Have a Gay Old Time At Off-Broadway Holiday Comedies Opening Tonight

It's gay tidings at two Off-Broadway spaces tonight, the Actors' Playhouse Theatre and the Kirk Theatre, where campy Christmas shows are opening just in time for the holidays. The Gayest Christmas Pageant Ever, which plays at the Actors' Playhouse through January 3, is a backstage comedy about a struggling gay theater company trying to put on a Christmas show. And Santa Claus Is Coming Out, playing at the Kirk through December 20, is a mockumentary about the global scandal associated with St. Nick's coming out of the closet. Both are sure to provide plenty of holiday cheer, and a great alternative to the standard Christmas fare.

New Off-Broadway Nutcracker Is Set In New York City

Getting tired of seeing the same old Nutcracker every Christmas season? The Urban Ballet Theater's Nutcracker in the Lower takes the classic holiday ballet The Nutcracker and transports it to the island of Manhattan for a run that begins today at the Abrons Arts Center Henry Street Settlement and plays through December 5. Now in its ninth year, Nutcracker in the Lower takes the familiar tale of a little girl and her adventures and gives it a twist that reflects the excitement, diversity, and cultural richness of Manhattan. The production still honors Tchaikovsky's beloved score, but includes hip-hop and Latin musical flourishes that give this Nutcracker the flavor of New York City.

Cate Blanchett Brings A Streetcar Named Desire To New York

The Sydney Theatre Company production of A Streetcar Named Desire comes to the Harvey Theater at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) for a limited engagement, which is starting today and running through December 19. In the production, acclaimed film actress Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth, The Lord of the Rings, Notes On a Scandal) plays Tennessee Williams' most iconic heroine, Blanche DuBois. Co-starring in the tempestuous Southern drama with Blanchett is Joel Edgerton as Stanley Kowalski and Robin McLeavy as his wife Stella.

Free Thursday Performances At New Lincoln Center Atrium

Lincoln Center's David Rubinstein Atrium, newly opened on Broadway between 62nd and 63rd Streets, will be the site for a new free performance series known as Target Free Thursdays. The series, which will take place each Thursday evening at 8:30pm, kicked off on November 19 with Sexteto Rodriguez and the Cuban-Jewish All Stars and in the future will feature a wide variety of performers in many genres of music and the performing arts (including international acts and performers from Lincoln Center's resident companies). After it has its official opening in December, the Atrium will not only be a place to see performances, but to buy discounted tickets for them, as this will be where Lincoln Center has its own brand new answer to the popular TKTS booth in midtown. In addition, the Atrium will sport a huge media wall, free wi-fi and free public seating, a cafe, and vertical gardens.

Robin Williams' One-Man Show Arrives At Town Hall

Earlier this year, comedian and actor Robin Williams was scheduled to bring his touring one-man show Weapons of Self-Destruction to Broadway in a limited engagement at the Neil Simon Theatre. However, a health scare caused Williams to cancel the tour. Healthy again and ready to make audiences laugh now, Robin Williams is starting the limited run of Weapons of Self-Destruction in New York City tonight. The re-scheduled engagement is not actually on Broadway (the Neil Simon is currently occupied by the Ragtime revival), but it is close - right in the heart of midtown, at Town Hall on West 43rd Street. Robin Williams: Weapons of Self-Destruction will play at Town Hall November 23-25, November 30, and December 1-3.

New Musical of A Christmas Story Begins At Kansas City Rep

Just in time for the holidays, a new musical version of the modern classic Christmas movie A Christmas Story begins performances at the Kansas City Repertory Theatre. The show's libretto is by Joseph Robinette, and the score is by Scott Davenport Richards. The musical is based on the 1983 film about young Ralphie Parker's quest to get an air rifle for Christmas (the movie was based on humorist Jean Shepherd's stories). This production of A Christmas Story, The Musical! plays at the Kansas City Rep through December 27. Songs from the musical include "I Won (A Major Award)," "On Christmas, We Go Eat Chinese," "Ho, Ho, Ho!" and of course "You'll Shoot Your Eye Out!" The show is aiming for a Broadway run in 2010.

Dreamgirls and Ragtime To Perform at Macy's Thanksgiving Parade

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will feature Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals during its telecast on the CBS network on November 26. The musicals scheduled to perform at the Macy's Thanksgiving parade are the Broadway revivals of Ragtime and West Side Story, as well as the current production of Dreamgirls playing at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem. The West Side Story cast will sing "America," and the Dreamgirls trio will perform the musical's title song on the show. The entire Ragtime cast will be gathering in Battery Park to sing the show's big anthem, "Wheels of a Dream," against the backdrop of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

Oleanna To Close On Broadway In January

The producers of Oleanna, the Broadway revival of the tense David Mamet drama, announced today that they will be closing the show on January 3rd, 2010. The production, which enjoyed a successful run in Los Angeles at the Mark Taper Forum earlier this year, transferred to Broadway's John Golden Theatre in late September. The play stars actor Bill Pullman (who was previously seen on Broadway in The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?) as a college professor and Julia Stiles (Shakespeare in the Park's Twelfth Night) as his disgruntled student. Each performance of the show has been followed by a lively audience talk-back where people discuss the motives and actions of the two characters in this very controversial play about power, education, and gender politics.

Let the Race Begin

David Mamet's new play, which has a provocative four-letter word of a title, starts performances on Broadway tonight at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The four-person Race stars James Spader (Boston Legal), David Alan Grier (In Living Color, Broadway's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum), Kerry Washington (The Last King of Scotland, Ray), and Richard Thomas (TV's The Waltons, Broadway's Democracy) and is directed by Mamet, in his Broadway directorial debut. The play is about a law firm - made up of two black lawyers and one white one - who have the opportunity to defend a white man charged of a crime against a young black woman. The production will have its official Broadway opening at the Barrymore on December 6.

It's a White Christmas on Broadway

The Marquis Theatre at the Marriott Hotel in Times Square is hosting one heck of a holiday party with Irving Berlin's White Christmas, starting Broadway performances today. This is the second annual limited Broadway engagement of the snow-filled show, which is based on the beloved holiday film of the same name, and also incorporates many other memorable Irving Berlin songs from other movies and musicals. The production, directed by Walter Bobbie, features Tony Yazbeck, Melissa Errico, James Clow, Mara Davi, David Ogden Stiers, and Ruth Williamson in the cast, plus a large ensemble of singers and dancers. White Christmas will play at the Marquis through January 3, 2010.

Dame Edna and Michael Feinstein Join Forces on Broadway

Following a lighthearted publicity stunt in which both artists announced separate upcoming Broadway shows with suspiciously similar titles, Australian drag comedian Dame Edna Everage (also known as Barry Humphries) and piano man/crooner Michael Feinstein (who has just released an album with Broadway actor/singer Cheyenne Jackson) have finally admitted that the new musical entertainment All About Me will be a joint theatrical effort between the two experienced and distinguished performers. Directed by Broadway veteran Jerry Zaks and written by playwright Christopher Durang, the show will begin performances on March 6, 2010, with an official Broadway opening on March 23. A theater has not yet been announced.

Wintuk Takes New York City By (Snow)Storm

In what now looks like it may be an annual holiday tradition in New York City, Cirque du Soleil's theatrical winter fantasy Wintuk is starting its limited engagement at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden. The holiday show takes Cirque's formula of eye-popping visuals, astounding acrobatics, evocative music, and comedic clowning and gives it an enchanting snowy twist, making it an ideal family show during Christmastime. Wintuk, which features over 50 performers from all over the world, will play at MSG through January 3, 2010.

Bernadette Peters To Pen New Kids Book

The multi-talented actress/singer Bernadette Peters is at work on her second children's book. Stella Is a Star, due out in early 2010, is about Peters' beloved dog Stella and features illustrations by Liz Murphy. In addition to her performing duties in movies, concerts, and musicals (her most recent Broadway credits include major revivals of Annie Get Your Gun and Gypsy), Bernadette Peters has been a tireless advocate for animal adoption. The proceeds from sales of the new book will go to her charity "Broadway Barks", which she co-founded with Mary Tyler Moore. Broadway Barks was also the title of Peters' first kids' book.

American Idiot Getting Closer To Broadway

The new musical American Idiot, which just enjoyed an acclaimed run at the Berkeley Rep in California, is getting closer to securing a Broadway berth. Ever since the project was announced, insiders always anticipated it would eventually make it to Broadway, and now casting notices and hopeful quotes from publicity reps indicate that the musical is on track for the Great White Way. However, exact dates and a theater have yet to be secured, so the show's New York future is not yet certain. Directed by Michael Mayer, American Idiot is a new musical based on the Green Day album of the same name. The rock musical, which has musical supervision by Tom Kitt (Next To Normal), also features songs from Green Day's most recent album, "21st Century Breakdown".

Broadway Musical 13 To Get New Recording

Last season's Broadway musical 13, with music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown, will get a new double-disc cast recording from Ghostlight Records. The original Broadway cast album was released before the Broadway production had been frozen, and further changes were subsequently made to the show, so that CD doesn't quite reflect the musical in its current state. The new album, which will also feature bonus demo and karaoke tracks, is meant to be a more accurate representation of 13 as it is now.

Spider-Man's Fate May Be Decided Today

Rumors are flying this morning about the troubled musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. The New York Times reported yesterday that director Julie Taymor, other members of the creative team, and the show's producers are scheduled to have an important meeting today to discuss the show's future. Today, the New York Post's Michael Riedel - a reporter who covers the Broadway beat and passes around the juiciest gossip on the Great White Way - has said that Spider-Man won't be postponed indefinitely as many have suggested over the last several months. Instead, it will just push back opening until the summer of 2010, when Taymor and company will finally have the highly complex show ready. This would mean that Spider-Man won't make the deadline for this year's Tony Awards, but then again most people probably won't need a Tony win as an incentive to see this much-buzzed-about musical with amazing aerial effects and songs by U2's Bono and The Edge.

Shakespeare In The Park To Perform In Rep In 2010

The Public Theater has already announced the two productions that it will present for 2010's "Shakespeare in the Park" series at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park. Next year, the summer tradition will truly live up to its name, presenting two of the Bard's plays (rather than one Shakespeare paired with a classic or modern classic, as has been the recent pattern), The Merchant of Venice and The Winter's Tale. Even more interesting is that the Public has decided to run the two Shakespeare in the Park shows in rep, which hasn't been done in nearly 20 years. Both productions will feature the same company of actors and designers, with Daniel Sullivan directing The Merchant of Venice and Michael Greif directing The Winter's Tale.