Stephen Sondheim is Badass, Lea Michele is Classy and Other Lessons of the Week

In this new feature, Broadway.com looks back on the week that was and offers up this accessible, opionated cheat sheet. We think we know an awful lot about the theater world, but leave it to our extensive coverage of Broadway and off-Broadway to surprise us with a daily education. So grab your pencils and get schooled on everything from a musical theater icon's biting bitch slap to an unusual source for puppy naming. Here are 10 lessons from the week!

Stephen Sondheim is a Badass
Wow, don't mess with the master! The musical theater icon went on a tear this week, attacking the Broadway-bound revival of Porgy and Bess, which Hair director Diane Paulus is radically altering. The letter was full of fire, which excitingly highlighted something that all of last year's teary 80th birthday tributes didn't: Sondheim's still got some bite!

Andrew Garfield is Awesome!
Hollywood logic says that at the time a rising actor opens in a mega-movie like The Amazing Spider-Man, he should be taking time to relax by the pool and sift through the inevitable pile of offers for their next big thing. But Andrew Garfield? He’s signing up for a challenging dramatic role in Death of a Salesman. Running to Broadway when you’re at your hottest? We think you’re awesome, Andy.

Great Things Happen When Bobby Lopez Pees
Super-talented Avenue Q and The Book of Mormon co-creator Robert Lopez offered 10 regular (and funny!) stages in his creative process in this week's First Person, including the hilarious confession that every time he heads to the bathroom, his collaborator comes up with something brilliant. Those bathroom breaks seem to be paying off!

Lea Michele is a Class Act (Really!)
If Glee gal Michele has turned diva like some gossip rags have insisted, she didn't show that side when prodded by the press about the surprise casting of Lauren Ambrose in Funny Girl (a role Michele was dying to take on herself). "I'm a huge fan of Lauren's and I can't wait to see it!" she said. Classy move, lady!

Juilliard is Good Training for Vampire Slayers
True Blood star Rutina Wesley, back off-Broadway in The Submission, told us that her years at the top-of-the-line Lincoln Center theater school was the perfect training ground for work on HBO's bloody vampire hit. "The stakes are very high... People are getting bitten, people are going to scream and shake and cry, so we really get the chance to use our chops!"

Will Swenson Didn't Dig His America's Got Talent Appearance Either
Love that recent performance on the hit TV show from Broadway's Priscilla Queen of the Desert, which left Swenson—one of our favorite Tony-nominated stars—flouncing around onstage without direction? Neither did we! Sounds like he won't be adding the clip to his reel either. "I don't know why they don't put me in charge!" Swenson told us in this week's Q&A.

Goofy Character Names Make Awesome Doggie Names
Remember how much hunky Matt Cavenaugh didn't look anything like a Ralph in the musical A Catered Affair? When we spent a day with the current star of Death Takes a Holiday, he told us that the name always made him and wife Jenny Powers laugh, so they named their puppy Ralph, King of the East Village!

Jesus, There Are a Lot of Talented Jesus-Types
How do we process this: Jonathan Groff tells us he's dying to do another musical and almost immediately Spring Awakening replacement Hunter Parrish gets cast as Jesus in Godspell, a perfect vehicle for Groff?! Oh well, we're still rooting for Parrish, who was a pretty brilliant Melchior on his own.

They're Endlessly "Popular"
We're not sure that we'll ever see original Wicked stars Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel (Chenzel? Menoweth?!) back onstage together, but our readers won't stop believing in a possible reunion, with the pair winning our Weekend Poll by a landslide. Note to Glee mastermind Ryan Murphy: Get Shelby Corcoran and April Rhodes in a room together stat!

Some Shows Can't Catch a Break
We're not sure what exactly happened to Catch Me If You Can, one of our favorite new musicals from last season, which announced a closing date of September 4. Don't listen to the haters (hello, Ben Brantley!) and cheer on this spectacular show yourself. But hurry!