It’s a championship bout, intellectual division: Linda Lavin versus Sarah Paulson in the Broadway premiere of Donald Margulies’ Collected Stories. Lavin plays Ruth Steiner, a celebrated short story writer who mentors Lisa Morrison (Paulson), an ambitious student-turned-personal assistant. When the young mentee begins to achieve success, sparks fly. These juicy roles have been played off-Broadway by the likes of Maria Tucci and Uta Hagen (Ruth) and Debra Messing (Lisa), which makes MTC’s Broadway mounting at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (opening April 28) a special spring treat. Click on to see a portfolio of Joan Marcus’ production photos, then get tickets for a night of a sizzling drama.