Category: theatre

More than two years since the terrorist attacks of 9/11/01, the arts world still seems to have no idea how to respond, says Frank Rich. “The commodification of 9/11 by theater artists is perhaps even more dispiriting than that by the vendors who hawk T-shirts at ground zero. You expect more from artists. You don’t expect more from the entertainment industry, but given how much hot air its players lavish on politics, its current performance is conspicuously dim.”

The new opera based on the life and career of talk show host Jerry Springer may be getting critical raves, but West End theatergoers don’t seem to be convinced. “Critics on both continents raved about it. It broke box-office records at the National. New York theater owners offered their best houses for the inevitable Broadway production, and producers, managers and press agents scrambled to get a piece of the action. Then, on July 1, when tickets for a much-ballyhooed transfer to a West End commercial theater went on sale, this white hot show suddenly turned cold.”

The fall season on Broadway is a crowded one. And advance box office is looking good too…

In a reversal of policy, the Royal Shakespeare Company says it is looking for a permanent home in London. Last year the RSC gave up its digs at the Barbican. “It currently has an itinerant status in the capital, moving from venue to venue. This has reportedly hit box office receipts and, say critics, caused the company to lose its identity.”

The Shaw Festival, one of two legendary theatre fests in southern Ontario (Stratford is the other,) has announced plans to expand its season. In past years, Shaw has begun its annual run in late May, and closed up shop in November. But beginning next year, the festival will open in early May, and stretch into December. Shaw will also highlight two contemporary Canadian playwrights in 2004.

A stage in Birmingham, England, collapsed, injuring 15-20 people. “The audience was taking part in a ‘sing song’ before the show. Members of the audience who were dressed as nuns were asked to get on the stage and take part in a sing song. There were about 30 or 40 people on the stage and as they walked forward to the area which covers the orchestra, the stage collapsed.”

The Toronto Theatre Alliance is looking for a leader. The organization is at a crossroads, and its mission, as well as its effectiveness, is a bit murky. “From a clear lack of initial purpose, the problem with the organization continues with its membership policies. They boast that they represent ‘200 professional theatre, dance and opera member companies,’ but a look at those members makes you wonder what they’re using as a definition of professional.”

Michael Boyd has a big job ahead of him turning around the RSC (which is in something of a mess). “When he took over as director from Adrian Noble last year, he inherited a £2.8m deficit and an institution in search of its soul. Now Boyd is confident enough to outline his long-term vision for the company, which includes the staging in Stratford of all Shakespeare’s plays in 2006 and an international Shakespeare festival in 2007. But first…

Nicholas Hytner’s reinvention of London’s National Theatre has been a big success so far. “Hytner’s gamble that the NT could get the same income from near 100% capacity at bargain basement prices as it could from 65% utilisation at traditional prices does, of course, depend on producing high-class shows. If Mr Hytner can continue as he has started, he has a real chance of turning the National into a People’s Theatre. That would be a rare achievement.”

Rosie O’Donnell has always been one of Broadway’s biggest boosters. Now she’s putting her own money behind her words. “Taboo,” a new musical with songs by the 1980’s pop star Boy George, is being backed by O’Donnell, who is putting up $10 million of her fortune to produce it. “While that alone would make her involvement remarkable — most shows on Broadway get their money from dozens of smaller investors — Ms. O’Donnell has also taken the risky step of casting herself as the principal draw for ‘Taboo,’ using her brassy image and her reputation as an arbiter of suburban taste to lure audiences.”