Broadway

According to Life & Style magazine, Michele and Monteith shared a romantic Valentine’s Day date at Il Covo restaurant in Los Angeles. Sources tell the magazine that the two held hands throughout the night and note that while Monteith fed Michele spaghetti, she took several moments to rub his back.

“She was very happy, flirting and touching Cory a lot,” a source says. “He just stared at her with puppy-dog eyes.”

The two were also reportedly spotted a few days later at the Ritz-Carlton hotel.

Michele broke up with Broadway actor Theo Stockman in September, but sources on set say that it seemed inevitable that she and Monteith would end up together. Michele even seemed to admit this herself in an interview in Glamour UK’s June issue.

“I think if it was ever going to be an issue, it would have happened by now,” Michele said, when discussing the possibility of romance with one of her castmates on the set of “Glee.” “I mean, for me, if it was going to happen with anybody, it would have happened with Cory. The moment I met him, I thought, ‘This boy is very cute.’ But he’s like my big brother. He’s such a great friend, and I am so happy working with him every day. I’m glad nothing has ever happened because it would have ruined something if it didn’t work out.”

The lifestyle brand is retrenching here and in Europe in order to focus on Asia and China after its CEO reported it alost its soul,a lost a bundle of dough and tried to sell the North American and Canadian shops.

These local store closings are creating opportunities, however, for all the building owners to bring in new retailers at increased rents.

The 14,000-square-foot store at 600 Fifth Ave. in Rockefeller Center will shut its doors this week, sources said. The store has over 1,400 square feet on a mezzanine with the rest almost evenly split between the ground and the underground mall concourse.

A rep for Tishman Speyer Properties, which operates the complex, declined to comment on a replacement.

Similarly, Esprit had subleased and is now closing its location in the never-opened Apple store at 21 W. 34th St. But sources say Esprit was paying a lower rent than what Apple continues to fork over to owner Jeff Sutton. Since retail rents are rising, Sutton probably has some retail magic up his sleeve for the heavily trafficked area. He did not return calls for comment.

In the Flatiron, Joe Fresh has already opened in the 15,000-square-foot former Esprit store at 110 Fifth Ave.

Finally, Espritas SoHo store is closing this week and is now on the market through Alan Grossman of ARG Realty Consultants.

The location at 583 Broadway is mid-block between Houston and Prince streets and has 8,000 square feet on the ground, 6,500 square feet on the lower-level selling floor and 7,800 square feet in a dry sublevel.

aThe infrastructure is in pristine condition,a said Grossman, who is representing Amland LLC, owned by an offshore family. He declined to discuss asking rents, but Broadway ground floor rents in SoHo range between $400 and $500 a square foot.

On behalf of Amland, Grossman is also overseeing an RKF team that is marketing a space previously occupied by the Gap at 2373 Broadway on the northwest corner of West 86th Street.

RKFas Joshua Strauss said theyare asking $300 a square foot for the ground. aOnce news got out that Gap decided to leave, the interest levels went through the roof,a he said.

According to CoStar data, that space has 8,018 feet on the ground and a 4,272-square-foot selling mezzanine. Grossman said they would consider subdividing the space, which has 117 feet of frontage on Broadway that wraps around the corner and runs another 46 feet along West 86th Street.

But Grossman, along with other property owners, is aquite concerneda about the current push to down-zone and reduce the allowable width of storefronts on the Upper West Side. Thankfully for him, for now this store and Broadway is excluded.

Barbara Adler, executive director of the Columbus Avenue BID, said the group is opposed to the limited width proposal. aThe [owners] have to have flexibility and be able to act quickly. If you have a 75-foot store and along come two fabulous tenants and want you to subdivide, once the store is subdivided, they are stuck,a she added.

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The Accor Group found an interesting way to finance $118 million in renovations at the Novotel Times Square at 226 W. 52nd St. Although it sold the property to Apollo Global Management and Chartres Lodging for $91.3 million a an announcement called it $94 million a documents reveal Accor, which will continue to manage the hotel, has an option to either buy back the 480-room hotel before the end of the 18-month renovation period or arrange to sell it.

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Howard Lutnickas BGC Partners is glomming more commercial real estate players.

After a two-week exclusive negotiating period with BGC in January expired, Grubb & Ellis filed for bankruptcy this week and BGC stepped right in and bought debt for $30 million while also agreeing to buy G&E and provide $4.8 million for debtor-in-possession financing.

A competing bidder could arise, of course, and any purchase has to be approved by the court.

G&E had earlier negotiated with Andrew Farkasa C-III Capital Partners and Tom Barrackas Colony Capital, which had supplied the debt now purchased by BGC, but to no avail.

G&E, which was never able to become a dominant force in this area, was the first real estate services company to become publicly traded. Its yellow-and-black signs are hung on 100 company-owned and affiliate offices with 4,300 professionals, including 1,200 brokers, a management arm that covers 250 million square feet across the country and a valuation advisory service.

Lois@BetweenTheBricks.com

Audiences for the Broadway revival of aHow To Succeed in Business Without Really Tryinga have dropped almost 40 percent since the Jonas Brothers heartthrob took over the lead role from aGleeaa alum Darren Criss last month.

And yesterday his girlfriend of 10 months a 27-year-old Australian stunner Delta Goodrem a dropped him, according to reports.

Perhaps Nick, 19, can turn things around with a guest appearance on NBCas heavily hyped musical aSmasha next week.

Next Monday, Jonas is set to play Lyle West, a precocious child star who is courted to invest in the fictional production of aMarilyn.a

Lyle ais excited about the show, but I think maybe more excited about getting to interact with Marilyn herself,a Jonas tells The Post.

The New Jersey kid a who made his Broadway debut in 2000 in aA Christmas Carola a was offered his latest TV gig by aSmasha producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who are also his bosses in aHow To Succeed.a

aWhat I found to be really interesting about the show is that it is very real to how this whole world works,a he says. aI did four Broadway shows before I was 11 years old and then went into recording and touring.a

Former NBA star aMagica Johnson bought the aSoul Traina library and brand last year and now says he has a lot of ideas to bring it back.

Among them are bringing a aSoul Traina variety show back to television, Kenard Gibbs, who heads the new Soul Train Holdings, told the Associated Press.

There have also been discussions about taking aSoul Traina to Broadway, a film, potential book deals and, in 2013, the first aSoul Traina cruise, Gibbs said.

During a memorial for Cornelius in LA last week, Johnson assured Corneliusa son Tony, aThe brand that your father has created will last a lifetime.a

There are some 1,100 hours of aSoul Traina episodes and specials, many of which have only aired once on television.

Once an engine of risky, innovative work, the downtown nonprofit theater is now so enamored of the Great White Way that much of its programming seems designed to go right to Times Square.

Oskar Eustis, the Publicas artistic director, has become such a Broadway Baby that heas been spotted dancing through Shubert Alley dressed as Little Orphan Annie.

Heas producing two shows right now, sources say, that have Broadway in their sights.

One is a revival of James Lapine and Stephen Sondhei mas aInto the Woods,a slated this summer for the Delacorte in Central Park.

The other is aGiant,a a new musical from Michael John LaChiusa thatas based on Edna Ferberas sprawling 1952 novel about Texas.

The novel was made into a 1956 movie starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean, whose hair unfortunately was spray-painted silver to indicate aging.

The musical opened last month at the Dallas Theater Center. Directed by Michael Greif (aRenta), it features a cast of Broadway veterans a Kate Baldwin, Dee Hoty, John Dossett and Aaron Lazar.

The reviews were decent.

Lawson Taitte, writing in the Dallas Morning News, declared: aThe question isnat whether itas good enough for Broadway. Is Broadway brave enough for aGianta?a

Eustis is banking on it.

Dressed as Buffalo Bill from aAnnie Get Your Gun,a he flew to Dallas recently and told cast members that heas bringing the show to the Public in the fall.

If the critics are kind, heall move it to Broadway next spring.

One potential problem is the showas running time a about a month and a half.

I exaggerate.

The original version, staged a couple of years ago in Washington, DC, ran four hours. For Dallas, it was trimmed to three hours, and Iam told the creators will put it back on the chopping block for New York.

aTheyall do whatever it takes to get it ready for Broadway,a a source says.

As for aInto the Woods,a the Public couldnat play it any safer. This is Sondheimas most profitable show, with two Broadway productions a in 1987 and 2002 a as well as countless stock and amateur performances around the world.

The Public isnat even developing this revival from scratch. Instead, the theater is importing it from London, where it opened to rave reviews in Regentas Park Open Air Theatre in 2010. The director, Timothy Sheader, is in town auditioning actors this week. I hear Euan Morton, who starred in aTaboo,a has been called in for the role of The Baker.

Thereas nothing wrong with the Public doing musicals in the Park. Joe Papp, the theateras founder, produced plenty. And some of them moved to Broadway. But they were hardly safe bets.

A rock musical based on aTwo Gentleman of Veronaa in 1971? It worked a but it wasnat exactly the sort of thing George Abbott was doing back in those days.

Or how about a musical based on an unfinished novel by Dickens? aThe Mystery of Edwin Drooda went on to win five Tonys, including Best Musical, in 1986.

But Papp didnat produce a show based on a somewhat obscure Victorian mystery novel thinking head make a fast buck on Broadway.

aInto the Woodsa is hardly a risky venture, especially since this version was hailed by the New York Times.

Eustis got a taste of Tony Award glory in 2009 when the Publicas production of aHaira won Best Revival.

Clearly, he wants another bite of the apple.

If both aInto the Woodsa and aGianta move to Broadway, look for him on the 2013 Tony telecast.

Heall be wearing Hugh Jackmanas gold lamA(c) pant suit from aThe Boy From Oz.a

The great Linda Lavin is returning to Broadway this spring at the Cort Theatr in Nicky Silveras viciously funny play aThe Lyons.a

Lavin plays the Jewish mother from hell. Sheas sure to give a couple of other terrific actresses a Stockard Channing (aOther Desert Citiesa) and Nina Arianda (aVenus in Fura) a a run for their money at the Tonys.

michael.riedel@nypost.com