“I guess my experience of the real world is that there are a lot of strange moments in which people don’t know what to say. So that ends up in my plays. But it’s weird, I still find it confusing that I’m known for my pauses.”
Category: theatre
Judi Dench Walks Away With An Olivier Theatre Award Record
“No-one has won as many Oliviers for acting since the awards began 40 years ago.
As she collected her award she joked that she was ‘livid’ because she had lost a bet with her grandson.”
Who Won Big At The Olivier Awards?
Lin-Manuel Miranda, as a matter of fact – but not for Hamilton. (Full list of winners at the link.)
How Did The Original ‘Shuffle Along’ Even Happen?
“How did Eubie Blake, whose parents were both slaves, end up having a deep, deep desire to write musicals? He could write rags. He could write pop tunes. What he really wanted to write were Broadway shows. It’s astonishing to me that the child of slaves said, ‘I want to write a Broadway musical.’ That’s an extraordinary thing. Why would he want to do that? Why would anybody want to write a musical?”
Why Aren’t More Broadway Plays Live-streaming?
“At first glance, theater productions seem like a good fit for the streaming-platform models established by Netflix and Hulu and Amazon, since Broadway fare appeals to a passionate niche audience that can’t always make it to New York to catch a show. But there are a slew of hurdles, including negotiations with stage unions and rights holders still fairly new to working out their positions on digital distribution, and the fact that many of the productions most likely to arouse widespread interest among viewers — “Hamilton,” “The Lion King,” “Wicked” — won’t allow a capture of an entire performance to hit the Internet until after the production has closed.”
What Makes A Play Great? And Why Don’t We Revive More Great Plays?
Michael Feingold: “I had better try to explain what I mean by greatness. It isn’t simply a matter of choosing a big ponderous theme, and spouting a lot of abstractions that will make academics write learned articles about your work. Nor is it a matter of an old play’s having survived long enough to become a ‘classic,’ a term we use far too loosely.”
When We Do Revive Great Plays, Should The Stagings Deconstruct Them?
Michael Feingold: “One problem that New York has always had with greatness is that our mainstream theater is a commercial theater, and what’s great does not always make money: Sometimes, especially when it comes in a new form, the disruption it causes actively drives the pleasure-seeking, affluent crowds away.”
Big Gender Gap In Pay At UK’s Top Theatre Companies
“Among high earners – with salaries of more than £60,000 – male executives earn an average of £114,000 compared with £85,000 for their female counterparts. Findings also show that artistic and executive directors at top publicly funded theatres earn a median salary of £75,000.”
‘Hamilton’ Gets In Trouble With Equity Over Casting Notice
“A casting call seeking ‘nonwhite men and women’ to audition for the show drew criticism from the union representing theater actors, prompting Hamilton to say Wednesday that it will amend its language to make clear that anyone is welcome to try out for the show.”
NBC Expands From Live Musicals To Its First Live Stage Play
“[The network] said on Wednesday that in early 2017 it will broadcast a live version of A Few Good Men, Aaron Sorkin’s 1989 Broadway play that was later adapted into a popular 1992 film starring Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise.”