Category: theatre

On Broadway, not much these days, where comedies have dried up. Where have all the laffs gone? To TV, mostly. But let’s also blame the Zeitgeist. – Philadelphia Inquirer

Young people bring enthusiasm, older people bring experience. More and more older Americans are performing in “senior theaters.” – San Francisco Examiner

“Cats,” Broadway’s longest-running production ever, will close in June, after 18 years. – New York Times

— honor Peter O’Toole, “Lion King”. – BBC

— List of Olivier theatre award winners. – BBC

A Stephen Sondheim show, written four decades ago, finally gets its premiere. – New York Times

Philadelphia’s Freedom Theatre, one of the city’s major African American cultural institutions, this week opens a new $7 million performing venue. The effort to open nearly killed it with debt. The enterprise is alive only by “slashing the staff by more than half, reducing the annual budget by a third, establishing a five-year plan of financial recovery, and raising money.”-  Philadelphia Inquirer

— new theater division to produce live Broadway and road company projects. – Backstage

A study for the Arts Council of England finds that traditional “text-based” drama is rapidly losing its appeal to modern audiences. “A funding review of 50 theatres, mainly in the provinces but including some noted London venues outside the West End, has found an alarming decline in the popularity of conventional plays. The review suggests that ‘live theatre’, such as laser, acrobatic and video spectacles, have wider appeal and should be embraced by theatres as a condition of receiving public grants.” – The Telegraph (UK)

As the era of the mega-musicals on Broadway wanes, theatres around the country that count on the shows to fill their seasons face difficult times.-  Hartford Courant

Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg are used to the success of the giant hits they have written in “Les Miserables” and “Miss Saigon.” The current failure of “Martin Guerre” and producer Cameron Mackintosh’s decision to cancel a Broadway run leaves the duo humbled. – Los Angeles Times