SYNOPSIS: Micah and Nicholas, two harmonizing homos with their ears perked for the latest sounds in the cutting edge world of musical theatre, concoct mangled love ballads and disjointed show stoppers to delight the twisted, sentimental show queen in all of us. The Gay Agenda has a single goal: Complete and utter world domination through showtunes. Come. Listen. Be offended. Songs have never dripped with such innocent sass and biting satire. Experience the wonder that is their blog at: http://thatgayagendaband.wordpress.com!

MUSICAL SAMPLES:
Beware Of Dog
Hey, Mary!
The Perfect Pop Song

SCHEDULE: Sep 27th, 11:00 pm at 45th Street Theater

The Kerrigan-Lowdermilk Contingent

SYNOPSIS: Hailed as “perhaps the most important young writers in musical theatre today,” Kait Kerrigan and Brian Lowdermilk bring their unique blend of pop and musical theatre to the Zipper Theatre. Join Kait, Brian and some of the best new voices on Broadway for a laid-back evening of songs from Tales from the Bad Years, The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown, and more.

SCHEDULE: Sep 23rd, 10:00 pm at The Zipper Factory Theater

Prospect Theater Company 10th Anniversary Concert

SYNOPSIS: Currently scheduled to appear are performers Stephen Bogardus, Matt Cavenaugh, Gavin Creel, Malcolm Gets, Adam Jacobs, Jose Llana, Meghan McGeary, and many more to come!

Featuring songs by Jim Bauer, Randy Courts & Mark St. Germain, Rick Hip-Flores, Gihieh Lee & Tim Nevits, Peter Mills, Peter Mills & Stephen Weiner, and Maryrose Wood & Andrew Gerle

Celebrate ten years of innovative new musicals from Prospect Theater Company! Join Broadway stars and Prospect members in an anniversary retrospective of songs from THE TAXI CABARET, THE FLOOD, ILLYRIA, DIDO (& AENEAS), THE ALCHEMISTS, LONELY RHYMES, THE PURSUIT OF PERSEPHONE, THE TUTOR, THE BOOK OF THE DUN COW, IRON CURTAIN, TOCK TICK, THE ROCKAE, THE BLUE FLOWER, and HONOR.

SCHEDULE: Sep 21st, 9:00 pm at 37 Arts - Theatre C

Prozak and the Platypus CD Release Party
Book and lyrics by Elise Thoron
Music by Jill Sobule

SYNOPSIS: A rock/jazz/folk/ambient music-propelled exploration of human consciousness and one desperate family’s struggle to survive tragedy’s aftermath. Music club and science lab are rival testing grounds in which an angry teen and her scientist father pit ancient aboriginal mythology against modern neurological research, while the dreams of a lively platypus prove to be the link between the two.

SCHEDULE: Oct 2nd, 8:00 pm at The Zipper Factory Theater

SPECIAL EVENTS

Chocolate Soup
Music & Lyrics by Matt Corriel
Book by Jill Jaysen

SYNOPSIS: What do you get when you combine Mia’s ancient Chocolate Soup recipe with her semi-sweet middle school b.f.f.’s? An intoxicating delicacy that seems to be having quite an effect on everyone in the neighborhood, except for Mia’s new neighbor, Justin. Justin is more concerned with saving the polar bears than with the big Chocolate Soup party that Mia and her friends are planning. Geez, what’s wrong with him? Will Justin come to his senses and attend the party or is there actually something more important than chocolate? Find out in this musical tale how middle school mayhem transforms into a movement. Melt Chocolate Not The Ice Cap!!

SCHEDULE: Sep 21st, 3:00 pm, Sep 21st, 6:30 pm at The Zipper Factory Theater

Freshly Tossed
Created and Curated by Wendy Seyb and Mark Lonergan

SYNOPSIS: Blending music, dance, theatre, and comedy, Freshly Tossed features artists who take an innovative and exciting approach towards musical theatre. Curators Wendy Seyb and Mark Lonergan have brought together an outstanding group of artists who blend music and comedy in intriguing and surprising new ways.

Wendy Seyb (Walmartopia, School Daze, But I’m A Cheerleader) presents two excerpts from her repertoire, including her latest work, FAITH, which was a smash at DanceBreak 2008, and DRUNKEN FANTASY, an excerpt from School Daze.

Mark Lonergan (CUT TO THE CHASE, THIS WAY THAT WAY) presents two new excerpts from his company Parallel Exit’s tap comedy TIME STEP, featuring performers and co-creators Ryan Kasprzak, Brent McBeth, and Derek Roland.

Choreographer Ray Hesselink (Billy Elliot, Imagine Tap) presents a work of brand new choreography

Performer Chris Allison, one of America’s leading professional clowns, presents a classic act, “Chris and His Big Balls.” More to be announced soon, including a surprise celebrity guest!

SCHEDULE: Sep 22nd, 7:00 pm, Sep 22nd, 9:30 pm at American Theatre of Actors (Chernuchin)

Giant Killer Shark: The Musical
Created by Sam Sutherland

SYNOPSIS: Remarkably similar to a 1975 film about a killer shark that stalks the residents of a copyright-protected island, this show includes sexy late-night skinny-dipping, a rapping fisherman, a break dancing policeman, and a 100% Autopsy Dance Party. Plus, it’s wildly popular in snowy Canada (”Best of the Fringe”, Toronto and Winnipeg). For more information, visit: www.giantkillershark.com.

MUSICAL SAMPLES:
Bondin’ an’ Boozin’
Livin’ On A Copyright-Protected Island
What Are We Gonna Do?

SCHEDULE: Oct 2nd, 4:30 pm, Oct 2nd, 8:00 pm, Oct 3rd, 11:00 pm at TBG Theater

A Puppet Music Thing
Curated by Alissa Hunnicutt

SYNOPSIS: What happens when naughty, edgy, silly, experimental puppetry procreates with musical theatre? A strange, wild and wonderful demon baby that can only be called A Puppet Music Thing – NYMF’s first-ever slam of short works showcasing music and puppetry from socks to bunraku, by artists from all over New York and beyond!

SCHEDULE: Sep 23rd, 7:00 pm, Sep 23rd, 9:30 pm at American Theatre of Actors (Chernuchin)

Tomorrow we’ll look at Parnter Events including 10 Minutes of Happiness, 8 Women: A Karaoke Murder Mystery, Midnight Madness, Paley Center Television Musicals, Soul Searching and You Can Take the Girl Outta Brooklyn.

Broadway United for Barack will take place on Monday, September 15th at 9:45pm at The Metropolitan Room (34 West 22nd St Betw. 5th & 6th Ave). All proceeds benefit Obama For America. Shonn Wiley, Meredith Patterson, and Ryan J. Davis produce.

The evening will feature performances by: Lin Manuel Miranda (In the Heights), Daniel Reichard (Jersey Boys), Felicia Finley (Wedding Singer, Aida), Jeremy Schonfeld (Composer, Drift), Christopher Jackson (Lion King, In the Heights), Mara Davi (A Chorus Line, No No Nanette), Kerry O’Malley (White Christmas, Showtime’s Brotherhood), Jeffry Denman (The Producers, White Christmas), Lewis Cleale (Spamalot, Swinging on a Star), Jeff McCarthy (Urinetown, Pirate Queen), Rachel Hardin (Law & Order CI), Kacie Sheik (Hair), J.D. Webster (Wonderful Town, Ragtime), Kendrick Jones (Encores! Stairway to Paradise), Maddy Wyatt, and The Street Lights Singers. Ryan J. Davis (White Noise, Mr. Broadway) will host the evening.

Let’s look at all seven shows in the New York Musical Theatre Festival’s Developmental Series. These are shows in their earliest stages of life in readings or workshop productions. The tickets are cheaper ($15 as opposed to $20 for a full production) and when it makes it big, you can say “I saw it when…”

NYMF runs September 14 through October 5 and tickets are available NOW.

Let’s get started…

BlackfootNotes
Written by Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj

SYNOPSIS: Born poor. Born black. Born female. Four rebellious spirits journey far beyond their pre-ordained lives. Breaking barriers of slavery, class, gender and race, each overcame tremendous obstacles to attain her dream of entering the heralded world of science. They led amazing lives…yet they remain footnotes of history.

CAST/CREATIVE: Sherry Boone (Jelly’s Last Jam, Marie Christine), Chaundra Cameron, Julia Lema (Ain’t Misbehavin’, Dreamgirls), Gia McGlone. Directed by Nick Petrie. Musical Direction by William Foster McDaniel.

SCHEDULE: Sep 30th, 4:30 pm, Sep 30th, 8:00 pm, Oct 2nd, 4:30 pm, Oct 3rd, 1:00 pm at 45th Street Theater

Fairy Tale
Music and lyrics by John D. Bronston II
Book by Joshua Robinson

SYNOPSIS: “Fairy Tales just got fabulous! This super-fierce Sleeping Beauty Redux follows the banishment of the evil queen – drag queen, that is! – and her revenge: to put the sweet-faced young prince to an enchanted sleep from which he can only be awakened by his one true love…his squire. A sly poke at the politics of gay marriage by way of Fairyland.”

CAST/CREATIVE: Terri White (Barnum, Ain’t Misbehavin’), Gilberto Gomez, Judah Frank (Cirque Dreams), Adam Tackett, Elyssa Samsel, Mark Baratelli, Chris Yonan, Teresa Leigh Hu, Aaron Lenhart, Gregory Marlow, Eleonore Thomas. Directed by Rob McIntosh.

MUSICAL SAMPLES:
A Lady Such As She
Celebrate Each Day
Far Better Thing
Sleepwalking Through Life
Yoo Hoo!

SCHEDULE: Sep 19th, 1:00 pm, Sep 19th, 4:30 pm at 45th Street Theater

I Love You, Madam President
Music and lyrics by Phyllis Lynd
Book by Phyllis Lynd and Martha Kearns
with Additional Dialogue by Soir Aniroc and Scott Tobin

SYNOPSIS: Judith Carlin is the first female President of the United States. Her husband Dan is the first First Gentleman. Will the first Firsts persevere through thick and thin, sickness and health, Oval Office incest and garbage-slinging goobernatorials? See how the votes add up in this new musical comedy that takes a good hard look at the ins and outs of politics — in and out of the bedroom.

SCHEDULE: Sep 26th, 1:00 pm, Sep 26th, 4:30 pm at 45th Street Theater

Lines
Book, music and lyrics by Timothy Huang

SYNOPSIS: Straight lines, curved lines, body lines, blood lines. Lines of fire, lines of communication. Lines we sometimes shouldn’t cross and lines we always should. Composer/lyricist Timothy Huang (The View From Here) examines the word itself; its meanings, its uses and its power in a brand new song cycle that travels from rock, to Americana, to contemporary theater, to R&B and back again. Five versatile actors lead us through twelve stories; some thrilling, some sweet, some wickedly absurd, all of which question what happens when the line that separates black from white becomes irreversibly blurred revealing only shades of gray.

CAST/CREATIVE: Becca Ayers (South Pacific, Les Miserables, Avenue Q), Thomas Cannizzaro (Spamalot, Cabaret), Jared Gertner (Spelling Bee), J. Elaine Marcos (A Chorus Line, Wedding Singer, Miss Saigon), Joe Aaron Reid (Chicago, Curtains). Directed by Maurice Brandon Curry. Musical Direction by J. Oconer Navarro.

MUSICAL SAMPLES:
Moved Past
Rainbow Trout
For This?
Positive
Shortest Distance From Me to You
Andy Pickets

SCHEDULE: Sep 30th, 4:30 pm, Sep 30th, 8:00 pm, Oct 2nd, 10:30 pm, Oct 3rd, 1:00 pm at TBG Theater

Robin Hood
Book, lyrics and music by Timothy Frey

SYNOPSIS: Zounds! Tyranny abounds! Can Robin Hood save the day with a handful of daredevil orphans and a swashbuckling Marian? Find out in this rowdy rock musical comedy adventure.

CAST/CREATIVE: Directed and Choreographed by Rusty Curcio. Musical Direction by Deniz Cordell.

MUSICAL SAMPLES:
Overture
Father Robin Hood
Robin And Raven
Marian’s Song
Battle On
Majesty

SCHEDULE: Oct 2nd, 2:00 pm, Oct 2nd, 5:00 pm at 37 Arts - Theatre C

Ubu
Book by Brantley Aufill, Tony Mayes, and Monty Holamon
Music & Lyrics by Monty Holamon
Adapted from Alfred Jarry’s Ubu Plays

SYNOPSIS: Ubu: A ‘Patamusical adapts all three of Alfred Jarry’s infamously absurd Ubu Plays (Ubu King, Ubu Cuckolded, and Ubu Bound) into one new absurdist musical. Watch Pa Ubu kill the king, raid the treasury, go to war …and buy Ma Ubu a good, stout umbrella. Merde!

CAST/CREATIVE: Directed by Brantley Aufill and Tony Mayes.

Schedule: Sep 16th, 4:30 pm, Sep 16th, 8:00 pm at 37 Arts - Theatre C

Wrapped
Book by Dennis Nehamen
Music & Lyrics by Craig Nehamen

SYNOPSIS: Wrapped is a hip-hop musical that carries you into the soul of a struggling man, one part artist, three parts husband and father. Broken by the cold-hearted music industry and left hopeless to satisfy any of his wishes for his family, Benny crafts an unthinkably noble plan that unfortunately has nowhere to lead but the dumps. When all inevitably goes awry, he’s left fighting twice as hard to try to put things back together for himself and his family.

SCHEDULE: Oct 3rd, 1:00 pm, Oct 3rd, 5:00 pm at 37 Arts - Theatre C

More to come tomorrow as we look at five concerts and four very special events…

I have recently become addicted to the cybercrack otherwise known as Facebook. I finally gave in and created an account because I am in the midst of moving to a new life in a new place, as are several of my twentysomething co-workers, and I thought it seemed the best way to keep in touch.

Little did I know that in doing so, I’d get reconnected with, like, everyone I ever knew. Friends from high school. My entire college class. My first boyfriend ever. Former castmates. People I had unsuccessfully been Googling on and off for the past many years are suddenly all congregated in one place. I love it.

So I was pleased to find this very funny essay written by Jason Robert Brown—wunderkind composer of Songs For a New World, Parade, The Last Five Years, Urban Cowboy, and the soon to open, 13—about the quandry he found himself faced with when he reached the maximum number of friends allowable by Facebook (5,000). Thanks, Gil of Broadway Abridged for pointing it out. An excerpt follows, and the entire essay can be found on Jason Robert Brown’s blog.

“There is a Fan Page on Facebook, which is the logical place for people to go who are just fans. The problem is that I’ve already accepted around forty-five hundred people who are just fans, and it feels weird to cut through my Friend list with a virtual scythe just because I’ve now decided to be choosy. Would those forty-five hundred people sign up on my Fan Page or would they feel in some way dissed?”

“Also, I haven’t decided to be choosy, Facebook told me I had to be – I like the occasional random serendipity of exchanging a message or a poke with someone I’ve never met. (Don’t ask me to explain the whole phenomenon of Poking; like everything else about Facebook, it delivers no gratification whatsoever and we’d all cry if they took it away.)”