IN THIS ISSUE (click any story to read):

THE GHOSTS OF 42ND STREET
Follies was inspired by a haunting photograph. Now it's returning to Broadway -- along with ghosts from the neighborhood's glorious past. (more)

ONE MAN'S FOLLIES
Director Matthew Warchus tells Front & Center how he discovered that Follies is more than just a great musical. (more)

LIVING LARGE
The author of Design For Living was a master of charm who turned frivolity into something serious. John Lahr, drama critic for The New Yorker, recounts how Noel Coward invented contemporary cool. (more)

SERIOUS COMEDY
Joe Mantello and Todd Haimes crack an unconventional classic. (more)

PRODIGY OF THE WESTERN WORLD
Is the author of the Leenane Trilogy the unwilling heir to the Irish tradition? (more)

GRAVE MATTERS
Gordon Edelstein and David Gallo dig into Martin McDonagh's Skull (more)

TUESDAYS @ 7
Roundabout's new weekly discussion series sets the stage for learning. (more)

REMEMBERING
JASON ROBARDS
(1922 - 2000) (more)

WELCOME
to a new year of great theatre. Roundabout is charging into spring under full steam with three exciting new productions.

In February we began performances of the long-awaited New York premiere of Martin McDonagh’s A Skull in Connemara, and Noël Coward’s Design for Living featuring Alan Cumming’s triumphant return to Roundabout. March brings us the highly anticipated revival of James Goldman and Stephen Sondheim’s groundbreaking and breathtaking musical Follies. On top of all this, we celebrate surpassing the number of performances given by the original production of Cabaret as our award-winning revival continues in its fourth year. We have much to be proud of and are grateful to our subscribers and supporters for helping to make such a high standard of work possible.

Front & Center now continues with an online version to go along with our new and improved printed version. We are pleased to bring you thoughtful commentary on the work and are honored to include some reflections on Noël Coward by critic and author John Lahr. Our look behind the scenes includes interviews with the directors of each production. I have joined Joe Mantello in a discussion about Design for Living, Gordon Edelstein and set designer David Gallo talk about their unique take on A Skull in Connemara, and Matthew Warchus gives us an in-depth look into his plan to bring the grand and much-loved Follies back home to the Broadway stage.

Education continues to thrive at Roundabout, with five schools now participating in our Producing Partners program and more than fifty classrooms attending our shows through Page to Stage. In this issue’s education update, we turn our attention to the other half of our education activity – subscriber programs. Many of you participate in post-show discussions through the Celebrity Series, JP Morgan Chase Family Series and Lecture Series. Now we also have a pre-show offering at the American Airlines Theatre entitled Tuesdays @ 7.

As always I am humbled by the level of interest and thoughtfulness our subscribers show in the works we bring to the stage. I trust you will enjoy the works celebrated in these pages with equal enthusiasm.

Todd Haimes • Artistic Director

Front & Center Online
Spring 2001 Editors:
Tom Sellar, Margaret Salvante McCann