LEARNING THE HARD WAY

How can Broadway shows possibly satisfy the tastes of the crowds lining up to see “Footloose” and “Saturday Night Fever” as well as those looking for avant-garde productions and the many critics sore that the Great White Way has “become just another aisle in the great Disney store”? The Public Theater is learning the hard way – its “Wild Party” just closed at a loss of more than $5 million (just two years after its “On the Town” lost them $7 mil). “The Public’s multimillion losses might be admirable for an online pet-food start-up, but not for a nonprofit organization with just over 30 million dollars left in the bank. And all because a director of extraordinary but erratic ability – George C. Wolfe, the man responsible for Tony Kushner’s “Angels in America” and “Bring in da Noise, Bring in da Funk” – wanted to single-handedly reinvigorate Broadway. What a dumb idea.” – Feed