There isn't one Ovation show she hasn't been involved with since the company's 1998 debut. She's on the board, which means she's also unpaid staff.

        Mrs. Breithaupt is wearing the director's hat for Somewhere in Between, a light contemporary romance opening Friday at the Aronoff's Fifth Third Bank Theater.

        She chose it because “we've done our share of educating and looking at social issues. Part of our mission is to entertain” and that, she says, is exactly what Somewhere does.

        She's rounded up “a cake of a cast,” in Patrick Downey, Kelsey Thompson, Sunshine Cappelletti, Kate Brauer and Mike Ward. They play a variety of New York characters who help our hero Jasper, who frets about a number of things including the possibility of a brain tumor, “accept the uncertainties of life and move on. I love that message.”

        It turns out that Somewhere is a case of art reflecting life.

        Just before Thanksgiving, Mrs. Breithaupt got a call from her doctor. Blood tests had suggested a growth on her pituitary gland, one that would threaten her optic nerve, and her sight, if it went unchecked.

        She scheduled an MRI for the week after the holiday. “It was a very long eight days,” she says now. “That week we thought a lot about life.”

        A breezy comedy seemed like a better idea than ever.

        Medication, which she'll be taking for the rest of her life, has reduced the growth, although it “leaves me dizzy, nauseous and tired all the time,” Mrs. Breithaupt says, sighing good-naturedly. “I've had a headache since November.”

        Medical side effects haven't stopped her career as a librarian or her involvement with Ovation.

        Husband Tim signed on as assistant director and master carpenter for Somewhere, easing some of the burden.

        She'll have results of a worrisome new round of blood tests later this week.

        Giving up theater is not an option, Mrs. Breithaupt says. “I love it so much. I have such a strong tie to Ovation. Long before we had the first production in 1998, we'd been dreaming about it and working toward it since 1995.''

        Somewhere in Between plays at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and March 8-10 with a 2 p.m. matinee March 4 at the Aronoff's Fifth Third Bank Theater. Tickets $15, $10 students and seniors.

        Thursday's final rehearsal is a pay-what-you-can performance. Donations accepted at the door.

        For tickets call 241-7469; for information call 369-2544.

        Directing debuts: Playhouse in the Park won't be announcing the 2001-2002 season for a few weeks, but one thing audiences will be sure to see are more new directors.

        The departure of associate artistic director Charles Towers earlier this season for Merrimack Rep in Massachusetts opens up at least two slots next season.

        Playhouse producing artistic director Ed Stern says for every open slot he has in any season “I have 10 directors I'd like to bring here,” to say nothing of designers.

        Case in point, Avenue X. John Ruocco is making his Playhouse directing debut. He brought set designer Narelle Sissons, whose work includes Julius Caesar in Central Park and the recent hit Jesus Hopped the A Train, to the acclaim of New York critics.

        Mr. Stern had been looking for a way to bring Mr. Sissons' work to Playhouse audiences. “It's a nice thing about fresh blood,” he says. “It tends to bring more fresh blood.”

        "Producers' worth a trip: Cincinnati's Rick Steiner is among the producers of Mel Brooks' socko boffo killer new musical version of his deliciously rude classic film comedy The Producers. The show is trying out in Chicago before it takes Broadway by storm in April. (I was among an SRO crowd giving a sustained standing ovation at a performance last weekend. It will take Broadway by storm.)

        Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick are crooked Broadway producers Bialystock and Bloom (immortalized on screen by Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder) who work feverishly to create the worst musical in history — Springtime for Hitler — the better to defraud little old lady investors.

        Mr. Steiner says he personally never would do such a thing.

        Watch for the show to be a red-hot ticket and a Tony Award magnet in June. Don't plan a trip to NYC without putting it on your schedule.

        If all goes as planned, The Producers will hit the road in fall 2002.

        More immediate touring shows (very likely stopping at a Fifth Third Bank Broadway Series near you) include, according to Variety, Rex Smith headlining Kiss Me, Kate and Patrick Cassidy providing the name in Aida.

        Catching up: Broadway musical fans might want to check out relatively new label Fynsworth Alley. There are all sorts of nifty releases including a star-laden (including Dame Edna) Stephen Sondheim album and a two-disc full recording of Tony Award-winning Copenhagen.

        The one CCM fans won't want to miss is the cast recording from last year's Off-Broadway revival of Godspell featuring recent grads Shoshana Bean and Leslie Kritzer.

        Ms. Bean raises the roof with “Bless the Lord” and Ms. Kritzer delivers an engaging “Learn Your Lessons Well.” (Check out www.fynsworthalley.com).

        Ms. Kritzer, of course, has nabbed the coveted role of Fanny Brice at Paper Mill Playhouse's Funny Girl, the first New Yorkish revival (Paper Mill is across the river in New Jersey) in 30 years. It opens April 6 with Robert Cuccioli (a k a Broadway's Jekyll & Hyde).

        Following Ms. Kritzer into Paper Mill is another CCM-er. Matt Bogart, a veteran of Civil War, Aida and Smokey Joe's Cafe, will play Billy Bigelow in Carousel, opening May 20.

        TV star at ETC: Who starred in both Nancy Drew Mysteries and Dynasty ?

        Ensemble Theatre will test your TVQ with its upcoming production of last year's Pulitzer Prize winner Dinner with Friends. If you quickly and correctly shouted ""Pamela Sue Martin'' — you need to get out more.

        ETC is offering that opportunity by starring Ms. Martin and JAG veteran Richard Kuhlman with locals Bob Rais and Annie Fitzpatrick in Donald Margulies' exploration of marriage, divorce and friendship thirtysomething-style.

        Dinner plays March 14-April 1. Box office: 421-3555.

        Lost stages: The Albee, Shubert, Royal, Capitol, Empire and Lyric are among the almost 100 Cincinnati theaters that will return to live ever-so-briefly in “Lost and Found: Theaters of Cincinnati,” a slide lecture by Hank Sykes at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Main Library (800 Vine St.)

        Mr. Sykes moved to Cincinnati in 1977 and wondered “why Cincinnati had so many parking lots on prime pieces of central city land.” It turned out that torn-down theaters (movie and live stage) had provided space for all those cars.

        A related exhibition featuring memorabilia from Mr. Sykes' and library collections will be on display in the Art & Music department through April 2.
       Contact Jackie Demaline at 768-8530; fax: 768-8330; e-mail jdemaline@enquirer.com. Cincinnati.Com keyword: Demaline
       

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