Barbour, Lazar, Burkhardt Sing of Best and Worst of Times in 'Tale of Two Cities', Starting Aug. 19. A Tale of Two Cities, a new musical to quicken the hearts of fans of sprawling romantic historical epics - the kind of show where characters in the shadows sing about the light of tomorrow - begins its Broadway life Aug. 19 at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre.

Broadway's 'Phantom' Has a New Soprano. Marni Raab, who previously starred as rising opera star Christine on both the Asian world tour and the U.S. national tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, takes over the role on Broadway starting at the evening performance Aug. 20.

New Song of the South. Joe DiPietro's musical, Memphis, explores the racial tensions underneath the birth of rock 'n' roll.

Denver Center Adds New Comedy 'Sunsets and Margaritas' to 2008-09 Season. Sunsets and Margaritas, Jos Cruz Gonz·lez's new comedy about three generations of a Mexican-American family, will get its world premiere by Denver Center Theatre Company in 2009, artistic director Kent Thompson announced.

PS Classics to Release "Stage Door Johnny," a CD by Broadway Music Veteran John Miller. Longtime Broadway music coordinator John Miller, a respected behind-the-scenes guy who puts musicians together to create orchestras for musicals, makes his recording debut as vocalist, guitarist and producer of a new PS Classics album, "Stage Door Johnny.".

Broadway's 'Phantom' Will Welcome a New Christine. Marni Raab, who previously starred as Christine on both the Asian world tour and the U.S. national tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, will take over the role on Broadway starting at the evening performance Aug. 20.

Award-Winning 'Scorched' Returns to Toronto's Tarragon Before Playing Dates Across Canada. Casting has been announced for Tarragon Theatre's remount of Scorched by Wajdi Mouawad, to play the Toronto theatre's Mainspace Sept. 2-28. It will play a mini-tour of Canadian resident theatres in fall 2008 and early 2009.

PLAYBILL.COM'S THEATRE WEEK IN REVIEW: Teen Spirit. The median age of the Actors' Equity membership just went down by a tiny fraction.

Dvorsky, Gamble, Parker-Namdar, Sherback to Sing Broadway's 'Lost Songs' in VA. Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA, kicks off its cabaret season Sept. 3-6 with The Lost Songs of Broadway 1940s-1950s, "a collection of terrific tunes from some of history's forgotten mid-century musicals.".

British Musical Comedy 'Half a Sixpence' Opens at Goodspeed. Half a Sixpence, the musical comedy about a London shop assistant tempted by money, opens in a rare revival at Goodspeed Opera House Aug. 6 in Connecticut.

Page, Plunkett, Morfogen, Matthews, Esper to Join Langella in Broadway's 'Man for All Seasons'. Patrick Page's King Henry VIII will face off against Frank Langella's Sir Thomas More, the man who lost his life standing his moral ground before the monarch, in Roundabout Theatre Company's new production of A Man for All Seasons.

A Family Milestone: 'August: Osage County' Will Play 300th Show. The Broadway run of Tracy Letts' Tony Award-winning, Pulitzer Prize-honored August: Osage County will hit 300 performances on Aug. 13.

Grey Gardens' Joins Philadelphia Theatre Company's 2008-09 Season. Philadelphia Theatre Company will grow Grey Gardens, the Tony Award-nominated musical about eccentric relatives of Jackie Onassis, in summer 2009.

Simon Gray, British Playwright of Wit and Intelligence, Dies at 71. Simon Gray, the British playwright who for four decades chronicled with sardonic wit and a cerebral style the mores of English literary and academic circles, died Aug. 7, the Guardian reported. He was diagnosed with lung cancer last year and had been in failing health.

Remains of The Theatre, Shakespeare's Early Stomping Ground, Discovered. Rows of bricks were recently uncovered by archaeologists from the Museum of London, prompting a belief that the foundation of an Elizabethan-era venue called The Theatre, where Shakespeare once acted, had been found.

FCC Is Field Testing Devices to Gauge Interference With Theatrical Microphone Frequency. The Federal Communication Commission's Office of Engineering and Technology is currently field testing the performance of prototype White Space Devices, like laptops, which use the same free broadcast television spectrum as theatrical wireless microphones.

Toronto Will Get New 'Dirty' Dancers Wright, Leggat and Hay. The Toronto production of Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story on Stage will welcome new performers in the roles of Johnny, Baby and Penny Aug. 19 at the Royal Alexandra Theatre.

MTC Names Five Playwrights for Sloan Commissions, Bridging Theatre and Science. Manhattan Theatre Club announced the 2008 recipients of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Initiative commissions to foster plays about science.

Janssen, Setlock, Thigpen and More Premiere 'Umbrella Plays' at FringeNYC. Umbrellas are the common link in a collection of plays making its world premiere Aug. 8-18 in the New York International Fringe Festival.

PLAYBILL.COM'S THEATRE WEEK IN REVIEW: 'Hair' Today. The Shakespeare in the Park production of Hair got the best sort of critical reception it could have hoped for when it opened at the Delacorte Theatre on Aug. 7.