BROADWAY | What's playing

"A Raisin in the Sun" -- An adequate Sean Combs, an incandescent Audra McDonald and a superb Phylicia Rashad star in a revival of Lorraine Hansberry's groundbreaking drama. Royale. Telecharge. Closes July 11. Difficult.
"After the Fall" -- Peter Krause and Carla Gugino star in a revival of Arthur Miller's drama about a guilt-stricken lawyer and his several marriages, including one to a famous movie star. Now in previews. Opens July 29. A Roundabout Theatre Company production. American Airlines. (212) 719-1300.
"Aida" -- Deborah Cox stars in Elton John and Tim Rice's crowd-pleaser of a musical based on the ancient Egyptian love triangle. John's music may be the show's initial lure, but audiences will be wowed by designer Bob Crowley's spectacular sets and often outlandish costumes. Palace. Ticketmaster. Closes Sept. 5.
"Assassins" -- A stunning revival of the Stephen Sondheim-John Weidman musical about presidential assassins. A Roundabout Theatre Company production. Studio 54. (212) 719-1300. Closes July 18.
"Avenue Q" -- Love blossoms among the twentysomething set -- a group that includes puppets -- in this very funny, adult musical comedy that has transferred from off-Broadway. Winner of the 2004 Tony Award for best musical. Golden. Telecharge.
"Beauty and the Beast" -- For those who want a lavish, literal, live-action version of the delightful Disney animated feature, this is the ticket. Others may be content to rent the film. Lunt-Fontanne. Ticketmaster.
"Bombay Dreams" -- A bland version of the lavish London success that celebrates India's Bollywood musicals. Broadway. Telecharge.
"The Boy From Oz" -- An appealing and hardworking Hugh Jackman stars as Australian entertainer Peter Allen in this pallid musical autobiography that uses Allen's original songs. The musical shuts down while Jackman vacations today and on certain Tuesday evenings including this Tuesday, July 20 and Aug. 3. Imperial. Telecharge.
"Caroline, or Change" -- Tonya Pinkins galvanizes the Tony Kushner-Jeanine Tesori musical, set in 1963 Louisiana, about an embittered black maid whose world is turned upside down. Eugene O'Neill. Telecharge.
"Chicago" -- A potent revival of the 1975 Bob Fosse musical with a sassy Kander and Ebb score. Broadway's longest-running musical revival -- and deservedly so. Ambassador. Telecharge.
"Fiddler on the Roof" -- A lovely revival of the classic Bock-Harnick and Robbins musical, starring Alfred Molina as Tevye and Randy Graff as Golde. Minskoff. Ticketmaster.
"42nd Street" -- Those tapping feet are back. A loud, relentless revival of one of the biggest musical hits of the 1980s. Ford Center for the Performing Arts. Ticketmaster. Closes Jan. 2, 2005.
"The Frogs" -- Nathan Lane stars in the Stephen Sondheim musical freely adapted from Aristophanes' comedy. Susan Stroman directs and choreographs. Now in previews. Opens July 22. A Lincoln Center Theater production. Vivian Beaumont. Telecharge.
"Frozen" -- Swoosie Kurtz, Brian F. O'Byrne and Laila Robins star in Byrony Lavery's harrowing play about the disappearance of a young girl. Circle in the Square. Telecharge.
"Golda's Balcony" -- A forceful Tovah Feldshuh, who received a Tony nomination for best actress, is the legendary Israeli prime minister in a fascinating one-woman show written by William Gibson. Helen Hayes. Telecharge.
"Hairspray" -- The cult John Waters movie set in 1960s Baltimore has been turned into a hilarious, tuneful musical. Michael MeKean has inherited the role of full-figured Edna Turnblad, played in the film by Divine and on Broadway by Harvey Fierstein. Neil Simon. Ticketmaster.
"I Am My Own Wife" -- The astonishing Jefferson Mays stars in Doug Wright's evocative play about a German transvestite who survived both the Nazi and communist regimes. Winner of the 2004 Tony Award for best play. Lyceum. Telecharge.
"Jumpers" -- Simon Russell Beale and Essie Davis star in a revival of the verbally dense Tom Stoppard comedy. Brooks Atkinson. Ticketmaster. Closes July 11.
"The Lion King" -- Director Julie Taymor is a modern-day Merlin, creating a stage version of the Disney animated hit that makes you truly believe in the magic of theater. New Amsterdam. Ticketmaster. Difficult on weekends.
"Little Shop of Horrors" -- The cheeky 1982 off-Broadway hit about a man-eating plant finds its way to Broadway in a spiffy, much larger production. Virginia. Telecharge.
"Mamma Mia!" The London musical sensation featuring the pop songs of ABBA makes it to Broadway. Die-hard ABBA fans will like it best; others may be puzzled. A special "Mamma Mia!" Telecharge number, (212) 563-5544.
"Movin' Out" -- Songs by Billy Joel. Choreography by Twyla Tharp. A dance musical about good friends, taking them from the 1960s onward. The dancing is exuberant; the story less so. Richard Rodgers. Ticketmaster.
"The Phantom of the Opera" -- The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical about a deformed composer who haunts the Paris Opera House is the prime, Grade A example of big Brit musical excess. But all the lavishness does have a purpose in Harold Prince's intelligent production. Majestic. Telecharge.
"The Producers" -- Brad Oscar and Roger Bart star in this riotous stage version of the Mel Brooks movie. The musical is even better than the film, which is saying something. St. James. A special "Producers" Telecharge number, (212) 239-5800.
"Rent" -- Jonathan Larson's touching and now nostalgic look at struggling artists in New York's East Village. Loosely based on Puccini's opera "La Boheme" -- Nederlander. Ticketmaster.
"Sight Unseen" -- A revival of Donald Margulies' play about an artist's midlife crisis. The cast includes Byron Jennings, Laura Linney, Ana Reeder and Ben Shenkman. A Manhattan Theatre Club production. Biltmore. Telecharge. Closes July 25.
"Sly Fox" -- Richard Dreyfuss stars in a fitfully funny revival of Larry Gelbart's adaptation of Ben Jonson's "Volpone," transplanted to late 19th-century San Francisco. Ethel Barrymore. Telecharge.
"Wicked" -- An ambitious if problematic new musical about the witches in "The Wizard of Oz." Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire. Gershwin. Ticketmaster. Difficult on weekends.
"Wonderful Town" -- The fabulous Donna Murphy stars in a buoyant revival of the Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden and Adolph Green musical based on "My Sister Eileen." Al Hirschfeld. Telecharge.
X"Broadway/What's Playing" is published on the first Sunday of each month in The Vindicator. The Telecharge number is (800) 432-7250 unless otherwise indicated. Ticketmaster is (800) 755-4000. The League of American Theaters and Producers has a special telephone line called the Broadway Line for information on most Broadway shows and how to purchase tickets. Calls must be made on a touch-tone phone. The number is (888) BROADWAY.
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