What with crumbling of the Selwyn Theatre facade, bricks popping off buildings and water-main breaks gouging holes in Fifth Avenue, tourists can be forgiven for thinking New York is literally imploding. But after the initial shock and traffic jams, things got back to normal for most of Manhattan -- especially its theatres -- relatively quickly. The 42nd Street Selwyn Theatre and its office tower were going to be renovated by the Roundabout Theatre and The New 42nd Street anyway. The evening of the Dec. 30 building's collapse, Ragtime and The Lion King, both on the same block, were up and running with performances.

Meanwhile, a water main burst on 5th Ave. at 19th St. Jan. 2 continues to tie up traffic in the area, but the busy Broadway rehearsal spaces a block away at 890 Broadway hasn't missed a beat. A spokesperson for the Lawrence G. Wein Center told Playbill On-Line (Jan. 5) the building and street were "completely unaffected" by the flood, fire and cave-in.

-- By David Lefkowitz