Meet the first-nighters at the Broadway opening of A.R. Gurney's 1988 play Love Letters, which was revived Sept. 18 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre.

Meet the first-nighters at the opening of Man and Boy at the American Airlines Theatre.

Meet the first-nighters at the opening of Man and Boy at the American Airlines Theatre.

This week's column discusses Kay Swift's long-lost 1930 musical Fine and Dandy and the first-time-on-CD transfer of the hit 1944 operetta Song of Norway.

This week's column discusses Kay Swift's long-lost 1930 musical Fine and Dandy and the first-time-on-CD transfer of the hit 1944 operetta Song of Norway.

From the Special Tony Playbill:

Imagine a time when New York City's cultural leaders had to take a stand against repressive government interference in the arts. Oops -- that's today! "Giuliani's my press agent," Tim Robbins says with a sly smile. Actually, Robbins has written and directed a sweeping new feature film about another era of cultural ferment and censorship: the 1930s, when Orson Welles and John Houseman directed productions for the Federal Theater Project; when tycoons like Nelson Rockefeller filled the sky above Manhattan with tall buildings; when fascism began casting dark shadows over Europe. Robbins' movie, “Cradle Will Rock,” takes its title from Marc Blitzstein's musical salute to the working class, made famous when skittish federal authorities padlocked its theatre just before opening night in 1937. The response of Welles and his company of actors -- who defied the authorities, led a march to an alternate theater, and performed the show from their seats -- provides the film's exciting climax.

Today's birthdays include Aaron Tveit, Ken Watanabe, and Georgia Brown.

Two months ago, RCA Victor released the cast recording of A New Brain, the William Finn-James Lapine musical that played the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre last summer. This week, the same label will reissue (along with the Broadway cast disc of Darling of the Day) the recording of Al Carmines' Off-Broadway musical Promenade.

Two months ago, RCA Victor released the cast recording of A New Brain, the William Finn-James Lapine musical that played the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre last summer. This week, the same label will reissue (along with the Broadway cast disc of Darling of the Day) the recording of Al Carmines' Off-Broadway musical Promenade.

New reissues of three mid-century musicals: Rodgers & Hammerstein's Me and Juliet, Ethel Merman's not-so Happy Hunting, and Jerry Herman's Milk and Honey.

New reissues of three mid-century musicals: Rodgers & Hammerstein's Me and Juliet, Ethel Merman's not-so Happy Hunting, and Jerry Herman's Milk and Honey.

Grammy Award-winning recording artist Fantasia Barrino returns to Broadway for the first time since her critically acclaimed stint as Celie in The Color Purple. She is the first headliner of Broadway's After Midnight and chats with Playbill about stepping into the Cotton Club.

Grammy Award-winning recording artist Fantasia Barrino returns to Broadway for the first time since her critically acclaimed stint as Celie in The Color Purple. She is the first headliner of Broadway's After Midnight and chats with Playbill about stepping into the Cotton Club.

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.

Author of "Black Broadway," Palace Theatre co-owner and producer Stewart F. Lane — also known as Mr. Broadway — discusses his book, diversity on the Great White Way and pushing theatre to the next frontier.

John Steinbeck's California coastal community of Cannery Row was described by the novelist as "a poem, a stink, a grating noise." Learn how Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II turned the world into the musical Pipe Dream, now in revival as an Encores! concert.