Category: theatre

For much of the 20th Century Irish writers fastened on to the idea that the “true” Ireland was to be found in the countryside. But that idea is a cliche, and a stale one even if it once was true. Now the idea has been updated, and the new theatre is reflecting the changes. – The Sunday Times (UK)

Broadway shows will soon be widely available to home viewers, broadcast over two new theatre-dedicated TV networks. Theatre professionals are split over whether the new trend deserves applause. – Backstage

After nearly 18 years and a record 7,485 performances “Cats” packs away its whiskers on Broadway as the show closes. – New York Times

Four years ago it looked like Joshua Reynolds was about to make his big breakthrough as a playwright. It didn’t quite work out though, and now, in his new role as a writer about food for the New York Times, Reynolds “finds himself in the literary tradition of Marcel Proust, finding in food the key to the recovery of lost times.” – The Idler

After twenty-five years of London-born productions dominating Broadway, the current season is surprisingly American. Highlights include “Seussical” (the Dr. Seuss-inspired musical); “The Full Monty” (reset in Buffalo, NY); Neil Simon’s “The Dinner Party;” and Gore Vidal’s “The Best Man.” – New York Magazine

Minority theatre is vanishing in Britain. “So much so that many writers, actors, technicians and directors are driving mini cabs, or have gone into teaching or some other occupation. Some of the best have left the country. It is worth noting there is not a single non-white artistic director in any theatre in the UK. What we have is an industry that is institutionally racist to its very core, yet congratulates itself on being super-liberal.” – The Observer (UK)

The much anticipated “Seussical” the musical in tryouts in Boston right now is having a rocky time. Maybe it’s an obscurity of purpose? The show “was clearly created with the hope of tapping into the changing demographics of Broadway, a shift mainly brought about by three factors: the culture’s obsession with youth, a nostalgia craze among baby boomers with children and an appetite for pricier family entertainment fueled by the robust economy.” – New York Times

• So what is it about musicals that makes them ‘gay’? After all, heterosexuals have been known to watch them. Even male heterosexuals. There simply aren’t enough queens in the world to account for the viewing figures of The Sound of Music. – The Independent (UK)

“What we are seeing these days is, more precisely, the theatrical version of the hostile takeover. ‘Englut and devour’ – the name that Mel Brooks once invented for a Hollywood studio – is becoming the motto of the American stage. The triumph of American commercialism is hardly a novelty of the millennium. What is different today is the lack of any indignation about it. It seems almost quixotic these days to criticize the relationship between art and commerce, and a little nostalgic even to try to evoke any interest in the question.” – The New Republic

“Seussical,” the much-anticipated musical, opened in Boston this week before its planned fall debut on Broadway. But the show got mixed to bad reviews in Boston, and may need to be reworked before going to New York. “Yesterday, theater sources said ‘Seussical’ would probably lose more than $1 million in Boston. Had the show opened to good reviews, the producers were prepared to add an extra week to the Boston run. That plan has now been abandoned.” – New York Post