Issue #7: September 26, 1998

• As previously reported, Annie Get Your Gun is returning to Broadway thanks to producers Fran and Barry Weissler. This new incarnation of the Irving Berlin classic will star Bernadette Peters when previews begin on Feb. 2 at the Marquis Theater.

• Funnyman Martin Short will play a number of roles in the Roundabout Theater Company’s revival of Neil Simon’s musical Little Me. Mr. Short will share the bill with Faith Prince when the curtain rises for a limited 17-week engagement beginning Sept. 30 at the Roundabout.

• "New York, New York, it’s a helluva town…" As expected, the Public Theater begins previews on Oct. 20 of its stunning production of On The Town at the Gershwin Theater.

• Those buff bods of Fosse will grace the stage at the Broadhurst beginning Dec. 26.

• It looks like Washington, D.C. is the place to be this season for touring road shows. The National Theatre will play host to Bring in ‘Da Noise, Bring in ‘Da Funk, Barrymore and Cats in December alone. Then in the new year, Annie, Evita and Les Miserables will all make return visits.

• When The Lion King does make it to the U.K. it looks like the Lyceum Theatre will house the Disney masterpiece.

• Television’s Prime Suspect star Helen Mirren will take to the Olivier stage on Oct. 20 in Anthony and Cleopatra. Her Anthony in this production is none other than Alan Rickman—remember him as the wicked Sheriff of Nottingham in Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood? With these two powerful stage forces I’m sure it will be an unforgettable night of theatre.

• The fall television season will welcome the sitcom debut of veteran Broadway star Nathan Lane in Encore! Encore! Last seen on Broadway in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Lane has appeared on the big screen with Robin Williams in The BirdCage, The Lion King and Ironweed to name a few. If his infectious wit translates to the television viewing audience, the program is destined to be a hit.