Category: theatre

Ben Brantley: “When it comes to emotions, Sondheim — more than any other composer from the Broadway songbook — is the one I trust to tell me the truth. That’s because in the world of Sondheim, feelings never come singly but in battalions. Even his simplest, most assertive melodies usually sound as if they’re being pulled in contradictory directions.” – The New York Times

Jesse Green: “Having long taken for granted that he is the greatest composer-lyricist the United States has produced, we can perhaps now notice that he is also an artist to place in the line of America’s foundational 20th-century playwrights. In years to come, critics will have trouble understanding how our time put him in one basket but put Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, August Wilson and Edward Albee in another.” – The New York Times

Ben Brantley and Jesse Green give their takes on the 15 shows for which Sondheim wrote music and lyrics and the three for which he was lyricist (with music by Leonard Bernstein, Jule Styne, and Richard Rodgers). – The New York Times

Carey Perloff, who directed Seana McKenna in the role last year in Calgary: “I am not always convinced that cross-gender casting helps illuminate Shakespeare; many of the plays focus so specifically on gender that swapping out men for women can sometimes muddy the actual narrative or intent of the play. But in the case of Shylock, who is the ultimate ‘other’ in the play, gender served to crack open the drama in fascinating ways.” – American Theatre

Until late 2017, he was one of the most admired comedians working, seen as something of an auteur of stand-up. Then reports emerged of, er, unprofessional behavior with younger female colleagues; he admitted they were true; and he lost his agent, his movie, and his TV deal. When he began a comeback last year, many observers feared he’d gone over to the alt-right. But he’s now dropped the worst of that material, reports Elahe Izadi, who went to see his show and talk with some of the enthusiastic audience. – The Washington Post

“‘Plague was the single most powerful force shaping his life and those of his contemporaries,’ wrote Jonathan Bate, one of his many biographers. … But the plague was also Shakespeare’s secret weapon. He didn’t ignore it. He took advantage of it.” – Slate

Starting at noon Thursday, remaining seats for five of the hottest tickets on Broadway will be going for a fraction of their normal price, selling for just $50 apiece at all performances through March 29.  Producer Scott Rudin today announced the extraordinary measure of establishing the deep-discount flat rate for all five of his shows, all of which have been playing to sold-out houses or close to it. – The Hollywood Reporter

“As COVID-19 … spreads inexorably across the U.S., theatres are finding themselves trying to stay both practical and realistic, even as public concerns grow. While many public gatherings are being cancelled, largely as a preemptive measure, theatres have not yet dropped the curtain.” – American Theatre