Broadway Friday

- In an all-star fundraiser on May 18th at Town Hall, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS will present a one-time performance of Pamela's First Musical, a new work by Tony winners Cy Coleman and David Zipper. Direction is by Tony winner Graciela Daniele, book by Tony winner Wendy Wasserstein. Cast: Donna Murphy, Lynn Ahrens, Christian Borle, Carolee Carmello, Sandy Duncan, Gregg Edelman, Christine Ebersole, Stephen Flaherty, Kathie Lee Gifford, Adam Heller, Richard Kind, Robert Klein, Tommy Tune and many others. Tickets $60-$1000 are available here.

- Jenifer Lewis will replace Darlene Love as Motormouth Maybelle in Hairspray on April 22nd. Last year Lewis had a smash with Bipolar, Bath & Beyond, her one-woman show at the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center. Hairspray composer Mark Shaiman also wrote the words to Lewis' 1999 Lifetime special, Jackie's Back.

- Long-running aerialist/daredevil show Cirque Dreams: Jungle Fantasy will have a summer run at the Broadway Theatre, which recently hosted the now-closed The Color Purple. In September Shrek: The Musical lands at the Broadway.

- Due to "unexpected ticket demand", Rent has had its run extended by three months. The show is now set to close on September 7th. Ticket demand? Or maybe the extension has something to do with American Idol castoff David Hernandez, who auditioned for Rent last week.

- Gerald Goehring and Douglas C. Evans, who recently turned Frankenstein into an Off Broadway rock musical, have aimed their makeover cannons towards the 1983 classic movie, A Christmas Story. The show may hit the boards by this year's holiday season.

- Talk about stunt casting! Mrs. Tom Cruise is reportedly in talks to make her Broadway debut in Arthur Miller's All My Sons, which open later this year. Tom will be leaping on his seat.

- Similarly, Britney Spears has been offered the role of Blanche DuBois in London's cast of A Streetcar Named Desire, after her very well received guest spot last week on TV's How I Met Your Mother.