Popular Musical and Star   There are few shows that have had the success that Wicked has achieved. It continues to draw audiences on Broadway and around the world

New Sequel Needs New Edna In Hairspray the movie version, John Travolta won back hearts and audiences playing Edna Turnblad. Once was enough apparently for John Travolta. While he had fun and success in the role, a recent report suggests that he won’t be back for the highly anticipated sequel.

Musical Star and Starr Still On Top The brother and sister pair of Nick and Starr Spangler are still in the running on the CBS hit show The Amazing Race . As you may know, Nick Spangler is one of the stars in the classic musical The Fantasticks playing at the Snapple Theater Center (they taped the show [television] before he started his run in the show [musical]). For those looking for a little more insight into the Spangler success story, check out the exclusive Broadway.tv profile .

New Tour Of Fats Waller Show To celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the hit show Ain’t Misbehavin’ producers have brought in American Idol Ruben Studdard along with Frenchie Davis to star in the Fats Waller musical. Set in 1930’s Harlem, the show features some great songs, and will tour across the country. Right now Studdard’s American Idol rival Clay Aiken is starring on Broadway in Spamalot , until early January

Classic Theater Story Revival   This week, The Actor’s Fund brought out some big guns to participate in a benefit reading of the classic screenplay for All About Eve .

Critics Embrace Williams On West End Famous comic Robin Williams returns to the stage in London, and critics there have responded to his show. While Guardian critic Dominic Cavendish thought there was far too much material about body parts (an old Williams terrain), he felt the show was quite strong according to the review.

Holidays In Style Celebration As they make their debut on Broadway this season, the cast of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas (set in the stylish world of 1950s New York) also took a few minutes this week before their first preview on Friday to take part in another holiday tradition, the opening of the store windows at Lord & Taylor .

New Show Aiming For Broadway This week saw the arrival of Jim Jones Hip-Hop Monolgues at 37 Arts. In an MTV interview, Jones and Damon Dash express their desire to take the show to Broadway. On hand to celebrate the opening were Countess LuAnn de Lesseps, Elle Macpherson, Michael McConnell, Damon Dash, Michael Koch and Juelz Santana