Movie star Tom Hanks (pictured left) has made a welcome return to the stage and is now starring on Broadway in the late Nora Ephron’s play Lucky Guy. Both Hanks and the play are nominated for Tony Awards. The play dramatizes key episodes in the life of New York tabloid journalist Mike McAlary. Hanks made his professional stage debut in the late 1970s at the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival in Cleveland playing Grumio in The Taming of the Shrew. The Tony Awards ceremony will be held this coming Sunday at 8pm.

After appearing with the Buffalo Philharmonic in Kiss me Kate a few weeks ago, Michele Ragusa has been kept very busy. She is set to star as The Lady of the Lake in the MUNY in St. Louis production of the musical Spamalot (June 17-23). That production also stars Buffalonian John Scherer as Sir Robin. Later in the summer, Ragusa will play Rose in the classic musical Gypsy at the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca (July 4-20).

Thomas LaChiusa and Keith Wharton will be starring in the Kaleidoscope Theatre production of Marc Camoletti’s farce Boeing, Boeing, which opens in September. The play was revived on Broadway a few years ago starring Christine Baranski. In the meantime Kaleidoscope opens its production of Beckett Dances with Pinter this week, featuring short works from Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter.

The musical revue I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change returns to Buffalo, this time to the Kavinoky (June 14-July 7). Directed by Joe Demerly, with musical direction by Mark Vona and choreography by Doug Weyand, the show stars Kelly Meg Brennan, Charmagne Chi, John Fredo, and Brian Riggs.

Musicalfare will present its second annual 24 Hour New Musical Festival on June 22 at 8pm at 710 Main Theatre. The event features the 24-hour creation, development, and performance of four short musicals. Participating writers, composers, and directors this year include Brandon Barry, Scott Behrend, Jason Bravo, Phil Farugia, Donna Hoke, Chris Kelly, Randall Kramer, Theresa Quinn, Michael Walline, and Doug Weyand.

Road Less Traveled Productions will hold its first annual summer fundraiser, River Rocks, on Saturday, June 29, 4-9:30pm, at the West Side Rowing Club in Buffalo. The event will feature a clambake (following in the steps of Sam Hoyt’s very popular annual fundraiser), beer, food, and Rocky Road Less Traveled, a special edition ice cream created especially for the occasion. For tickets and information, visit www.roadlesstraveledproductions.org.

Disney’s upcoming new musical, Aladdin, set to open on Broadway in 2014, will have a pre-Broadway engagement at Toronto’s Ed Mirvish Theatre, November 13, 2013 through January 12, 2014.

The Book of Mormon opens next Tuesday at Shea’s and the theater has announced they will conduct a pre-show lottery at the box office, making 20 tickets available for each performance at $25 each. Entries will be accepted at the box office two and a half hours prior to each performance.

BUA will present the one-man show Confessions of a Mormon Boy, written and performed by Steven Fale (pictured rigth) for Curtain Up! in September. Prior to that, the company will present in July the second annual BUA Takes 10, a collection of GLBT short plays. And coming in August, the return of Jimmy Janowski in The Birds Attack!

Stagefright goes on hiatus for the summer after this week. See you in the fall.