Issue #162: December 1, 2005,
Special year-end edition, back in 2006!

• Choreographer extraordinaire Jerry Mitchell (Hairspray) has signed on to work his magic on another film-to-stage project, an adaptation of the Steven Spielberg film Catch Me If You Can.

• Eileen Atkins will replace Cherry Jones  and Ron Eldard will take over from Bryan O’Byrne in Doubt at the Walter Kerr Theatre on January 10. 

• Playwright David Henry Hwang has secured book-writing duties for Disney’s upcoming new musical Tarzan, which is scheduled to open in March.

• Cathy Rigby is currently making her final New York appearance as Peter Pan at The Theatre at Madison Square Gardens.  The 50-something Olympian has been playing the little boy who wouldn’t grow up for more than 15 years.  Rigby will turn in the wires permanently when the national tour wraps up in April. 

• Oliver Platt (West Wing, Huff) makes his Broadway debut in Manhattan Theatre Club’s production of Conor McPherson’s (The Weir) Shining City.  Directed by Robert Falls (Long Day’s Journey Into Night), previews begin at the Biltmore Theatre on April 13.

• Toronto’s late 90s Fringe Festival hit The Drowsy Chaperone is garnering rave reviews in Los Angeles where it opened on November 18 at the Ahmanson Theatre.  Variety called it a “delectable show … emitting enough intoxicating charm for just about anyone to get drunk on.”  The little show that was originally staged seven years ago looks to be heading to Broadway, possibly next season.

• In Houston you can catch Marisa Tomei as Bill in the Alley Theatre production of Born Yesterday.  Directed by Gregory Boyd, performances begin on February 24.

• The hilarious Dame Edna takes her acerbic barbs to Las Vegas for a limited run at the Luxor Theater beginning December 18.

• Showbiz veteran Robert Altman takes on directing duties at the Old Vic in February where Arthur Miller’s Resurrection Blues will premiere.

• The search is on for the next Eva Peron to star at the Adelphi Theatre in May when composer Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber launches his revival of one of his best works, Evita.

• The Auzzies’ are launching a new musical based on the British white-soul singer, Dusty Springfield.  Premiering in Melbourne at the Victoria Arts Centre on January 12, Dusty will then embark on a national tour after its original two-month stint.