Category: theatre

“At a town hall in Halifax last weekend a volunteer committee was struck to help the Atlantic Fringe Festival’s board of directors secure funding, seek out sponsorships and, with any luck, save the festival for 2011.”

“With less than two hours until showtime, a man sits amid the backstage chaos and studies his image in a propped-up mirror. The eyes are grayish blue, the goatee trim, the long dark hair flecked with gray. Not there yet. He scoops another dab of makeup to continue the annual transformation of Mike Graham, now 58, into Jesus Christ, forever 33.”

Working with National Theatre Wales, the actor best known for his portrayals of Tony Blair (The Queen) and David Frost (Frost/Nixon) is starring in and co-directing The Port Talbot Passion, “10 episodes taking place in various public places and civic centers around the town and nearby.”

Ben Brantley: “Darkness is always more intense when you have glimpsed the sun. Much of the force of this invaluable troupe lies in its awareness that the light beyond the dark may be unreachable, but that it exists, tragically tantalizing, nonetheless.”

“Casting is a very loose adaptation of the story of A Chorus Line – a bunch of wannabe dancers converge on a rehearsal hall in order to audition for bit parts in a musical. But that’s pretty much all that is left of the original in this new work. [Yury] Yeryomin … completely reinvented the dancers, the director/choreographer, and her helpers to fit the reality of contemporary Russian life.”

Ask Broadway insiders to say how many tickets have been sold as a result of all this social networking, and the look on their faces reads, “Server not found.”

The “dramatic imagining of events taking place before and after Lorraine Hansberry’s classic A Raisin in the Sun … was produced at New York’s Playwrights Horizons in 2010 and at the Royal Court Theatre in London. The American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco produced the play this year.”

“2011 will go down as the year when the Golden Mask truly went international. Non-Russian artists have won awards in the past, but this year was something special. More than two dozen foreign artists – singers, choreographers, conductors, directors and designers – received nominations for work completed during the 2009-10 season. Of them, five walked away with the coveted plaque.”

“Spider-Man” had going for it was its bad reputation, and like a reformed bad boy in high school, audiences might not find the story of Peter Parker that compelling once it has stopped being so self-destructive.

“Intiman, founded in 1972 and winner of a 2006 Tony Award for outstanding American regional theater, has debuted important stage works that went on to national acclaim, been a showcase for major talent, and provided educational and outreach programs.”