Category: theatre

“Sure, the Golden Globes have drunk celebrities. The Oscars have prestige, glamour. But the Tony Awards have hope on full display. The Tonys have romance! Adventure! Andrew Jackson singing about populism! Because in the theater, as in life, anything is possible.”

“The Seattle theater scene is a well-oiled machine fueled by a commitment to community-building, a home where performers are inspired to work together, pursue their passions, and try new things. “

NPR correspondent Deborah Amos “recount[s] a trip to the Damascus Opera House with the Syrian president to watch a performance of Richard III – a performance where he knowingly slapped his knee in laughter when Baldrick wins an election with 99 percent of the vote.” (video)

“The figure is an 11% increase on last year and ensures it keeps its place as the largest arts festival in the world. The overall rise means that while theatre makes up only 27.5% of all productions in the programme, the lowest percentage ever, the 877 theatre shows are 50 more than in 2013 and are still the largest number ever.”

“At first, [Young Jean Lee] envisioned The Shipment as a hip-hop dance piece. It failed completely. It was designed to make the mostly white audience uncomfortable, she said. Instead, they loved it. … ‘It was one of the worst artistic experiences of my life – seeing all the black people walk out and the white people happy, so happy.'”

A Q&A with producers Dan and Amy Sherman Palladino, who basically stalked the star and the director of the Roundabout.

“Here the actor and the director discuss their roles in putting on the National Theatre’s acclaimed production … They are joined by the three actresses playing Lear’s daughters.” (video)

That’s what Darren O’Donnell and his theatre company, Mammalian Diving Reflex, have managed to do in half a dozen cities from Glasgow to Singapore and Prague to Philadelphia – with Toronto coming up – for a show called All The Sex I’ve Ever Had. (audio interview plus video clips)

“Painter Richard Nutbourne hopped off a flight from England last week and headed straight to the New York’s Park Avenue Armory to check that the nearly two dozen giant artificial stones he had shipped over the ocean had arrived safely.”

“The person in the next seat can also change your perspective on a performance both during it and after, and for better or worse, as much as the idiot using their mobile phone to take pictures down the row or the fidgetter in front of you.”