Naomi Plume

Is Stephen Sondheim's birthday over yet ???? The truth of the matter is ... 'We hope not.' It's been an amazing year of tributes, appearances, honors, galas, productions, concerts, interviews, discussions, a theatre named after him and on and on and on .... Including even an appearance on Comedy Central with Stephen Colbert.

Since Oprah Winfrey just had her final 'Favorite Things' show (twice), I thought that I'd take an opportunity for those of you who have waited until the last minute to make suggestions for last minute gifts, which you can still get with a full range of prices for your budget. These are MY Top 10 favorite gift for this holiday season and please note that they are in no particular order, but BroadwayWorld.com has done all the research for quick, click-on shopping to make it easier for you.

After the TONY AWARDS (the official end-of-season) I finally had the time to pay attention to all the books for review on my desk. With the record-breaking heat this summer, staying inside, in air-conditioned comfort, and reading has been a fantastic way to spend the days. The SUMMER Book Report will be coming out in a matter of days, but I thought ONE book in particular should be our SPOTLIGHT, as it has particulare summer appeal and quite an interesting, rich and comical history.

It's 'crunch-time' for gift giving and it's never too late to get a gift certificate from Amazon.com, who I wholeheartedly support, because I have yet to find better pricing on everything that my colleagues and I write about and review here at BroadwayWorld.com ... No, this is not a paid endorsement.

We're now well into summer and the last Broadway season brought many new recordings for us to listen to and own. Also, some specialty recordings and solo entries.

PBS' Great Performances will air a spectacular London concert version of Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus' 1986 cult musical CHESS as CHESS IN CONCERT on tomorrow night, Wednesday, June 17th at 9 p.m. ET (check local listings).

On Wednesday, May 27th at 8pm (check local listings for details), Great Performances on PBS presents a dazzling documentary 'In the Heights: Chasing Broadway Dreams'. This special will go down as the greatest commercial of all time for a Broadway musical, that took an enormous risk, moving from Off-Broadway to Broadway and running off with the 2008 Tony Award for Best Musical.

BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE debuts on Logo on May 26th. This is the 'freshest' comedy series to come out of the UK since ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS. So not miss it. Guaranteed to entertain and FULL of showtunes and fantastic characters, based on the childhood of Simon Doonan.

I usually do CD reviews in 'roundups' but wanted to feature this one in particular because of the care that clearly went into 'putting it together' - no pun intended. Here is my review:

Jerome Robbins had an extraordinary career and a reputation to go with it....

Jerome Robbins had an extraordinary career and a reputation to go with it....

We wanted to bring your attention to this year's Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS Holiday Catalog and web site.

Happy Holidays Everyone! Well ... here it is ... our BIGGEST CD coverage EVER and just in time for some last minute 'stocking-stuffer' inspiration ... even though a few of these are better used as coal, if you know what I mean.

O.K. Gang! Get out the pink ribbons, grab a box of tissues and pull up a chair. I haven't done this much crying since the old days, when ABC used to air what we called 'disease of the week' movies! Zadan and Meron really know how to throw a cast together ... and this film is NO exception.

O.K. Everyone .. THIS IS A WARNING! DO NOT MISS THIS PBS WORLD PREMIERE on Saturday night - if you live in the TRI-STATE area. The rest of the country has to wait 'til December to see this very special SPECIAL.

To say the words 'Disney' and 'Broadway' in the same breath, you invite the kind of passionate discussions usually reserved for politics or religion. But no matter what any of us thinks, one thing is clear ? Disney is here to stay and taste is a very personal thing.

Winter doldrums and Valentine's Day have bestowed upon us two unique and original CDs by unique contemporary artists with major Broadway 'roots' and credentials. Those two stars are Betty Buckley, with her latest release, QUINTESSENCE (with Kenny Werner) and Ken Page, with his debut Double CD, called PAGE BY PAGE.

I don't think that we've ever given out so many four and five star reviews and there's a lot of exciting reading and buying of books, as well as gift-giving ahead...

Click in for reviews of The Year of Magical Thinking, Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins, Will Power: How to Act Shakespeare in 21 Days, Truth: Personas, Needs, and Flaws in The Art of Building Actors and Creating Characters, WALT DISNEY: The Triumph of the American Imagination, George Gershwin: His Life and Work, The Great American Mousical, Notebooks, Elizabeth and Kate: The Woman That Was Hepburn.

Click in for reviews of Avenue Q: The Book, The Audrey Hepburn Treasures, Mamma Mia! How Can I Resist You?, The Alchemy of Theatre, We Bombed in New London, Somewhere: The Life of Jerome Robbins, Stop The Show, In Their Company: Portraits of American Playwrights, Fantasia: Life is Not a Fairy Tale and The Entertainment Sourcebook 2007.