Patty’s musical!

If you're a regular Theater Dogs reader, you know there's a lot of love here for Patty Griffin, one of our best singer-songwriters. She just came through the Bay Area supporting her new CD, "Children Running Through" (see concert review below), and now there's official word from New York about the musical she has written with playwright Keith Bunin.The show, called 10 Million Miles, begins preview performances May 11 at the Atlantic Theater Company in Manhattan and opens June 14, according to the Atlantic's Joe Perrotta.Some of the same players from the Atlantic's hit Spring Awakening are also involved in 10 Million Miles, including director Michael Mayer and lead producers Tom Hulce and Ira Pittelman.The musical is about a romantic roadtrip from Florida to upstate New York, and playing the lovers will be Matthew Morrison (Hairspray. The Light in the Piazza) and Irene Molloy (The Civil War). Rounding out the cast are Skip Sudduth and familiar face Mare Winningham (St. Elmo's Fire!), an admired singer-songwriter in her own right making her New York stage debut.For more info, visit the Atlantic Theatre Company Web site here.For a sample of the Patty Griffin magic, here she is singing "No Bad News," an upbeat cut from the new album, recorded earlier this year:And I can't resist another. Patty's not in this one, but I love this song, "Heavenly Day," also from the new album. A friend challenged her to write a love song, and she ended up writing about how wonderful it is to hang out outside with her dog.