Issue #113: July 15, 2003
A Midsummer's Edition — next issue August 15

• The Boy George musical Taboo, a hit in London, opens at the Plymouth Theater on November 13 with Raul Esparaza, Euan Morton and the Boy himself.

• Now that he is no longer that crazy captain on the television sitcom Third Rock from the Sun, you can find John Lithgow on Broadway this fall in William Nicholson's The Retreat From Moscow, which opens on October 23 at the Booth Theater.  It's nice to see him back on stage where he belongs and joining him are Ben Chaplin and Eileen Atkins.

• L.A.'s Mark Taper Forum will be hosting a new musical by Cy Coleman, Alan and Marilyn Bergman and Larry Gelbart for the 2003-04 season.  Also, on tap are presentations of Homebody/Kabul, Topdog/Underdog and The Talking Cure.

• Well, in the world of television, it's a plethora of reality shows — in the world of musicals we are becoming inundated with musicals based on rock and rollers.  You've got Mamma Mia! (Abba), We Will Rock You (Queen), Our House (Madness), Movin' Out (Billy Joel) and now Rod Stewart is throwing his hat in the ring!  Tonight's the Night premieres in London at the Victoria Palace on November 6 with previews beginning October 15.  Writer-director Ben Elton (We Will Rock You, The Beautiful Game) intertwines 22 of Stewart's hits into a showcase including such hits as "D'Ya Think I'm Sexy," "Stay With Me" and "Sailing" and of course the title song.  The budget is pegged at $6.6 million US and includes Tony-award winner Matthew Bourne (Swan Lake) as part of the creative team designing the costumes.  Hair gel anyone!

• After an almost 25-year absence, Dame Judi Dench will be returning to her Shakespearean roots when she takes to the stage as Countess of Rousillon in the bittersweet comedy All's Well That Ends Well beginning in December.  She last performed at the British Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford in 1979.

• Two showbiz legends who died within days of one another — both in their mid nineties — left us with decades of memories.  Katherine Hepburn died June 29 at the age of 96.  In 1928 Ms. Hepburn searched out small stage roles following her graduation from Bryn Mawr College.  And so began a more than six-decade career in film and theatre.  Her first stage performance was in 1930 in A Month in the Country with her last appearance in 1981 in West Side Waltz.  Among other memorable roles were The Philadelphia Story in 1939, for which she was the inspiration, and Coco in 1969, based on the life of Coco Chanel.   Off-stage and screen she will also be remembered for her 27-year love affair with Spencer Tracy.

• By the time Buddy Ebsen became a household name in 1962 on television in The Beverly Hillbillies, he had already been performing as a song and dance man on Broadway and in vaudeville for more than 30 years.  His early stage productions included a role in Present Arms in 1928 and in 1934 he and his sister Vilma were featured in Ziegfield Follies.  Buddy Ebsen died July 6 at the age of 95.  One story that always comes to mind when Mr. Ebsen's name comes up is that he was originally cast as the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz in 1939, but his life-threatening allergy to the aluminum dust he needed to wear resulted in him being replaced by Jack Haley.