Adapting the work of classic (dead) authors “reenergizes you for the next time you do one of your own, original pieces.”
Category: theatre
Small U.S. Theaters Presenting Large, Multiple-Installment Epics
At the Public Theater in New York. Mike Daisey is doing 29 different monologues on consecutive nights. The Utah Shakespeare Festival is in the midst of a multi-year project to perform all ten of the history plays in chronological order. WNYC’s tiny Greene Space is hosting star-studded readings of all ten plays in August Wilson’s Century Cycle. How and why are these little companies doing such big projects?
The Most Embarrassing, Most Influential Piece of American Theater History
“The first nationally popular American play” – if a property with so many wildly differing adaptations can be thought of a one play – “was Uncle Tom’s Cabin, transformed onstage from an anti-slavery text into a racist spectacle whose influence survives till today.”
Stop Putting Rape Onstage – It’s Not Entertainment
“Violence against women has been rife on TV and the Edinburgh Fringe. But the way it’s portrayed demeans both sexes and ignores healthy relationships, argues Tiffany Jenkins – so stop watching.”
Portraying Rape Onstage Can Serve An Important Purpose
Lyn Gardner: “Were these ‘toxic dramas’ as Jenkins claims, or simply women attempting to raise awareness about the threats they face every single day of their lives, using a theatrical form which allows them and us to consider violence and address its causes and maybe think about some of the solutions?”
Deaccessioning Battles, Usually Confined To Art Museums, Hit Shakespeare
“A proposal by the library of the University of London to auction a rare set of early printed editions of Shakespeare’s plays has been branded ‘egregiously wrong’, ‘completely unjustifiable’ and likely to result in ‘four iconic and unique books moving into private hands’.”
Rupert Murdoch, Rendered In Song And Dance
“The Melbourne Theater Company has just staged the premiere of Rupert, a cabaret-style dramatization of Mr. Murdoch’s life by one of Australia’s best-known playwrights, David Williamson. … Little is left out, not even the shaving-cream pie that a comedian heaved at Mr. Murdoch when he appeared to testify before a parliamentary committee looking into the hacking scandal.”
The Taboo Against Critics Discussing The Play They’re Reviewing – Is It Ridiculous?
Lyn Gardner: “Some years ago I took my dad with me to the theatre. There were interval drinks for critics and guests in a small room. My father walked in among the assembled critics and asked loudly: ‘So are we all enjoying it, then?’ Everyone froze as if he had just lobbed a hand grenade into the room.”
Next Up From Disney’s Broadway Factory: Aladdin
Early next spring, “Aladdin will join other Disney animated films – Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Tarzan and The Litte Mermaid, among them – adapted for the musical stage with varying degrees of success.”
Dave Chappelle Walks Out On Audience (And He Maybe Even Had A Point)
“A live appearance by Dave Chappelle can be an unpredictable affair, promising either brilliance or petulance, and audiences who saw him perform Thursday night in Connecticut got a little bit of both, when this onetime Comedy Central star halted his stand-up act in mid-performance and proceeded to run out the clock.”