Scott Bakula will lead the cast of an upcoming production at UCLA's Ralph Freud Playhouse called "No Strings," running May 8-20. It is a West-coast revival of a musical that debuted on Broadway in 1962, produced by L.A.'s "Reprise! Broadway's Best" theatre company. Bakula will play David Jordan, a writer in Paris who falls in love with a successful high-fashion model.

"While this Pulitzer prize-winner has been trying to recover from a prolonged case of writer's block, he's assumed the dubious role of 'charming intellectual-in-residence' at some of the Continent's more luxurious watering holes," reads a synopsis of the play. "As the model's work takes them on a whirlwind tour of the most exclusive European playgrounds, their romance develops into the first deeply-felt, honest relationship either has ever known. The model, however, ruefully comes to realize that the lifestyle demanded by her career is stifling the writer, and if he's ever to fulfill the promise of his earlier work, he must take responsibility for himself, go home, and write. Reluctantly, but with no strings, they part, each having discovered anew their capacity to love."

The score by Richard Rodgers (of Rodgers & Hammerstein fame) features such tunes as "The Sweetest Sounds," "Love Makes the World Go" and the jazz-infused "Eager Beaver."

During the two-week run, performances will take place every evening except Mondays, with two shows on Saturdays and Sundays. No other cast has been announced besides Bakula.

For tickets call the UCLA Central ticket office at (310) 825-2101, or visit www.reprise.org for more information, which will link you to Ticketmaster.com for online ticket purchases.

Before his L.A. gig, Bakula and his wife Chelsea Field will serve as Honorary Co-Chairs of a benefit for a theatrical group for stuttering children being held April 23 in New York. The gala, titled "Express Yourself," will honor Mod Squad actress and Bakula family friend, Peggy Lipton, who has written a bestselling book about her struggles with stuttering. The star-studded evening will start at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts at NYU, followed by an elegant dinner at the Chinatown Brasserie. Individual tickets start at $300. Proceeds from ticket sales and a silent auction — which will include a Darth Vader helmet signed by James Earl Jones and VIP passes to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart — will go to the Our Time Theatre Company of New York. For more information call Our Time at (212) 414-9696 or email gala2007@ourtimetheatre.org; ask for Event Producer Julianne Hoffenberg.

For ongoing updates about these and other Bakula activities, visit ProjectQuantumLeap.com.

De Lancie to Play Clarence Darrow in East Coast Tour

Throughout this month John de Lancie ("Q") will travel up and down the Eastern Seaboard pleading the case for teaching of evolution in public schools, as he will perform the part of legendary attorney Clarence Darrow in "The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial." The play, based entirely on original transcripts of the 1925 Tennessee v. John Scopes "Monkey Trial," will be staged as live radio theater in a tour of eight cities starting Monday, April 9.

Jerry Hardin, who played "Mark Twain" in "Time's Arrow" and several other guest spots on Star Trek, also stars as Judge John Raulston, who presided over the trial. Harry Groener ("Tam Elbrun," "Nathan Samuels," etc.) is also in the cast as Dudley Field Malone, another defender in the trial famous for his oration on academic freedom. De Lancie's wife Marnie Mosiman, who was part of Riva's Chorus in "Loud as a Whisper," will serve as narrator. Ed Asner leads the cast as creationist prosecutor William Jennings Bryan.

Produced by L.A. Theatre Works, the tour will visit the following towns and venues (the number of performances is noted in parentheses):

April 9 — Cambridge, MA – Harvard University (1)
April 12-13 — Williamstown, MA – Williams College (2)
April 14 — Great Barrington, MA – Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center (2)
April 15, 17 — New London, CT – Connecticut College (2)
April 18-22 — Philadelphia, PA – University of Pennsylvania (6)
April 24 — Plymouth, NH – Plymouth State University (1)
April 26-27 — New Bedford, MA – Zeiterion Theatre (3)
April 29-30 — Concord, NH – Capitol Center (2)

For more information visit www.latw.org — find the link to the "Monkey Trial" page either in the main menu or on the bottom right of the home page, and once there, click on the "Schedules" tab for links to the individual venues where you can buy tickets.

In another L.A. Theatre Works production, Kurtwood Smith, who played "Annorax" in "Year of Hell" and several other parts in Trek, will star in Arthur Miller's "The Man Who Had All the Luck" this coming Wednesday through Sunday, April 11-15. That radio play will be performed at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, and will be recorded live for later broadcast on satellite and public radio worldwide. Visit their website or call (310) 827-0889 for more details.

Meaney's "Misbegotten" and Langella's "Nixon" Now on Broadway

Earlier this year Colm Meaney won a Theatregoers' Choice Award and was nominated for the prestigious Olivier Award for his performance in the London production of "A Moon for the Misbegotten," and now that show has come to American soil. Meaney is now appearing with his co-stars Kevin Spacey and Eve Best at the Brooks Atkinson Theater on W. 47th Street near 8th Avenue in New York. Previews have already begun, and opening night is this Monday, April 9. The limited engagement of 84 performances closes June 10.

The synopsis of the play reads, "Set in a dilapidated Connecticut farmhouse in 1923, this American classic centers on Josie [Best], a towering Irish woman with a quick tongue and a ruined reputation; her conniving father, Phil Hogan [Meaney]; and Jim Tyrone [Spacey], Hogan's landlord and drinking companion, a cynical alcoholic haunted by the death of his mother." Visit www.brooksatkinsontheater.com or www.brooks-atkinson.com for more info, or go directly to Ticketmaster.

Frank Langella ("Minister Jaro Essa") was also an Olivier Award nominee for a London production, this one about an American president, "Frost/Nixon." And now he is around the corner from Meaney at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on W. 45th Street. Previews began last week, and official opening night is April 22, running through August 19.

"'Frost/Nixon' tackles the question: How did David Frost, a famous British talk-show host with a playboy reputation, elicit the apology that the rest of the world was waiting to hear from former President Richard Nixon?" reads the synopsis. "This fast-paced new play ... shows the determination, conviction and cunning of two men as they square off in one of the most monumental television interviews of all time."

The cast also includes Remy Auberjonois, son of Rene Auberjonois. The production's official website is www.frostnixononbroadway.com.

Mulgrew's "Leading Lady" Extended Through April 29

This is a good month to visit New York if you're a Star Trek fan and you love the theatre. As previously reported, Kate Mulgrew is performing "Our Leading Lady" at the New York City Center on W. 55th Street, and her run has been extended through Sunday, April 29. Mulgrew stars as "Laura Keene," an egocentric 19th-century actress who insisted that Abraham Lincoln attend her play at Ford's Theater one fateful night. Visit the "Our Leading Lady" official website, or call (212) 581-1212 for tickets (which are relatively cheap compared to the Broadway plays). TotallyKate.com also has more info and some fan reviews.

Alexander Announces L.A. Musical Festival for '08

Jason Alexander, who played "Kurros" in "Think Tank" but is tied to Star Trek in sundry other ways, was recently involved in the announcement of a new festival showcasing musical theater in Southern California. The Festival of New American Musicals will hold its inaugural celebration in May and June 2008, and Alexander will be an honorary chair.

"Musical theater and Los Angeles go together like chocolate and fish," Alexander joked at a news conference last month. "(But) there's probably more theater on any given day going on in Los Angeles than there is in New York City." At the gathering there were several musical performances, including one by Alexander of a song from his own musical-in-progress based on Richard Bach's 1977 novel "Illusions."

The festival is organized by the same people behind Reprise! Broadway's Best, mentioned above. The full story is posted at this Backstage.com link.