In the good ol' days, Theatre Arts magazine used to publish the librettos of some of Broadway's finest musicals. But that ended in the early '60s, when Theatre Arts ceased publication (The Unsinkable Molly Brown was the last musical libretto printed by the mag).

But now Show Music magazine, a publication of the Goodspeed Opera House Foundation, is picking up the slack.

The spring 1998 issue of the magazine will feature the complete libretto of the revised David Shire-Richard Maltby Jr. musical Big, which ran on Broadway in 1996 and was revamped for its current national tour. The libretto is being printed with the cooperation of the book's author, John Weidman; lyricist, Maltby; and the authors of the film on which the musical was based, Gary Ross and Anne Spielberg.

"Big is perfect for us, since it's been revised for the national tour and people are curious to see the changes made to the show," said a spokesperson for Show Music.

"We hope to publish more librettos in the future," said the spokesperson. "When a project presents itself, we will act on it." -- By Rebecca Paller