“With all eyes on Brazil and the World Cup, Broadway is getting into the act with plans to adapt the Oscar-winning film Black Orpheus for the stage. Producers said Monday that Pulitzer Prize-winner Lynn Nottage will write the story and Tony Award-winner George C. Wolfe will direct.”
Category: theatre
‘Star Wars’ Becomes A Malay Shadow Play
The art of shadow puppetry may be thriving in Bali and Java, but the Malaysian version has been steadily losing ground to films and video games. So a video game creator and an old master puppeteer decided that George Lucas’s sci-fi saga is as epic a myth as the Ramayana – and that Luke, Leia and Darth Vader are more audience-friendly than Rama, Sita and Ravana. (includes video)
A Festival’s Censorship Exposes A Polish Culture War
“On June 20, the organizers of the Malta International Theater Festival, which takes place annually in Poznan and is one of the largest such events in this part of Europe, gave in to a coalition of Catholic fundamentalists and right-wing hooligans and canceled the performance of “Golgota Picnic,” after repeated accusations that the play was blasphemous.”
Behind the Scenes With The Actors Defying Europe’s Last Dictatorship
Leonard Lopate talks with documentarian Madeleine Sackler about her most recent subject: Belarus Free Theatre, which has wowed the West with the same shows it creates and performs in secret back home, constantly under threat from Alexander Lukashenko’s neo-Soviet regime. (audio)
When Playwrights Take On Prison Culture, The Drama Is Different
“There is something pernicious about these prison shows offering the most diverse casts of any other entertainments but then having them portray characters that bolster alienating stereotypes.”
Broadway Musical Crisis – Today’s Musicals Are Commodities
“A few years ago, I started using the phrase “commodity musical” to describe them. The genre has established itself as the most significant development in the Broadway musical form since Stephen Sondheim started writing his own scores. What is it that makes these shows so popular—and what effect is their popularity having on the American musical?”
The Problem With Broadway ‘Commodity Musicals’
Aladdin. Bullets Over Broadway. 9 to 5. Young Frankenstein. The Little Mermaid. Beauty and the Beast. And so on. “The most distinctive feature of these musicals is that they usually treat their source material not as a springboard for fresh, creative endeavor but as an exploitable economic commodity that can be ‘repurposed’ for further profit.”
Progress Report: Women In Theatre
“There’s a far bigger awareness that this is a problem. I just don’t think there’s any collective understanding of how to change it overnight, and redress the problem immediately. But I do think women are making strides.” – See more at:
Abbey Theatre, An Irish Cultural Institution, Told To Be More Irish And Less Cultural Institution
An audit of the troubled national theatre company, commissioned by the Arts Council of Ireland in response to falling attendance and revenue, says that the Abbey should concentrate more on new Irish writing and on touring beyond Dublin.
Propeller Theatre Co. Could Shut Down After Losing All Gov’t Funding
“Edward Hall, artistic director of all-male theatre company Propeller, has warned that the venue’s future is at risk following Arts Council England’s 100% cut to its funding…. Hall said without the money the company would be prevented from ‘forward planning’ and added that it ‘calls into question the future’ of Propeller.”