Barbara Sharma News

DAMES AT SEA is a welcome escape from the upheaval of the moment, if only for a couple of hours. The six-member cast shines with an abundance of smiles, vocal belts, and tap routines that they make look easy. Ephie Aardema, who has previously made a few splashes on this stage (HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS, THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE, 42ND STREET), is back after a stint on Broadway to play Ruby, that starstruck girl based on the lead character in 42ND STREET. Wearing both the director's hat and the choreographer's character shoes, Associate Artistic Director Ilyse Robbins puts her traditional feel-good imprint on the show. Book your passage now!

'Best in Show, for Actors and Others for Animals (A&O), was a big winner for the people attending,' remarks A&O President, JoAnne Worley. 'The talented celebrities sharing clips of their pets, to the many animals that our charity help every day. And a good time was had by all.'

Many people do not realize, with the exception of us theatre junkies, that Billy Barnes, who regretfully passed from us in September of last year, was without a doubt the keenest composer of the theatre revue. He also created special material for TV's Laugh-In and The Carol Burnett Show, among others. His ingenious theatre revues date back to the 50s with The Billy Barnes Revue of 1959 all the way up to 1983's Movie Star, which had a long run at the Westwood Playhouse, now known as the Geffen. Bruce Kimmel remembers, as he knew the man well and recorded Billy Barnes L.A. Thanks to Kimmel a whole generation of musical theatre fans got a chance to hear up close and personal some of Barnes' greatest, saucy, yet little known achievements at a special Kritzerland show Billy! on Saturday March 2 at Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal.

Los Angeles based Producer Robert McGarity recently started a label designed to record and preserve Broadway 'flops' from the 1950s and 1960s. Toronto based Actor Michael Lazarovitch was cast in the lead role of the label's second effort - the new Studio Broadway Cast Recording of COME SUMMER. Robert and Michael both sat down to talk with BWW about this unique new endeavour.