By Andrew Gans
03 Jan 2003

IN OTHER DIVA NEWS OF THE WEEK: Clear the decks! Clear the tracks! Though already available to American Express Gold Card members, tickets to the upcoming production of Gypsy — starring two-time Tony Award winner Bernadette Peters — will go on sale to everyone else January 19. Diva lovers will be able to purchase tickets by calling Telecharge at (212) 239-6200 or by logging on-line to www.telecharge.com. Gypsy — starring Peters in the demanding role of Rose — will play Broadway's Shubert Theatre on West 44th Street beginning March 31 with an official opening scheduled for May 1. To date, others in the cast include John Dossett as Herbie, Tammy Blanchard as Louise, Kate Reinders as Dainty June, Julie Halston as both Miss Cratchit and Electra, David Burtka as Tulsa and Kate Buddeke as Mazeppa . . . Faith Prince, who just completed a run in Lincoln Center's moving production of A Man of No Importance, will bring her cabaret act, "Leap of Faith," to Cabaret at the Prince, Feb. 5-16. Prince's act features tunes from her same-named DRG release, including "If I Were a Bell," "Adelaide's Lament," "Is It a Crime?" and "Something Wonderful." The Prince Music Theater is located in Philadelphia at 1412 Chestnut Street; call (215) 569-7900 for reservations. Judy Kuhn is next up at the Prince, May 7-18 . . . Tony Award winner Donna McKechnie will get the chance to belt out "I'm Still Here" at this weekend's presentation of Follies in Concert at the Michigan Theater. McKechnie will play Carlotta Campion in the Jan. 4 and 5 concerts at the Michigan theatre, where she will be joined by Harvey Evans (Buddy Plummer), Kurt Peterson (Ben Stone), Marti Rolph (Sally Durant Plummer) and Virginia Sandifur (Phyllis Roger Stone). Brent Wagner directs the production, which also features Peter Bauland (Dimitri Weismann), Wendy Bloom (Stella Deems), Julia Broxholm (Hattie Walker), Marisa H. Dickmeyer (Young Sally), Anne Eisendrath (Young Heidi), Brian Hissong (Young Ben), Brynn O'Malley (Young Sally), Deanna Relyea (Solange La Fitte), Martha Sheil (Heidi Schiller), Ingrid Sheldon (Emily Whitman), George Shirley (Roscoe), Toni Trucks (Margie), Malcolm Tulip (Theodore Whitman) and Paul Wyatt (Young Buddy). Tickets for Follies in Concert are priced between $25 and $45 and are available by calling the League Ticket Office at (734) 764-2538 or (800) 221-1229. For more information, go to www.michtheater.com . . . And, finally, in an interview for the Fynsworth Alley website (www.fynsworthalley.com), Tony Award winner Betty Buckley tells writer Robbie Rozelle about the possibility of an upcoming Carrie concert. Says Ms. B, "Well, I hope so. Seth [Rudetsky] has this vision, and I hope that he can pull it off. The [composers] have been reticent about letting it be done again because the reviews were so savage. Although we had just as many good reviews as we did bad, it’s just the bad were really, really bad . . . I think their score is just outstanding, extremely operatic. I think it was just a mismatch of director and material. Although Terry Hands is a very talented guy, he just didn’t get the Americana aspect of the thing that the guys had hoped for. It’s just a thrilling score, and I’m very proud of the work we did."

VCR Alert: The sixth season of "Oz" — the acclaimed jailhouse series — premieres this Sunday, Jan. 5 at 9 PM ET on HBO. The final season of the gritty series will feature performances from several Tony Award winners. In addition to Rita Moreno and B.D. Wong, who are series regulars, the sixth season will boast Tony winners Betty Buckley, who returns to her role as Suzanne Fitzgerald, an inmate's mother; Patti LuPone, who will play an archivist in the prison library; Phyllis Newman, who portrays a U.S. Senator in the final episode; and Joel Grey, who will appear as one of the Oz inmates.

REMINDERS

Betty Buckley in Concert:

May 31, 2003 at Benaroya Hall in Seattle, WA

Liz Callaway in Concert:

Jan. 4-6, 2003 The Songs of Frank Loesser at the 92nd Street Y in New York, NY
Feb. 14-15 Stephen Schwartz and Friends at the Edison Theatre at Washington University in St. Louis, MO
Feb. 3 at the Wintergarden in the NYC World Financial Center in New York, NY
May 16 Broadway Showstoppers in Philadelphia, PA

Barbara Cook in Concert:

Jan. 31, 2003 at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts in Long Island, NY
Feb. 14-16 at the Byham Theater in Pittsburgh, PA

Linda Eder in Concert:

Jan. 3 and 4, 2003 with the Baltimore Symphony in Baltimore, MD
Jan. 25 at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, CT
Jan. 30 at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza in Thousand Oaks, CA
Feb. 1 at the Vilar Center for the Arts in Beaver Creek, CO
Feb. 14 at the Proctor's Theatre in Albany, NY

Patti LuPone in Concert

Jan. 8-12, 2003 at the Mohegan Sun Cabaret in Uncasville, CT March 27 at the East County Performing Arts Center in Cajon, CA ("Matters of the Heart")
March 28-29 at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, CA ("Matters of the Heart")
March 30 at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas, NV ("Matters of the Heart")
April 5 at the State Theater in New Brunswick, NJ ("Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda")

Maureen McGovern in Concert

Jan. 30-Feb. 2 at Orchestra Hall with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in Detroit , MI
Feb. 7-9 at the San Diego Museum of Art in San Diego, CA
Feb. 14-16 at the Marcus Center with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee, WI
March 4-15 at Feinstein's at the Regency in New York City
April 12-13 at Center Stage—Osher Marin JCC in San Rafael, CA
April 14-19 at Founder's Hall, Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, CA
May 30 - 31 at the Palmer Events Center with the Austin Symphony Orchestra in Austin, TX
June 7 at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, MN

Well, that’s all for now. Happy diva-watching!