Gift guide 2012: Five gift ideas for theater buffs

The magic of theater is ephemeral, like life. The alchemy of a certain performance on a certain night envelops you -- and then it's gone, never to be recreated or recaptured. Even if you went back the next night, the chemistry between actors and audience would be subtly altered.

The fickle nature of the theat-uh is its charm, of course, but it's also one reason many stage addicts have a soft spot for movies about the stage. You can relive the experience again and again. We put together this tipsheet of movies and TV shows about the stage for the theater buff in your life. It's not live, but it certainly is the next best thing.

"Smash": A glossy backstage soap opera based on the life of Pulitzer-nominated playwright-turned-TV writer Theresa Rebeck ("Seminar," "The Scene," "NYPD Blue"), "Smash" is a valentine to the making of a blockbuster musical. Starring the ever-sassy Debra Messing ("Will & Grace"), Oscar-winner Anjelica Huston and a host of Broadway vets, this is "All About Eve" for the "Glee" generation. "American Idol" star Katharine McPhee plays a wide-eyed innocent trying to break into the cutthroat Broadway world and land the lead in a new musical about Marilyn Monroe. In all honesty, many theater folks consider this cheesy backstage drama a hate-watch, but there's no denying that it's a hoot to cheer your favorites on the show and jeer the characters you despise. ($44.86 on pre-order from

href='http://www.Amazon.com'>Amazon.com, available Jan. 8)

"Slings & Arrows: The Complete Collection": Go backstage at the New Burbage Festival, a stand-in for Canada's hailed Stratford Festival, for perhaps the most outrageously engrossing TV show ever made about the theater. Brilliant writing and inventive acting mark this smashing drama. Each season takes us behind the scenes for a different play, such as "Hamlet" or "Romeo and Juliet," as Shakespearean director Geoffrey Tennant (hottie Paul Gross) takes charge of the festival after the death of his mentor, Oliver Welles (Stephen Ouimette). Geoffrey must steer the ship despite his raging tendency toward lunacy; tension with his ex, the diva Ellen Fanshaw (Martha Burns); the evil plotting of his nemesis, Darren Nichols (Don McKellar); and the theater's precarious financial situation. Oh, and did I mention the ghosts? The six-disc set features all 18 episodes, plus commentaries and behind-the-scenes footage. ($59.99 for DVD, $79.99 for Blu-ray, www.acornonline.com).

"My Dinner with Andre": Iconic filmmaker Louis Malle eavesdrops on the insanely pithy table talk between Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn in this 1981 cult classic. Gregory, an avant-garde director, and actor/playwright Shawn (famed for everything from "The Designated Mourner" to the Grand Negus) go head to head at a posh Manhattan restaurant for 110 deliciously cerebral minutes. This one is not for dilettantes. But if you yearn for a mindwalk through existentialism, Grotowski and the never-ending quest for enlightenment, it's the art house equivalent of a blockbuster. ($40, www.amazon.com)

"Broadway: The American Musical": Julie Andrews gives her regards to Broadway as she hosts this epic six-part PBS series that celebrates the history of the American musical theater, from the turn of the century to today. From Fanny Brice and Ziegfeld to "The Lion King" and "Wicked," this is a stylish yet staggeringly comprehensive look at how the melting pot of immigration gave birth to a whole new popular art form. A must-have for Broadway babies. ($34.99 DVD set, $143.99 DVD collection, CD set and the companion coffee table book; www.shoppbs.org)

"Waiting for Guffman": One of the flat-out funniest films in the Christopher Guest canon, this 1996 gem is a valentine to community theater. The insanity spins around delusional director Corky St. Clair (Guest), who schemes to get back to Broadway with a dopey homage to the history of Blaine, Mo., dubbed "Red, White and Blaine," the stool capital of the world. This giggle-worthy mockumentary stars Parker Posey, Catherine O'Hara, Fred Willard and Eugene Levy. It's a cheeky little film that gets extra points for its shout-out to "My Dinner with Andre" action figures. ($44.99, www.amazon.com)

Gift guide 2012: Five gift ideas for theater buffs

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