Entertainment

June 6, 2008

‘Vanities’ finds its way to Broadway

MICHAEL KUCHWARA AP Drama Writer

NEW YORK — “Vanities,” Jack Heifner’s tale of three young women and how they grew up, was one of the biggest off-Broadway success stories of the 1970s. Now a musical based on the long-running comedy is bound for Broadway.

This fall, “Vanities, a New Musical,” directed by Judith Ivey, opens at a theater to be announced.

Heifner has adapted his play for the musical stage, and the score is by David Kirshenbaum. Dan Knechtges will provide the choreography. Heading the cast — and playing three best friends who go from high-school cheerleaders to adulthood — are Lauren Kennedy, Sarah Stiles and Anneliese van der Pol. Kennedy was seen on Broadway in “Monty Python’s Spamalot,” Stiles is a veteran of both “Avenue Q” and “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” and van der Pol was the last Belle in the Broadway company of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast.”

Broadway ticket availability and capsule reviews as of June 2 follow. Unless otherwise noted, tickets are available at the theaters’ box offices for the shows listed. Details about how to obtain tickets appear at the end.

A Catered Affair: Complications face the parents of a bride planning their daughter’s wedding. Walter Kerr. Telecharge.

A Chorus Line: The classic musical about dancers auditioning for a big Broadway show is back. Gerald Schoenfeld. Telecharge.

August: Osage County: A venomous mother deals with three daughters. Winner of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for drama. Music Box. Telecharge.

Avenue Q.: Love blossoms among the 20-something set in this very funny, adult musical comedy. Golden. Telecharge.

Boeing Boeing: A man juggles affairs with several flight attendants in this London hit. Longacre. Telecharge.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof: A revival of the Tennessee Williams’ classic. Broadhurst. Telecharge. Closes June 22.

Curtains: A murder-mystery musical comedy starring David Hyde Pierce and Debra Monk. Al Hirschfeld. Telecharge. Closes June 29.

Cry-Baby: 1950s Baltimore, a few years before “Hairspray,” and more teenage romance. Marquis. Ticketmaster.

Grease: A revival celebrating 1950s high school with stars chosen during an NBC reality series. Brooks Atkinson. Ticketmaster.

Gypsy: Patti LuPone stars as the mother of stripper Gypsy Rose Lee in a revival of one of the greatest of all Broadway musicals. St. James. Telecharge.

Hairspray: The cult John Waters movie set in 1960s Baltimore is a hilarious, tuneful musical. Neil Simon. Ticketmaster.

In the Heights: Lively musical about Latino residents in Washington Heights. Richard Rodgers. Ticketmaster.

Jersey Boys: The musical story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Winner of four 2006 Tonys including best musical. August Wilson. Telecharge. Difficult.

Legally Blonde: A musical version of the Reese Witherspoon movie about a determined young woman who goes to Harvard Law School. Palace. Ticketmaster.

Les Liaisons Dangereuses: A revival of Christopher Hampton’s play about power and seduction in 18th-century France. American Airlines. 212-719-1300.

Mamma Mia!: The London musical sensation featuring the pop songs of ABBA. Die-hard ABBA fans will like it best. Winter Garden. Telecharge.

Mary Poppins: The world’s most famous nanny comes to the stage. New Amsterdam. Ticketmaster, a special Disney hot line, 212-307-4747.

Monty Python’s Spamalot: A musical inspired by that demented film comedy, “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” Shubert. Telecharge.

November: David Mamet’s new comedy about a president facing a tough re-election campaign. Nathan Lane stars as the chief executive through July 13. Ethel Barrymore. Telecharge.

Passing Strange: Follows a young man’s journey from Los Angeles to Europe in search of meaning. Belasco. Telecharge.

Rent: A nostalgic look at struggling artists in the East Village. Loosely based on Puccini’s opera “La Boheme.” Nederlander. Ticketmaster. Closes Sept. 7.

South Pacific: Kelli O’Hara is nurse Nellie Forbush and Paulo Szot is French plantation owner Emile de Becque in a revival of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. Vivian Beaumont. Telecharge. Difficult.

Spring Awakening: A striking rock musical about a dozen young people discovering their sexual identities. Winner of the 2007 Tony for best musical. Eugene O’Neill. Telecharge.

Sunday in the Park With George: Revival about French painter Georges Seurat and the creation of his masterpiece. Studio 54. 212-719-1300. Closes June 29.

The 39 Steps: A stage adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 movie thriller about a man on the run. Cort. Telecharge.

The Country Girl: Revival about a washed-up actor attempting a comeback. Telecharge. Closes July 20.

The Lion King: A stage version of the Disney animated hit. Minskoff. Ticketmaster, a special Disney hot line, 212-307-4747. Difficult on weekends.

The Little Mermaid: Disney’s stage version of its animated film about a sea maiden who longs to live on land. Lunt-Fontanne. Ticketmaster, a special Disney hot line, 212-307-4747.

The Phantom of the Opera: The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical about a deformed composer who haunts the Paris Opera House is now the longest-running show in Broadway history. Majestic. Telecharge.

Thurgood: Laurence Fishburne stars as Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall in a one-man show written by George Stevens Jr. Booth. Telecharge.

Top Girls: A revival of Caryl Churchill’s play from the 1980s examines women, power and class. Biltmore. Telecharge.

Wicked: An ambitious, wildly popular musical about the witches in “The Wizard of Oz” as young women. Gershwin. Ticketmaster. Difficult.

Xanadu: A fast, funny roller-disco musical loosely adapted from the cult 1980s film. Helen Hayes. Telecharge.

Young Frankenstein: Mel Brooks transfers his comedic monster mash of a movie from screen to stage, with more song and dance. Hilton. Ticketmaster.

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