Broadway spies

There's always plenty of juicy theater to keep us occupied here in the Bay Area. But we can't help casting an eye toward Broadway.It's sort of like our favorite sports team is having an away game, and we just want to keep an eye on the score.That said, some Theater Dogs have recently been to New York to sample some of the current crop of big-budget musicals.Here's what they have to say about the Twyla Tharp/Bob Dylan collaboration The Times They Are A-Changin':

Spy 1: "This SHOW it needs a-hangin'!"Spy 2: "I practically slept through this show. Oh man - what a mess. I guess I don't care for Bob Dylan. The singers were good. The freakiest part was watching Twyla's dancers play clowns. It was just wrong. However, did I tell you how FANTASTIC Michael Arden was? He made that show rock."

Spy 2 also saw Martin Short's Fame Becomes Me, which as you may recall, had its world premiere in San Francisco earlier this year.

I loved Fame so much here, I wanted to see the NY version. He cut it down to only 90 minutes! Chopped a lot of stuff out - but my favorites parts were still there. And, of course, Capathia Jenkins stopped the show with "Stop the Show."

Spy 2 also had good things to say about LaChanze in The Color Purple, which sets out on a tour soon and may be coming to the Bay Area, and Altar Boyz, which is part of the Best of Broadway season next year.Spamalot also got high marks, but we're angry with that show. Because it's playing Vegas, there will be no California tour stops. Well, we didn't want to see it anyway. So there.