Like all of you, Downstage Dish was devastated to learn about the news of Kyle Bishop, the young writer of "Hit List." So it's incredible news that Bishop's (and composer Jimmy Collins') statement to the world is Broadway-bound - but in a bizarre twist, thanks to none other than Jerry Rand, who's bankrolling its transfer uptown from the Manhattan Theatre Workshop. It's safe to say all previous speculation about this year's Tony nominations can be tossed out of the nearest window - it's a brand-new game now!

Judging by the still-building buzz and the proliferation of self-styled "Hit"-sters, "Hit List" is the show to beat, that much is certain - but Act Break wonders if the infamously volatile director Derek Wills has a handle on his actors, and himself. Some recent shakeups in the show's cast come across as sudden and - dare we say it? - suspicious. Is Daisy Parker's unexpected appearance as The Diva truly elevating the production? Or is Derek just being Derek? Whatever the story is, we're sure it won't be long before we all know every last detail...

Meanwhile, it looks like all our prayers were powerless to mend the rift between Julia Houston and Tom Levitt. Friend and producer Eileen Rand's attempt to signal all was well with a revue of the pair's songs took on a different tenor when news leaked of the team's official split. Call it nostalgia, or just the result of canny timing, but now the entire Broadway community has Houston and Levitt at the forefront of their minds...

This year's Tony contest is shaping up to be an appeal to voters' emotions. When doling out the statuettes, will they favor the young visionary whose career was cut short, or the cherished writing and composing team that may have collaborated for the last time?

For the moment, everyone at Act Break is buzzing about "Hit List"; and more specifically, songwriter, composer and mercurial star Jimmy Collins.

Word is Collins' after-hours antics are affecting his work on the stage at the Manhattan Theatre Workshop - and it's no laughing matter. A recent performance had audience members (including several boldface-name producers) on the edge of their seats as Collins fumbled his way through his blocking and failed to catch costar Karen Cartwright during what should have been a bit of safe, routine choreography.

The show went on, but Downstage Dish heard all about Collins' post-performance meltdown in response to the completely likely possibility that "Hit List" director Derek Wills is seeking his replacement. Only time will tell if Jimmy Collins can behave himself for the sake of the show he created - and his fragile career...

Downstage Dish almost can't believe it - "Bombshell" actually opened on Broadway!

That's not to say the much-anticipated big night went off without a hitch. We hear Eileen Rand's opening night fete exploded in a memorable fashion. Jimmy Collins has been grabbing more than his share of attention these days, and for all the wrong reasons. Suffice it to say, getting thrown out of a party by a livid Rand - dripping wet, no less - is one of the more unorthodox ways to court a career in the theater, in our estimation.

Houston and Levitt should feel vindicated by their big opening and everyone at Act Break can't help but feel the sages at The New York Times came down somewhat harshly on Tom's direction of "Bombshell." The show is (half) his baby, after all, and he should be trusted to make decisions in its best interest.

But if there were murmurs before, it's clear the question everyone's asking now is: Are Houston and Levitt still on the same page as collaborators?

It's not considered good form to post publicly about what happens at invited dress rehearsals. But no one can keep their mouths shut about "Bombshell," and no one includes us!

We hear the show was a thrill - especially when, in Act 2, Ivy Lynn channeled Playmate-era Marilyn Monroe and treated the audience to quite a view. We're told the nudity was unplanned, but that Lynn pulled it off like a pro (pun intended). Will the slip stay in - and off?

You'd think this would be all anyone was talking about - but the Times released a big feature article pitting "Bombshell" against "Hit List." Sure, it's ostensibly about "Bombshell" - but it's mostly a rave about that little show downtown that just keeps nipping at Eileen Rand's heels. If her beau Richard Francis wasn't in the doghouse last week, we bet he is now!

But we don't care: We're trying to figure out how to get tickets to "Hit List"!

How do we get to be best friends with Tom Levitt? Because it sounds like he makes all your dreams come true... if your dream is to hear Liza Minnelli singing a song about you!

And if you're reading a blog about Broadway gossip, we know you'd die and go to heaven if that happened. It was "Bombshell" leading lady Ivy Lynn's birthday the other day, and her director took her to dinner at Table 46. And then Liza Minnelli showed up. And then Liza Minnelli sang a song about Ivy.

If Levitt and Lynn were a couple, we'd be asking what he did to her that he's making up for, but as is, we'll just say she's a lucky lady. There's no hidden strife between these best friends working together. Or is there?

Here's some news guaranteed to excite any genuine Broadway fan: Leigh Conroy is coming out of retirement!

And not just for any role - but to play mother to real-life daughter Ivy Lynn in "Bombshell"! We wonder if Ivy is as thrilled as we are that she's sharing the stage with the Legendary. Iconic. Divine. Leigh Conroy. That spotlight's big enough for the two of them - isn't it?

Meanwhile, Act Break hears the first audience to get a glimpse of Derek Wills' "Hit List" (since a lucky few caught it at Fringe) was the crowd at MTW's annual benefit. Apparently, Wills' latest discovery, Ana Vargas, who last week staged an impromptu audition for him on top of a bar, reached even greater heights at the benefit, soaring above the audience in a Lady Gaga-style aerial number that left the MTW audience speechless.

But is it the good kind of speechless? We don't know if Gaga and P!nk are household names for the crowd MTW relies on to fill the seats at its gala - and to fill up its annual fund...

We here at Act Break have been very grateful to "Bombshell" and its problems. What gossip blog doesn't love a production that has us googling synonyms for "beleaguered"? But there's finally a show giving "Bombshell" a run for its money - all anyone's talking about is "Liaisons" going down in a blaze of glory on its opening night.

Well, a blaze of... something. People will be bragging for years that they were there to see it. Preview audiences had given the show a resounding "meh," but audiences at last night's opening saw something else entirely. And that was before the show was brought to a halt halfway through by its unhinged star's breakdown in the middle of a big production number. We hear it involved live sheep, women on swings and some rather inventive swordplay.

In the midst of all the chatter over "Liaisons'" epic opening night, it's almost possible to lose track of another huge piece of news that would otherwise have us as wound up as the "Liaisons" stage manager when Terry Falls took his plunge. Unlike Terry Falls, Karen Cartwright hasn't shown any signs of insanity thus far. In fact, quite the opposite - her meteoric rise seems like the work of a savvy, if lucky, young star.

But we're starting to think she absorbed some of Marilyn's unpredictability while starring in "Bombshell," because she's now left the show to join the Off-Broadway production of "Hit List," that small show she performed in at The Fringe. Shocking though it is, maybe we have to trust her on this one - it's just been slotted in at Manhattan Theater Workshop, storied proving ground of new work, so there's got to be something special about this show. We hope?