Inqlings | Curtain falls on a Philly musical

News flash:

Menopause the Musical

- that theatrical romp set in a lingerie department - will call it a day Jan. 27 after more than three years at the Society Hill Playhouse.

It's time, says the playhouse's

Philip Roger Roy

.

Roy says

Menopause

has sold more than 190,000 tickets since it opened in September 2004, a few years after its debut in a small theater in Florida.

Even at more than 1,000 performances, Philly's

Menopause

didn't come close to other shows, including

Shear Madness

(which ran here for four years),

Nunsense

(eight years), and

Let My People Come

(10 years).

Miss America will follow a bootcamp-style, reality-show format on its new TV home, TLC. Starting at 10 p.m. Friday, the 52 contestants - including Pennsylvanian

Rachel Brooks

of Broomall - will be shown on four weekly installments as fashion-makers and trendsetters whip them into shape. Host is

Michael Urie

, who plays the fey Marc St. James on ABC's

Ugly Betty

. The fourth episode, Jan. 25, will lead into the live pageant from Las Vegas on Jan. 26. The four episodes were taped in November in California. After ABC dropped Miss A in 2004, it went to CMT, whose January 2007 telecast drew a meager 2.4 million viewers. TLC signed a three-year deal over the summer. Brooks, a graduate of West Chester University, is a research analyst for Econsult Corp. and a grad student at Penn's Fels Institute of Government.

Those state tax credits for filmmakers are going fast, and local producers

Jeffrey D. Erb

and

Joe "The Butcher" Nicolo

, under the shingle Feverpitch Pictures, are planning four locally shot movies this spring:

Remorse

, a psychological thriller, will star Rittenhouse Square-bred

Katherine Moennig

(

The L Word

),

Eion Bailey

(

Band of Brothers

,

Fight Club

,

Almost Famous

) and

Melissa George

(

30 Days of Night

,

Turistas

,

Amityville Horror

). Lumberton native

Quinn Saunders

, a University of Southern California film grad, will direct.

Thicker

, a dark comedy based on the short film

Enfants Terribles

, will star

Jason Lee

(

My Name Is Earl

,

Alvin and the Chipmunks

,

Dogma

),

Christopher Lloyd

(

Addams Family

,

Back to the Future

,

Taxi

) and

Leslie Zemeckis

(

Beowolf

,

The Polar Express

,

Spiders

).

Terry Nemeroff

will direct.

The Storyteller

, a drama, will star

Wes Bentley

(

P2

,

Ghost Rider

,

The Four Feathers

) and possibly

Katharine McPhee

.

Rob Masciantonio

(

Cold Hearts

) will direct.

Illegal Superman

, a drama, will star

Eddy Martin

(

Spanglish

,

Just Jordan

,

Rebound

),

Mark Indelicato

(

Ugly Betty

) and

Leonor Varela

(

Hell Ride

,

Blade 2

,

The Tailor of Panama

).

Vicente Amorim

(

Good

) will direct.

A 76ers jersey autographed by teen queen

Miley Cyrus

is up for auction at

» READ MORE: www.sixers.com

. By last evening, the top bid was $2,070, with proceeds destined to Sixers Charities.

Mike Velardi

of Bartonsville (Monroe County),

Joseph Tittel

of Levittown, and

Alison Hummel

of Philadelphia will be early contenders on

Drew Carey's

The Power of 10

- in which contestants guess the behaviors, opinions and lifestyle choices of the American public for the chance to win $10 million. The show will return at 8 p.m. Wednesday on CBS3. Tittel, a medium, competed recently on

America's Psychic Challenge

on Lifetime.

There's talk in traffic circles that NBC10 traffic reporter

John Ogden

, who won his spot on the morning news in a contest in 2003, soon may be shown the exit ramp. Ogden, now on vacation, referred questions to NBC10, which offered no comment. Ogden works for Wayne's Traffic Pulse, also known as Traffic.com; a rep did not return my calls for comment.

Some clients tip their stylists. Others feed them.

Patti LaBelle

, getting her nails done Thursday at Butterfly Nails Inc. in Bryn Mawr, brought in fried chicken and macaroni and cheese that she cooked at home.

John's Roast Pork in South Philly has found its way onto the radar of men's mags. Its cheesesteak was regarded as "beautiful" in January's Maxim, which gave it a top score over such rivals as Pat's, Geno's and Tony Luke's. Esquire, meanwhile, is considering John's signature roast pork sandwich with sharp provolone as part of a spread rounding up top sandwiches in the March issue.

That was

Carson Kressley

of Bravo's

Queer Eye

at the bar at Rouge on Rittenhouse Square on Christmas Eve. He was the well-dressed one.

Similarly natty was actor

Donald Sutherland

, picking up a few things Christmas Day at the Whole Foods in Devon.