Sir Aiken?

No... Clay Aiken is not getting knighted. Um, well not like you think. He's actually signed on to play "Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-as-Sir-Lancelot" in Broadway's Spamalot. He'll appear in the show Jan. 18-May 4.

Lost track of how many American Idol winners & finalist have made their way to Broadway? Check out this article on E!.

Hot shows at TBPAC: Macy Gray 8/16, Clay Aiken 8/17

Don't forget about both of these hot artists coming to TBPAC this week. Tickets for both shows are still available!

American Idol - the musical?

Idol: The Musical opened Off-Broadway last night. Check out what playbill.com has to say about the show:

Idol: The Musical — which is "based on the worship of Clay Aiken," one of the finalists on the second season of the hit reality TV series — begins previews at Off-Broadway's 45th Street Theatre July 5.

The musical, which was recently seen in Syracuse, NY, is directed by Daniel Tursi. Todd Ellis and Bipolar Productions are producing the Manhattan engagement.

The cast includes Babs Rubenstein as Adrienne, the musical's bad guy; Jennie Riverso as Alex, a brutally combative diamond-in-the-rough who fights all of her battles with her two fists; Nikita Richards as Cass, a Goth-chick whose voodoo doll is named Willard; Courtney Ellis as Cicaida, a child prodigy with an encyclopedic knowledge of the world; Jon Balcourt as Connor, the home-schooled kid; Ryan Sprague as Duncan, a loveable goofball obsessed with Western apparel; Joella Burt as Emily, the alpha-misfit; Joe Walker as J.D., the basketball phenom who longs to be a Chippendale dancer; and Roy George-Thiemann as Kodi, a self-appointed celebrity waiting to happen.

Idol: The Musical, according to press notes, is "a satirical musical comedy that focuses on the outrageous and delusional fan base of the hit television show. The musical takes place in Steubenville, Ohio where a group of misfit students are preparing for their high school graduation after which they are determined to drag themselves out of the dregs of the middle-of-nowhere. There are nine of them; all belonging to the same cult-like club that meets daily in a garage that doubles as a shrine to Clay Aiken. They are viciously ridiculed by the rest of Steubenville; a humiliating situation that doesn't deter their quest for all things Clay. They are victims of A.D.D., Ritalin, their misguided obsessions and their innocent longing for their elusive '15 minutes.' One of them pumps gas. One of them is home-schooled. One of them is a walking encyclopedia. And one of them is a basketball phenom who would rather be a Chippendale dancer. The other five have equally bizarre back-stories too complicated to tell here; but suffice it to know that the real bad-guy of the piece is a total harpy, prima donna named Adrienne. She gives new meaning to the word villain. The story heats up when the mid-American leg of the 'Idol Tour,' starring Clay Aiken, is announced to be playing Chicago, Memphis, Louisville, Scranton, Charleston, Greensboro, Roanoke and Steubenville. Steubenville! Let the worship begin."

The musical, based on a concept by Todd Ellis, features music and lyrics by Jon Balcourt with a book and lyrics by Bill Boland. Choreographers are Joe Walker and Jason Bumpus.

The design team comprises Brian Howard (scenic), Charles Shatzkin (lighting) and Keith Axton (costume).

Song titles include "Idolize," "Small Town Blues," "Fifteen Minutes," "Discipline," "Chip & Dale Days," "Prima Donna Fabulous," "Quakin' for Aiken," "Burnin' Hunk of Clay," "Simon Says," "Distance," "Family of Misfits" and "Realize."

You can check out Clay Aiken live and in person here at TBPAC on Aug. 17.

- Tara Mc.

Clay Aiken - Tampa

Here's my attempt to dispel rumors and put out a few fires re: our upcoming Clay Aiken date. I've been checking out various fan message boards, several of which I can't register for:

• The Clay Aiken show in Tampa on Aug. 17 is NOT sold out.
• The fan club and TBPAC presale periods are over. All seats are open for sale to the public.
  
• There IS still a 4-ticket limit on any order.
• We are NOT hiding a bunch of tickets from anyone. When folks call and ask for best available, that's what they'll get.
• The show is currently a little less than half sold out.
• We DO anticipate that it will sell.
• Not to shill, but tickets will only get harder to come by the longer people wait. We are only a 2,500 seat venue.

Ladies Nights?

TBPAC is seemingly teeming with gynocentric programming over the summer: Menopause the Musical, Woman in Mind, The Sisters Rosensweig. We just had Patty Larkin and Lily Tomlin. I suppose Clay Aiken, though not a woman, fits in line as a very female-friendly artist.

Of course not all of those shows or artists have exclusively female appeal, but at least on the surface they all certainly do. Women account for the largest group of people who buy tickets for shows here at TBPAC, so that's not so bad.

Actually if you really want to get technical, we know our most regular ticket buyer is a woman between the ages of 45 and 55 who has at least some college education and a household income of over $75,000. So I won't act surprised that artists/shows like I listed above do very well here.

Menopause is certainly an event, and is an enormous draw. The show posted the single-best record for a show in the Jaeb Theater last summer. It sold more than a million dollars in tickets - simply amazing. It handily beat out heavyweights like Forever Plaid and Shear Madness in the process.

The show opens officially tonight and is currently on sale through the end of July. Tickets are going extremely fast - people will be hard-pressed to get decent seats unless you want to buy a minimum of two to three weeks in advance.

Get 'em while they're hot-flashing. Ok, ok ... I'll stop.

And you dudes? Depending on your age and sense of humor there's laughs to be had at Menopause, Woman in Mind should easily appeal to anyone with a like of BBC comedies like The Office, Fawlty Towers or old Python - and there's always that icon of male humor, Mel Brooks, who has a little musical coming back this summer that you might have heard of based on some movie.

We're not getting rid of the men's rooms. Promise.