Although The Really Useful Company's Third National Touring Company of Phantom Of The Opera won't reach Sacramento's Community Center Theatre until May 29, 1997, mail order tickets and group sales went on sale Sunday, Oct. 27, with tickets ranging $16.50-$65.

"I've been fat, I've been thin," sings a hopeful Ed Kleban in the Broadway musical, A Class Act, a so-far cult favorite that has been particularly lean at the Ambassador Theatre box office in recent weeks.

CONTACT Music from the Broadway Show RCAVictor 09026 63764
What on earth, you might wonder, are we supposed to do with a CD of Contact? In case you haven't heard, the winner of the 2000 Tony Award for Best Musical contains no original music, and no live music, and no singing; just a selection of previously released recordings played over loudspeakers as music-to-dance-to. Which doesn't for a moment take away from the fact that Contact was easily the Best Musical of 2000, but that's another discussion.

CONTACT Music from the Broadway Show RCAVictor 09026 63764
What on earth, you might wonder, are we supposed to do with a CD of Contact? In case you haven't heard, the winner of the 2000 Tony Award for Best Musical contains no original music, and no live music, and no singing; just a selection of previously released recordings played over loudspeakers as music-to-dance-to. Which doesn't for a moment take away from the fact that Contact was easily the Best Musical of 2000, but that's another discussion.

Days may be numbered for the fabled TKTS booth (the "Half-Price Line") operated by the Theatre Development Fund in New York's Times Square, now that the League of American Theatres and Producers reportedly is contemplating opening a discount ticket booth of its own.

Bend It Like Beckham, a new British stage musical based on the 2002 film of the same name about fans of U.K. football (soccer) hero David Beckham, opened June 24 at the Phoenix Theatre in the West End.

Old Globe Theatre's artistic director Barry Edelstein talks with Playbill.com about presenting works by William Shakespeare and bringing them to the West coast's Old Globe.

Old Globe Theatre's artistic director Barry Edelstein talks with Playbill.com about presenting works by William Shakespeare and bringing them to the West coast's Old Globe.

News, views and reviews about the multi-talented women of the musical theatre and the concert/cabaret stage.

News, views and reviews about the multi-talented women of the musical theatre and the concert/cabaret stage.

News, views and reviews about the multi-talented women of the musical theatre and the concert/cabaret stage.

News, views and reviews about the multi-talented women of the musical theatre and the concert/cabaret stage.

This month we chat with two Tony winners: Brian Stokes Mitchell (Kiss Me, Kate) and director Richard Maltby, Jr. (Ain’t Misbehavin’). Mitchell discusses Thirteeen/WNET’s “Great Performances” presentation (April 26, PBS, 9 PM ET) of “‘South Pacific’ in Concert at Carnegie Hall,” in which he’s superb as Emile de Becque (opposite a very appealing Reba McEntire, playing naïve Nellie Forbush), while Maltby talks about Broadway’s Ring of Fire, the Johnny Cash musical, and the upcoming movie, “Miss Potter” (in which Renee Zellweger plays “The Tale of Peter Rabbit” author Beatrix Potter), for which he wrote the screenplay.

This month we chat with two Tony winners: Brian Stokes Mitchell (Kiss Me, Kate) and director Richard Maltby, Jr. (Ain’t Misbehavin’). Mitchell discusses Thirteeen/WNET’s “Great Performances” presentation (April 26, PBS, 9 PM ET) of “‘South Pacific’ in Concert at Carnegie Hall,” in which he’s superb as Emile de Becque (opposite a very appealing Reba McEntire, playing naïve Nellie Forbush), while Maltby talks about Broadway’s Ring of Fire, the Johnny Cash musical, and the upcoming movie, “Miss Potter” (in which Renee Zellweger plays “The Tale of Peter Rabbit” author Beatrix Potter), for which he wrote the screenplay.

A man named Dave Kapp more or less created the American original cast album industry when he recorded Oklahoma! for Decca in 1943.

A man named Dave Kapp more or less created the American original cast album industry when he recorded Oklahoma! — with the Broadway cast, conductor, orchestra and orchestrations — for Decca in 1943. This was not the first original Broadway cast album, mind you; but thanks in part to the phenomenal success of the Oklahoma!, Decca found that there was money to be made. It wasn't long before Columbia, RCA Victor and the newly-formed Capitol jumped into the game.

BETTY BUCKLEY
Peter Stone, the four-time Tony Award-winning librettist of Woman of the Year, The Will Rogers Follies, 1776 and Titanic, is scheduled to receive the Oscar Hammerstein Award at the York Theatre Company's annual gala benefit on Monday, June 8 at 7:30 p.m. in the sanctuary of Saint Peter's Church. Betty Buckley will be one of the many stars on hand to salute him. The award, which was created in 1988, commemorates a lifetime achievement in musical theatre and has been bestowed on Harold Prince, Jerry Herman, Cy Coleman, Charles Strouse, Stephen Schwartz and Stephen Sondheim. Others who will provide entertainment for the evening include Tony Roberts, Lauren Bacall, Dee Hoty, Larry Gatlin, Denny Dillon, Marilyn Cooper and Harry Goz.

BETTY BUCKLEY
Peter Stone, the four-time Tony Award-winning librettist of Woman of the Year, The Will Rogers Follies, 1776 and Titanic, is scheduled to receive the Oscar Hammerstein Award at the York Theatre Company's annual gala benefit on Monday, June 8 at 7:30 p.m. in the sanctuary of Saint Peter's Church. Betty Buckley will be one of the many stars on hand to salute him. The award, which was created in 1988, commemorates a lifetime achievement in musical theatre and has been bestowed on Harold Prince, Jerry Herman, Cy Coleman, Charles Strouse, Stephen Schwartz and Stephen Sondheim. Others who will provide entertainment for the evening include Tony Roberts, Lauren Bacall, Dee Hoty, Larry Gatlin, Denny Dillon, Marilyn Cooper and Harry Goz.

The long roster of Tony winners unquestionably tells a tale of theatrical excellence, tracing la crème de la crème of the second half of the 20th Century, just as a tally of Oscar recipients would be a study in movie magic and the Emmys a guide to television highlights. But there's another story to be gleaned from 51 years of Tony history. From the beginning, the Antoinette Perry Awards have exemplified a vision that can be summed up in one word: Diversity.

This pioneering spirit of inclusion -- which has so often blazed trails of tolerance for other entertainment mediums to follow -- has touched upon every category, though, as is often the case, it is the performers who first spring to mind. The Tonys were only three years old when Juanita Hall won for her performance in South Pacific in 1950, proving that the Awards are color-blind and talent-focused. And this was no mere token victory: Since then, 23 African-American actresses have since taken home Tonys. How do the Oscars measure up? Two. There have been many movies with African-American stars and themes, but the Tonys consistently lead the way for the Oscars and other awards when it comes to standing up and cheering for great performers of all backgrounds.

It's already quite evident that the 1997-1998 Broadway musical season will be one of the busiest in recent years, with seven new musicals scheduled to be playing by the end of the year, at least two or three more announced for the spring, and several revivals mixed in. And unlike last season, the arrival of new musicals will stretch from September to April; last fall saw the revivals of Chicago and Once Upon A Mattress open, but all the new titles were crammed into the five-week period prior to the deadline for Tony nominations.