BRIAN
Hold on, I'll get the super.  YO, GARY!

                      GARY (O.S.)
Yeah I'm comin' I'm comin'.

                      Music: da da da DA!

                      PRINCETON
Oh my God, it's Gary Coleman!

                      GARY
              (smiling widely)
Yes I am.

                      PRINCETON
But I thought you died from a--

                      GARY
Shh.
              (sings)
I'M GARY COLEMAN, FROM TV'S DIFFERENT STROKES
I MADE A LOTTA MONEY THAT GOT STOLEN BY MY FOLKS
THEN I FAKED MY DEATH, THOSE CASHCALL ADS
MADE ME THE BUTT OF ALL JOKES.
BUT I'M HERE
THE SUPERINTENDENT
ON AVENUE Q...

                      ALL
IT SUCKS TO BE YOU!

The "Not the Messiah" Oratorio is being released on silver shiny discs.  As Spamalot was to Holy Grail, this is to Life Of Brian:

http://www.sonypictures.com/sphe/notthemessiah/messiah_clean_1200_640x360_wm.wmv

Looking forward to watching this as it still hasn't made it to New York.  Seems very "Jerry Springer", which never made it here either.  (Well, it did, but in a very watered-down concert version at Carnegie Hall, which didn't compare to the London production or even the London DVD, which never made it here...)

...kind of creeps me out a bit.

Particularly the Leo Bloom that looks like David Hyde Pierce on crack cocaine in a car going 75 miles an hour and about to crash into an Italian elementary school.

As a proud member of the Independent Theater Bloggers Association, I'm thrilled to announce this year's awards for Outstanding Things:

OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY PLAY
Red

OUTSTANDING BROADWAY PLAY REVIVAL
A View From The Bridge

OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY MUSICAL
American Idiot

OUTSTANDING BROADWAY MUSICAL REVIVAL
La Cage Aux Folles

OUTSTANDING NEW OFF-BROADWAY PLAY
Circle Mirror Transformation

OUTSTANDING NEW OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL
Yank!

OUTSTANDING OFF-BROADWAY REVIVAL
The Glass Menagerie

OUTSTANDING OFF-OFF BROADWAY SHOW
Viral

OUTSTANDING SOLO SHOW
A Boy And His Soul

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE
Circle Mirror Transformation


This year, twelve Citations were given for Excellence by Individual Performers:

• Nina Arianda, Venus In Fur
• Kate Baldwin, Finian's Rainbow
• Desiree Burch, The Soup Show
• Rebecca Comtois, Viral
• Viola Davis, Fences
• Jon Michael Hill, Superior Donuts
• Douglas Hodge, La Cage Aux Folles
• Sarah Lemp, The Pied Pipers of the Lower East Side & Happy In The Poorhouse
• Laura Linney, Time Stands Still
• Jan Maxwell, The Royal Family & Lend Me A Tenor
• Bobby Steggert, Ragtime & Yank!
• Amy Lynn Stewart, Viral
  

And finally, for those of you who can't swallow anything unless it's in Youtube form, you can watch the announcement in a video featuring Susan Blackwell, Jeannine Frumess and Ann Harada below.

Thanks to everybody who voted, particularly the fantastic Patrick Lee at JustGoesToShowYou.com who served as Award Coordinator.

When James Spader leaves that David Mamet drama after June 20, he will be replaced by Eddie Izzard, its producers said. Mr. Izzard, the comedian and actor who will take over in the role of the lawyer Jack Lawson, made his Broadway debut in the 2003 revival of “A Day in the Death of Joe Egg,” the Peter Nichols comedy; he’s also an Emmy Award winner for his comedy special “Eddie Izzard: Dress to Kill,” and looks smashing in drag (which he won’t be doing for “Race,” alas). “Race” is slated to run through Aug. 21 at the Ethel Barrymore Theater with a cast that will include Dennis Haysbert and Afton C. Williamson, as well as Richard Thomas, who has been in the play since its opening.

Awesome.