Theatre

 
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    Theater News

  • Review: 'Fat Pig' at Aurora Theatre

    7 Nov 2009 | 2:49 am
    Love doesn't quite conquer all in "Fat Pig." From "Bash" to "In the Company of Men," Neil LaBute has become the bard of men behaving badly.

  • Small city turns big page

    6 Nov 2009 | 10:29 pm
    Former colleagues from across the region and the state hailed Mayor John Barrett III as a "regional treasure," a "legendary" advocate for his community who displayed "grit" and "passion" in steering his city through its darkest times and preparing it for a bright future.

  • Matthew Broderick focuses on 'Wonderful World'

    6 Nov 2009 | 6:22 pm
    Matthew Broderick says he's puzzled by the bashing he's received for his actions during the first New York preview of "The Starry Messenger," a new play by good friend Kenneth Lonergan.

  • Live Nation $149 Million Theater Sale Creates London Rival to Lloyd Webber

    6 Nov 2009 | 2:16 pm
    The power balance has shifted in Londona s West End with the creation of a theater company bigger than those owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cameron Mackintosh .

  • Stars walk red carpet at premiere of WWII museum 4-D film

    6 Nov 2009 | 10:11 am
    Many stars and special guests are enjoying a private party to honor New Orleans theater owner Teddy Solomon and his family for their $5 million donation to the World War II Museum's expansion.
 
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    Backstage

  • Children at Play

    6 Nov 2009 | 2:27 am
    This play delivers too much too fast in its creepy and campy portrayal of adolescence.

  • Quartett

    5 Nov 2009 | 5:30 am
    Though short on trenchant humor, Robert Wilson’s take on Heiner Müller is nevertheless a stimulating and bruising dance of sex and death, highlighted by Isabelle Huppert’s electric performance.

  • Little Tragedies

    5 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am
    Instead of the translator-director-composer-actor serving the four short plays of Alexander Pushkin, it seems that Pushkin is serving the work of the translator-director-composer-actor in this overlong and overwrought production.

  • The Understudy

    5 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am
    Despite some structural problems and a few gaps in credibility, Theresa Rebeck's new play on the backstabbing backstage world of the contemporary theatre is a fast, funny 90 minutes.

  • Love Child

    4 Nov 2009 | 8:44 am
    You can’t quite explain why a good match on paper may inspire little passion in real life; even if you locate the crucial elements, the calculus of combining them is impossibly reductive.
 
 
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    Backstage

  • LA Review: 'Meet Me in St. Louis'

    5 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm
    There was palpable excitement in the air on opening night of Musical Theatre West's revisit to this 1989 stage adaptation of the beloved Judy Garland film classic.

  • Saturn Returns

    4 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm
    If there's a lesson to be learned, it's taught so gently we miss it, making Noah Haidle's West Coast premiere a great first act to a play we hope he someday finishes.

  • The Browning Version

    4 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm
    Bruce French gives a powerhouse performance as brilliant classical scholar Andrew Crocker-Harris, whose promise has failed him.

  • Stray

    4 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am
    Canadian writer Ruth McKee's tautly written drama centers on a character we never see: Daniel is a young African boy, born in strife-torn Uganda.

  • Just 45 Minutes From Broadway

    4 Nov 2009 | 1:31 am
    Playwright Henry Jaglom's homage to theater people is populated with a host of eccentric but lovable characters.
 
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    Jane Fonda

  • Tweets on 2009-11-07

    Jane
    6 Nov 2009 | 11:25 pm
    About to meet Yusuf Islam who you may know as Cat Stevens. I have so many questions to ask. I admire him and all he does. What would u ask? #

  • DUSSELDORF AND BONN

    Jane
    5 Nov 2009 | 2:10 pm
    I arrived in Dusseldorf early this morning. This city is the capital of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Situated right on the Rhine River, it is the second most economically important center of Germany after Frankfurt. After a short nap in my beautiful suite, a driver took me on an hour drive to Bonn where Dr Michael Ladenburger, Director of the Beethoven House and Museum, met me at the entrance of a narrow, picturesque, cobbled street, closed to cars, where shops and restaurants surround the birthplace and museum of the world’s greatest and most interesting composer. (That’s…

  • FRIENDS, FAMILY and BEETHOVEN

    Jane
    3 Nov 2009 | 4:46 pm
    Here’s a photo of a white truffle, in case you’ve never seen one.  Not that money always equates with quality but this truffle costs $400 but a friend gave it to Paula. Good kinda friend to have, huh? It was Paula’s first time cooking risotto but it came out scrumptious and with the shaved truffles on top and a good green salad we were in heaven. Simone and my goddaughter, Hannah. They seem to like each other, huh? Hannah showed us her sketch book of figures and fashion designs. She's really talented. Troy with Tulea. (I can't seem to get rid of the glare in her eyes.

  • “THIS IS IT” THE MICHAEL JACKSON MOVIE

    james
    1 Nov 2009 | 3:39 am
    Last night Richard and I went to see “This Is It” at Rod Stewart’s home. It is an absolutely wonderful documentary all about the final show Michael had been rehearsing before he died. I hadn’t realized how far along they were with it, how polished and exciting it would be even though they were just rehearsing. All the sets, the amazing pyrotechnical effects, the choreography was in place. There were interviews with some of the dancers…young men and women who had traveled, in some cases, from other counties to try out because Michael had been their inspiration from early in their…

  • Tweets on 2009-10-27

    Jane
    27 Oct 2009 | 12:25 am
    RT @Janefonda: @micheleozumba who is the President/CEO of GCAPP was on CNN this wknd @donlemoncnn show. Go Michele http://bit.ly/2OV86U # Michele Ozumba (@micheleozumba on twitter) was on CNN this weekend. She is President/CEO of GCAPP the organization… http://bit.ly/F6oEN #
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    Unscripted - A Blog for Actors - Backstage

  • Group Work

    Stacey Jackson
    5 Nov 2009 | 9:55 pm
    There was this whole teaching movement when I was in grade school--and maybe there still is--that hinged on a little idea called Group Work.  Suddenly, every teacher was structuring their entire curriculum around Group Work.  Can't figure out a mathematical equation?  Don't ask the teacher!  Ask your Group.  I think Group Work was supposed to prepare our young minds for the practicalities of the real world and force good interpersonal communication.  I hated Group Work.   Group Work was the bane of my young existence.  I was always…

  • Playing Teacher

    Lemon
    5 Nov 2009 | 2:04 pm
    Almost every night I play a fourteen year old pothead, but last week I got to play a different part!  Thursday, I got to be a teacher!  Me and my buddy Paul, who's a very talented actor himself, headed to a performing arts high school in Seattle and taught a Master Class.  Being a teacher is something I have always wanted to do, so when I got the opportunity, I jumped on it! Theatre is my favorite thing in the whole world, so what could be better than sharing my enthusiasm for the stage with other students!  It wasn't too long ago that I was a student myself.

  • Director Extistential

    Ann Hu
    5 Nov 2009 | 10:47 am
    In between events while in New York in October I had meetings, voice lessons, brunches, auditions, etc. One of the meetings was with a well-known director in the theater community, whom I will call Director X. Director X has that 'IT' factor about him. Tall, lean, striking, mysterious, perceptive, and still. Everyone wants to work with him, nobody's really sure if he likes them or not, and if you're lucky, you get to spend New Year's Eve at his 'should be featured in Architectural Digest' apartment downtown.  He's also one of the few people I've made…

  • Boogerface

    Sharina Martin
    4 Nov 2009 | 6:35 pm
    There is a very emotional scene in Fedra (buy your tickets now!)  in which something very emotional happens and then my character falls in love. In terms of the arc of a scene and the character journey this is one juicy, funny, heightened scene, my favorite scene of everything I have done thus far, hands down. Towards the end there is a quiet, beautiful, extended moment when my character and the prince lock eyes and gaze at one another, dumbfounded by our love. The scene felt beautiful from beginning to end. We are at the point in the run when we can just play and live within the scene,…

  • Sassy Black/Sassy and Black

    Dominique Toney
    4 Nov 2009 | 9:48 am
    This is my first time participating in a showcase, and let me tell you – the showcase hasn’t even started, but I can already tell that you definitely have to put the work in to see the results. Nothing is ever just handed out for free. "Hey, do this industry showcase and get handed an agent!" Umm, I think not. First off, we were instructed to pay a materials fee. I suppose this will be used for the folders they put our headshots in and the programs? Not entirely sure. Then, we were asked to put together 80 headshots and resumes. Not stapled to the back, but glued. I went on a…
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    Blog Stage - Acting in Film, TV, Theatre - Backstage

  • Lin-Manuel Miranda Fuses Hip-Hop and History at White House

    Hilary Tuttle
    6 Nov 2009 | 1:23 pm
    Alexander Hamilton embodies hip-hop. While this seems a lofty claim--and a shaky premise for a song--Lin-Manuel Miranda, the Tony-winning writer and star of "In the Heights," appears to feel so strongly about this notion that he's working on a concept album on this foundation. Here's a video of the first track from the album--a tribute told from the perspective of Hamilton's rival and killer, Aaron Burr--performed at a poetry night event at the White House: It's no surprise that the song is catchy while feeling both clever and authentic--the man has won awards…

  • Model Molly Sims' Bikini-Clad Acting Reel

    Dan Lehman
    6 Nov 2009 | 10:37 am
    Supermodel Molly Sims wants you to know she's more than a bikini model. And to prove it (in this Funny or Die exclusive video), Sims has compiled an acting reel full of dramatic moments -- during which she wears a bikini the entire time. Sims says by way of introduction: "I know most of you think of me as a bikini girl, or just a girl in a bikini. But I'm so much more than that. You know what? Why don't we let my work speak for itself." Molly Sims Dramatic Acting Reel from Molly Sims This style of acting reel probably isn't for everyone, and we don't advise using…

  • Heavenly Entertainment

    Les Spindle
    5 Nov 2009 | 2:38 pm
    The prolific and versatile Upright Cabaret producers, Chris Isaacson and Shane Scheel, unveil their latest venture this weekend, in collaboration with the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts in La Mirada, to be performed the first Sunday night of the run during each of La Mirada's mainstage productions. The newly opened Cabaret Lounge at the theater will showcase the first offering in Upright's debuting American Icon Series. The single-night City of Angels concert on November 8 will star  stellar performers Michael Arden, Valarie Pettiford, and Matt Cusson (pictured…

  • You are the Harbinger of Death, Bob Garfield

    Daniel Holloway
    5 Nov 2009 | 1:07 pm
    For our piece this week on the future of the major television networks (hint: think Rome before the fall or T-Rex before the giant meteor), we had the pleasure of speaking to Mr. Bob Garfield. For those who don’t know the name, Garfield is the host of NPR’s “On the Media" and a columnist for Advertising Age. He’s also the author of “The Chaos Scenario,” a goddamn terrifying book about the way new media has destroyed the old advertising models and is threatening to annihilate companies that don’t adapt quickly to the new order. Garfield spends a good chunk of the…

  • New York Auditions at a Glance – Nov. 5-13

    Luke Crowe
    5 Nov 2009 | 11:22 am
    The following "Auditions at a Glance" calendar conveniently organizes projects by the date and day-of-the-week that the projects' auditions are taking place, to help you schedule your plans.Click on any of the following links to see the casting and job notices related to the dates and project titles highlighted below. Thu. Nov. 5 • 'A Lie of the Mind' • 'Promises, Promises', B'way • 'Wicked', B'way & Tour • 'Ashes', Native Americans Fri. Nov. 6 • 'Evergreen' & 'The Hidden...' • 'Shlemiel the…
 
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    Blogway Baby

  • STEPHEN SONDHEIM AND FRANK RICH

    Suzy Conn
    28 Oct 2009 | 11:31 am
    Monday October 26 I had a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet both Stephen Sondheim and Frank Rich. I attended STEPHEN SONDHEIM A LIFE IN THE THEATER, AN ONSTAGE CONVERSATION WITH FRANK RICH at Benaroya Hall. We (of course this night was a Conn family event) started the evening off at a 6:30pm reception in the Founder's Room hosted by David Armstrong, Producing Artistic Director, The 5th Avenue Theatre, and Dennis Coleman, Artistic Director, Seattle Men's Chorus /Seattle Women's Chorus. Delicious food, yummy wine, and what a beautiful room! We were there not just for the wine and food, but…

  • ENCHANTED APRIL AT TAPROOT THEATRE

    Suzy Conn
    26 Oct 2009 | 11:27 am
    I was lucky enough to catch one of the last two performances of Taproot Theatre's ENCHANTED APRIL. Despite a devastating fire last week, Taproot Theatre, with the generous support of Seattle Children's Theatre, was able to mount two final shows on Saturday October 24. However, the mad scrambling and exhaustion certainly didn't show in the performance, which was indeed, enchanted. ENCHANTED APRIL, a play by Matthew Barber, from the novel by Elizabeth Von Arnim was directed by Karen Lund, and featured Charity Parenzini, Nikki Visel, Ryan Childers, Jerff Berryman, Anne Kennedy, Kim Morris, Aaron…

  • CAROL BURNETT AND EYDIE GORME MEDLEY

    Suzy Conn
    26 Oct 2009 | 9:13 am
    This wonderful medley of Hollywood music is from Eydie Gorme's February 4, 1977 guest appearance on the Carol Burnett Show. Love the crazy clown dancers too! I was an impressionable thirteen year old when I saw this (probably while doing my math homework), and it goes a long way to explaining why I am the way I am. Oh, and why I love sequins. Thanks Ryan!

  • JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT

    Suzy Conn
    17 Oct 2009 | 11:08 am
    Go, go, go see JOSEPH! My daughter Trinity is in the children's choir for JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT at The 5th Avenue Theatre. She has been rehearsing since August, so it was quite a thrill to finally see opening night on October 15! JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT, with music by Andrew Lloyd Weber and Lyrics by Time Rice, is playing at The 5th Avenue Theatre from October 10 to November 1. Directed by James Rocco, choreographed by Jayme McDaniel and musical directed and conducted by R. J. Tancioco, JOSEPH stars American Idol's Anthony Fedorov as Joseph and…

  • BIBA THE MUSICAL

    Suzy Conn
    8 Oct 2009 | 9:34 am
    Road trip to London! Yeah, baby! BIBA THE MUSICAL sounds ultra cool, I wish I could go to the London Showcase on October 25! BIBA THE MUSICAL was written by Anthony Barry, David Foster-Smith and John Renoir, with set design and styling by Andrea Dunne. Here's the 411 on the show from the website: It’s the story of a fantasy that became a fantastic reality. It’s the story of fashion, of the Swinging Sixties, of beautiful people, of a musical and cultural coming of age. London 1964. Biba started as a tiny boutique in a Kensington sidestreet and grew to become a huge department store –…
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    The Wicked Stage

  • Over-and-Out Links

    Rob Weinert-Kendt
    6 Nov 2009 | 11:46 am
    Five hours of Taylor Mac apparently worth every minute.Remember, Ragtime's great book is a big reason its awesome score comes off so well.Thurber's Scarcity reportedly strong in L.A.Marsha Norman tackles the gender gap.Justly viral. (via)

  • What Are You Seeing This Weekend?

    Rob Weinert-Kendt
    6 Nov 2009 | 9:24 am
    Apart from "what showtune is stuck in your head," that's been the favorite question on American Theatre's Facebook fan page. The answers this week (and every Friday, since I think we're going to make it a regular feature) are an illuminating cross-section of, well, American theatre: from Walworth Farce at UCLA to Narnia in Memphis, from Labute's This Is How It Goes in Richmond to Angels in America in Philly...It's a fascinating (and growing) list.

  • The Undeciders

    Rob Weinert-Kendt
    6 Nov 2009 | 8:51 am
    I don't get up to much straight-up theatrical criticism these days, but here's my bundled-together take on three current Broadway offerings: Hamlet, A Steady Rain, and Superior Donuts. All of them star vehicles, in a sense, but in only one case is the star in question the playwright.

  • Riedel: Times Ad Deal Killed Brighton Beach

    Rob Weinert-Kendt
    6 Nov 2009 | 4:09 am
    Well, that's interesting.

  • Who's Google-Reading Who

    Rob Weinert-Kendt
    5 Nov 2009 | 12:05 pm
    I'm behind the times, I know, but I started to add some blog subscriptions to my Google Reader and discovered some interesting stats along the way. To wit:Playgoer, with an average of 9.6 posts a week, has 1,503 Google Reader subscribers.Parabasis, with an average 15.4 posts a week, has 231 GR subs.Theatre Ideas, with 1.6 post a week on average, has 180 GR subs.Time Out's Upstaged blog, with an average of 8.2 posts a week, has 137 GR subs.99 Seats, with an average 5.6 posts a week, has 129 GR subs.On Theatre and Politics, with an average of 4.9 posts a weeks, has 108 GR subs.Yours truly…
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    Jersey Boys Blog

  • Tune in to NY-1’s ‘On Stage’ This Weekend to Watch Feature on JB!

    Administrator
    6 Nov 2009 | 7:55 pm
    News from BroadwayWorld.com: Tune in to NY-1’s “On Stage” this weekend to watch a segment on the global success of the smash hit JERSEY BOYS. The Tony, Grammy and Olivier Award-winning musical is playing to sold-out houses on three continents with seven productions worldwide: New York, London, Toronto, Melbourne, Las Vegas, Chicago and the US [...]

  • Happy Fourth Anniversary to Jersey Boys Broadway!

    Administrator
    5 Nov 2009 | 10:32 pm
    Photo 2 from Broadway.com; Photos 3-5 by Linda Lenzi at BroadwayWorld.com; Photo 6 by Walter McBride/Retna Ltd at BroadwayWorld.com; Photos 7-8 by Peter James Zielinski; Photo 9 by Joan Marcus; Photos 10-11 by Peter James Zielinkski. JERSEY BOYS, the Tony Award-winning story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons celebrates FOUR standing-room-only years on Broadway today, November [...]

  • Jersey Boys to Perform at Yankees Celebration Tomorrow!

    Administrator
    5 Nov 2009 | 8:54 pm
    NEWSFLASH! The JERSEY BOYS Broadway cast will perform at City Hall tomorrow between 12pm & 1pm at the New York Yankees World Series Championship celebration!

  • JERSEY BOYS Chicago Benefit for TPAN & Broadway Cares, November 30!

    Administrator
    5 Nov 2009 | 12:16 pm
    On Monday, November 30 from 6PM to 8PM, join the Chicago JERSEY BOYS at Sidetrack (3349 N. Halstead) cast for an evening of harmony at their cabaret benefit for the Test Positive Aware Network (TPAN) and Broadway Cares/EFA! After more than two years, 951 performances, and thrilling more than a million theatergoers, JERSEY BOYS is saying [...]

  • Bwarie & Bailey Talk About Playing Legends Valli & DeVito in Jersey Boys!

    Administrator
    5 Nov 2009 | 9:30 am
    Joel Markowitz of DC Theatre Scene has a fabulous in-depth Q&A with Joseph Leo Bwarie and Matt Bailey, who play legends Frankie Valli and Tommy DeVito in the national tour Jersey Boys now at The National Theatre in Washington, DC. The actors talk about their roles, their training and careers, their JB auditions, and [...]
 
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    Parabasis

  • This. Is. Amazing.

    isaac butler
    6 Nov 2009 | 1:59 pm
    I know it's beena  light week here at Parabasis. Things have been ca-ray-zee busy lately. hopefully posting will start picking up again soon! In the mean time... Jon Stewart with some serious pwnage. Nice to see him get up from behind the desk for a bit:The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10cThe 11/3 Projectwww.thedailyshow.comDaily Show Full EpisodesPolitical HumorHealth Care Crisis

  • What's Up With Eric Schaeffer?

    isaac butler
    5 Nov 2009 | 4:29 pm
    That's the question I'd be asking if I was on the Board at Washington D.C.'s Signature Theatre. The acclaimed artistic director has built one of the best theaters for musicals in America and garnered a regional Tony. He's also gradually been making inroads in New York, in ways reminiscent of Bart Sher prior to leaving Intiman. The only difference is, Bart Sher directed some of the best received shows in New York, while Schaeffer has helmed projects like the Kathie Lee Gifford musical "Under the Bridge".  Signature's one Broadway transfer…

  • GOP "Health Care Plan"

    isaac butler
    5 Nov 2009 | 8:01 am
    Reduces the deficit by half as much as the Democrats plan and covers not one extra person, according to the CBO.

  • Ben Brantley's Star-Worship Blinds Him. Again.

    isaac butler
    5 Nov 2009 | 6:45 am
    Quoth B-Squared: But in the self-contained universes of Mr. Foreman, which are both boundless and hermetically sealed, all performers are created equal, right? They are stylish robots, carrying out the commands of a dictatorial auteur. People don’t so much act in Mr. Foreman’s productions (which he has been creating for five decades now) as take orders, the better to embody their director’s convoluted currents of thought. The happy surprise of “Idiot Savant” is that there is, for once, an actor in the house. Mr. Dafoe, who spent many years working as a team player of the avant-garde…

  • Ve Haff Vays Of Makink You Smile

    isaac butler
    4 Nov 2009 | 9:54 am
    happiness hat from Lauren McCarthy on Vimeo.
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    The Theater Loop

  • Bill Cosby on 'The Dentist' and No. 2 pencils ...

    leisureblogs
    7 Nov 2009 | 1:50 am
    Bill Cosby is coming to the Genesee Theatre in Waukegan on Nov. 14. (Tickets are $39.50-$75 at 800-982-2787 or www.ticketmaster.com.) He still does "The Dentist," carries a No. 2 pencil and hates Twitter: Read his interview with Tribune contributor Nina...

  • Behold the new Spidey

    leisureblogs
    6 Nov 2009 | 8:25 pm
    Herewith Reeve Carney, who was announced Friday as the actor playing Peter Parker in the epic on/off/on Broadway musical "Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark" at the Hilton Theatre in New York. Music is by Bono and The Edge, with Julie...

  • Million Dollar Quartet: Still-electrifying sound in need of a better story

    leisureblogs
    6 Nov 2009 | 1:32 pm
    Levi Kreis is Jerry Lee Lewis, Rob Lyons is Carl Perkins, Eddie Clendening is Elvis Presley and Lance Guest is Johnny Cash. REVIEW UPDATE: "Million Dollar Quartet" ★★★1/2 Open run at the Apollo Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln Ave.; Running time:...

  • Illinois Gov. celebrates with 'Million Dollar Quartet'; it's to be Tracy Letts day in Illinois

    leisureblogs
    6 Nov 2009 | 7:20 am
    Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn made a late-night appearance Thursday at an event in honor of the first birthday of "Million Dollar Quartet," a Chicago rock 'n' roll musical the Illinois governor has seen twice already. "I support the cause" the...

  • Attention theater-lovers: Keep your December nights open

    leisureblogs
    5 Nov 2009 | 9:59 pm
    Nathan Lane will star as Gomez in “The Addams Family Musical,” here attending a press event at the Oriental Theatre. (Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune) If you love live entertainment in Chicago, you don’t want to be out of town during the...
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    The SF Bay Area Theatre Blog

  • Review: Tommy at the Ray of Light Theatre

    ElisaC
    24 Oct 2009 | 10:16 am
    The review is posted over at my personal blog.Have you seen it?Did you see the Broadway production? (I did, and I confess I didn't really get the Michael Cerveris brouhaha!)Do you have fond memories of the Ken Russell movie? (I do, and looking back I'm shocked that my parents let me see that movie as an 11-year old!) You know you've seen the movie if your first thought about "Tommy" has something to do with baked beans, right?Check the Ray of Light web site for more info on buying tickets. The show plays through november 7th.

  • Review: Schoolhouse Rocks Live at the Retro Dome

    ElisaC
    4 Oct 2009 | 9:12 am
    They've extended Schoolhouse Rocks Live at the Retro Dome for another week, so my review can still have some meaning!Two sentence review if you're too lazy to click: Nostalgic for grown-ups like me, while apparently still entertaining and effective for the many kids in the audience. Definition of family entertainment right there.

  • See Call Me Madam at the Moon. Order online and get $10 off per ticket!

    ElisaC
    22 Sep 2009 | 7:47 am
    I sit on the board of local theatre company, 42nd Street Moon. They focus on doing musicals that are off the beaten path...lost, need restoration, rarely produced, unusual, vintage, you get the idea.Their season opener is Irving Berlin's Call Me Madam, and it stars well-known Ethel Merman devotee Klea Blackhurst. I've seen Klea in other shows there, and I have to say I think her voice is clearer and cleaner than Merman's! I've never seen Call Me Madam, so I'm really looking forward to it. Anyway, you can save $10/ticket if you order online, PLUS they are not charging service fees for online…

  • Guess what I'm seeing this weekend: Schoolhouse Rocks Live!

    ElisaC
    16 Sep 2009 | 10:07 am
    I know I'm not the only person who can recite the entire preamble of the Constitution of the United States of America because of Schoolhouse Rocks. Or, who knows the function of a conjunction. Ot where to get my adverbs. I've got the entire CD box se, if you must know.So, of course I was intrigued when my friends at Guggenheim Entertainment sent me info on what they're up to.First of all, they've taken over the old Century 25 movie theatre space at Westgate in West San Jose (only a few miles from my house actually.) They've christened it The Retro Dome.They will keep it split into two theatre…

  • Tommy, can you hear me?

    ElisaC
    14 Sep 2009 | 5:58 pm
    Looking back now I'm shocked that my parents let me see the movie Tommy. I was 11 when it came out. And there are drug references. And molestation references. And Ann-Margaret rolling around in baked beans. Seriously, did they not care about warping me at all? Not only did I see the movie, but I bought the soundtrack and listened to it non-stop. That and the Star Wars soundtrack were in constant rotation, and since I saw each movie multiple times, I could picture the movies go by in my head as I listened.What a geek, eh?35 years later, and 40 years after the album was first performed at…
 
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    Penny Plain, Twopence Colored

  • Toy Theatre Collection

    Trish
    22 Oct 2009 | 2:00 am
    Arthur Weyhe Toy Theatre Collection -

  • NEW Dramatis Personae Catalogue!

    Trish
    21 Oct 2009 | 7:29 pm
    There is a new Dramatis Personae catalogue out as of today. As per usual, the Dramatis Personae Booksellers have truly outdone themselves. I don't know what their secret is, but they are able to collect the most astounding array of Theatre/Entertainment ephemera I have ever seen, and present them to the world at large to buy and enjoy. I highly recommend you check them out!

  • Out of the Shadows: Janaki Ranpura

    Trish
    14 Oct 2009 | 1:13 pm
    An amazing performer, check out this website about puppeteer Janaki Ranpura...

  • Little Blue Moon Theatre

    Trish
    9 Oct 2009 | 4:22 pm
    I was doing an internet search for my friends, George and Ann Neff, and came across your blog on toy theatre, then followed to your Victorian Sex Machine blog. It seemed like you might be interested in our work, which kind of combines both (in some way.) We do erotic toy theatre. Our company, Little Blue Moon Theatre, began in an aphrodisiac factory 6 or so years ago. I have found that the static nature of toy theatre figures make them perfect candidates for bondage, something I didn't realize until a friend pointed out that most of our shows involve bondage...I realized that they don't move…

  • Paper Dolls

    Trish
    20 Sep 2009 | 4:53 pm
    Ilisha Helfman from Hestia House wrote to share...Hi Trish,I wanted to let you know about my paper doll blog where I'm having great fun pretending to be a contestant on "Project Runway" using each week's "NY Times Magazine" cover as my challenge. I have twelve new paper dolls and have chosen one to be me, one to be my model and the rest to be other designers and audience members.
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    one playwright. one blog.

  • Dramaturgical research for Democracy

    nat
    16 Oct 2009 | 9:58 am
    In the opening scene of Democracy, Baron Jacobi introduces us to the characters in the play. As President Grant and his wife Julia walk by, Jacobi notes her crossed eyes and explains:  When they came to the White House, she wanted an operation. The President said no! He could not bear his great burden without the cross-eyed girl he had loved all these years. I was thinking about this line as I was setting up the links on the Democracy Dramaturgy page – included in the research prepared by Sarah Moeller and Katie Vandehey, co-dramaturgs on the production, is a comprehensive biography of…

  • First photo from Democracy

    nat
    16 Oct 2009 | 7:15 am
    I’ll be back for the regular Friday rescue later in the day – first I wanted to share this beautiful photo of Senator Raitcliffe (Jon Steinhagen) courting Madeline Lee (Rebecca Prescott) in Romulus Linney’s Democracy:

  • Friday photo rescue

    nat
    2 Oct 2009 | 1:24 pm
    Another Part of the Forest, from the 2000 Lillian Hellman season.

  • Friday photo rescue

    nat
    25 Sep 2009 | 8:26 am
    Frame 312, from the 2004 Keith Reddin season.

  • Getting ready for a Lunar Eclipse

    nat
    23 Sep 2009 | 10:46 am
    I wish I had taken a few “before” photos – it’s difficult to describe the chaos here at the Eclipse space three weeks ago, when every square foot was stacked to the ceiling with three shows worth of theatrical debris. We’ve been steadily chipping away, and we’re almost ready for a party… I took a break from setting up last night to take some “during” photos – there’s still more decorating and cleaning to be done before Saturday, but our rehearsal space is almost fully transformed into a hip, funky party pad. There are more…
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    McCarter Theatre

  • How To: Light a Fire in a Crowded Theater

    Adam Immerwahr
    16 Oct 2009 | 12:27 pm
    Okay, not really.  Lighting a fire in a crowded theater would be dangerous.  Theaters are flammable.  So are crowds.  The whole thing would be a disaster. Paxton Whitehead and Jon Patrick Walker in She Stoops to ConquerPhoto by T. Charles Erickson. So what do you do when the designer (the illustrious David Korins) designs a set that features a big old fireplace in a big old country mansion?  Okay, the best thing to do is to build a propane fire.  Propane fires tend to get hot and burn down sets, so you should make sure you build your set out of fireproof materials-things like concrete…

  • Audience Response: She Stoops to Conquer

    Adam Immerwahr
    16 Oct 2009 | 10:03 am
    Kristine Nielsen, Brooks Ashmanskas and Rebecca Brooksher in She Stoops to Conquer Photo by T. Charles Erickson. Have you seen She Stoops to Conquer?  What did you think?  Did you think it was the bee’s knees?  Do you agree with the newspaper reviews, or disagree? Favorite parts of the show? Things that weren’t to your taste?  Did you see the production in 1963? Post an “audience response” or read what other people are saying by clicking on the “comments” link below. We can’t wait to hear what you think! Posted by Adam Immerwahr, Producing Associate at McCarter Theatre.

  • Having Our Say: Live at the Library

    Adam Immerwahr
    23 Sep 2009 | 8:20 am
    Actresses Yvette Freeman and Lizan Mitchell recently joined Emily Mann for a Live at the Library event at the Princeton Public Library, talking about Having Our Say, the Delany sisters, and the process of adapting Bessie and Sadie Delany’s book into a work for the stage. You can scroll between the 14 videos by clicking on the arrows at either side of the viewer. Enjoy! Posted by Adam Immerwahr, Producing Associate at McCarter Theatre. Videos filmed and edited by Erin Breznitsky.

  • Audience Response: Having Our Say

    Adam Immerwahr
    11 Sep 2009 | 3:58 pm
    Yvette Freeman and Lizan Mitchell in Having Our Say. Photo by T. Charles Erickson. Have you seen Having Our Say?  What did you think?  Did you think it was the bee’s knees?  Do you agree with the newspaper reviews, or disagree? Favorite parts of the show? Things that weren’t to your taste?  Did you see the production in 1995? Post an “audience response” or read what other people are saying by clicking on the “comments” link below. We can’t wait to hear what you think! Posted by Adam Immerwahr, Producing Associate at McCarter Theatre.

  • She Stoops to Conquer, 1963

    Adam Immerwahr
    31 Aug 2009 | 12:49 pm
    So I was over at Princeton University’s Mudd Library (which houses McCarter Theatre’s archives), looking for some archival photos of Nicholas Martin—the director of the upcoming production of She Stoops to Conquer.  Nicholas started out in the profession as an actor, and he earned his equity card while performing at McCarter in the 1960’s.  I was searching for a picture of him in the 1960 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (I think I found some!), but while I was there I also stumbled into the archives for the 1963 McCarter production of She Stoops to…
 
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    The Next Stage

  • PuSh 2010 line-up announced

    thenextstage
    5 Nov 2009 | 3:55 pm
    The Edward Curtis Project Vancouver’s very own PuSh International Performing Arts Festival drops next year on January 20, running to February 6. The official site has just released the shows that will be on display for your consideration and discussion. Here’s a grab bag of copy from the listings section: An enormous scale model of Auschwitz fills the stage, with thousands of tiny handmade puppets representing the prisoners and their executioners. Kamp Clark and I Somewhere in Connecticut is one of the most notorious theatre pieces to come out of Vancouver in recent memory. Clark…

  • Switching baskets: growing a sustainable funding model?

    thenextstage
    1 Nov 2009 | 3:39 pm
    copyright Jackie Connelly Photography A comment just popped up from Jon Stancato, Co-Artistic Director of NYC’s The Stolen Chair Theatre Company, on this recent post about the Open Up and Let Them In concept of Indie Stage, that discusses a recent initiative towards a new funding model that bears examination. I think I love it. There’s an essential point to be made about fixing the busted down model of theatre by looking to functioning models outside of the theatre industry; adapting methods and practices that are actually working instead of spinning the same old wheels. Stolen…

  • …and another Stop the Cuts PSA for your linking pleasure

    thenextstage
    31 Oct 2009 | 10:12 am

  • Open up and let them in, continued…

    thenextstage
    30 Oct 2009 | 1:39 am
    I am an artist in process. We are an industry in process. I am of the opinion that our particular industry is in its entirety process, and nothing more. And I think I’m starting to get an inkling of what that word means. My process thus far has gone something like this: discovered theatre at 20, fell in love with theatre, ran away from theatre, theatre hunted me down and forced itself on me, discovered that I was, and always had been, a theatre artist, clumsily mounted a string of theatrical events and, most recently, disappeared into the stunted, confused and beaten-down hound that is…

  • “This guy is going to be a star”

    thenextstage
    30 Oct 2009 | 12:35 am
    Checked out Zee Zee Theatre’s Nelly Boy at the PAL tonight in Coal Harbour. Local Playwright Dave Deveau’s new play discussing the marginalization of non-specific gender identity, it’s an intimate and language-driven work that spotlights the work of an actor about whom Colin Thomas writes in the opening line of his review: Remember the name Amitai Marmorstein. This guy is going to be a star. We talk a lot about what the next generation of Vancouver theatre is going to look like, and Nelly Boy indeed offers a chance to watch the work of a burgeoning professional. The kind you…
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    Theatre is Territory

  • New RM:P3 teaser

    Ian Mackenzie
    28 Oct 2009 | 9:17 am
    Toronto-based web wizards Haley Fiege and Chris Averginos have put together an awesome little teaser for our upcoming show. Please turn on your speakers and check it out here.

  • A cool theatre promo image that never saw the light of day

    Ian Mackenzie
    25 Oct 2009 | 8:18 pm
    Or I guess it did . . . right here. This is a stock image combined with a found image. Ultimately, we rejected it because we felt it sets up expectations around “slasher”, when our piece is more a study of the meat of the brain. Cool image though. The genius of Pete Aspros is behind the retouching.

  • 5 shallow and unfocused thoughts about theatre

    Ian Mackenzie
    28 Aug 2009 | 1:20 pm
    Thanks for stopping by. Sorry for the shortage of posts in the space. Been working on some different theatre and non-theatre projects. How the heck are you? Here’s some theatre stuff I’m thinking about: 1. The imagination gap is caused by the resource gap which is caused by the imagination gap . . . and so on. 2. Where is genre theatre? And by this I mean, where are the broad theatre genre classifications and productions that have meaning for people who don’t know anything about genre. “I can’t wait to see that new ____.” Western? Horror play? Corporeal mime? 3. Actors are noble…

  • Red Machine: Part Two

    Ian Mackenzie
    4 Aug 2009 | 6:37 am
    The second part of The Room’s experiment on the brain premieres at SummerWorks in Toronto. Check it out.

  • Address to the Jury @ Toronto Fringe

    Ian Mackenzie
    7 Jul 2009 | 7:05 pm
    The story behind this Fringe postcard: “Designers are like secret weapons. Tricky to secure in low/no budget theatre but invaluable when they put their minds to it. DMeister Creative has clients like Microsoft, HP and SoftChoice (the same company that through our lead actor offered us free rehearsal space in their board room!). But where do you meet these talented people looking for cool projects to do outside their corporate gigs? DMeister is an ex-boyfriend of a roommate of a friend of mine, of course.” – Cole J. Alvis We advertise your Toronto Fringe show for free: Check it…
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    The Playgoer

  • Lin-Manuel in da (White) House

    5 Nov 2009 | 5:56 am
    This is old (from May) but I hadn't seen it.In the Heights' Lin-Manuel Miranda takes his Hip Hop Hamilton show to Pennsylvania Avenue and performs before The Man.Dare we hope for a double bill with Les Freres' Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson?

  • Rocco Goes on the Offensive

    4 Nov 2009 | 9:28 am
    Well, if the Wall Street Journal is admonishing NEA chair Rocco Landesman...he must be doing something right.Culture Grrl blogger Lee Rosenbaum's critical interview with Rocco just made me like him more!Unruffled by the kerfuffles, Mr. Landesman, near the beginning of his Brooklyn speech, baited congressional critics by invoking what he called a "litany" of recent criticism of federal arts support: "The NEA is funding porn in California, the agency has become a propagandist for the Obama administration programs, and to truly add insult to injury, we've been told, vis-à-vis our share of the…

  • Spoken Drama in the Age of the Body Mic

    3 Nov 2009 | 10:20 am
    Good fat meaty article in WSJ about just how much mic-ing is going on in the theatre--to the point it's becoming de rigeur even in plays."Area mics"--discreet microphones placed around the set or stage apron have been common for decades. (Though even that started as a shortcut for musicals only.) But even though it may not surprise us, it's worth pondering for a second the implications of the banishment of the unamplified spoken voice (arguably the stage actor's chief instrument since Greek times) from our "auditoriums."As reporter Ellen Gamerman rightly points out, the problem is not just…

  • Memo to Deaf-Actor Advocates

    3 Nov 2009 | 6:01 am
    The reason a deaf actress wasn't cast instead of Abigail ("Little Miss Sunshine") Breslin in The Miracle Worker on Broadway was not because no deaf actress isn't talented enough.It's because no deaf actress is famous enough.Forget about that "right actor for the role" stuff. This is Broadway.

  • Two Reax to BB

    2 Nov 2009 | 11:52 am
    "Brighton Beach," that is. (Not Bert Brecht...)Well it's nice it made the front page of the Times. But too bad Patrick Healy turns in only a facile "culture section" rundown, just attributing the failure to "Neil Simon Ain't Funny Anymore" syndrome. Personally I think it's a lot more complex than that. More on that tomorrow.I liked Howard Kissel's take better--on the changing Broadway audience. Out with the old Jews, in with the headbanging tourists?The Broadway audience, which highbrows condescended to, especially when it was at its height, in the decades after World War II, was certainly…
 
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    nytheatre.com

  • Review: The Hypochondriac

    3 Nov 2009 | 10:01 pm
    Forgive the gush of hyperbole, but I believe that The Hypochondriac may very well be the funniest play in New York right now. This is the latest incarnation of a contemporary re-imagining of Moliere's 1673 farce Le Malade Imaginaire undertaken by director Matthew AJ Gregory and three collaborators, Shira Gregory (his wife), Chris Harcum, and Greg Tito. Their work, which respects the original's framework, brings the piece thoroughly up to date.

  • Review: The Misunderstanding

    3 Nov 2009 | 10:01 pm
    If you're up for thorough contemplation of genuine conscience, with a satisfying catharsis, then head over to the Flea for The Misunderstanding.

  • Review: Duchess in the Dark

    3 Nov 2009 | 10:01 pm
    Art.party.theater.company's Duchess in the Dark is a slimmed-down adaptation of John Webster's seminal revenge tragedy, The Duchess of Malfi (1613), deftly cut and directed by artistic director Mary Birnbaum. Exemplary of Jacobean revenge plays, Malfi tells the bloody story of the recently widowed titular Duchess and her ill-fated love with a court steward, Antonio. Her brothers, wanting to protect their claim to the inheritance and driven by incestuous jealousy of their sister's suitor, concoct a series of elaborate schemes that start with spying, escalate to murder, and end up destroying…

  • Review: Idiot Savant

    3 Nov 2009 | 10:01 pm
    Unlike most theatre these days, Idiot Savant leaves its audience with more questions than answers. Its unique and original nature, while almost never crystal clear, forces us to think, and see, in ways rarely required by traditional narrative.

  • New Shows This Week

    2 Nov 2009 | 6:22 am
    Listings of New Shows This Week in New York City
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    theatreminima journal

  • Organum

    Of the spirit. The Christian conception of fleshed word as a means of access to spirit (through the bodied god, his sacrifice, rituals such as the eucharist in which flesh is taken into flesh; though Christianity is not alone in this conception, it is among the most recent Western exemplar) finds unique aesthetic equivalence in theatre. Here it is the actor and dramatist who explore these roads to access, as does a musical performer, who allows a musical composition to pass through her body (without the body, even that of the synthesizer operator or the composer in a recording studio,…

  • Organum

    The theatre is my representation. There is no more certain knowledge, once achieved, than this: that the theatre, like the world, is a re-presentation of objects and events that I assemble in my consciousness, and mine alone, for each individual's consciousness is his or her autonomous possession. I witness a theatrical event from my own personal physical perspective, seeing the stage and its arrangements of bodies, objects and events from a unique physical and perceptual vantage point. It is true that I am a body among bodies, placed within a collective audience, but this does not mitigate…

  • Organum

    For Marilyn These works are a series of acts best comprehended in groups or as a continuity. Except as a created revelation, a new experience, they are without value. It is my desire that they be kept in groups as much as possible and remain so. ... So I am in the strange position of seeking an environment for the work and the small means wherein I'll be free to continue the "act." Houston's Rothko Chapel is a small unremarkable building set just off a suburban corner, adjoining a series of plain, low houses and a college campus. Within it, however, is a world entirely itself, as real as the…
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    THE BARKSDALE BUZZ

  • From Girls in Green to the Great White Way

    Bruce Miller
    3 Nov 2009 | 5:23 pm
    Posted by Bruce MillerThose who may wonder why Barksdale and Theatre IV are so pleased to partner with the Girl Scouts (see Curtain Up, Lights Out, Fun’s ON! [Sat Oct 31, 2009] and How We Help … Girl Scouts [Wed June 18, 2008] should consider the case of Toni-Leslie James (pictured to the right).Who? Toni-Leslie James. Start getting used to hearing that name, even here in little old Richmond. In

  • The First of November, 2009

    Bruce Miller
    2 Nov 2009 | 5:04 am
    Posted by Bruce MillerYesterday from two until four we said goodbye to Souvenir, and then from six until last call we celebrated the life and legacy of Jack Parrish.Prior to making it out to Hanover Tavern, I was with my mother at Westminster-Canterbury. She’s a 93-year old with advanced Alzheimer’s and she was having a bad day. I was called in by the nurses to try to calm her down, to stop her

  • Curtain Up, Lights Out, Fun's ON!

    Bruce Miller
    31 Oct 2009 | 10:12 am
    Written by Tracy CoogleLast Friday night was anything but quiet. Sixty-five Girl Scouts, 20 or so chaperones and scout leaders, plus about 15 volunteers and theatre teachers all packed into the historic Empire Theatre for Theatre IV’s first ever professional children’s theatre camp-in.Barksdale has worked in strategic partnership with Theatre IV, the Children's Theatre of Virginia, since 2001. As

  • A Spritz on Both Our Houses

    Bruce Miller
    31 Oct 2009 | 7:18 am
    Posted by Bruce MillerIn My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the mega-hit movie from 2002, the father of the bride uses Windex as a cure-all. “Put some Windex!” he continually shouts as he sprays every ailment from facial blemishes to curvature of the spine.At last night’s Bootleg Shakespeare production of Romeo and Juliet, Windex’s “medicinal” properties did an about-face. The Smurf-blue solvent stood in

  • My Visit with Pat Carroll--Our 500th Post!

    Bruce Miller
    29 Oct 2009 | 7:09 pm
    Written by Carrie GaleskiVisiting with Pat Carroll was the cherry on the sundae during my recent trip to New England. It was a fun trip, visiting friends in Nantucket, playing lots of golf, and also catching up with a favorite cousin in Connecticut. I can’t believe it, but I finally got my fill of lobster on this trip!It’s always fun spending time with Pat, and this visit was no exception. She
 
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    Blurred Clarity

  • BLK JKS at Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen: Images

    Daniel Hoffmann-Gill
    6 Nov 2009 | 2:00 am
    Thanks to Gina for these great pictures of the BLK JKS in action.

  • The Best Albums of the Noughties

    Daniel Hoffmann-Gill
    4 Nov 2009 | 5:42 am
    Following on from yesterday's music themed post, I'm sharing with you yet another list, this time what I believe are the best albums released between the year 2000 and right bloody now!Hold onto your hats people and feel free to offer contrary lists in the comments, or suggestions, or hate mail directed at my music taste...10. THE STREETS – ORIGINAL PIRATE MATERIAL (2002)9. COLDPLAY – PARACHUTES (2000)8. FRANZ FERDINAND - FRANZ FERDINAND (2004)7. RADIOHEAD – IN RAINBOWS (2007)6. SYSTEM OF A DOWN – MEZMERIZE (2005)5 .RYAN ADAMS – GOLD (2001)4. THE STROKES – IS THIS IT (2001)3.

  • Best Gigs of My Entire Life...

    Daniel Hoffmann-Gill
    3 Nov 2009 | 5:56 am
    I love music, even more perhaps than I love acting but I've actually not been to that many gigs, I've calculated around 47 since my first in 1987. Having said that, to create a list of the very best is a lot harder than I at first thought and I need to reserve a special mention for my first ever gig. It was Spear of Destiny, an 80's post-punk band with a Nazi name that were actually quite left-wing. One of my cousins on my dad's side was their live sound engineer/roadie and I was only 11, it was the 1987 tour to support their big album Outland and that tour they went on to support U2, before…

  • FSA Talking Food Adverts

    Daniel Hoffmann-Gill
    2 Nov 2009 | 2:50 am
    My latest advert has hit the small screen, it is for the Food Standards Agency and features me and another actor playing a variety of talking foodstuffs, including: a South London 'yout' sausage; a Geoffrey Boycott style grumpy potato; a very Nottingham slice of pepperoni pizza; a camp as Christmas salted nut; a very distressed fish finger and right here, you'll see me being a West Country dried apricot.The shoot itself was a really fun day, we could play around with the script and the characters and although we were working in what looked like medieval torture devices to hold our heads in…

  • BLK JKS at Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen

    Daniel Hoffmann-Gill
    30 Oct 2009 | 9:37 am
    Last night was an amazing night, I have just compiled my top 10 gigs of all time and this might just have to sneak in as a notable mention; it was that bloody good!This was me and Eva-Jane's third BLK JKS gig after seeing them at Cargo, in Stokey and now at the Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen but this time we had family with us in the shape of Eva-Jane's sister Gina and her husband Stephen, along with Stephen's good friend Victor.The pressure was on, I didn't want them to disappoint as Stephen is a fan but never seen them live and the rest are all new to the phenomena that is the BLK JKS.
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    On Stage Lighting

  • Light Reflection and the Angle Of Incidence

    Rob Sayer
    26 Oct 2009 | 11:19 am
    The title sounds like an action movie but we are looking at some lighting theory of reflection, the angle of incidence and interaction of light with different surfaces. Plus the comforting constancy of physics and being able to predict what happens to a stage lighting beam once you’ve let it fly. Last week, a Project Manager sent me an email asking for my thoughts on forthcoming plans to use white PVC covered flats to back an award show, rather than using their usual finish material of felt. The question was specifically asking about successfully uplighting the shiny PVC from the floor…

  • Stage Lighting Terms – A Guide to Lampie Slang

    Rob Sayer
    21 Oct 2009 | 11:55 am
    On Stage Lighting presents an essential guide to stage lighting jargon and UK lampie slang for anyone who needs to understand what these weirdos are talking about or needs to blag it as a member the LX department. Every so often, lighting technicians have to talk to people in the real world (or lesser mortals like sound engineers). It soon becomes apparent that, as in every corner of life, there is a certain amount jargon. Lighting terms, slang and other gobbledygook that techies use when communicating with each other, to the exclusion of the outside world. While a full glossary of stage…

  • Live Lighting

    Rob Sayer
    14 Oct 2009 | 12:30 pm
    Live lighting is making more appearances in an increasing range of performances and show types. Put the edge back in your lighting design with the fear of uncertainty. Before tiny electronic lighting controls and predictable fade times, the theatre world relied on the physicality of men in coats pulling levers, twiddling dials and a direct connection between them and the light seen on stage. The reason that early modern lighting consoles looked suspiciously like they were based on a pipe organ, was that the real time connection of an lighting technician and his lights was highly regarded.

  • Fixture Personality Files and Lighting Control

    Rob Sayer
    6 Oct 2009 | 12:08 pm
    This rough guide looks at the different functions of fixture personality files, trends in complex lighting control interfaces and asks “When is standardisation going to replace fragmentation in the world of stage lighting control?” Fixture Personality Basics Intelligent lighting equipment that requires multiple parameters of control has a model specific map of how those functions are controlled. If a fixture requires 30 channels of control, perhaps the first channel is mapped to Intensity with Pan Coarse on channel 3. The other 28 channels all have their own functions including colours,…

  • Pan & Tilt Invert – Why Life Is Sometimes Better Back To Front

    Rob Sayer
    29 Sep 2009 | 12:25 pm
    This week we look at attribute inversions in intelligent lighting control, the use of Pan or Tilt Invert in particular. So what is attribute inversion, why would a console programmer use it and when is an invert most useful? On Stage Lighting turns your world upside down. What is attribute inversion? If you have some understanding of intelligent lighting, you might know that the word “attributes” refers to distinct fixture parameters such as Intensity, Pan, Tilt, Gobo Wheel 1 etc. Each attribute channel is controlled by a value between 0 and 255, in the case of Intensity 0 being 0% dimmer…
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    'kül

  • Children at Play

    5 Nov 2009 | 8:09 pm
    Photo/Jeanette Orlić"IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII," say the goofy Lacey and Lancelot, "don't feel nervous about starting school today!" Of course, like most sixth-graders, their energetic insistence is a dead giveaway that they do. After all, even at the James Joyce Junior High School for the Gifted and Talented, they're afraid of the daily hassles their precociousness brings. Morgan Nickelfleck Gladystone can understand: ever since her father raped her when she was five, she's been living a far more mature--and therefore picked on--life.Of course, Jordan Seavey, whose last play with…

  • Creature

    4 Nov 2009 | 8:08 pm
    Photos/Jim Baldassare1401 was not an easy time to be alive. Even if you're fortunate enough to have a stable job--or, in this case, to be married to someone who owns a brewery--that doesn't mean that you'll be understood. It's therefore a smart choice for Heidi Schreck to revisit the true story of Margery Kempe (Sofia Jean Gomez) in our modern time, when we are readier to listen to her heaving, all-or-nothing attempts to find meaning in her life.Her Nurse (Tricia Rodley) certainly doesn't understand her--in fact, she's guiltily jealous--and so she takes pleasure in Margery's sudden,…

  • The Hypochondriac

    3 Nov 2009 | 3:15 pm
    Photo/Amy KnutsonWhy does this bold company call itself "The Cell"? Their performance space is a converted luxury apartment, and even if it were a prison, nightly entertainments like The Hypochondriac would quickly encourage even the grumpiest of theatergoers to lock themselves in and throw away the key. Of course, true fans of comedy might do that simply upon finding a passable production of Moliere; this takes it a step further by updating The Imaginary Invalid to modern times. As a result, this satire has bite again: in fact, its teeth are so sharp that some bits--like Justin Stasiw's…

  • Americana Kamikaze

    2 Nov 2009 | 3:35 pm
    With last year's Welcome to Nowhere (bullet hole road), Temporary Distortion made a strong case for theatrical fusion: their East (theater) meets West (film) sensibility smashed together in a symmetrically shaped installation/set-piece that left them stranded somewhere in the middle, drifting in a poetic wasteland. Kenneth Collins has now turned his eye to the Japanese ghost story, aided once again by William Cusick's video projections, but their success is also their downfall. As with Welcome to Nowhere, the film takes on the sensation of the subject material, but whereas the road picture…

  • metaDRAMA: As If You Needed An Excuse!

    1 Nov 2009 | 3:27 pm
    Apparently this is not only NaPlWriMo (National Playwriting Month) but it's also NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month). I'm hoping that in blogging for NaPlWriMo's opening day kick-off--"Every Way Is the Right Way"--I'm on the path toward fulfilling my quota for NaBloPoMo. And I'm hoping that over the next month of reviewing shows--it's a pretty full slate, despite the time I've been losing to my impending move, seasonal illness, and some unfortunate postponements of plays--I'll actually find the time to turn all of that into some sort of small play, thus fulfilling an obligation I now feel…
 
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    Theater Talk's New Theater Corps

  • The Traveling Players

    26 Oct 2009 | 3:29 pm
    The opening show of La Mama's 48th season, a play-within-a-play modern adaptation of Euripides' The Trojan Women by puppet savant Theodora Skipitares, makes for a visually impressive, if uneven, production. Reviewed by Ryan MaxOne by one, four enormous, gorgeous puppets rumble onto the stage. As each emerges at intervals throughout they play, she delivers a monologue detailing cruelties she has

  • 23 Coins

    14 Oct 2009 | 7:16 am
    23 Coins is a provocative and intense play about the lies blind faith allows - but the fire and brimstone themes are no easy fit for the cheery song and dance structure. Come with an open-mind, and be prepared to leave unsettled. Just don't expect to be humming any tunes on your way out.Isaac Thigpen (played by Oliver Conant) and Gin Walker (played by Rebecca Lee Lerman) practice what they’ll

  • My Illustrious Wasteland

    9 Oct 2009 | 8:56 pm
    My Illustrious Wasteland, by Tod Kimbo, is a fantastical, thrilling escape into the future. It’s science fiction, political satire, social commentary, and more, set to full-throttle rock music. Reviewed by Amanda HalkiotisTod Kimbo’s My Illustrious Wasteland welcomes us to an America only a few light years off, one where Hollywood is the new capital and the Democratic Party is a dictatorship.

  • Luck

    5 Oct 2009 | 5:05 am
    Megan Riordan’s autobiographical one-woman show Luck is us a dizzying glimpse of the life of a professional blackjack player’s daughter. Using nicknames, code words, and complex mathematics, along with the occasionally sobering monologue, Riordan gives the audience the one thing that Vegas can’t: a sure thing.Reviewed by Amanda HalkiotisAs the daughter of a professional gambler and raised in Las

  • Frederick Douglass Now

    25 Sep 2009 | 2:42 pm
    Roger Guenveur Smith’s new play Frederick Douglass Now modernizes the slave-turned-activist’s letters and journals and adapts them for the stage. Using mixed media and passionate, rhythmic speech patterns, Smith targets many still-relevant social issues surrounding race and democracy. Smith’s ambitious, if not heavy handed, use of other additional traits linked to African America culture and
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    Photoplayer Hater

  • Actors Who Made Their Own Movies

    Ashlley Elias
    27 Oct 2009 | 5:45 am
    Actors often fall into the trap of waiting for someone to make opportunities for them. The prevailing wisdom is that auditioning is the best way to get acting parts. Not only are some actors not built for the constant rejection that is inherent in auditions, many overlook other talents that could serve their acting career well with just a little push. Audition advice is readily available and stories of actors being "discovered" are plentiful, less talked about and encouraged is doing what these actors have done; made their own film. Image by Your Good Buddy Billy Bob Thorton Rather than…

  • Actor Considerations For Acting In Nude Scenes

    Ashlley Elias
    31 Jul 2009 | 11:22 am
    Sometime in most actors career (women particularly) they will be confronted with a role that includes nudity. In a theatre production being naked on-stage might be a little frightening the first time but once you do it three times a week it gets old and once you put your clothes back on it is over. Theatre rehearsals are often extensive and along the way the cast becomes a family, which eases any anguish over baring your body. Image by Room With A View Film productions often come together quickly and disband as fast, making it so you are baring yourself to virtual strangers. On screen nudity…

  • Why Actors Do Not Produce Projects Online

    Ashlley Elias
    29 Apr 2009 | 3:24 pm
    Actors have been trained to wait for opportunities to come to them and be grateful for whatever they can get. Instead of being part of a team that puts together a project, most actors simply audition and wait for a phone call. It might seem that it is the only way to reaching acting success, but history and the actions of certain current actors shows that success does not just come from showing up and hoping someone likes you. The original Greek playwrights were also the ones who acted out their plays. The most successful Hollywood actors also take an active role in producing the films they…

  • Actor Excitement In Acting Performance

    Ashlley Elias
    26 Mar 2009 | 6:58 am
    Actors come to the craft from many different backgrounds and for many different reasons. Although acting is entertainment from the audience perspective, many actors do not become actors just to entertain others- more often than not it is the side benefits that keep them going. Not only do actors get different things from acting, they can reap these benefits in different areas and times of the acting process. These benefits generally consist of some sort of fun. Image by gilowe [bryan lowe] Acting breaks down into at least three parts: preparation, performance, response. Preparation and…

  • How To Act Drunk Credibly Tips

    Ashlley Elias
    23 Feb 2009 | 5:43 am
    Certain actors fall easily into caricature. Instead of analyzing what real people actually do, they just copy what they have seen on TV or a stereotype in their head. Actors that strive for realism need move beyond cliches and tired ideas. Actors that really want to bring a life-like quality to their work need to look deeper than surfaces and vague memories. It is easy for most actors to play awake and alert since that is how we are most of the time. The trouble is with those other states that we are so rarely in that we do not easily get a very good sense of what they are really like. We are…
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    The Theatrefolk Weblog

  • Tick Tock. Tick Tock. Days 5,6,7.

    Lindsay Price
    7 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am
    Lindsay writes every day for 30 days and posts about her experience; the good, the bad, and the bizarre twists and turns in the life of a playwright. Thursday November 5th Well it feels like I didn’t do anything to day. Which isn’t true at all. I typed out two scenes for the ten minute play collection and roughed out two more. I finished and formatted the November Theatrefolk newsletter today. And that’s the thing. The beginning of this week was just me and my chair and the words. The rest of this week is all about time management. Tomorrow I’ll be spending most of the…

  • It’s Freebie Friday!

    Craig Mason
    6 Nov 2009 | 5:55 am
    Welcome to another Freebie Friday! (see here for other Freebie Friday posts.) This week we have three monologues suitable for teenage girls, taken from (our) published plays. You’re free to copy and share these pieces, as long as they are distributed in their entirety. You’re also welcome to perform them without royalty for auditions, classwork, and competitions such as Thespian IEs. Click on each image to download a printable/copyable/shareable PDF of each monologue. Enjoy! Come back next week for three more free monologues. Special Super-Duper Bonus… I recently stumbled…

  • Up and at ‘em: Day 3, 4

    Lindsay Price
    5 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am
    Tuesday November 3rd Well I was up at 6 o’clock this morning. Really, I am excited and raring to go, but I’d be just as excited and raring to go at 8:00. Oh well. You get a lot done when you get up that early. Still hunting and gathering for ideas, and trying to drive them forward into ideas that will turn into workable plays. Ended up with three yesterday and three today with still more in the starting block for tomorrow. The brain is working nicely and I might as well push push push while I have the time and the energy. People ask me all the time ‘where do you get your…

  • Theatre… T eatre… Theat e…

    Craig Mason
    4 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am
    I want to share this great TED talk I just came across. It’s given by Beau Lotto, a scientist/author/researcher/artist who studies how our brains perceive what is around us. He talks about how the brain recognizes colours and patterns “because in the statistics of your past experience it would have been useful to do so.” He shows the audience some really neat optical illusions and explains why they work the way they do. Definitely worth a watch: (If a video doesn’t appear here for you then you can find it here.) No one is an outside observer of nature. We are not…

  • Let the writing begin! Day 1, 2

    Lindsay Price
    3 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am
    Lindsay writes every day for 30 days and post about her experience; the good, the bad, and the bizarre twists and turns in the life of a playwright. Sunday November 1st As luck would have it, November is also National Playwriting Month (which is a sub arm of National Write a Novel Month)! Naplwrimo challenges playwrights to start a play on November 1st and finish it by November 30th. I’ll be participating in a fashion, I won’t be working on one specific play; I’m going to focus on a new ten minute play collection. In an ideal world, I want 30 plays in the collection between…
 
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    London Theatre Blog

  • Mischa Twitchin on the history of SHUNT and their new show Money

    Andrew Eglinton
    3 Nov 2009 | 4:53 am
    For the past decade the 10 core members of the Shunt Collective, working closely with associate artists and an expanding network of collaborators from the Lounge Project, have pioneered large-scale, shared theatre experiences in a series of uniquely crafted environments. Their latest creation, Money, partly inspired by Emile Zola’s novel of the same name, involves a Victorian-era machine, a behemoth whose innards house satirical tales of economic risk, rivalry and greed. The company’s ten-year story has not been without difficulty or probing from its critics, but as Shunt prepares…

  • A Practical Guide to Theatre and the Web: Introducing Social Media

    Sinead Mac Manus
    31 Oct 2009 | 7:26 am
    In this next instalment of hands-on articles, creative business consultant, Sinead Mac Manus, jumps into the world of social media and social networking and provides an overview of its benefits and pitfalls. In the coming weeks, she will address specific apps and platforms, starting next week with the world of blogging. What is Social Media? As we discovered in the first article in this series, social media can be defined as the sum of online tools that facilitate communication and multimedia content sharing. When used effectively, social media can help market your work, raise your profile…

  • Alan Lane on Slung Low and They Only Come Out at Night

    Mika Eglinton
    27 Oct 2009 | 8:27 am
    Alan Lane is the artistic director of the Leeds-based company Slung Low, currently performing They Only Come Out at Night: Visions in the Barbican Theatre’s car park. The company is formed of 7 artists from a wide range of disciplines including prose, movement, video, sound and theatre. In this interview, theatre crtic and academic, Mika Eglinton, talks to Alan Lane about aspects of the company’s history, artistic practice and the conceptual background to this current cycle of work. Mika Eglinton: You performed Resurrection in Bradford earlier this year and you’ve just opened…

  • Alison’s House

    Stephe Harrop
    11 Oct 2009 | 2:11 am
    Alison’s House by Susan Glaspell is set on the very last day of the nineteenth century. A rambling house that was once home to a celebrated poetess is on the point of being broken up and sold. Her surviving family pick their way through the debris, clutching ambiguous relics, concealing the evidence of old scandals. Caught between private memory and public mythology, they retell and repress their various versions of Alison’s life. Then the appearance of a young journalist with literary aspirations re-ignites the smouldering feud between old-fashioned decorum and the encroaching claims of…

  • Found in the Ground

    Stephe Harrop
    5 Oct 2009 | 2:55 am
    So. There’s a Nuremberg judge burning his library of unread books, while his daughter copulates obsessively with the dying. A faceless, bare-breasted woman stalks across the stage, groaning ‘I am all the Anne Franks’ to the point of absurdity, then tedium. Three mechanical dogs trundle awkwardly about, howling unpersuasively and cluttering up the space. And a sinister chorus line of uniformed nurses march, smirk, titter, and bare their backsides in mindless unison. Howard Barker’s Found in the Ground is suffused with the furious lassitude which follows the discovery that rote piety is…
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    Groundling

  • Foyer Regent Cinema, Brisbane

    Admin
    6 Nov 2009 | 10:41 pm
    Regent Cinema, Brisbane Originally uploaded by stephenk1977 They don’t make them like this anymore.

  • Work in the theatre? A poll: Do you read reviews of your work?

    Admin
    4 Nov 2009 | 4:22 pm
    I followed with interest the blogging of Jane Fonda earlier this year.  She was rehearsing and appearing in 33 Variations on Broadway at the time.  She wrote a post To Read or Not to Read – the reviews, that is – and it emerged that she was advised be her friend, fellow actor Christine Lahti not to read them, at least until after the season was over.  The post and the comments make for good reading – as does the whole blog of the process.  She wrote This will be hard for me. My curiousity may get the better of me. Yet I can imagine that if a reviewer really likes or…

  • This Week in Queensland Theatre: Nov 2-8

    Admin
    1 Nov 2009 | 3:00 pm
    Image by Ian Kath via Flickr For session dates and times check company websites. Click on the logo on Greenroom’s homepage to access. Continuing: The Crucible:Queensland Theatre Company – Playhouse QPAC Opening: Les Liaisons Dangereuses: That Production Company – Roundhouse Theatre Launch: Queensland Theatre Company: Season 2010 Education Program
 
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    The Sill

  • A Special Offer From Ars Nova Veterans!

    2 Nov 2009 | 10:53 am
    Congratulations to Ars Nova's Play Group member Annie Baker and Jollyship the Whiz-bang director Sam Gold on their hit new play, Circle Mirror Transformation, now playing at Playwrights Horizons. The show has received raves across the board and has now extended to November 15th. Friends of Ars Nova can purchase $35 tickets (regularly $50) with discount code CMGR by CLICKING HERE or by calling 212-279-4200 (Noon-8pm daily). Also, stay tuned for exciting news about the upcoming Play Group production at Ars Nova, featuring short works by Annie Baker, Bekah Brunstetter, Dylan Dawson, Kristoffer…

  • Spend a Night on Outré Island!

    29 Sep 2009 | 1:09 pm

  • Ars Nova Offers Former Tony Voters Off-Off Broadway Consolation Package

    23 Jul 2009 | 10:25 am
    New York, NY--In an effort to provide comfort to the theater critics and journalists no longer eligible to cast their ballots for the Tony's, Ars Nova (Jason Eagan, Artistic Director; Jon Steingart and Jenny Wiener Steingart, Executive Producers) will offer every former voter a Super Nova membership along with a pair of complimentary tickets to a summer program of their choice. As Super Novas, the aggrieved members of the First Night Press List will receive a free drink at the Ars Nova bar at every performance, along with a t-shirt and access to exclusive ticket offers. Unlike the Tony voting…

  • Spin your batons to these free "La Batutera" MP3 downloads!

    7 Jul 2009 | 1:49 pm
    A fiery fiesta is moving into Ars Nova this Friday! The Spanish Rock Opera "La Batutera" is hitting the stage, and we've got some incredible tracks from their upcoming album to whet your apetito. Just click below to download the tracks, and be sure to check out La Batutera this Friday at 8:00 PM. Every ticket comes with a FREE CD, so you'll have even more latin beats to fill your summer! MP3 Files (Right Click to Download) Cheeze Treats.mp3 Tera Batu.mp3 CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS TO LA BATUTERA, PLAYING JULY 10 AT ARS NOVA!

  • See Sax & Dixon: We Thee Wed online, LIVE this Thursday at 7:55PM!

    16 Jun 2009 | 1:42 pm
    Ars Nova is boldly going where no Off-Broadway theater has gone before! This Thursday we'll be offering a LIVE video broadcast of our latest show, Sax & Dixon: We Thee Wed for FREE at arsnovanyc.com. Simply visit our site at 7:55 PM to watch the complete show piped directly from the Ars Nova Theater on 10th Ave to your own Mac or PC. A lot of folks have been curious as to why we would broadcast a currently-running show for free in the middle of its scheduled run. Here's a few reasons: We want as many people as possible to see John Dixon and Matt Sax in action. These guys are incredible, and…
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    Cambiare Productions

  • Words Matter (The Power of Naming)

    Travis Bedard
    27 Oct 2009 | 2:48 pm
    Kate Foy of Groundling (and Toowoomba! I just like saying Toowoomba!) has been asking nicely all over the internet for about a year what exactly people mean when they call themselves an “indie” theatre company. I’ve talked with her in roughly 492 different venues about it, but discovered that I never had answered it here where I might be held accountable for it. I did talk about labeling in a post a year ago but didn’t really get into why I choose that label that I do. I like specificity. I’m not always good at it but I like it. To that end I would prefer that words retain their…

  • 10 Things I Wish I’d Been told in College (and 1 I was)

    Travis Bedard
    25 Oct 2009 | 6:47 pm
    Everyone loves lists. Well. I love lists, and while there’s been a lot of talk over my three years actively blogging about theatre about the failings of the Theatre Education Industrial Complex, we’ve not really attempted to create a curriculum we approve of. Largely because, well, creating a new theatre education paradigm is hard. And I’m not going to do that here, because I’m not sure how to even begin. Instead? Herein lies a list of things I wish someone had told me over a beer the night of graduation. “Well… you made it, and now you’re ‘In the Club’ so here’s all the…

  • Socialism, Party of One?

    Travis Bedard
    13 Oct 2009 | 3:16 pm
    So the Chicago Small Theatre Summit happened. My thoughts of course turned to my own desire to have a small theatre alliance in Austin. A group of indie theatremakers in town  to help avoid burnout due to isolation, to get off the hamster wheel of scene reinvention, to share resources and ideas, and to spark competitive innovation. And I know it won’t happen. There will be friendships and acquaintance-hood and we’ll go to each other’s shows. But no meaningful regular exchange of ideas will happen. Why not? We’re busy – Ask 10 groups when the best time to meet is – get 12…

  • NEXT…

    Travis Bedard
    22 Sep 2009 | 9:00 am
    DATELINE: 9/15/2009 This is the post I was supposed to write Monday night… and didn’t. So Tuesday during work… Tuesday night… Wednesday during work… It’s already mostly in my head so I couldn’t figure out why I was holding up. It’s not like typing is all that taxing. And it took Will texting me out of nowhere to put the universes’ point to it. Today City of Austin funding award letters arrived. Despite the flawed grant application the City granted us 77% of our request which should, with better fiscal husbandry, give us enough of a leg up to get us through our modest season.

  • I read the news today – oh boy…

    Travis Bedard
    17 Sep 2009 | 3:12 pm
    I talked about Will following up all of my “what didn’t work” analysis about Orestes with a discussion about the parts of the show that were successful. His soft boycott of blogging means he never got to what I’ve been calling the Little Mary Sunshine post, so I’m going to let the nominating committee for Austin Circle of Theatres B. Iden Payne Award committee say it for him: We were nominated for: OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A DRAMA ORESTES   OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR OF A DRAMA WILL HOLLIS SNIDER OUSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA GABRIEL LUNA OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTRESS IN A DRAMA…
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    HOLLYWOOD ACTOR PREP BLOG

  • DeNiro’s Speech Before The Screening Of ‘Everybody’s Fine’

    Dana Kaminski
    5 Nov 2009 | 12:23 am
    Actor Robert DeNiro said "What else can I say?" Then, with a shrug, "I hope everybody likes it." Related Articles, Auto-generated:Michelle Obama’s Speech :: Importance Of The Arts tweetmeme_url =... [[...Just a partial post. If interested in seeing the entire post, & media...CLICK on the TITLE.]]

  • Morgan Freeman On The Acting Quality Of Matt Damon

    Dana Kaminski
    3 Nov 2009 | 3:24 pm
    Then, Morgan Freeman said, "He always gets the job done. There's no strain in his work." For me, that's huge. This simple sentence describes, in very few words, a very high level of quality, of acting. Why, do you think? Related Articles, Auto-generated:Discussion On Professional Acting, And... [[...Just a partial post. If interested in seeing the entire post, & media...CLICK on the TITLE.]]

  • Discussion On Professional Acting, And Actor Artistry…And Matt Damon

    Dana Kaminski
    2 Nov 2009 | 3:00 pm
    ...Matt Damon's artistic sensibility, and integrity as an actor. Key points. How that plays out in terms of his professional career. This week, I am going to spend some time into discussing some of the key phrases with you...So many of these exemplify the standards and principals of Hollywood Actor... [[...Just a partial post. If interested in seeing the entire post, & media...CLICK on the TITLE.]]

  • Acting Surprises In ‘Precious’

    Dana Kaminski
    31 Oct 2009 | 3:41 pm
    Gabourey Sidibe's acting in 'Precious' is so withheld, quiet, understated...it's gonna whiz right over most people's heads. It's so real, and so tear-wrenchingly silent. Precious is buried; a child whose real-self never saw the light of day. The audience cannot believe that what they are watching... [[...Just a partial post. If interested in seeing the entire post, & media...CLICK on the TITLE.]]

  • ‘Precious’ Is A Work Of (Acting+Directing) Art :: No False Notes

    Dana Kaminski
    28 Oct 2009 | 3:33 pm
    But, during the very first meeting with Gabby Sidibe; a meeting that, by the way, she really wasn't interested in going to and was prodded by a friend who was also going...It was during that first meeting that he knew what she didn't even know. The director experienced it at a specific moment, that... [[...Just a partial post. If interested in seeing the entire post, & media...CLICK on the TITLE.]]
 
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    Berkshire Review for the Arts

  • Two Unrelated Plays by David Mamet, Atlantic Theater Company NYC

    Ilya Khodosh
    31 Oct 2009 | 4:47 pm
    Brian Murray, John Pankow, and Michael Cassidy in Keep Your Pantheon (photo by Sara Krulwich) Two Unrelated Plays by David Mamet: Keep Your Pantheon and School Directed by Neil Pepe September 9 - November 1, 2009, Atlantic Theater Company, New York City With Jeffrey Addiss, Michael Cassidy, Steven Hawley, J.J. Johnston, Jordan Lage, Brian Murray, Rod McLachlan, John Pankow, Jonathan Rossetti, Jack Wallace, Todd Weeks I’m all in favor of the New York theater scene being saturated with David Mamet over the past couple of years—I enjoyed last year’s revival of Speed-the-Plow and would…

  • Royall Tyler’s The Contrast at The Metropolitan Playhouse, New York: the very earliest of American plays lives on!

    Heidi Holder
    29 Oct 2009 | 9:28 am
    Brad Fraizer as Jonathan in the Metropolitan Playhouse production of Royall Tyler’s The Contrast. Photo: Carrie Shaltz. The Contrast by Royall Tyler The Metropolitan Playhouse, New York October 17, 2009 Now in its eighteenth season, New York’s Metropolitan Playhouse continues its mission to reexamine America’s theatrical heritage. Past productions have ranged from key nineteenth-century works such as John Augustus Stone’s 1829 “Indian” drama Metamora, Anna Cora Mowatt’s 1845 comedy Fashion, and Dion Boucicault’s depiction of slavery in The Octoroon (1859), to seldom seen…

  • Francis Beaumont, The Knight of the Burning Pestle, Renaissance Center Theater Company, Amherst, MA

    The Editor
    17 Oct 2009 | 9:32 pm
    Francis Beaumont, after Francis Kyte; Unknown artist, mezzotint, circa 1740s Francis Beaumont, The Knight of the Burning Pestle Director: Nathaniel Leonard Renaissance Center Theater Company The Massachusetts Center for Interdisciplinary Renaissance Studies University of Massachusetts, Amherst October 11th, 2009 Among plays about the theater, Beaumont’s Knight of the Burning Pestle stands out for its sheer lunatic energy. First staged around 1607, this Knight is a trove of mocking allusions to the theatrical pieces of the time, particularly the “citizen” plays displaying the bold…

  • William Shakespeare, All’s Well That Ends Well, National Theatre (London), NT Live Telecast

    Heidi Holder
    17 Oct 2009 | 9:51 am
    Michelle Terry (Helena), Oliver Ford Davies (The King of France), George Rainsford (Bertram), All's Well That Ends Well, National Theatre 2009. Photo Simon Annand.William Shakespeare William Shakespeare, All’s Well That Ends Well Director - Marianne Elliott Designer - Rae Smith Lighting Designer - Peter Mumford Music - Adam Cork Movement Director - Laila Diallo National Theatre (London), NT Live Telecast (Amherst Cinemas, Amherst, Mass.) October 3rd, 2009 For the second production in their inaugural season of “NT Live” telecasts, the National Theatre has selected one of…

  • Lipsynch by Robert Lepage at BAM

    Ilya Khodosh
    11 Oct 2009 | 8:49 pm
    Frédérike Bédard and Rick Miller in Lipsynch (photo by Chang W. Lee) Lipsynch Ex Machina / Theatre Sans Frontieres Directed by Robert Lepage October 3-11, 2009, BAM, New York City Written and performed by: Frédérike Bédard, Carlos Belda, Rebecca Blankenship, Lise Castonguay, John Cobb, Nuria Garcia, Marie Gignac, Sarah Kemp, Robert Lepage, Rick Miller, Hans Piesbergen The eight-and-a-half hour Lipsynch, a continent- and generation-spanning anthology of interconnected vignettes conceived by Quebecois auteur Robert Lepage, is a production of rare beauty. It showcases one stunning visual…
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