Broadway stages old favorites with new, energetic talent

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Editor

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Ticket info Helpful sites and phone numbers for Broadway show tickets and information: www.broadway.com www.culturefinder.com /calendar/broadway www.playbill.com www.nymetro.com Tele-charge: (212) 239-6200 Ticketmaster: (212) 307-4100 Ticket Central: (212) 279-4200 Broadway Ticket Center at the Times Square Visitor Center, 1560 Broadway between W. 46th and 47th streets TKTS booth at Duffy Square, at Broadway and W. 47th St., for half-price seats (cash or traveler's checks only; no plastic). Also at Bowling Green Park Plaza, opposite Battery Park, at the foot of Broadway

• Where: Circle in the Square, 1633 Broadway at W. 50th St.
• Who: Ensemble of actors playing gods and goddesses
• What's it about: The gods are restless; Myrrha, Aphrodites, Hermes, Orpheus, Eurydice, Phaeton and others interact, proving they have frailties just as humans do. It helps to have knowledge of the mythic characters, but there's visual splendor to hypnotize even the uninformed.
• What's hot: A spectacle with fire (candles floating) and water (a 27-foot water-filled pool functions like a character, cleansing, purifying, occasionally paining — and literally provides a splash). A Tony winner (director Zimmerman)
• Our take: The most unusual of all Broadway fare, offering both hilarity and heartaches

'Morning's at Seven'
A drama by Paul Osborn

• Where: Lyceum Theatre, 149 W. 45th St.
• Who: Resilient performances from Frances Sternhagen, Elizabeth Franz, Estelle Parsons and Piper Laurie who play four sisters (three married, one not, all with emotional baggage)
• What's it about: Homespun family friction; aging sisters worry about their futures and an unmarried nephew who can't make the commitment.
• What's hot: A realistic and comforting backyard set by John Lee Beatty frames this fragile comedy about Midwestern values, ably directed by Dan Sullivan.
• Our take: "Seven" is heavenly fun.

'Noises Off'
A comedy by Michael Frayn

• Where: Brooks Atkinson Theatre, 256 W. 47th St.
• Who: A remarkable ensemble, featuring Patti LuPone, Peter Gallagher, Faith Prince and Richard Easton, agile at slamming and closing doors
• What's it about: Everything goes wrong for a troupe touring in a theatrical comedy; the audience gets to see it from both on stage and backstage.
• What's hot: Sizzling slapstick requires immaculate timing, and the breakneck pace here is right on the money.
• Our take: The funniest thing on Broadway right now

'Mamma Mia'
A musical based on the songs of ABBA (book by Catherine Johnson)

• Where: Cadillac Winter Garden, 1634 Broadway at W. 50th St.
• Who: Splendid ensemble work, topped by Louise Pitre (a Tony nominee)
• What's it about: A girl, 21, is getting married on a Greek island; unknown to her mom, a one-time songstress, she invites three men who may be her father, creating tension, dramatic and comedic.
• What's hot: All those '70s ABBA songs; the merry tunes stand alone, but support the minimal plot. Stay around for the post-finale "rock concert," ABBA-style, complete with bell-bottomed pants and platform shoes.
• Our take: Mamma mia; this is the hottest ticket in town (and the first this season to command a $100 top ticket, as did last year's "The Producers").

'Oklahoma!'
The Rodgers & Hammerstein musical

• Where: Gershwin Theatre, 222 W. 51st St.
• Who: Patrick Wilson (last season's nominee from "The Full Monty") is Curly, Josefina Gabrielle is Laury, Shuler Hensley is Jud Fry (a Tony winner), Andrea Martin (currently in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding") is Aunt Eller, Justin Bohon is Will Parker, Jessie Boevers is Ado Annie, Aasif Mandvi is Ali Hakim. Hawai'i connection — Merwin Foard, who played Javert in "Les Miserables," is Chalmers.
• What's it about: Farmers and cowboys battle for the turf, amid love — conventional, interracial, interclass — as Oklahomans contemplate the fate of their territory.
• What's hot: Susan Stroman, award-winning choreographer-director, has rechoreographed this beautiful mounting, retaining traditional values of the Agnes de Mille original but updating the spirit with heel-kicking glee. Plus, there's brilliant lighting and resourceful sets.
• Our take: A huge OK for this reinvented charmer, an audience favorite produced by Cameron Macintosh; its failure to win Best Musical Revival spread a cloud of doom and may mean fewer and fewer British imports.

'The Goat,' or 'Who Is Sylvia?'
A drama by Edward Albee

• Where: Golden Theatre, 252 W. 45th St.
• Who: Bill Pullman and Mercedes Ruehl are a couple with a gay son and a dark secret.
• What's it about: It should unspool as a drama, but it plays like black comedy; the wife smells a rat in the marriage, but it turns out to be a goat.
• Our take: Hard to sell bestiality

'Fortune's Fool'
A drama by Ivan Turgenev adapted by Mike Poulton

• Where: The Music Box, 239 W. 45th St.
• Who: Alan Bates and Frank Langella, as Vassily Semyononitch Kuzovkin and Flegont Alexandrovitch Tropatchov, respectively, directed with aplomb by Arthur Penn
• What's it about: A verbal and visual collision between the two leads, on a mid-19th-century estate now owned by the genteel Kuzovkin's daughter, but frequented by the effete and arrogant Tropatchov. A drunken scene is particularly memorable, setting off a revelation that leads to the denouement.
• What's hot: Bates and Langella each won Tonys. Bates' son, Benedick Bates, appears in a secondary role, so it's cool to watch dad and son together.
• Our take: Better acting would be hard to find.

'Into the Woods'
A musical by Stephen Sondheim (book by James Lapine)

• Where: Broadhurst Theatre, 235 W. 44th St.
• Who: Vanessa Williams is the witch, John McMartin, is the narrator. Hawai'i connection — Melissa Dye, who toured with "Phantom of the Opera" in the islands, is Rapunzel.
• What's it about: A revival of classic fairy-tale characters, reshaped and retold with interplay, in the forest peopled by Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack (of Beanstalk fame), Rapunzel and the Baker and his Wife.
• What's hot: A rich Sondheim score, the queenly presence of Williams, and a forest set that's both enchanting and threatening; plus a Milky-White cow that's moovingly charming; Best Musical Revival Tony winner
• Our take: It's every bit as good as the original, which starred Bernadette Peters.

'Sweet Smell of Success'
A musical by Marvin Hamlisch (lyrics by Craig Canelia, book by John Guare)

• Where: Closed recently at the Martin Beck Theatre, 302 W. 45th St.
• Who: John Lithgow, as gossip columnist J.J. Hunsecker, won a Tony for this role; he was not in the performance we saw. A masterful behind-the-scenes team (director was Nicholas Hytner of "Miss Saigon" fame) should have produced better results. Brian d'Arcy James gives a fine performance as the hustling press agent.
• What's it about: The characters are callous and cynical, and the dark tones and tunes, with few redeeming qualities, don't help to build up accessibility. And yikes, some tunes sound like Hamlisch outtakes from "A Chorus Line."
• Our take: Made you wonder, "what were they thinking?"

'Thoroughly Modern Millie'
A musical by Jeanine Tesoi with lyrics by Dick Scanlan (book by Richard Morris and Dick Scanlan)

• Where: Marquis Theatre, 1535 Broadway at 46th St.
• Who: Sutton Foster emerges as thoroughly merry Millie in a clearly star-making endeavor.
• What's it about: An innocent, luckless bumpkin arrives in New York City, hoping to marry her boss (she needs to get a job first) and winds up cracking a white slavery case.
• What's hot: Sutton is irresistible and radiant as Millie, for which she won a Best Actress Tony (the show was Best Musical); the supporting cast includes Tony winner Harriet Harris, as Mrs. Meers, who looks and acts like a Chinese dragon lady, but really isn't, and Ken Leung and Francis Jue are hapless and hilarious as Chinese brothers unintentionally involved in the scam.
• Our take: It's this season's most winning show with a sunny disposition.

New shows coming up

• "Hairspray," a musical by John Waters, previewing from July 18, opening date to be announced; with Marissa Jaret Winokur and Harvey Fierstein; Neil Simon Theatre
• "The Boys From Syracuse," a musical by Rodgers and Hart, previewing July 24; Roundabout Theatre Company at the American Airlines Theatre
• "Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune," a comedy by Terrence McNally, previewing July 26; with Edie Falco and Stanley Tucci; Belsasco Theatre
• "Movin' Out," a production conceived by Twyla Tharp, based on the songs of Billy Joel, previewing Sept. 30; Richard Rodgers Theatre
• "Flower Drum Song," a revival of the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic, opening in September; with Lea "Miss Saigon" Salonga; Virginia Theatre
• "Dance of the Vampires," a new musical by Jim Steinman and Michael Kunze, previewing from Aug. 12, opening Oct. 14; with Michael "Phantom of the Opera" Crawford; Minskoff Theatre
• "Say Goodnight Gracie," a comedy by Rupert Holmes about the life and loves of George Burns, opening Sept. 17; Helen Hayes Theatre
• "Jackie Mason: Prune Danish," a one-man show, opening Oct. 8; Royale Theatre
• "Man of La Mancha," the musical by Mitch Leigh and Joe Darion, with book by Dale Wasserman; with Brian Stokes Mitchell as Don Quixote; Details to be announced
• "Gypsy," a musical by Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim, with book by Arthur Laurent; with Bernadette Peters as Gypsy Rose Lee; Details to be announced
• "La Boheme," Baz Luhrmann's production of the Puccini classic, previewing Nov. 26 and opening Dec. 8; Kevin McCollum, formerly of Hawai'i, is one of the producers; Lisa Hopkins from the United States, Wei Huang from China and Ekaterina Solovyeva from Russia alternate as Mimi; Alfred Boe from England, and Jesus Garcia and David Miller from the United States, alternate as Rodolfo; Broadway Theatre

The Broadway buzz:

• Joey Fatone of 'N Sync joins "Rent," Aug. 5-Dec. 22.
• Heather Laws replaces Jane Leeves as Sally Bowles in "Cabaret," starting July 15.