Category: theatre

In anticipation of next spring’s actors’ and screenwriters’ strike, and desperate to stockpile films before it hits, Hollywood studios are signing virtually unknown actors to lucrative deals. “Prices for these barely-knowns have skyrocketed, creating a bizarre new millionaire boys’ club.” – New York Magazine

Delegates from 90 countries expect to agree on an international treaty to protect actors’ rights. “The treaty, which aims to protect performers against the unauthorized use of their work, is being negotiated under the auspices of WIPO, the World Intellectual Property Organization, the United Nations body that oversees copyright and trademark protection.” – Montreal Gazette

A mother calls up a radio program in Sydney to complain about having to pay $27 for a ticket for her in-arms baby when she went to “Annie.” The producer responds: “We are not a charity. The company could have $45 or $50 for the baby.” And the radio station’s switchboard lights up and patrons call the theatre to cancel their tickets. – Sydney Morning Herald

Theatre’s doing well in Boston. But there’s only one problem – no space to perform. Everything’s booked solid, and even the city’s two major theatre companies don’t have their own space. – Boston Globe

Broadway grossed a record $603 million in the 1999-2000 season. “We’re talking about the average cost of a musical being $8 (million) to $10 million, and the average cost of a play being $1,250,000 or a million and a half. So it’s no surprise that many producers are now saying that unless they can identify some component that will give them a broad popular audience, they’re not going to take a chance.” – USA Today

Much has been made of the number of actresses disrobing on stage this season (Nicole Kidman, Kathleen Turner, Jerry Hall to name a few), but even more men have been taking it all off – and “with the market for beefcake constantly expanding, Actors’ Equity has nudity explicitly covered in its collective bargaining agreements.” – Backstage

“Seussical” has taken a slam from the critics, but the show just got a major boost. Talk show host Rosie O’Donnell is stepping in to the role of the Cat in the Hat. Ticket sales soared after the announcement. – New York Times

Glasgow’s King’s Theatre hasn’t been making it as a non-profit. And Glaswegians are tired of all the big musicals bypassing their city for Edinburgh. So there’s a plan to turn the theatre over to commercial hands to see if the theatre can be turned around. – The Scotsman

So Cirque du Soleil is planning a massive entertainment complex for London. What will it look like? “Great projects are achieved with great complicity, but also in the recognition that it cannot just be a creative pole or just a business pole. It will arrive and it will be achieved with a great balance between the recognition of each of those poles and each respecting the reality of the other one. And… ” – The Independent (UK)

An English town council passes an ordinance prohibiting actors from dressing up in blackface. “It is fundamentally racist to have white actors ‘blacking up’ for black parts. That belongs to the 19th century.” – BBC