This just in from New York:

MOVING TO THE TOP OF HER CLASS…
ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST MEMBER BECKY GULSVIG TO PLAY ELLE WOODS IN THE FIRST NATIONAL TOUR

It was announced today that original Broadway cast member Becky Gulsvig will play Elle Woods in the First National Tour of the “mega-hit” (Wall Street Journal) LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL.  The tour will kick off in Rhode Island at The Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) on September 23, 2008.   Additional casting will be announced shortly.

Sorority star Elle Woods doesn’t take “no” for an answer.  So when her boyfriend dumps her for someone more “serious,” Elle puts down the credit card, hits the books, and sets out to go where no Delta Nu has gone before: Harvard Law. Along the way, Elle proves that being true to yourself never goes out of style.

Broadway baby Becky Gulsvig doesn’t take “no” for an answer.  After a year of performing in the ensemble of LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL and understudying the role of Elle Woods, Becky will fill the pink pumps that made the original, Tony Award Nominated Broadway Elle Laura Bell Bundy, and the MGM film’s Reese Witherspoon, stars.  Becky made her Broadway debut as Amber Von Tussle in Hairspray and has played Wendy in the National Tour of Peter Pan, Patty Simcox in Grease and Philia in …Forum.   Her TV credits include “All My Children” & “Legally Blonde The Musical” on MTV. 

As on Broadway, Tony Award-winner Jerry Mitchell is the director and choreographer.  Music and lyrics are by both Tony Award Nominees Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin, and the book is by Tony Award Nominee Heather Hach.  Casting will be announced shortly. 

America goes Blonde starting at Rhode Island’s PPAC (September 23-September 28, 2008).  Other venues for the first national tour of the “the funniest, most fabulous new musical” (WWOR-TV) include: Baltimore, MD (September 30-October 12, 2008); Buffalo, NY (October 14-19, 2008); Rochester, NY (October 21-26, 2008); Cleveland, OH (November 11-23, 2008); Schenectady (November 25-30, 2008); Philadelphia, PA (December 2-7, 2008); Hartford, CT (December 9-14, 2008); Washington, DC (December 16, 2008-January 11, 2009); East Lansing, MI (January 13-18, 2009); St. Louis, MO (January 20-February 1, 2009); Houston, TX (February 10-22, 2009); Des Moines, IA (February 24-March 1, 2009); Memphis, TN (March 3-8, 2009); Orlando, FL (March 10-15, 2009); West Palm Beach, FL (March 17-22, 2009); Greenville, SC (March 24-29, 2009); Naples, FL (March 31-April 5, 2009); Clearwater, FL (April 7-12, 2009); Durham, NC (April 14-19, 2009); Charlotte, NC (April 21-26, 2009); St. Paul, MN (April 28-May 10, 2009); Dayton, OH (June 16-21, 2009); Nashville, TN (June 23-28, 2009); Kansas City, MO (June 30-July 5, 2009); Atlanta, GA (July 14-19, 2009); Dallas, TX (July 21-August 9, 2009); Los Angeles, CA (August 11-September 6, 2009); Costa Mesa, CA (September 8-20, 2009). 

LEGALLY BLONDE is produced by Hal Luftig, Fox Theatricals and Dori Berinstein, in association with MGM Onstage, Darcie Denkert and Dean Stolber.   The production features scenic design by David Rockwell, costume design by Gregg Barnes, lighting design by Kenneth Posner and Paul Miller, orchestrations by Christopher Jahnke and sound design by ACME Sound Partners.

Click Here to read the story at Playbill.com.

In other news, the MTV reality show “Legally Blonde: The Search for the New Elle Woods” will premiere on June 2. See the Broadway World story here for more: http://www.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=27438

A small change to the originally announced lineup for the Michelob Ultra Cool Films series: We will be showing the 1933 version of Little Women with Katharine Hepburn, instead of the 1949 version with Elizabeth Taylor. Dates for the screening remain the same.

 If you haven’t already read them, check out these writeups about the films series:

- Dave Larsen’s announcement story at DaytonDailyNews.com

- “Sir Critic’s” film blog at ActiveDayton.com

Be sure to also stop by the Theater Forum at Dayton.MostMetro.com for updates and info about the film series and other arts-related events and activities in Dayton.

We’ll be launching a cool new film series trivia contest here on the web site later this month, so be sure to check back for details.

Longtime Dayton resident and philanthropist Dr. Benjamin Schuster has been honored by The Broadway League with their 2008 Star of Touring Broadway Award. 

The Star of Touring Broadway Award is given annually by The Broadway League (formerly the League of American Theatres & Producers) to an individual who has made a significant impact on touring Broadway in a local market.

This year’s award recognizes the impact of the leadership gift made by Dr. Schuster and his late wife Marian, to help build the Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center, which opened in 2003. The Schusters played an integral role in the realization of the performing arts center that bears their names by donating $8 million to the project. Their leadership inspired another $115 million in gifts to build the performing arts center that is home to Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, Dayton Opera, Dayton Ballet, and Victoria Theatre Association. 

Over the past five years, the Schuster Center has greatly enhanced the caliber of touring Broadway in Dayton. Without the Schuster Center, Dayton would never have hosted successful runs of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, THE PRODUCERS, MOVIN’ OUT, Cathy Rigby in PETER PAN, HAIRSPRAY, and MONTY PYTHON’S SPAMALOT. In the near future the list will grow to include Oprah Winfrey presents THE COLOR PURPLE, LEGALLY BLONDE: THE MUSICAL, CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG and WICKED. Victoria Theatre Association, the organization responsible for presenting touring Broadway in Dayton, nominated Dr. Schuster for this prestigious award.

The economic impact of these shows playing Dayton is vast – not just for Dayton but also for touring Broadway. Secondary touring markets such as Dayton play an essential role in the success of Broadway tours, and the Schuster Center has changed the stature of Dayton as a Broadway touring market. 

Dr. and Mrs. Schuster have provided an incredible legacy for the arts in our community. Longtime residents of Dayton, the Schusters have a 45-year history of philanthropy in the Miami Valley, supporting not only the performing arts, but also medical and educational initiatives. Marian Schuster, often the inspiration behind the couple’s generosity to the arts, passed away in July 2007.

The Award was recently announced at the 2008 Touring Broadway Awards, held during The Broadway League’s annual Spring Road Conference in New York City. Established in 2000, the Touring Broadway Awards are the first national awards to recognize Touring Broadway.  Broadway League members, representing more than 240 markets, act as a blue-ribbon panel to select award recipients from their Broadway Series.

The Broadway League, founded in 1930 as the League of New York Theatres, is the national trade association for the Broadway industry. The League’s 600-plus members include theatre owners and operators, producers, presenters, and general managers in 240 North American cities, as well as suppliers of goods and services to the theatre industry. Each year, League members bring Broadway to nearly 30 million people in New York and across the U.S. and Canada.

Summer’s almost here and it’s time to start planning for another summer of vintage movie fun at the Victoria Theatre. We’ve just announced this summer’s lineup, which includes:

The King and I - June 27-29
Lawrence of Arabia - July 4-6
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes - July 11-13
Cool Hand Luke - July 18-20
Little Women - July 25-27
Doctor Zhivago - August 1-3
Audrey Hepburn Weekend: Sabrina, Aug. 8; Charade, Aug. 9; Roman Holiday, Aug. 10
Hello, Dolly! – August 15-17
A Hard Day’s Night – August 22-24

Read all about it at ActiveDayton.com.

Tickets are still just $4.75 or a 10-ticket passbook for $24. Passbooks go on sale in May - check back here for the onsale date.

What a fun, hilarious time! Went to the matinee … and the audience had more than the usual share of moms and daughters out for an afternoon at one of the biggest hits on Broadway! Great enery, great dancing, and a great message … that doesn’t get in the way of the great enterainment! And I have to say I loved the dogs and they should have more stage time! We heard from the marketing team that the dogs used in the show (chihuahua Bruiser and bulldog Rufus) are rescue dogs from shelters! More later as I’m often to THE LITTLE MERMAID!

- Sue Stevens

Wow. I’m still reeling. It was a huge production, in the sense of the emotional wollop it delivers. Patrick Stewart was … well, tremendous comes to mind. Everything The New York Times said was true. He makes Macbeth both a monster and an emotionally disturbed man. The rest of the cast was equally spell binding. Kate Fleetwood as Lady Macbeth was terribly eery, evil, and electrifying. Michael Feast as MacDuff was heart wrenching. This is the guy whose wife and children are slaughtered by Macbeth and his men (onstage no less). The setting or style of the production was horrific in its facist/nazi-like details, including propaganda-style projections. The main set appeared as a lower level kitchen area for a large manor house or castle which was particularly ghoulish for the witches (at first hollow-eyed ‘nurses’ and then wraith-like maid servants) and for Banquo’s ghost.

I had the pleasure earlier on in my career in arts administration to be a part of the staff of Clowes Memorial Hall of Butler University in Indianapolis when we presented Patrick Stewart in a one-night only performance entitled “Uneasy Lies the Head.” It was an evening of excerpts from the various roles Stewart has played that evoke the Shakespearean line “Uneasy Lies the Head that Wears the Crown.” I had the opportunity to speak with him at a post-show reception at which he graciously appeared (he’s shorter than he appears on screen). His is one of the few autographs I have ever sought and obtained. So yes, I guess you have to call me a big fan. Ironically seeing the man in his element - live theatre and lots of it Shakespeare - ruined the remaining season(s) of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” for me. Ever since that time I’ve longed for the opportunity to see him live on stage in a Shakespearean role. I finally got that chance Tuesday night … and I was not disappointed.

I might have nightmares from the gruesome, spellbinding evil that this production brought chilllingly to life on stage at the Lyceum Theatre … but it will have been worth it!

More soon when I see LEGALLY BLONDE and THE LITTLE MERMAID!! Talk about contrasts … one might even say “from the sublime to the ridiculous” but only in the kindest, nicest sort of way. I’m ready for some levity!

- Sue Stevens

Lunch Tuesday was hosted by A CATERED AFFAIR and we sat with Matt Cavenaugh, who plays Ralph the groom to be, and Lori Wilner who plays two parts - Pasha, a busy body neighbor and Mrs. Holloran,the mother of the groom (that’s them at left, along with Gina Vernaci of Cleveland’s Playhouse Square and Dione Kennedy). Dione also took a photo of Harvey Fierstein - he commented that he purchased the rights to do the musical version of this story 10 years ago. He loved the film as a kid - there was a movie feature on TV and they would play the same film four times and when they were showing a film he liked, he’d skip school to watch it over and overagain. A CATERED AFFAIR was one of those films - starred Bette Davis as the mother… I recognized the other actors but can’t pull up the names right now. They showed clips from it as part of the luncheon program. He quipped that this show will be great when it tours because “you laugh, you cry, you’re home by 10!”on the history of the script - it was a teleplay first by Pat Chayefsky and then the movie script by Gore Vidal then a musical theatre piece by Harvey Fierstein … I think that’s right.

- Sue Stevens