Songwriters Marvin Hamlisch, Hal David, Robert B. Sherman and Richard Adler, actresses Celeste Holm and Joan Roberts, producers Theodore Mann and Marty Richards, designer Eiko Ishioka and dramatists Nora Ephron and Jerome Kilty were among those who left us in 2012. At year's end, Playbill remembers them and others who enriched our lives through their commitment to the stage.

Songwriters Marvin Hamlisch, Hal David, Robert B. Sherman and Richard Adler, actresses Celeste Holm and Joan Roberts, producers Theodore Mann and Marty Richards, designer Eiko Ishioka and dramatists Nora Ephron and Jerome Kilty were among those who left us in 2012. At year's end, Playbill remembers them and others who enriched our lives through their commitment to the stage.

The green carpet was out in front of the Broadway Theatre Dec. 14 for the first official invasion of the swampland domain of the emerald-hued ogre called Shrek.

The green carpet was out in front of the Broadway Theatre Dec. 14 for the first official invasion of the swampland domain of the emerald-hued ogre called Shrek.

As 2006 dawns following a year's worth of grim reports about deaths from war, natural disasters and terrorism, those of us who cling to the theatre as a life raft to help us navigate the stormy world can't help but think of those from our own community who left us in 2005.

BETTY BUCKLEY
Betty Buckley fans will be thrilled with the just-released cast recording of Triumph of Love, the Susan Birkenhead/Jeffrey Stock/James Magruder musical loosely based on the Marivaux play. Buckley sounds terrific on the CD, whether she's belting the opening lines of "This Day of Days," tenderly caressing the notes in the quartet of "Teach Me Not to Love You" or bringing an emotional intensity to her duets with Susan Egan ("You May Call Me Phocion") and F. Murray Abraham ("The Tree"). And, her two solo pieces, "Serenity" and "If I Cannot Love," are masterfully crafted and delivered. Just listen to the way she builds "Serenity" from a quiet remembrance of her youth to a full-voiced declaration of love's surprise arrival. She is also equally effective on "If I Cannot Love," which was unfortunately cut during previews but is thankfully preserved on this JAY Records release.

BETTY BUCKLEY
Betty Buckley fans will be thrilled with the just-released cast recording of Triumph of Love, the Susan Birkenhead/Jeffrey Stock/James Magruder musical loosely based on the Marivaux play. Buckley sounds terrific on the CD, whether she's belting the opening lines of "This Day of Days," tenderly caressing the notes in the quartet of "Teach Me Not to Love You" or bringing an emotional intensity to her duets with Susan Egan ("You May Call Me Phocion") and F. Murray Abraham ("The Tree"). And, her two solo pieces, "Serenity" and "If I Cannot Love," are masterfully crafted and delivered. Just listen to the way she builds "Serenity" from a quiet remembrance of her youth to a full-voiced declaration of love's surprise arrival. She is also equally effective on "If I Cannot Love," which was unfortunately cut during previews but is thankfully preserved on this JAY Records release.

BETTY BUCKLEY
The diva news of the week would have to be Betty Buckley's decision to star as Mama Rose in the upcoming production of Gypsy at the Paper Mill Playhouse. It was touch-and-go for a while as contracts were being negotiated, but now that Buckley has signed, theatre lovers have good reason to rejoice: It should be a thrilling experience to watch Buckley portray one of the most demanding roles in the musical theatre canon. The Tony winner will also get the chance to wrap her voice around such Jule Styne/Stephen Sondheim/classics as "Some People," "You'll Never Get Away from Me," "Small World," "Everything's Coming Up Roses," "Wherever We Go" and, of course, "Rose's Turn."

BETTY BUCKLEY
I guess the diva news of the week would have to be Betty Buckley's decision to star as Mama Rose in the upcoming production of Gypsy at the Paper Mill Playhouse. It was touch-and-go for awhile as contracts were being negotiated, but now that Buckley has signed, theatre lovers have good reason to rejoice: It should be a thrilling experience to watch Buckley portray one of the most demanding roles in the musical theatre canon. The Tony winner will also get the chance to wrap her voice around such Jule Styne/Stephen Sondheim/classics as "Some People," "You'll Never Get Away from Me," "Small World," "Everything's Coming Up Roses," "Wherever We Go" and, of course, "Rose's Turn."

Sanders recalls the 2004 Tony Awards as well as performances in Beauty and the Beast, The King and I, and more.

Maltz Jupiter Theatre will present the Garson Kanin comedy beginning October 29.

Rehearsals begin in Manhattan July 10 for Seussical, the new family-friendly musical from the Ragtime creators, who pull together characters and elements of stories created by Dr. Seuss to create an original show.

Theatrical clown David Shiner will indeed be slipping into the candy-cane striped chapeau of The Cat in the Hat in Seussical, the new family friendly Broadway musical from the creators of Ragtime.

Read reviews for the National Theatre production directed by Tony winner Ivo van Hove.