• Monday I returned exhausted from the weeklong conference of the American Theatre Critics Association in Washington, D.C., and northern Virginia. Those of us on the executive committee started work a day early, but once the rest of the group arrived, we had a whirlwind five days, including nine performances and a half-dozen panels and presentations. Also impressive were the many fine, new performing venues we saw and the hugely successful performing arts incubator program run by the Arlington Cultural Affairs people.

Inevitably, we also spent some time sharing horror stories about the state of the newspaper business.

I'll be publishing accounts of some of the highlights over the next 10 days.

• "The Yankees are coming! The Yankees are coming!" -- that's the first line of an e-Blast from Pittsburgh CLO about, not a new production of "Damn Yankees," but adjusting to three sold-out Yankees-Pirates games this week and urging patrons for "Peter Pan" or "Shear Madness" to allow extra time for travel and parking.

The best theater in town Tuesday was the Pirates easy win in the first of the three-game series. It had me in heaven, since it helped both my teams, the Pirates (of course) but also the Red Sox.

• The early warning system worked well this week: a half-dozen readers sent me the playbill.com story that said Linda Balgord, most recently on Broadway in "The Pirate Queen," is the new standby for Patti LuPone's Tony-winning turn as Rose in "Gypsy." This is in spite of Lenora Nemetz's intensive rehearsal for just that role and her one successful appearance as Rose so far. Now playbill.com says Lenora "had agreed to cover the role of Rose until a standby was hired," but that's not what I heard. Of course, Lenora's a show biz trouper, and she continues playing Mazeppa and Miss Cratchitt. But I hope to find out more about what must be a big disappointment for her.

• Two very different e-mail responses to my review of PICT's "Salome" arrived simultaneously.

Paul Heckbert wrote: "the use of slow motion speech and gesture throughout made the play tedious. I was glad when it was over. If the goal was to emphasize the words by slowing them, giving the audience time to ponder them, I think the effect was the opposite: to call attention to the slow motion and make the audience ponder the actor's muscle control, and contemplate the noises coming from the ventilation system in the hall, and to cause the mind to wander."

That wasn't my experience, which was much closer to Louis Folino's: "I whole-heartedly agree with your review of 'Salome.' I loved it! I saw a 2003 reading of the play in New York City with Al Pacino as Herod and Marisa Tomei as Salome. It was excellent but this production is no slouch! ... The main purpose for my email is to marvel over Nicole Underhay as an actress. Last I saw her at the Shaw Festival she was one of those giddy twins in 'You Never Can Tell.' "

• "Take Me Out," staged by barebones as part of the Arts Festival, sold out right to the end. And now "Out of This Furnace" is selling out for Unseam'd Shakespeare. But in the confusion of sell-outs, an Unseam'd box office person actually turned away one of the Rooneys and his wife. Is nothing sacred?

• There are still a few spaces on the July 9-13 trip to the Shaw and Stratford Festivals; call Gulliver's Travels at 412-441-3131.

• The Seton Pioneers at the Seton Center in Brookline are staging "Les Miserables," and I've had an unsigned e-mail of praise: "one of the most impressive productions I've seen. Despite their low budget and stage constraints, the show was fantastic. ... The talent there is limitless! ... Many kids from different high schools and colleges are in the cast. Several Gene Kelley Award winners are principals, too."

Speaking of "Take Me Out," Patrick Jordan says that while it had to end, because of the space it was in and its ties to the Arts Fest, there's talk of a possible remount "if we find the backing."

Jeanne Drennan writes that her "12 Dogs," which had readings as part of the Arts Fest, just won first prize in Boston Theatre Works' new play festival and will have several staged readings in July.

• Paid admissions at city's pro theaters for the week ending June 22: