Hit show Newsies celebrated its one year anniversary last March 29.

Execs at Disney Theatrical Prods. have often said that one of the obstacles faced by Mouse tuners is the public perception they're all perennials, so there's no sense of urgency prodding theatergoers to buy tickets. Which sounds like a dubious rationalization for a sales slowdown at "The Little Mermaid" -- until evidence comes along suggesting it might be true.

Although he downplayed his role of giving final creative approval to the revised script, he said, “We’ll look at what they’ve done and see what works. But we know we liked how it read on paper.” Schwartz flew in from California, where he has been working on a new opera based on the 1964 psychological film thriller, “Séance on a Wet Afternoon,” set to be unveiled in Santa Barbara in September.

Jim Hill talks up the trio of “Beauties” that are either already in production and/or currently in development. He also considers CBS Films & Columbia Pictures’ plan to remake Warner Bros. Academy Award-winner from 1964