Transferring a popular family-friendly Disney film into a stage musical is usually a box-office guarantee (Tarzan being an exception), but the result is usually quite crappy (The Lion King being an exception). But what are theatregoers actually paying $200-plus bucks to see? Special effects. I mean, let’s be honest: that’s what it’s all about. Lights, huge moving sets, etc. What … Read More
Broadway Web Sites
The New York Times has an article today about Broadway web sites. It not only discusses the rise in poularity of websites for each show, but the rise in Broadway fan sites. Of particular note is Broadwayspace.com, which is kind of like MySpace but with a Broadway theme and catering to theatre fans. (From my brief visit there, high schoolish … Read More
End Of An Era
Rent to close in June. Over 12 years, over 5,000 performances. Not a bad run. UPDATE: Great minds….
Plays Well With Others
Nice article in the New York Times about the crop of Broadway shows this past year. The thrust is that star vehicles seem to have been decidely duds this year, while plays featuring ensemble acting are acquiring critical and box office success. Examples of the former include "Young Frankenstein". Example of the latter include "The Homcoming", "The Seafarer", "August: Osage … Read More
About Time
They’re finally making the Fred Astaire-Cyd Charrise movie musical The Bandwagon (which features the song "That’s Entertainment") into a stage musical. Best of all, it looks like some of the film’s weakest moments were those which were added by the studio after Comden and Green left the project. The stage musical will be more faithful to the original movie that … Read More
Sondheim Dismembers Sweeney
Good series of articles in yesterday’s New York Times about the cuts made to bring the stage musical Sweeney Todd to the screen. For example: After 20 years of directors and deals falling by the wayside, Mr. Burton and the screenwriter John Logan came along with an idea for retelling the story in more cinematic terms. First, there would be … Read More
Tuna Christmas
From The Winston-Salem Journal, on the subject of Winston-Salem Theatre Alliance’s production of "Tuna Christmas" Once again, director Jamie Lawrence knows just how to tap body language and voice inflection to convey character after character. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that the same actor can inhabit so many different personalities. Well, credit is certainly due to Jamie Lawson for his … Read More
Liveblogging “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever”
Well, why not? I’ve directed it, and I’ve seen every performance. This is the 4th performance in front of a paying audience. 7:50 — Pretty full house. A little bit older than usual. Very cold night. Nobody in the church balcony, so I feel free to type to my heart’s content. 7:53 — Pre-show music is nice. We have a … Read More
Broadway Openings
A bunch of them, now that the strike there is over. I’ve been curious to hear about two plays: Aaron Sorkin’s latest — The Farnsworth Invention — starring Hamk Azaria (about the invention of the TV), and Tracy Lett’s latest — August: Osage County. As for Farnsworth, the New York Times was luke-warm: This information-crammed, surface-skimming biodrama about the creators … Read More
My Year Of Being Sybil
What I have been in the past year: Jewish floor shop owner (Little Shop of Horrors) Army psychiatrist or possibly a hallucination (Bug) Oily nightclub owner (The Full Monty) Unemployed steelworker and bad stripper (The Full Monty) Irish priest (The Full Monty) Repo man (The Full Monty) Gay latino dance instructor (The Full Monty) Bespeckled messenger from God (God’s Favorite) … Read More
Omnibus Post Because Frankly My Plate Is Full
Ugh. So much to discuss: (1) White House egg-on-the-face: After months of beating the war drums to invade Iraq, it turns out that Iran doesn’t have a nuclear bomb program after all. As Matt says: "Meanwhile, how outrageous is it that the best twelve months of alarmism from Bush & Cheney have come in the context of an environment where … Read More
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever Opens Tomorrow
Preview here. I’m really too close to it to step back and say whether it is good or not. I’m pretty pleased with it though. I was very lucky to have Kelly Wallace play Grace (the mother who gets saddled with running the pageant) and Sarah King as Beth (Grace’s daughter, and the narrator). Both of them are real pros, … Read More
Strike Strike Strike
The Hollywood writers are still on strike; the stagehand strike talks broke down.