Category: theatre

Public Theatre Nominates A Chairman

Warren Spector has been nominated to be new chairman of New York’s Public Theatre. “Mr. Spector, a millionaire many times over who has overseen robust profits of late at Bear Stearns, the global banking and brokerage firm, said yesterday that he hoped to preside over an equally rosy period at the Public, which finished last fiscal year in the black and debt-free.”

Beautiful Watermill Theatre For Sale

Britain’s countryside Watermill Theatre is housed in an 1820s redbrick mill, and it’s for sale. “Under the directorship of Jill Fraser, backed up by her husband James Sargant, who worked in senior positions for the RSC for many years, this rural idyll has quietly become one of the most admired and influential theatres in the country. In the past five years, it has transferred more shows to the West End than any other theatre in Britain.”

Playwright Veto: When You Can’t Do It That Way

A Philadelphia theatre tries to mount an all-female production of “Grease” but the musical’s creators object. So “how much control does a creator retain after releasing a play for production? When does a director’s interpretation override an author’s intention? There is a “strong presumption” in the theater community to protect the intentions of the playwright, and that outrageous staging could be framed as a copyright violation. Whether a court would side with the playwright or the producer in such a case is uncertain, because almost no cease-and-desist letters result in court action.”

Spacey Pulls Out Of Old Vic Production, Fans Protest

Kevin Spacey suddenly pulled out of a production at London’s Old Vic, which he has run for the past year. And ticket-buyers, who had gobbled up £1.2 million worth of ducats “for the cash-strapped Old Vic – a figure almost unprecedented for a straight play in the West End – are unhappy. Still, “espite his critically unsuccessful first season on the South Bank, with unenthusiastic or bad reviews for the first two plays he staged, Cloaca and National Anthems, a recent poll suggests that his support remains solid.”

Is There Such A Thing As Too Much Shakespeare?

Washington, D.C.’s new six-month Shakespeare festival is quite the undertaking, featuring 22 different arts organizations (including one that specializes in tiny plastic ninjas,) and promising to more or less claim the nation’s capital in the name of the Bard. “What would the Bard himself think of all this? He lived in a time when his plays were performed in ill-lighted theaters where the bulk of the audience stood rather than sat in a big pit quite near the stage. Some of these patrons came bearing spirits, with which to endure some of the longer, duller speeches, and even rotten fruits, eggs and vegetables, with which to provide constructive criticism for the actors.”

Tony Can’t Save La Cage

“On Sunday, La Cage aux Folles won Tony Awards for best musical revival and choreography. On Tuesday, producers of the $10 million revival said the show will close June 26 after a disappointing seven-month run of 229 performances.” Mixed reviews hurt the show’s box office, and had recently been playing to half-empty houses at Broadway’s Marquis Theatre.

Pittburgh Cherry Picks A Cleveland Director

“[Pittsburgh’s] City Theatre has a new managing director, Greg Quinlan, former managing director of the Great Lakes Theatre Festival in Cleveland. Starting Aug. 15, Quinlan will team with artistic director Tracy Brigden to run the $2.4 million not-for-profit South Side company that owns two theaters and specializes in the production of contemporary plays.”

Odd Couple Has Bonanza First Day Box Office

In its first day on sale, the Matthew Broderick/Nathan Lane production of The Odd Couple sells $7 million woth of tickets. “At this astounding pace, it is thought that the production could potentially sell out its limited run before the first preview, set for Oct. 4. It is also conceivable that the Joe Mantello-directed revival could recoup well in advance of opening.”