Acclaimed stage and screen director, Sam Mendes, made a recommendation to DreamWorks Exec, Jeffrey Katzenberg, several years ago—Turn their multi-million dollar “Shrek” film franchise into a Broadway play. DreamWorks is following the advice and the example of rival production company Disney, turning an animated film into a musical on the big New York stage.

Tickets for Pre-Broadway engagement of “Shrek the Musical” will go on sale this Friday, June 13, at 9:30 a.m. The production will appear at The 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle, Washington. The Northwest production will go from August 14-September 21 before heading to its Broadway debut in December

The first 100 people in line will receive their very own Shrek ears. They will also be served green tea and green Top Pot Doughnuts. It’s sure to be a fun outing for you and the kids, both getting the tickets, and going to show.

The show will star Tony Award nominee Brian d’Arcy James as Shrek, Tony Award winner Sutton Foster as Princess Fiona, Tony Award nominee Christopher Sieber as Lord Farquaad, and Chester Gregory II as Donkey.

The new musical is a reinvention of the story created by William Steig’s book, “Shrek” and the DreamWorks Animation film, “Shrek” which became one of the most successful animated film franchises in history. Be watching online for Broadway tickets in New York.

On Tuesday night, at Shea Stadium, you could find the bullpen doing their part to contribute. They helped the grounds crew cover the field when a thunderstorm delayed the game for 61 minutes. Go Mets pitchers.

Did I mention that they gave up six runs in four innings against the Diamondbacks, giving up a 9-5 loss?

The Mets gave up four home runs. Three of those were given up by the bullpen in the last two innings. Talk about blowing it.

This is the fifth straight loss for the struggling New York Mets. For a while there it seemed that Willie Randolph was finding some really great successes to make the case for him to keep his job. But with this losing streak firmly in place, it’s not looking pretty for the beleaguered manager.

Even Randolph’s hope for getting Moises Alou back on the field, a player which he calls an “RBI machine” fell flat.  He didn’t return after the rain delay because his calf got stiff. This was just an additional disappointment adding up to 5 games of disappointment. What started as a really promising season is getting ever frustrating.

Maybe if pitching doesn’t work for the bullpen, they can get jobs on the grounds crew. Maybe Randolph is eying a maintenance job too.

Mike Mussina gave a great performance last night. And his team still managed to lose. It’s the heartbreaking reality that every fine pitcher must face. You can give it all you got and your team can still let you down.

For Mussina, the 39-year-old veteran starter, it meant giving 8 innings of superb performance. It meant only giving up 2 runs in that entire time. And it meant watching Mariano Rivera give up a ninth-inning home run handing the Kansas City Royals the win.

And I do mean handing it to them. The Royals are the third worst team in the league. The Yankees should have had this home game locked up.

If the Yankees had won, it would have given Mussina his tenth straight win. Joe Girardi is quoted in the New York Post as saying:

“(He was) great again. He threw the ball outstanding. It would’ve been nice to get his 10th win, but it wasn’t meant to be. Moose was so good. He went back out and did a nice job in the eighth. Two runs in eight innings, usually that’s going to win a game. It just didn’t.”

All of those fans who purchased New York Yankees tickets to watch the game in 94 degrees expected more from their middling team. It’s summer and time is ticking. Let’s hope that the Yankees can rebound with some last minute achievement in what’s turning out to be a disappointing season.

If you’re a fan of Broadway musicals, you’ll be excited to know that five of the Tony-nominated musicals will be showcased on television this week. “Live with Regis and Kelly” which is calling this week Broadway Week 2008.

Each featured show has been nominated for one of more of the Antoinette Perry Awards, otherwise known as the “Tony” awards.

Monday starts with Sierra Bogges from Disney’s exciting Broadway recreation of their hit animated film, “The Little Mermaid. Bogges will perform “Part of Your World,” a song well known by children and adults alike.

Tuesday brings Alli Mauzey from “Cry-Baby The Musical,” also an adaptation from a motion picture. Harvey Fierstein will be presenting “Coney Island” on Wednesday from the new musical “A Catered Affair.” On Thursday it’s another motion picture turned Broadway hit—“Xanadu.”

American Idol winner, Taylor Hicks, who along with the cast members of the revival of “Grease” will be performing “Beauty School Dropout”, will finish off the week.

Although the choices for show are definitely high profile in that the majority of the musicals featured are also movies, it will be a good plug for the wonderful theater options in New York these days. For tickets to these and other wonderful plays click on the link.

Another week has passed us by and it is time for the www.SelectATicket.com Weekly Top 5 Events List.

Last week saw a jump in activity on Broadway shows as the first three events are all Broadway musicals. Followed closely by New York Red Bulls soccer and an absolute summer staple in these parts – the New York Yankees.

 So without further adieu, here is the list. Be sure to come back next Monday to see the top events from this week on www.SelectATicket.com :

1. Wicked 
2. Jersey Boys
3. Gypsy
4. New York Red Bulls vs LA Galaxy
5. NY Yankees vs Kansas City Royals

And that concludes this week’s Hot Tickets from SelectATicket!

It’s heartbreaking to see a great performance by a pitcher go unmatched by the hitters. But that’s exactly what happened to Mike Pelfrey and the Mets Thursday night.

Pelfrey only allowed one run in six innings. But the Mets only managed five hits and one run the entire game, allowing the Padres a 2-1 win. This was their third loss in 10 games, an improvement on the rest of the season, but disappointing nonetheless.

In spite of the loss, Randolph seems to be thinking positively about his team that performed well defensively. He felt good about keeping Pelfrey in his place in the line-up. And he kept him in even when things looked bad, pushing Pelfrey to be able to get through the ups and downs of a long pitching stretch, hoping he’ll be able to get to 120 pitches in a game at some point.

Randolph also had great praise for shortstop Reyes who performed well on Thursday, insisting in the Daily News: “He’s still an excellent shortstop. He’s going to win a Gold Glove someday.”

Even though these are great signs of a team with great potential, Willie Randolph cannot allow his ball club to lose games like this. You can’t keep a team to 2 runs and still lose the game. Mets fans demand more than this.

Joe Girardi says that he doesn’t mind Johnny Damon criticizing his decision to move Joba Chamberlain to the starter position. That’s a nice response for the media but I can’t imagine that any leader appreciating public displays of disagreement. Everyone knows that differences occur in every organization, but you always want to communicate an attitude of solidarity to the media, to your opponents, and to your ticket buying fans.

The problem that Damon has when he shoots his mouth like this is that he opens himself up for the exact same public discrimination. If Girardi is at all displeased with Damon’s recent play, he should make it well known. It’s fine to talk smack, but you better be ready to take it when it comes back to you.

The argument that Damon makes is that the Yankees are losing games by not having a strong pitcher like Chamberlain in the bullpen. Giardi vehemently disagrees.

In the Daily News, Girardi is quoted as saying:

“I want to know the games that we’ve sacrificed by doing what we did . . . It doesn’t always work that way.”

Damon is then quoted as saying:

“Yeah, we could have used (Chamberlain) on the last road trip. No doubt about it. Would we have won those games? Maybe. Maybe not.”

One of the most exciting plays on Broadway, Alfred Hitchcock’s “The 39 Steps” is getting a new leading man. Sam Robards will be replacing Charles Edwards who originated the role in the London production. Robards will step into the part on July 8th at the Cort Theater, 138 West 48th Street.

Sam Robards is the son of acting royalty, Jason Robards and Lauren Bacall. He’s the godson of Katharine Hepburn. Needless to say, he’s known and probably been taught by some of the best actors of the past century. He’s famous for saying, “My parents made certain I had no illusion about acting. To them it was always just a job.”

“The 39 Steps” is inspired by Hitchcock’s thriller masterpiece, with a lot of broad comedy humor. It’s adapted for the stage from the famous 1935 film and the 1915 novel written by John Buchanan.

It tells the story of Richard Hannay, seeking a casual night at the theatre, who’s seduced into an espionage plot by a mysterious woman. After she’s found dead in his apartment, Hannay flees London with the authorities in hot pursuit.

This play is considered by critics and fans to be unbelievably entertaining. With the loss of Edwards, the production knew that they had to get someone with real credentials to meet the high expectation of Broadway ticket buyers. Robards is sure to deliver.

It’s rare to find a pitcher that can deliver on the mound and with a bat. It’s even more rare to see someone come back after a 2 month injury and do well at both. But Martinez came back with both guns a blazing. The result was a 9-6 win over the Giants.

Although his start was a little off, he ended up completing 6 innings. He gave up seven hits, striking out three. At the bat, he scored a run and an RBI single.

The New York Times reports:

“After his first single, he shimmied at first base and gave a two-gun salute toward the dugout. After his second, which drove in a run in the Mets’ eight-run fifth, Martínez looked at his teammates and offered a hip thrust. His hamstring seemed to respond well to that.”

The Mets have one 6 of the last 8 games, giving a little bit of hope to Willie Randolph, who’s job seems hanging on a thread. The month of June looks promising for a team that has struggled to find it’s groove. They will be playing some of the Major League’s worst teams, giving them the opportunity for some important wins.

Here’s hoping for the beginning of a comeback. To purchase Mets tickets online click on the link.

Last week’s hot tickets were dominated by Broadway shows. Here’s the list of the top 5 most popular events found on www.selectaticket.com

Lion King

New York Red Bulls

Jersey Boys

South Pacific

Young Frankenstein

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