Category: theatre

The British government proposes to make admission to museums free. But what about theatre? “An entire generation has got out of the theatre habit: education, prejudice and attention span are all partly to blame, but the biggest barrier is expense. As an incentive to people who don’t like theatre because they’ve never tried it, a proportion of seats should be free. There will always be those who save hard to afford the outrageous prices, but unless we make it easy and cheap for some of the others, those who grew up on cheap and easy visits will be dead and there will be no one to replace them.” – The Observer (UK)

“Hollywood may forever think of Foote as the Oscar-winning screenwriter of the original ‘Tender Mercies’ and the adapted ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ but his stature within theatrical circles has soared in his ninth decade.” – Los Angeles Times

“It seems that black theater has become less mainstream now than it was 30 years ago. And partly this is because of a polarization anticipated by the very term ‘black theater.’ Today, black theater is like women’s theater or gay theater – almost a species more than a variant, virtually a political statement rather than an artistic style.” – New York Post

Philadelphia has had another record theatre season at the box office. A boom economy and popular plays are given credit. – Philadelphia Inquirer

Two high-profile shows scheduled for Broadway have been scrambling for money this week. “The Visit,” a new musical starring Angela Lansbury and Philip Bosco set to open in the spring after an out-of-town tryout in Boston this fall had one of its main investors reduce their stake. Meanwhile, “Little Women,” which was to have opened in the fall at the Ambassador Theater, has been pushed back to the spring, while producers try to raise more money. – New York Post

London’s theatre press is ganging up on Trevor Nunn for his three-year-old stewardship of the Royal National Theater. “In general, critics have taken Mr. Nunn to task for what they call cautious programming that they say leans too heavily on crowd-pleasing musicals and not enough on new work and younger playwrights.” – New York Times

In Ireland, a gathering devoted to the art of gossip and idle talk. “At what is apparently the first festival of its kind in the world, an international cast of contributors will spend their time in the land of blarney talking about chatting.” – The Independent (UK)

“Croatia remained largely peaceful during the second half of the 1990’s, but the earlier Balkan wars left a mark on the nation’s cultural life. Its once-lucrative $4 billion-a-year tourist industry and vibrant artistic scene – almost destroyed through the mobilization of a large part of the male population, emigration and civil unrest – have only recently shown signs of recovery.” – New York Times

Theatre producer Cameron Mackintosh used to be a money machine, with a string of worldwide music theatre hits. But since “Miss Saigon,” his last big world-wide hit ten years ago, his track record has been shaky: ” ‘Moby Dick’ sank, ‘Martin Guerre’ staggered through three incarnations before closing, and last year his Sondheim compilation, ‘Putting It Together’, stumbled and fell on Broadway. Will his new “Witches of Eastwick” turn his luck around?  – Sunday Times (UK)

A group of prominent British actors writes to England’s Chancellor to plead for help for the theatre. “We feel that for far too long lack of adequate funding has led to a decline in working opportunities, to fewer new productions and to smaller casts. The extent of this decline is such that quality of productions in our regional theatres is seriously threatened.” – The Independent (UK)