By Andrew Gans
10 Apr 2009

	Amy Spanger in Rock of Ages
	photo by Joan Marcus

Question: Do you know if there is cast recording of Rock of Ages planned at this point?
Spanger: Yes, there is. New Line is actually going to produce it. I think it will be really fancy. I'm excited about that. I don't think they have the date planned yet. It's so crazy with Broadway. Usually they have you do it right after your day off. So you open, you have one day off, and then you do the recording and you're like "Ahhh, God!" But I think this will be kind of a different experience in terms of recording. I think they're gonna take their time and really get it right.

Question: New Line has the film rights, too, don’t they?
Spanger: Mmm hmm.

Question: Have they talked about that at all with the cast?
Spanger: No, no. I'm not holding my breath. I think, in order to sell a film version of this, they would need big, big celebrity names. I would love to be a part of the film in any capacity. And if they want me to play Sherrie in the film, that would be amazing. So who knows?

Question: Do you have any other projects in the works or are you just focusing on this for the moment?
Spanger: I do. I don't know if I should say, but there's another musical project that I will be doing the pre-Broadway workshop for. I don't know if I should say anything, but there are other things that are definitely in the works. And I was a part of a pilot called "Michael and Michael Have Issues" for Comedy Central that was picked up, I think, for six episodes, and that films in New York. I play one of the lead guy's wives on it. I play Michael Ian Black's wife.

[Rock of Ages plays the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, 256 West 47th Street; for tickets visit Ticketmaster.com or call (212) 307-4100.]

	Randy Graff

DIVA TIDBITS
One of this column's favorite singing actresses, Tony Award winner Randy Graff, is about to launch Acting the Song, private coaching designed to teach singers, dancers and non-singing actors how to best express the meaning of a song. About the coaching sessions, Graff said in a statement, "There are a lot of great voices in New York. However, I believe it's the great singer who really acts the lyric that gets noticed. I was fortunate enough to learn this technique very early on, and now I would like to pass it on. This coaching is about how to approach a song as an actor." For more information call (212) 631-1058.

The Paley Center will present The Musicals of Lerner & Loewe: An Evening of Song and Television April 27 at 6 PM. Curated by Rebecca Paller, the 90-minute evening will boast performances by Brent Barrett, Jenny Fellner and Liz Robertson as well as a special appearance by Tony winner Donna McKechnie. Mark York will accompany the singers on piano. "The creative output of lyricist-librettist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe," read press notes, "who collaborated on some of the best-loved shows in Broadway history (including Brigadoon, My Fair Lady, and Camelot), is examined through rare radio and television clips from the Paley Center archives, live performances by Broadway and cabaret performers, and narration by musical director Aaron Gandy." Footage shown will include Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison re-creating their rehearsals for My Fair Lady on the 1960 CBS show "The Fabulous Fifties" and Andrews, Richard Burton and Robert Goulet performing selections from Camelot on "The Ed Sullivan Show." The Paley Center is located at 25 West 52nd Street. For tickets, priced $30 (members) and $40 (non members), call (212) 621-6780 or visit www.paleycenter.org.

The spring and early summer line-up for Lee Summers' Just a Piano concert series at New York's Triad Theatre has been announced. The series, which features piano-and-voice concerts, will continue April 13 at 9:30 PM with Aziza Miller. Others who will be taking part in the series include Erika Banks (April 25 at 7 PM), Zakiya Young Mizen (April 27 at 9:30 PM with special guest Norm Lewis), Lee Summers (May 11 at 9:30 PM), Kecia Lewis-Evans (June 1 at 7 PM and June 5 at 9:30 PM), Tony winner Melba Moore (June 1 at 9:30 PM), Tituss Burgess (June 29 at 9:30 PM) and Tony winner Lillias White (July 20). Concerts with Chester Gregory and Mel'isa Morgan will also be announced shortly. Pianists will include Timothy Graphenreed, Brian Whitted, James Samplina, Onaje Allan Gumbs and Shelton Becton, among others. The Triad Theatre is located 158 West 72nd Street (between Broadway & Columbus). Tickets, priced $10-$30 (plus a two-drink minimum), are available by calling (212) 362-2590 or by visiting www.triadnyc.com.

Stand back, Australia! Tony Award winners Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin are headed your way. LuPone and Patinkin, who originally shared a stage in the New York premiere of Evita, will reteam for a series of performances of An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin this summer in Australia. According to LuPone's official website, the duo will play the Queensland Performing Arts Center in Brisbane July 18 at 8 PM, The Arts Center in Melbourne July 21 at 8 PM, the State Theatre in Sydney July 24 at 8 PM and the ASB Theatre/Aotea Centre in Auckland City (New Zealand) July 29 at 8 PM. For ticket information visit www.pattilupone.net.

Ali Ewoldt, who played Cosette in the Broadway revival of Les Misérables, will star as Maria in the upcoming European/international tour of the classic Arthur Laurents-Stephen Sondheim-Leonard Bernstein musical West Side Story. The production will be directed and choreographed by Joey McKneely, who reproduced the original Jerome Robbins choreography for the current revival of West Side Story at the Palace Theatre. McKneely is a two-time Tony nominee for his choreography for Smokey Joe's Cafe and The Life. Ewoldt joins the previously announced Michael Jablonski (Cry-Baby), who will play Riff. No other casting for the upcoming European/international tour has been announced. Rehearsals for the West Side Story tour will begin in Germany May 4 with an official opening in Lyon, France, in June. The tour is currently scheduled to play stops in Spain, Japan, Israel, Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland. (The European/international tour is not affiliated with the current Broadway production.)

Upright Cabaret's Wicked Summer Nights: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road concert series will play Los Angeles' Ford Amphitheatre beginning June 2009 and will boast the talents of Wicked composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz and former Elphabas Shoshana Bean and Eden Espinosa. The series, presented by Chris Isaacson and Shane Scheel, will kick off June 11 at 8:30 PM with Shoshana Bean: A Happening at the Ford. The first half of the evening will find the former Hairspray star singing the hits of Barbra Streisand in "Shoshana Sings Streisand"; the second half, entitled "My Name Is Shoshana," will include songs from Bean's debut recording, "Superhero." On July 24 at 8:30 PM, Brooklyn's Eden Espinosa will present her critically acclaimed solo show, ME. Singer-songwriter Audra Mae will be Espinosa's special guest. The concert will feature arrangements and musical direction by James Sampliner. The summer series will conclude Aug. 23 at 7:30 PM with Stephen Schwartz: Making Good. The award-winning composer will present a sneak peak of his new opera, Seance on a Wet Afternoon during the show's first act. The second act will boast a mix of performers interpreting some of Schwartz's biggest hits. John Anson Ford Theatre is located at 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East in Hollywood, CA. For tickets visit www.fordtheatres.com or www.uprightcabaret.com/events or call (323) 461-3673.

Excerpts from Barbra Streisand's 2006 concert tour will be broadcast on CBS-TV later this month, according to the Academy Award-winning actress' official website. The one-hour TV special is scheduled to air April 25. The TV program will coincide with the upcoming three-DVD release of "Barbra Streisand — The Concerts." Details about the three-DVD set follow: Disc 1 features the previously unreleased Fort Lauderdale show, with special guest and multi-platinum recording artist, Il Divo; Disc 2 is the concert live at Arrowhead Pond from Anaheim, CA; Disc 3 is titled "Putting it Together" and takes viewers behind the scenes of the making of "The Broadway Album." The 2006 Streisand tour was co-directed by Streisand and Richard Jay-Alexander, and the 64-piece orchestra was conducted by William Ross. Pre-orders are currently being accepted for the three-DVD set, which will arrive by Mother's Day. For more information visit www.barbrastreisand.com.

Side Show Tony nominee Emily Skinner will star in the Hangar Theatre's upcoming production of Claudia Shear's Dirty Blonde, which will play the Ithaca, NY, venue June 3-13. Directed by Peter Flynn, the cast will feature Skinner as the legendary Mae West as well as Joe Kinosian and Kevin Carolan. Tickets will go on sale May 1 by calling (607) 273-4497 or by visiting www.hangartheatre.org.

Well, that's all for now. Happy diva-watching! E-mail questions or comments to agans@playbill.com.