Category: theatre

A new generation of improbable-sounding musicals is hitting London stages. “A key common denominator among this new breed of offbeat shows is that they’re about the lyrics as much as the music.”

Premieres draw attention to theatre companies. But what do they do for the company? “Anybody who’s running a theatre in America today has to serve two masters: You have to serve the aesthetics of the community and give them shows they want to see, and we have to serve the art form or else we’re just doing museum pieces. Theatre is live and future-oriented, and I’d hate to think we’re just doing the familiar. Institutional theatre has got to take risks.”

The Monty Python-inspired musical, Spamalot, is headed back to its spiritual and linguistic home. The wacky show, which has broken ticket sales records on Broadway, will begin a run in London’s West End this fall.

“The final cost of the long-awaited stage adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, which begins previews at Toronto’s Princess of Wales Theatre on Feb. 2, may exceed its projected budget of CAN$27-million… [Still,] the most ambitious and expensive stage show in history seems to be on track. As of this week, advance sales were closing in on $15-million.”

“In recent years GM had partnered with the Stratford, Ont., Shakespeare festival to provide it with more than $100,000 each season in money and in-kind assistance. GM vice-president of corporate affairs Dave Paterson said the decision to stop backing Stratford was made last summer in response to what he called “our very rapidly changing vehicle lineup.”

“For reasons ranging from grief and mourning to awe and admiration — and including some celebrity exploitation and publicity grabbing — the world was suddenly full of Wilson proclamations, events, tributes and dedications. Just before he died, a Broadway theater was renamed to honor him. There is a move afoot to rename a Seattle street to commemorate him. Inevitably, there has been speculation about Wilson’s place in history. Will he become a permanent icon, like Eugene O’Neil?”

Kent Phillips is the theatre doctor. “Kent is the great healer for theaters. He chops costs big time, throws out big ambitious shows, presents smaller-cast shows, cuts payrolls — but theaters then do survive.”

The Royal Shakespeare Company is closing its Royal Swan Theatre for two years as it rebuilds. “Locals said they were unaware of a two-season closure and there are claims the town could lose millions of pounds of tourism spending, greater than first thought. While the RST is closed, the temporary Courtyard Theatre, with about 1,000 seats will be used.”

“The National Theatre dominated the new writing categories, with Coram Boy, its recent children’s play, Howard Brenton’s controversial drama Paul, and Simon Stephens’s On the Shore of the Wide Wild World receiving nominations.”

Dominic Dromgoole is in his first year running London’s Globe Theatre. So he holds a press conference, and launches a series of… colorful… assertions duly reported in the press. Said assertions put Dromgoole at odds with… well, everyone?