The relentless freezing temperatures are finally subsiding and all that thawing out has me reflecting back on March—quite a busy month for theatre! In case you’ve been away on that last winter jaunt to St. Barth’s or hibernating with a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos—and honestly, I find both scenarios equally attractive—here’s the top 5 theatrical happenings that have gone down this month, on or off your radar.

5     Reading of new play LIFEBOAT
I attended the reading of a new play at Pearl Studios on Monday, starring much-liked Jenni Barber of Broadway’s …SPELLING BEE and THE PERFORMERS, as well as 2009’s THE ELECTRIC COMPANY on TV (not the old one that matters). The cast was superb and quite even (how often does that happen?) with some material still in development by thoughtful playwright Mark Leydorf, who is clearly not a fan of fracking. It was delightful, for once, NOT to be sitting in the hot seat at a reading—especially during the dreaded post-reading Q&A, which I rarely find helpful whether I’m the playwright or not. I couldn’t put my finger on the tone of the piece—it seemed to land somewhere between quirky comedy and dark comedy—but who am I to “market” a play as I’m watching it—hashtag badaudiencemember. There were some really memorable one-liners and a very Sartre-esque ending. All the best to that crew!

4     17-year-old playwright Broadway bound
No, this doesn’t make me bitter… not at all. But seriously, good for the very talented Noah Altshuler, who is the playwright-in-residence of the Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford. There, he will have access to all the museum’s resources—the house, incidentally, is apparently where Twain wrote “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”. If you haven’t already guessed, this is the novel—Twain’s most beloved—that Altshuler will be adapting for the stage. The playwright was in fact the youngest to ever have a piece premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, an event I profiled not so long ago on this here blog site. People are quick to point out that Mark Twain himself—then, Samuel Clemens—was about 17 when he ventured to New York in search of literary pursuits. I’m quick to point out that Altshuler’s grandfather is an esteemed author of more than thirty works, and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, among many other awards. Why is it when you look carefully at someone very successful, very young, they rarely come from humble, non-connected backgrounds…? hashtag thingsthatmakeyougonepotism

3     Frasier on Broadway

Frasier star Kelsey Grammer will be playing some producer role that I can’t remember from the movie in the much-anticipated FINDING NEVERLAND on Broadway. My group Las Vegas Academy of the Arts will be seeing it in previews this week and I will try to get some pre-opening dirt. I couldn’t resist looking up the review in the Times from the original ART production. There was a fun quip about Harvey Weinstein gently reminding the reviewer (I’m paraphrasing here because I can’t be bothered reading it again) that only 3 Million of the eventual 11 Million dollar Broadway budget was spent on the ART production. Kind of struck me as sad, to be honest, to equate the quality of the show so directly with a dollar amount. I guess I can assume that all of the “wows” in this production will be brought by special effects artists, not the cast or creatives. I hope I’m wrong; I remember the performances and story moving me quite a bit, when presented as a film. Also, Broadway’s baby boomer golden boy (step aside, Hugh Jackman, some of us sat through THE RIVER) David Hyde Pierce is directing his old Frasier cast mate Edward Hibbert, as well as the never-disappointing Tyne Daily and one of my favorite original Broadway cast members from INTO THE WOODS, Chip Zien, in IT SHOULDA BEEN YOU. Incidentally, Hibbert is also an accomplished literary agent and one of the many, many, many to (I can only assume) use my manuscript as toilet paper. I hope Ben Brantley is more impressed with this new work. Hashtag Ihopeitfeelslikesandpaper.

2     Grumpy Boots
I was alerted via my own Facebook feed from a friend who wrote, “I’m pretty sure Oprah is sitting behind me at Kinky Boots.” She certainly was, according to Broadway.com. I couldn’t resist reposting this backstage photo (courtesy of Broadway.com) because she looks absolutely. Miserable. I wonder what she thought…? Anyway, I adore the show. hashtag Iwouldagotherticketstotheaudience

1     Take One Last Bow, Felicia
And finally, here are some productions that are closing in March. I can’t honestly say that there’s one you should rush out to see beforehand, but for what it’s worth…
CABARET at Studio 54 (omg, Alan Cumming, you’re STILL in that??)
THE LIQUID PLAN (great cast but less than stellar revues)
NEVERMORE (Nevermore—sorry, it’s just too easy)
THE NETHER (nether again)
And finally, THE LION, going out on tour.
RIP and HAPPY SPRING!