Musicals

Mark TWAIN and Herman Melville are renowned for capturing the salt, wit and dreams of their eras. But the two musicals they've inspired for the world premiere of "American Tales" -- presented by the Antaeus company -- reveal the authors' uncelebrated gifts for reading the tea leaves of American culture. In Twain's little-known and lightly science-fictional short story "The Loves of Alonzo Fitz Clarence and Rosannah Ethelton," a suitor is enraged by a newfangled device -- the telephone -- that enables his amour to spurn him for a fiance she's never seen.

Fans OF Bollywood music and cinema will get a hefty dose of the stuff when The Unforgettable Tour -- reportedly the largest Bollywood live entertainment show ever to have left India -- lands at the Los Angeles Sports Arena this weekend.

It's been a weird, schizophrenic couple of months on Broadway as theaters prepare for the holidays in the middle of an economic downturn and what, in the past, have been some of the most profitable weeks of the season. Closing dates have been announced with glum regularity: Older shows, such as "Hairspray," "Monty Python's Spamalot" and "Spring Awakening." New shows, such as "13" and the already departed, critically maligned "American Buffalo."

John Rubinstein, who made his Broadway debut 35 years ago in the title role of Steven Schwartz's "Pippin," is reuniting with the composer: He'll play the wizard in the new production of "Wicked" that opens Feb. 10 at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. He joins a cast that includes Eden Espinosa as Elphaba, Megan Hilty as Glinda and Carole Kane as Madame Morrible. The musical is a prequel to "The Wizard of Oz." Despite having opened on Broadway in 2003, "Wicked" is hotter than ever.

The curtain is coming down on two big Las Vegas shows -- but don't worry, there is still plenty of time to get tickets. The first one to go is Celine Dion's concert extravaganza at Caesars Palace; it will close on Dec. 15 after a nearly five-year run. Producers say nearly 2.5 million people have seen Dion's show since it opened in the Colosseum, a $95-million theater built and designed for the production. The final year of the show will include new costumes and new numbers.

After 13 years, "Beauty and the Beast" will close on Broadway this summer, making way for another Disney favorite, "The Little Mermaid," a stage version of the 1989 animated film. It will open in December. By the time it ends its run July 29 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, "Beauty and the Beast" will have played 5,464 performances and 46 previews, surpassing the runs of such musicals as "42nd Street," "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Hello, Dolly!" "The Little Mermaid," which will open Dec.

The Center Theatre Group has postponed the opening of David Mamet's musical "A Waitress in Yellowstone" at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City this summer and instead will present a new production of William Inge's "Come Back, Little Sheba," starring S. Epatha Merkerson. Merkerson, who stars as Lt. Anita Van Buren in NBC's long-running "Law & Order," won an Emmy last year for her performance in HBO's "Lackawanna Blues." On Broadway, she earned a Tony nomination for "The Piano Lesson."

The La Jolla Playhouse will stage the world premiere of the theatrical version of John Waters' 1990 cult film musical, "Cry-Baby," as part of its 2007-08 season, announced Wednesday. The musical, which producers hope will move to Broadway, features a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan and lyrics and music by David Javerbaum and Adam Schlesinger. It had originally been slated for a February opening at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre.

"The Color Purple," the acclaimed John Doyle staging of "Sweeney Todd" and a return visit for "The Drowsy Chaperone" are among Broadway musicals past and present that will make up the Center Theatre Group's unprecedented all-musical 2007-08 Ahmanson Theatre season. Announced Monday, the season opens with the 2004 Tony Award-winning actor-and-puppet comedy "Avenue Q" (Sept. 7-Oct. 14), followed by "The Color Purple" (Jan.

"Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life" isn't coming to L.A. -- again. The musical biography originally was to have done its Broadway tryout at the Ahmanson Theatre in 2005. But the producers couldn't raise enough money to stage that engagement and opted instead for the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. The show did go on to Broadway and now is touring. Rivera and her troupe were booked to play March 27 to April 1 at the Wilshire Theatre Beverly Hills.