"IF YOU practice an art, be proud of it and make it proud of you. ... It may break your heart but it will fill your heart before it breaks it!" wrote the playwright Maxwell Anderson.

SO MAYBE you read it and maybe you didn't, but billionaire property tycoon Steve Roth bought the Bernie Madoff house in the Hamptons, the one only 150 feet from the beach with stunning views of the Atlantic Ocean, for around $9 million.

Mr. Roth is wed to Broadway producer Daryl Roth, a woman with numbers of Pulitzer Prize plays to her credit. Their heir to the throne, now in charge of Jujamcyn Theaters is Jordan, age 33, and he is set to light bigger lights on the Great White Way.

I SAT down the other day in Michael's booming restaurant to talk with this appealing man and I asked him what he thought of his former partner Rocco Landesman being named chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts?

Jordan Roth is enthusiastic about the man who handed over the reins to him. "I believe he is going to be amazing. He has great style and passion. He can make a case for what he believes." When I mentioned that Landesman's unorthodox approach to the arts had some of the D. C. Beltway seething, Jordan just laughed: "They'll see. He'll persevere and he'll bring in fresh ideas. He is a shot in the arm for this new administration. He always said that optimism was the bedrock of the theater!"

Jordan himself is making his own kind of waves.

He has "Jersey Boys," a big ongoing four-year hit on Broadway, "Hair," which is making an unexpected comeback, "Finian's Rainbow," teetering on the edge of opening, tonight in fact, as well as "Fela!," his personal pet, which he describes as, "Oh, it's dynamic and electric." This one opens Thanksgiving week. ... And "A Little Night Music," the Stephen Sondheim masterpiece, re-emerges the middle of November!"

"What's your philosophy for dealing with so much pressure all at once?" I ask. Jordan smiles and dismisses the idea that pressure bothers him:

"I like theater that is essential, that just 'has to be' and it should be uniquely theatrical, using what is special about the theater. There are lots of ways to tell a story. The theater has a special way.

"I grew up in theater, as you know. My mother had been an interior designer but once she became a producer, I always had a front-row seat, age 13 on. So I grew up as a fan.

"Right now I have a show I just love, a takeoff on Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream.' It's called "The Donkey Show" and is being done by ART at Harvard."

I told Jordan I hadn't really responded to "Hair" when it first opened. He was shocked. "But that's what I mean by 'uniquely theatrical,' maybe now you will like it much more! The cast alone has become a tribe and they organized all of Broadway to get behind them when they went to Washington fighting for gay rights and against 'don't ask, don't tell.'"

I told Jordan I thought the producer's life must be very 'iffy, ever teetering on the edge of the critics' approval or the audience's. He said, "But that's show business. I really respond to the variety of shows we have on Broadway. This town is big enough for all the varieties to run. I find my job is nourishing. I want to also identify and support new ideas and new projects, along with revivals."

I remarked: "You seem to be in the catbird seat. But why should all your shows succeed where so many others fail?" Jordan laughed, "That is the big question of the theater!"

HEY, GANG -- Michael's is giving itself a party on Nov. 4 to celebrate its 20th anniversary in New York. I can hardly believe this hot spot has been attracting literary, fourth estate and Web types for so long. Its success seems very fresh!

I can't be there to help Michael and Steve blow out their candles. I will be emceeing the "Living Landmarks" night at Cipriani 42 Street where we will be naming District Attorney Bob Morgenthau, the Times' Bill Cunningham, philanthropy's Baroness Mariuccia Zerilli-Marimo, the Kaufman Astoria Studios biggie George Kaufman, writer-philanthropist A. E. Hotchner and Tommy Tune to be immortal New Yorkers.

BIG NAMES -- as in how much bigger name do you need than Julia Roberts? -- seem to be on board for the Labyrinth Theater Company's 7th annual gala benefit called "Celebrity Charades 2009: Jackpot."

It is suggested you follow the action online at www.labtheater.org beginning Dec. 7 where celeb teams do battle in charades competition. I'm talking stars Eric Bogosian, Bobby Cannavale, Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni-type fun. Call 212-513-1082 for more info. Ticket sales support this popular theater.

NEW YORK'S popular Susan Burden is at the helm for the Carter Burden Center's dinner and awards at Guastavino's, 409 E. 59th Street, happening Nov. 30. This charity is a boost to the aging and deserves our support. Call 212-879-7400 ... Opening next Tuesday, Nov. 3, Lynn Redgrave's final play of her famed "Redgrave Trilogy" in which she examines the life of her grandmother, Beatrice Kempson. This thing is superbly written and acted by the lady Lynn. Title? "Nightingale" at the Manhattan Theatre Club.

(E-mail Liz Smith at MES3838@aol.com, or write to her c/o Tribune Media Services, 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, NY 14207.)