Annie Le was so focused on academics that, even though she was the valedictorian of her high school class and her classmates voted her “most likely to be the next Einstein,” she filled out 102 applications for scholarships.

At “Chicago,” the cast had to do a run-through because the new leading man and two other stars joining the show — Vincent Pastore and Aida Turturro, of “The Sopranos” — had never rehearsed together.