Will lightning strike twice for Mel Brooks, who hopes to enliven his stage adaptation of Young Frankenstein with the same spark that made The Producers a money making machine? His new monstrosity is already selling advance tickets for a Broadway run in October – a top ticket price of $450 sets a new record for excess – but last week Young Frankenstein came staggering out of the lab for an out-of-town rampage in Seattle. The haunting question at the show’s world premiere Thursday night was whether his 20 million dollar baby would be embraced by the Emerald City or get trampled by critics with torches and pitchforks. more ›

MUSIC: Not long ago we saw the movie Once, and absolutely loved it. Busker meets girl, deep connection through music...you get the idea. Now the two main characters are touring and singing the songs from the soundtrack. The male lead was of course the singer of The Frames, Glen Hansard, and his female counterpoint is Marketa Irglova. Tonight they take the stage at Gramercy, so it's your chance to see them off the big screen and right before your very eyes. We wonder if they'll stay in character? more ›

Casting for the stage production of Young Frankenstein has Cloris Leachman fans up in arms. Leachman originated the role of Frau Blucher in Mel Brooks' classic film and has just been let go from the Broadway production, which will hit the St. James Theater stage this Fall. more ›

Michael Riedel has double-the-entendre fun with his rumor-laced news that the London revival of Equus – yes, that Equus starring the Harry Potter kid naked as a jaybird – is going to Broadway! According to Riedel’s sources, “one problem, though, is the length.” Wait for it... Wait for it... “Of the play, people, the play!” But producers seem cocksure, despite a couple small problems regarding young Daniel Radcliffe: “Where he comes up short (at least in one instance) is in the sex-appeal department… he's bulked up. But he's surprisingly asexual, my spies say.” more ›

+ Delays are plaguing Philip Johnson’s Urban Glass House. more ›

There is nothing like a good "how I got served with a lawsuit" paper story (except, maybe, a big ice cream cone, which would be perfect for a glorious day like today). A few years ago, Staten Island resident Anna Maydanik was injured while riding in Jason Cieri's car in Virginia, but couldn't sue him since he lives in New Jersey and there was no jurisdiction over him. So Maydanik's lawyer did the next best thing: Hire a process server to lure Cieri to New York City with tickets to The Producers - and serve him after the show! Cieri and his girlfriend received tickets, along with a letter claiming that Telecharge.com had "randomly selected [Cieri] to attend this production on Nov. 26, 2005." And who would be one to turn down Producers tickets? Cieri didn't accept the papers, and a Staten Island judge threw out Maydanik's case, agreeing with Cieri's lawyers that he was trapped by Mayandik's lawyer, who then blamed the process server. There's Process servers - we know so little about them and their ways...if there's a show about a bounty hunter, maybe there can be one about a process server? more ›

- Nicolette Sheridan does not look over-Botoxed with fish lips! more ›

No don't worry. Gothamist doesn't plan to subject you to yet another film Top 10 list. If you want a good ... uhm ... "overview" of this year's Top 10 lists, you might want to check-out The Reeler's Top 10 Top 10 lists. (Nos. 10-6 appeared yesterday. The top five went up this morning.) If you're looking for something more traditional, you should probably look at 's Take 7 film critics poll. more ›

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- Hmm, the 8PM update from the NY Times says that MTA-Transit Workers Union negotiations have stalled, "increasing the possibility of a strike" - insert the !!!!!!!! And then there's the

But a third option in addition to a strike or a settlement has also emerged: several union officials hinted that they might delay a strike until Monday, rather than start one on a Friday, the day before the weekend begins.

The obvious 800-pound, 2000-pound or even 20-ton gorilla in the room is anyway. Just brave the crowds and get it over with already. more ›

There are $11 movie tickets at some chains around town, but for one week, the Ziegfeld will be charging $12.50, a whopping $1.75 more than usual, when it premieres The Producers. Yes, $12.50. Is this because The Producers the Broadway musical started the trend of charging serious dough for theater tickets? And they are thinking that fans of the Broadway show will rush to see it the first week? Lame! Some exhibitors claim that with other costs of living rising, this is reasonable, but Gothamist likes to think this is why the movie business better rethink it's model, because we can buy DVDs for the cost of a movie ticket and a popcorn. The Post finds outraged movie goers, who complain that prices are rising even as they are held hostage by the 20+ minutes of movie theater commercials, which makes us realizes that we haven't really noticed if local chains were publishing "real movie times" - you know, when the previews start, versus when the commercials started. more ›

Gothamist readily admits to getting a major kick out of Michael Reidel's Wednesday and Friday theater beat columns in the Post. We love that directors punch this guy out when they dis their shows and that he seems to love to stir up controversy. He also seems to have a good feel for the mechanics of Broadway, so we took notice at his column yesterday when he declared that the upcoming Mike Nichols-directed prodcution of Monty Python's Spamalot will be the big hit of the Broadway season. He's saying it's going to be a smash on the level of The Producers. Remember when that show opened and the lines wrapped all over Times Square? more ›

- Concierge Service (assistance with story development, scouting assistance, budget analysis, and discounts on participating vendors)More details from the city. Mel Brooks yukked it up with Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Pataki, saying, "It was breaking my heart to think that we had to go to Bucharest or Toronto or Vancouver to somehow mimic this incredible city," he said. "Without the tax benefits, the truth is, the horrible truth is that this movie would probably be made in Kabul, wherever the cheapest place in the world to shoot is." Newsday covered the event, and the Mayor's and Mel's salty attitudes were on display:

When Bloomberg suggested he be cast as Max Bialystock, the swindler who seduces old ladies to finance his Broadway schemes, Brooks quipped, "We wanted somebody a little taller."
But Bloomberg -- slightly taller than Brooks but shorter on comedic stature -- got the biggest laugh of the day.
When Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver suggested Brooks get a second Bar Mitzvah during filming, Bloomberg shot back, "Or a second bris."

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 awesome Tovah Feldshuh, aka attorney Danielle Melnick from Law & Order, will be there), Hairspray, La Cage Aux Folles, Little Women, Mamma Mia!, The Producers, Rent, Wicked and Wonderful Town. more ›

Meanwhile, Newsday reports the MTA's top counterterrorism official as saying, "It's physically impossible to check every bag. In reality, the best detection that you have are the employees and the people who ride the trains." Now Gothamist has even more reason to be nosy on subway cars! Now, we will stare without shame, and even dare to rummage through the bag that someone has plopped onto the empty seat. Newsday also has tips on your encounters with patrol dogs () more ›

I want to see a Broadway play and know I can get tickets for half off at the TKTS booth in Times Square. What time do they open and when do I have to get there? I'm usually very busy and can't wait in line for five hours more ›

He sold disco jewelry, managed a reggae band, lived across the hall from Larry David and this weekend, as the rest of us boarded busses bound for sea and sand, he celebrated his 500th bus tour. more ›