Issue #1: July 15, 1998

• Tony Danza, former star of the hit TV comedy series Taxi, will take over the lead in Arthur Miller's View From the Bridge, from Tony Award winner Anthony LaPaglia.



• Jerry Seinfeld's Broadway stint in August will be a big payday for New York City students. HBO reported that Mr. Seinfeld will donate proceeds from his performances to non-profit organizations PENCIL (Public Education Needs Civic Involvement in Learning) and ArtsConnection. The New York engagement will wrap up an international tour that began last month.

• Look for the following productions on this subscription season and next on the North America touring circuit: Fame, Footloose and Donna Summer's Ordinary Girl. Also set to tour will be Christopher Plummer in Barrymore, John Davidson in the role of Teddy Roosevelt in Bully. British import Eddie Izzard's Dressed To Kill will play a few major cities.



• Footloose, the hit movie that spawned numerous hit songs is now a theatre event à la Grease. There will be an August opening at the Kennedy Center with a limited run on Broadway beginning in September then the show hits the road in Cleveland at the new Allen Theater on Dec. 15.



• Colm Wilkinson reprises his award-winning role of Jean Valjean in the North American touring production of Les Miserables at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto. The production is due to run until Nov. 29.



• Did you know there are three North American touring productions of Rent and The Phantom of the Opera, and two of each of Chicago, Riverdance,, Showboat and Ragtime?



• Look for Tony Award-winning plays The Diary of Anne Frank, Art, and A View from the Bridge to tour in the 1999 season.

• Paula Vogel's Pulitzer Prize winning play How I Learned to Drive is enjoying a successful limited run at the Donmar Warehouse in London. The play will close on August 8.



• Yes it's true, British theatre legends David Hare and Ian Holm were recently awarded knighthoods. Also joining the ranks of the round table is Michael Gambon, best known in his starring role in London and New York in the award-winning play Skylight.

• Grease in arenas!!! That's what is touring in Australia. Producer John Frost has a very slick arena production of the 20th Anniversary celebration tour of Grease. Will it come to North American arenas? Watch this space for more info.



• It's true -- there will be touring productions of Titanic and Cabaret in the New Year. Both Tony Award winning productions -- watch your local subscription series for more info. But don't get your hopes up about Lion King. The North American tour will probably not head out until the millenium. Chances are Lion King will be seen in Australia and/or Asia before stateside.

• Kristen Johnston, maybe familiar to you from the hit television show 3rd Rock from The Sun, is currently performing at the Delacorte Theater in New York in The Skin of Our Teeth. Like many television and film actors, Kristen has returned to her first love, the stage, during the summer hiatus of3rd Rock.