Just as we are saddened by the news that the ground-breaking "Ave Q" is leaving Broadway in September, we get word that the classic "Tales of the City" is one step closer to the Great White Way! To tease us even more, the team that brought us "Ave Q" headed to Connecticut this past week for stage readings of the new musical at the O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford.

Director Jason Moore, who has already thrilled us with "Ave Q" and "Shrek: The Musical" is heading the team to bring "Tales...." to life on the stage. Moore is a genius at taking complicated material and turning it into an absolute joy for mainstream America. In the process, he takes us to the new theatrical heights through his daring and courageous direction. There simply could not be a better director for this pending musical. Joining Jason Moore is the librettist from "Ave Q", Jeff Whitty, who will be joined by music director Stephen Oremus. (Photograph is of the three.)

According to the Hartford Courant, the producers of "Ave Q" have pulled together an amazing team. The paper says that Whitty contacted his old friends from Scissor Sisters:

"He then turned to an East Village pal, Jason Sellards, also known as "Jake Shears", from the band Scissor Sisters, which draws on disco, glam rock and pop.

"I always wanted to do a musical," says Sellards. "Then Jeff wrote me another e-mail and said it was 'Tales of the City' and when I read that, my heart started racing. For so many teenagers the books are a rite of passage, and I so identify the 'Tales' with my youth. I immediately wrote back: 'Absolutely!'"

He asked bandmate John Garden to join him in the project.

"Jason just came up to me one day," says Garden, "and said, "Grab a keyboard. ... We're writing a musical." ... And that was my introduction to the project."

Director Moore says the Scissor Sisters musicians are a great match.

"There's a theatricality to their music,' says Moore, "and the lyrics are quite funny and smart, and some of their songs have characters and tell stories. There's also a theatrical awareness to their shows as well. They are showmen."

Garden wrote the music to the show; Sellards is the lyricist. Sellards is inspired by the rock musicals he grew up on.

"Since I was a kid I was obsessed with 'Rocky Horror,' 'Tommy' and 'Hair.' They've really been a part of why Scissor music sounds the way it does and has that kind of story-telling function"

It would be incredible to have "Tales of the City" as a musical on Broadway. That is the perfect place, just perfect, for these wonderful stories from San Francisco!