"Miss Saigon" and "Jesus Christ Superstar" are among the three musicals planned for the 2006 Pittsburgh Musical Theater season.
The season begins Jan. 19 through 29 with "Miss Saigon," the epic musical tragedy by Claude-Michel Schonberg , Alain Boubil and Richard Maltby Jr. that tells of young lovers who meet and are parted by events in the Vietnam War.
The Equity theater company will celebrate its 15th anniversary with a revival of its production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice 's "Jesus Christ Superstar," Feb. 23 through March 5. Pittsburgh Musical Theater has not done "Superstar" for nearly a decade.
Also planned for the season is an as-yet undisclosed Rodgers and Hammerstein classic that will play May 11 through 14, 2006. The play has been chosen, but a media blackout clause in Pittsburgh Musical Theater's licensing agreement forbids announcing the title until early summer.
All three musicals will be presented at the Byham Theater, Sixth Street at Fort Duquesne Boulevard, Downtown.
Subscription prices range from $54 to $93, or $30 for children and students with valid college ID. Single tickets will go on sale in the fall.
Details: (412) 456-1390.
-- Alice T. Carter
Monday is last day to sign up for cultural rights parley
Monday is the deadline to register for a conference on cultural rights to be held April 8 through 10 at the University of Pittsburgh, Oakland.
"Music and Cultural Rights: Trends and Prospects" will feature more than 25 experts from a variety of areas in the music business.
They will included musicians, concert planners, cultural officials, music industry representatives, legal experts and academicians from the United States, Great Britain, China, Ghana, Israel and Colombia, among other nations.
Most events will be at the Pittsburgh Athletic Association; some events will take place at the Babcock Room in the Cathedral of Learning.
The conference is sponsored by Pitt's Asian Studies Center, which is part of the University Center for International Studies, and Pitt's Department of Music.
A registration form is available at www.musicandculturalrights.org .
Details: (412) 624-4125.
-- Bob Karlovits
Dave Dahl Trio to perform
The Dave Dahl Trio will perform 8:30-11:30 p.m. Saturday, April 16 and April 30, at the Ohiopyle-Stewart Community Center, 15 Sherman St., Ohiopyle. Music and figure calling for polkas, waltzes, clogging, hoedown, slow-, square- and line-dancing will be featured. Admission is $4, with children 12 and under free.
The trio will also perform 8:30-11:30 p.m. Friday, April 1, at the L.O.O.M. #1191, 908 W. Main St., Waynesburg. Admission is $4.
Cultural events in the city today
Cultural events in the city today include:
PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh presents "Little Shop of Horrors" at 2 and 8 p.m. Performances continue through Sunday at Heinz Hall, Sixth Street and Penn Avenue, Downtown. $20 to $57.50
City Theatre presents "Bad Dates" at 5:30 and 9 p.m. Performances continue through April 3 at City Theatre, 57 S. 13th St., South Side. $15 to $40. (412) 431-2489.
Pittsburgh Public Theater presents "The Tempest" at 2 and 8 p.m. Performances continue through April 3 at the O'Reilly Theater, 621 Penn Ave., Downtown. $33 to $52. (412) 316-1600.
Groove Productions presents Maze, featuring Frankie Beverly, at 8 p.m. at the Benedum Center, Seventh Street and Penn Avenue, Downtown. $45 to $65. (412) 456-6666.
Church's revived career took a 'Sideways' turn
Thomas Haden Church 's re-emergence with "Sideways" already has led to the plum role of the villain in "Spider-Man 3," but the actor is also lending his voice to a new star-studded adaptation of E.B. White 's "Charlotte's Web."
Church, who received an Oscar nomination for "Sideways," will voice Brooks, one of two dim-witted crows, with Andre Benjamin (Outkast's Andre 3000) as the other. Julia Roberts will voice Charlotte with a cast that also includes Robert Redford , Oprah Winfrey and John Cleese .
"I really enjoyed the script," Church says in the April issue of Texas Monthly magazine. "With a kids' film, you're always like, is this gonna to be 'Iron Giant,' or is it going to be 'Princess Diaries 2?'"
The live-action and computer graphic animated film is shooting in Australia. It is being produced by Jordan Kerner , who produced both "George of Jungle" movies, which co-starred Church.
On Tuesday, it was announced that Church will play the villain in "Spider-Man 3," although it was not said which nemesis he would be bringing to life. It is scheduled to begin filming next year and be released in May 2007.
-- The Associated Press
Trump not fired up about hiring Michael Jackson
Donald Trump might not want Michael Jackson to perform in Las Vegas after all.
Us Weekly magazine said Trump's Las Vegas partners had been courting Jackson to perform at the New Frontier Hotel and Casino. New Frontier owner Phil Ruffin , Trump's partner in the Trump International Hotel & Tower, had talked to Jackson's representatives about a long-term residency, the magazine said.
"Everything I do is the best, and everything Phil Ruffin does is the best, and this would be no exception," the magazine quoted Trump as saying.
On Thursday, Trump told the syndicated TV entertainment show "The Insider" that "it's an interesting idea, but I don't think he'd show up half the time."
"I can't imagine what the insurance policy would be like," he added.
A phone call to Trump by The Associated Press wasn't immediately returned.
Jackson, 46, is on trial in Santa Maria, Calif. He is accused of molesting a boy, now 15, at his Neverland ranch, giving him alcohol and conspiring to hold the boy's family captive in 2003.
-- The Associated Press
Judge dismisses lawsuit over Streisand's sideboard
A Manhattan judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against Christie's auction house by a company that paid nearly $600,000 for an antique sideboard that was owned by Barbra Streisand and later found to have been damaged.
State Supreme Court Justice Walter Tolub said he threw out the lawsuit by Real Property Acquisitions because some of its claims, including breach of contract, were barred by the four-year statute of limitations. Real Property Aquisitions bought the sideboard at auction on Nov. 29, 1999, and sued Christie's in New York on June 21, 2004.
In a decision made public Thursday, Tolub said he dismissed the company's fraud claims because Christie's had made clear that items are sold "as is," that the auction house makes no warranties about items for sale, and that bidders should inspect the items before bidding or buying.
The lawsuit centered on a wrought-iron and oak sideboard made in 1903 by Gustav Stickley , American furniture craftsman of the late 19th and early 20th century. Steisand bought it at auction in 1988, but it was damaged and restored while the singer owned it.
-- The Associated Press
Bow Wow wants to know who are his biggest fans
Young rapper Bow Wow is holding a contest to see who's best in show.
Bow Wow will choose 10 fans in a "Wanted: Bow Wow's Biggest Fan" contest, and include them on the DVD portion of his new album. Contestants are urged to submit a 30 second video proving why they are his biggest fan.
The most original clips will be put on the DVD disc that accompanies his next album, "Wanted," due out June 28.
Bow Wow, whose real name is Shad Ross, is now 18 years old and has dropped "Lil"' from his name. The rapper is known for rhyming starting at age 3and releasing his first album, "Beware of the Dog," when he was 13.
Contestants must be 13 or older to enter.
Details of the contest can be found at: www.BowWowWanted.com .
-- The Associated Press
