Playwright and screenwriter Dale Wasserman has died of heart failure in Arizona, Variety.com reported Friday. Wasserman, whose age has been stated by different sources as both 91 and 94, wrote nearly 80 plays -- including the musical, Man of La Mancha, and the stage adaptation of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest -- as well as magazine articles and the book, The Impossible Musical. Wasserman is survived by his wife of 24 years, Martha Nelly Garza, the entertainment industry trade newspaper said.

NORWAY - The Oxford Hills Music and Performing Arts Association will hold auditions for its production of "Man of La Mancha" at 6 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, Aug. 11-12, at the Norway Grange. Roles in the musical are for 19 men and seven women who can play ages 18 and older. Performance dates are Nov.

By Michael Grossberg, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio Jul. 20--The Otterbein College Theater and Dance Department will give central Ohioans a chance next season to see an acclaimed Broadway show making its first appearance here.

By Jim Kershner, The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash. May 24--For an apt illustration of the strengths of the Spokane Civic Theatre, check out this version of "Man of La Mancha." This production belies the Civic's status as a community, aka amateur, theater.

By Martin F. Kohn, Detroit Free Press Oct. 14--Polished it's not and the acting is uneven at best, but Matrix Theatre Company's production of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" does what theater artists are meant to do, which is take you out of your world and bring you into theirs.