There was a bit of drama Friday at the Broadway theater where The Color Purple performs, just not onstage. The lobby of the theater was mobbed by disgruntled ticket holders demanding refunds when ex-American Idol Fantasia, who stars as Celie, failed to turn up for work. Lobby spies for Post columnist Michael Riedel witnessed an 8-year-old girl “sobbing uncontrollably when she heard Fantasia was not going to be in the show.” But it seems there... more ›

- Lyrics from "On the Town" more ›

Maybe the new badge of infamy is how quickly your story gets co-opted by a Law & Order show. Apparently the antics of former Attorney General candidate Jeanine Pirro and trouble-making husband Al will be dramatized for an episode of Criminal Intent that will air next year. The Post has details:

In the episode, a very Pirro-like politician has her eyes on becoming the first female mayor of New York. But her husband, who's described as "very charming with a checkered past," throws a monkey wrench into her hopes when he's suspected of murdering his wife's mentor, a respected judge. more ›

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 ›

After brushing off the RNC dust and settling back into a week of normalcy Gothamist noticed this Crain's piece on the effect the invasion of the Republicans had on Broadway. Basically, they got creamed, with an 18% attendance drop compared to the same week last year and a whopping 20% drop in box office grosses. via Yahoo gives the skinny on which shows suffered the most, reporting "significant five-figure slippage" at "Fiddler on the Roof," "The Frogs," "Wonderful Town" and "Golda's Balcony", and even successful shows like "Avenue Q" and "Movin' Out" getting hit hard, too, down $70,134 and $85,094 respectively. more ›

">feature on the director of entertainment, Frank Breeden, who promises "the convention to be heavy with gospel, country and Broadway music, and with patriotic music." Speaking of Broadway, the Daily News' Howard Kissel examined the Broadway shows that Republican Convention delegates are seeing - basically, they are all fine, just big budget spectacles, and the "one gem" is Wonderful Town. This got Gothamist thinking about the Fringe Festival, which starts this Friday and goes through August 29. As a counterpoint to the expensive Broadway tickets (excellent buys, but sometimes the wallet has more flies than you like), the Fringe Festival offers a ton of different plays and musicals for your enjoyment for just $15, and we hear that this is the first year that all the venues are air-conditioned - woo-hoo! Go check it out. more ›

And as reader Brian Van points out, since favored musical Wicked did not win, we'd like Times public editor Daniel Okrent to make good on his claim that "if [Wicked] loses the Tony I'll eat my black satin jacket from the road company of Jekyll and Hyde." You name the venue, Daniel! more ›