Category: theatre

Broadway’s “The Producers” will keep its top ticket price at $100, rather than raise them when Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick return to the show. “Speculation that people would hold off buying tickets to “The Producers” until Lane and Broderick were back has turned out to be unfounded. That is largely because the show is playing to tourists, who have no choice but to see “The Producers” now, while they’re in town. As for what will happen to the show after Lane and Broderick leave in March, that’s a big subject of debate on Broadway right now. Some think the show will go over the cliff.”

So you want tickets to the Goodspeed’s new musical in Connecticut? Great. They’ll cost you $47. Oh, but you’re not a member? That’s another $50. Or $500. What’s going on here, wonders Frank Riszzo. “Are we in the Theater Twilight Zone? Is it a case of ticket price-gouging?”

“During the past 10 years, Irish playwrights Martin McDonaugh (“A Skull in Connemara”), Maria Jones (“Stones in His Pockets”) and Conor McPherson (“The Weir”) have emerged on the world stage. But between 2000 and 2001, Ireland’s volatile “Celtic Tiger” economy slowed from an annual growth rate of 11 percent to just 2.5. And the most predictable victim of any economic slowdown is arts funding. Ireland is coping with an 8 percent cut to its national arts council’s budget, its largest in history.”

Can the musical be reinvented? That’s a question for the Edinburgh Fringe. “Although it remains astoundingly popular, the musical suffers a strange reputation. Revered by the likes of Trevor Nunn, the classic American works of the 1930s-50s are seen as blue-rinse fodder, kitsch nonsense that has little appeal for young theatregoers. The 1990s saw a new trend for musicals tackling social problems – Rent dealt with Aids, and Ragtime was about racism in the US – but often these felt horribly glib. There is something about the form, about the way it forces characters to ignore the plot and break into song, that seems to demand silliness, irreverence and tongue-in-cheek charm.”

“Amy Sullivan, a leading Connecticut-based arts fundraiser, has been named executive director of the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. She will replace Howard Sherman, who ended his three-year tenure in that position earlier this year.”

In a country known by the world for its pride of success, materialism and optimism, why are the most celebrated plays about what she calls ‘losers’? Think about it. Willy Loman, Blanche DuBois, O’Neill’s own barely disguised family. Even the most beloved commercial comedies – think about the schlumps in Neil Simon’s earliest hits – are organized around types that, outside our boundaries, would hardly be identified as winning Yanks.” Compare that to Hollywood movies and the heroes they portray.

“This year the festival is offering more than 200 different productions in 20 locations — to call them all theaters would be to stretch the definition of theater — and to judge from the number of invitations, both polite and pleading, that I’ve received lately, the commercial aspirations of Fringe show producers are accelerated. A lot more of the shows have press agents these days. And in terms of content, the camp, irreverence and cheerful potty mouth of its glam graduate are reproduced in healthy doses.”

Movies of plays have not always conveyed a satisfactory experience of the play. DVD’s offer more. “In the last few years, several companies have begun issuing play collections on DVD, often with name directors and stellar casts. What distinguishes these collections is that, unlike a stereotypical Hollywood adaptation, there is as much respect for the original work as there is for the film’s end result.”

Readings of new plays have become an ubiquitous part of the process of getting a new play to the stage. “Readings have become, if not the name of the game, at least a very important part of the game when it comes to the art and business of the theatre. And the topic also raises the hackles of many playwrights and actors, who feel readings have, in many cases, become an abusive substitute for salaried rehearsals or even productions. At the same time, it’s generally agreed that when done with proper intention, readings can be invaluable for writers and performers.”

How much do stars earn on Broadway? Not much. “If Arnold Schwarzenegger can make $30 million for the latest “Terminator” flick and cast members of television’s “Friends” each pull in $1 million an episode, what is eight performances a week in a Broadway show worth? Let’s start with the basics. According to the latest Actors’ Equity figures, the minimum salary for a performer in a Broadway play or musical is $1,354 a week and it goes up from there. How high depends on how good a performer’s agent is or how many tickets a producer thinks a star can sell.”