Theater Futures

* Two shows certain to have me dabbing at my eyes are Steel Magnolias at the Omaha Community Playhouse and Les Miserables, returning to the Orpheum in the Broadway Across America series. * I’ll hang around after Mary Poppins later this month to see if anyone suffers from the problem mentioned in its television commercials, namely feet that won’t stop tapping for an hour and a-half. I’d also cry for joy at its opening if retired World-Herald photographer Rudy Smith jumped up in his seat and shouted, “That’s my baby girl,” when daughter Q appeared on stage. * Expect the musical Spiderman to arrive in Omaha shortly after Kirsten Kluver freezes over (an obscure reference only if you didn’t see her in The World Goes Round or Hot n’ Throbbin ). * Early favorites for acting awards are Kathy Wheeldon for her portrayal of Ann Landers at the Playhouse, Audrey Fisher for Bellevue’s The Philadelphia Story , Nils Haaland for his Jacob Marley at the Blue Barn and Paul Boesing for SkullDuggery’s The Vertical Hour . * A few comments on the look back at the best of drama in 2010 by Bob Fischbach in the Dec. 26 World-Herald . My only argument with his top 10 and his “more to crow about” also-rans is my regret that we agree as often as we do. I’d rather offer a more contrarian alternative view, but so it goes. He cited Jitney at the John Beasley Theater, which I’d rank as my favorite if forced to pick just one. He picked three from the Playhouse, two from the Barn and added three later from Brigit Saint Brigit. But the most remarkable individual accomplishment of the calendar year, as implied by his appraisal, was the work of Andrew McGreevy at SkullDuggery. Fischbach picked two of his shows, Brick: an A Cappella Musical, which McGreevy both wrote and produced, and The Vertical Hour, in the top 10 and crowed about both Defiance and This How It Goes. In other words, the under-financed guy who lost his lease got more shows singled out for praise in the daily’s roundup than any other theater. Cold Cream looks at theater in the metro area. Email information to coldcream@thereader.com.