We hope the human-scale snow globe in Bryant Park is well heated, because we'd hate to have to endure today's rain, snow, and ice, in a plastic bubble if it weren't. The installation in the park west of the New York Public Library's main branch in Manhattan is a promotion for tourism to Ontario, Canada. Above, one can see a Canadian practicing his hockey stick work to pass the time. Ice sculpting and Mounties......

It's finally come to this. The lights of the Great White Way have gone dark in a dispute between the theater stagehands of Local One and producers and theater owners. The labor dispute which has been simmering for months and left the stagehands without a contract for an equal time, resulted in a shutdown of Broadway shows on the verge of the theater district's most profitable season. The stalemate came to to a head after......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a pedestrian was fatally struck on East 4th and Bowery in Manhattan, a child was shot on Blake Ave. in Brooklyn, and a shooting/homicide on Fish Ave and East Gunhill Rd. in the Bronx. The oldest living inmate in New York State is a Long Island surgeon convicted in 1978 of killing his wife. He'll turn 89 this week and concedes that divorce might have been a better choice.......

Our friends from the Great White North are feeling flush from the strengthening of the Canadian dollar versus its US counterpart, and New York is apparently ready to relieve them of their excess cash. The Loonie, or Canadian dollar, is even with the US dollar for the first time since 1976. If you've ever wondered why the backs of paperback books usually have a second, more expensive, price printed on them them for Canadians,......

With all the news of identity theft, of course it would have to hit couples who are getting married. The Post has an alarming story about a number of couples who, when applying for a marriage license, have found themselves already "married." It's believed that thieves use other people's identities to get marriage licenses and green cards. Denise Daskalkis "filed two appeals, multiple petitions, and attended a hearing at the Office of Administrative Trials and......

The Times has a great story today of a Broadway animal trainer who turns pets into stars, using only rescued animals. William Berloni has been training all sorts of animals for Broadway appearances for more than 30 years. His latest casting project is for the stage production of "Legally Blonde." Mr. Berloni, who has trained animals for 42 Broadway shows, began his career more than 30 years ago, when he reached instant fame just......

The transition from winter to spring weather was rather short this year don't you think? It was less than a week ago that we had a couple of the coldest days of winter. For most of this week temperatures will be in the 50s and 60s. The cause for the change is partly because of a northward shift in the jet stream, but mostly because a big high pressure system is keeping the arctic front......

An actor who starred on the Great White Way as Mr. Rochester in Jane Eyre and as the Beast in Beauty & the Beast will be in Manhattan Criminal Court facing charges of sexual misconduct towards a minor. James Barbour has been charged with five felony counts of criminal sex acts from an incident five years ago. From the NY Post: Prosecutors say that the victim was then an out-of-state, star-struck theater lover from a......

Meat Loaf and Broadway sort of seem like a match made in heaven, or perhaps hell would be more appropriate, as he is taking his Bat out of Hell albums and bringing them to life on the Great White Way. The one-night-only concert, aptly called "Bat Out of Hell on Broadway", will take place November 2 at New York’s Palace Theatre. And we have two tickets to give away! So if you want to check......

The Times today reports on some funny numbers running around the theater district. Here's what we understood of it: In 1998 legit theater, which like the Apple Computers of yore is always somewhat "beleaguered", was having some trouble getting patrons in the door to watch anything that a theater snob might call "passable." Money was desperately needed to kick things into gear. So the city struck a deal with a group called The Broadway......

The weather outside might be just starting to feel like spring, but in the theater world there’s already a summery vibe going on. Last night the Lortel Awards kicked off the trophy-giving season; this Friday the Drama League awards go out. Then there’s the festivals; not that there aren’t festivals at other times of the year, but as the weather heats up they start crowding in thick and fast. Currently you can get a square......

We don't kow whether to cheer or chastise after hearing that a musical of Nick Hornby's book, High Fidelity, will be coming to Broadway this December. We can see it now: A recurring song called "Top Five List," a ballad about Laura, an ensemble dance piece at the end when Rob opens the club. The musical will be set in New York City, which makes it the third stop for the concept (book was in......

We noted in yesterday’s roundup of theatre in 2005 that at least in our optimistic eyes, last year had plenty of great shows. If anywhere like the same number of impressive plays and musicals appear in ‘06, it’d be hard to complain. But nonetheless, we do have a small wish list. -- For more affordable tickets. Even if it’s just making a certain number available for a low price at each performance, or making......

Gothamist thought this piece Reuters/Yahoo ran over the weekend was really cute. Apparently, auditions were held on Friday for two dogs needed by the upcoming Broadway musical adaptation of the classic kiddie film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The neat twist is that they brought in two dozen dogs from NYC animal shelters. And the lucky doggies selected will get to retire to a Connecticut farm! They found a hound-mix and a collie who will get......

Big casting news this week on Broadway as Denzel Washington is announced as Brutus in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. The big-screen box office king hasn't been sighted on the Great White Way since 1988, when he appeared in the show Checkers. Playbill reports that the show will be opening in March at the Belasco. The current tenant is Dracula, which is struggling to stay alive and should probably see a closing notice posted imminently. But Gothamist......

Tomorrow brings a few exciting but very different activities to partake in: First, there is Broadway on Broadway, a live free outdoor concert in Times Square, hosted by Wayne Brady (soon to be seen in Chicago) and Christy Carlson Romano (Beauty and the Beast), to celebrate the musicals and plays the Great White Way has to offer. Some of the participating shows: Avenue Q, Brooklyn, The Musical (who knew?), Chicago, Golda’s Balcony (which means the......

Most theatres are busy prepping their new season’s premieres, and smart and cost conscious theatre fans are already booking shows they want to see for nothing – by ushering. Scads of off-Broadway and off-off Broadway houses use volunteer ushers who in exchange for working for an hour or so (usually before curtain time), get to see the show for free. Most Broadway theatres have to use ushers from a union, but New York theatregoers have......

A high school musical Gothamist would pay to see: Point Loma High School in San Diego has created a musical based on Winona Ryder's shoplisting trial. Called "Sticky Fingers," the musical is about "a missile-factory employee and tango dancer who travels to Rodeo Drive, where she has a fateful meeting with her idol, Ryder, at Saks. The department store donated shopping bags for the set." We'd like to see this musical make it's way to......