Bill Lawrence, creator of Scrubs, fires back at NY Mag critic Scott Brown. Now… Scott Brown sort of deserves it. He loves to use big words, and if he doesn’t like something, he lets you know with the most syllables possible. And Brown really, really did not like Zach Braff’s new play All New People. 

While I think Lawrence has bigger fish to fry, I really like that he gets Braff’s back here. I haven’t been able to check out All New People, but it can’t possibly be as bad as Brown’s review is snooty. So come on Brown, if I want snooty reviews, I’ll read The New Yorker. 

A rainy July 3rd brought me to see the superb Catch Me If You Can, now playing at the Neil Simon Theater. 

And it’s a great show! It’s super fun, and just cheesy enough to bring your out-of-town aunts. But it’s not perfect. It’s basically a good show stuffed into a bad show, like when a dog has a sweater on, and you can tell the dog is a little embarrassed. 

Another Extended Run Podcast! This time, Ryan Dunkin and I talk to the extremely talented Tari Kelly, who is currently understudying the role of Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes. We talk about the contagious sweetness of Kathleen Marshall, the adorable racism of Cole Porter, and the melodious voices of mechanical ice cream cones.

Thanks again to Tari for hanging out with a couple of Broadway bros, and thanks to Dan Chamberlain for some serious audio editing. 

Careful… once you look, her eyes follow you. 

But check it out. $20 tickets to all productions by the Roundabout, which isn’t a ton of shows, but it’s cool anyway. 

At the end of a production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, I saw a young woman take a picture of the stage. (There’s no curtain, and most of us were pretty close to the stage, so it was easy enough to take a quick photo.) An usher quickly confiscated her instant camera. She was upset, but the usher assured her that the theater would develop the roll, remove the pictures of the set, and mail her the rest of the pictures. Good luck on that, random lady! 

I’ll see everyone in the center of the row! Breaking the fourth wall at a Broadway show absolutely terrifies me. There’s a moment in Priscilla Queen of the Desert when audience members are pulled on stage to dance, and when the performers came into the aisles to choose their victims, I was paralyzed with fear. Thankfully, I wasn’t picked. I understand how it can be a fun little break in the show, but it fills me with pure terror. 

Also, keep your eyes peeled for a great podcast coming up this week! 

But hey, if you catch Osama, you can take Patina Miller’s role if you want to. 

Shocking news from Playbill.com - Last night’s performance of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying was cancelled due to the unexpected death of a stage hand. The article says the death was not related to the production. Condolences to the family, the cast and the crew. 

As crazy as Spider-Man is, I’m moving into a strange realm of respect for the show. The production has been a disaster, the revamped version also stinks, and THEY ARE SELLING SWEATSHIRTS FOR EIGHTY DOLLARS. That’s sorta… great, right? 

How many other Broadway shows get an episode of Law and Order: Criminal Intent to parody them? I’m guessing none (but A Light in the Piazza would make a great episode of SVU, no?). Truly, the only bad press for Spider-Man is no press, and there is no shortage of press for this show. But how long can this last?