Reuters - Confidence has surged back into the art market faster than predicted, and although contemporary values were hit hard by the credit crunch, auctioneers are confident that this week's sales will cement the recovery.

Reuters - Playwright Neil LaBute loves to push audiences' buttons, never shying away from explosive themes, particularly in exploring male-female relationships. In the scribe's best works, such as the film "In the Company of Men" and the play "Fat Pig," this approach has paid off with profound yet disturbing insights into gender politics.

Playbill - The Broadway touring production of Rent, starring original Broadway cast members Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp and Gwen Stewart, ends Feb. 7 in Sacramento, CA.

Playbill - Blue Man Group, the other-worldly actors with a penchant for paint and percussion, will tour in a new theatrical production set to premiere in the fall, NETworks Presentations, LLC and Blue Man Productions announced on Feb. 8.

Playbill - The New York City premiere of Bill Cain's Equivocation, directed by Tony Award winner Garry Hynes, will begin a day later than expected.

Playbill - Stephen Kunken, a Drama League and Outer Critics Circle nominee best known for playing James Reston in Frost/Nixon on Broadway, will play disgraced Enron chief financial officer Andy Fastow in the Broadway production of Lucy Prebble's acclaimed London play Enron.

Playbill - Michael Ball, who won the Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical for creating the role of Edna Turnblad in the original West End production of Hairspray, will return to the role to launch the national touring production, beginning performances at the Wales Minnennium Centre in Cardiff March 30. Official opening will be April 7.

Playbill - Time Stands Still, Donald Margulies' well-reviewed play at Manhattan Theatre Club's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on Broadway, will get an extra week of performances, now to March 27.

Playbill - A lineup of young West End musical actors will appear in Snappy Title: From the Heart, a showcase of songs selected from a variety of new musicals, to be held at London's Pigalle Club, Feb. 21. The charity performance is in aid of the Haiti Earthquake Appeal and Mercury Musical Developments.

Playbill - The current national tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, which recently played its 7,000th performance, will end its long run in November, producers Cameron Mackintosh and The Really Useful Theatre Company, Inc. announced Feb. 5.