Theater

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new series of original Broadway cast albums from shows that didn’t succeed but which contained numbers that shouldn’t be forgotten. (on DECCA).

Kushner adapted his epic Tony-award winning play Angels in America into a screenplay for HBO (broadcast this month in two three-hour parts). The play is set in New York in the mid-1980s during the midst of the AIDS epidemic. The HBO film is directed by Mike Nichols and stars Al Pacino, Meryl Streep and Emma Thompson. Kushner also has a new semi-autobiographical musical Caroline, or Change at the Public Theater in New York.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new film The Singing Detective, starring Robert Downey Jr. Bianculli was a fan of the BBC miniseries it was based on.

He's starring in the new film The Singing Detective, based on the Dennis Potter PBS mini-series. He received an Academy Award nomination and won the British Academy Award for best actor, for his performance in the title role of Chaplin. He starred in Wonder Boys, Two Girls and a Guy, Natural Born Killers and The Pick-Up Artist. He also made his primetime television debut on Ally McBeal. Now in recovery, Downey has struggled with drug addiction for years.

Film critic David Edelstein discusses Under the Tuscan Sun, based on the book of the same name.

His latest film Bubba Ho-Tep is based on the short story by cult author Joe R. Lansdale. In it, Elvis Presley is an elderly resident in an East Texas rest home who switched identities with an Elvis impersonator years before his death and then missed the chance to switch back. He teams up with another resident who thinks he is President John F. Kennedy. The two codgers battle an evil Egyptian entity. It stars Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis. Coscarelli also wrote and directed the films Phantasm, and The Beastmaster.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews Thirteen, starring Holly Hunter and Evan Rachel Wood.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews Dirty Pretty Things, directed by Stephen Frears.

Performance artist, writer and theater director Rhodessa Jones is co-artistic director of the San Franciso performance company Cultural Odyssey. She is also founder and director of the "Medea Project: Theater for Incarcerated Women," a performance workshop for women in prison in which she helps them develop and stage works based on their own stories. Jones' solo performance works include Hot Flashes, Power Surges, and Private Summers, and Big Butt Girls, Hard-Headed Women.

TV critic David Bianculli previews Dead Like Me the new series on Showtime Cable that begins Friday, June 27. It's about a group of characters who died with unresolved issues and have to work them out in the after life.

Film Critic David Edelstein reviews The Hulk, directed by Ang Lee.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews Manito, a small budget film by first-time director Eric Eason. Manito won prizes at Sundance. It's being distributed in a novel way. It is getting a limited run in big cities and is also a part of a new DVD subscription service.

The Broadway musical Hairspray was the big winner this week at the Tony Awards. It won awards for best direction, score, book and costume. Hairspray is based on Waters' 1988 film of the same name.

She starred in the London production of Gypsy. When she was 17 she debuted in Gaslight, and was nominated for an Oscar for her portrayal of Ingrid Bergman s Cockney maid. Lansbury also played opposite Judy Garland in The Harvey Girls, was Elvis Presley s mother in Blue Hawaii and the manipulative mother in The Manchurian Candidate. On stage she starred in Mame and was the baker of the worst pies in London in Sweeney Todd. For twelve years she starred in the TV series, Murder, She Wrote. This interview first aired November 28, 2000.

He won an Academy Award for his performance as John Laroche in the film Adaptation. His latest project is the HBO film My House in Umbria, starring Maggie Smith, which debuts May 25, 2003. Cooper is also in the soon-to-be-released Seabiscuit, and he had roles in American Beauty, The Bourne Identity, and The Horse Whisperer.

Together they are known as "The Right Size," and are the actor/writers of the Broadway comedy, The Play What I Wrote. One critic described it as "full of music hall tricks, in jokes and surreal goonery." It was a hit in London before coming to New York. The duo's work is heavily influenced by Vaudeville and the sight gags of Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd. Their plays Stop Calling Me Vernon and Baldy Hopkins were hits at the Edinburgh Festival. Their play Do You Come Here Often? was an Olivier award winning comedy in England.

With his writing partner, Fred Ebb, Kander wrote the music for the original Broadway musical Chicago. The movie version of Chicago is nominated for 13 Academy Awards this year. Kander and Ebb are nominated for their song "I Move On." Kander and Ebb also wrote the music for the shows Cabaret, The Act, Woman of the Year, and Flora the Red Meance, and the Martin Scorsese movie musical New York, New York. Both Chicago and Cabaret have recently been revived on Broadway.

He's currently performing in the Brooklyn Academy of Music's concurrent productions of Twelfth Night and Uncle Vanya. Beale is a member of London's acclaimed Donmar Warehouse company. He plays Malvolio in Twelfth Night and Vanya in Uncle Vanya. Beale has won a number of Olivier Awards and has appeared in several films, including An Ideal Husband and The Temptation of Franz Schubert.

Pianist and singer Michael Feinstein. His repertoire is American popular song and he is a collector of vintage recordings and musical memorabilia. In the fall he plans to release a collection of radio duets by Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney, on his new record label Feinery. Feinstein released a new CD with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Michael Feinstein and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (Concord).