Category: theatre

The New York Times economics editor takes the Julie Taymor/U2 musical’s $65 million production budget, estimates average weekly running costs and ticket revenue, does some quick math, and comes up with a daunting answer: “about 4 years before the show even begins to make up its initial investment.”

Renovations to an historic Moscow theatre “have made the theatre the centre of a bitter battle that has divided the Russian capital’s artistic community and led the two sides to accuse each other of being vandals and extremists.”

“Belarus Free Theatre is an underground group based in Minsk. ‘Underground’ not because it’s cool and edgy, but because Belarus is a dictatorship … The BFT runs plays that tell people what’s going on in their country. It is subject to continual harassment and death threats. But it doesn’t stop.”

“Staged history lessons, it would appear, are about as appealing to Broadway audiences these days as Shakespeare without celebrities.”

“Andrew Lloyd Webber has pulled out of a move to sell four of his West End theatres to a consortium led by former BBC and ITV chairman Michael Grade.”

“Its biggest stars pocket tens of thousands of pounds a week, ticket touts lurk outside high-profile fixtures and it is set to appear in the country’s largest arenas: welcome, not to football, but to pantomime.”

“London is another planet with masses of tourists and the well-off who are not affected by the downturn. Then you’ve got those who aren’t buying new houses or cars but they do want to treat themselves, have fun, entertainment with their friends and family.”

“When did it become necessary to seduce audiences with a blast of atmosphere before the show has even begun? The drawback to this kind of immersive décor is that it can border on the theme park-ish, turning the specific into the ersatz and treading dangerously close to kitsch. We may be on Broadway, but we are still hip, the furnishings all but scream.”

“The Pasadena Playhouse announced Thursday that it has successfully raised $2 million as part of its attempt to regain solid financial footing after closing its mainstage in February. The company, which has recently begun producing shows again, also said that it is launching a new campaign to raise another $2 million.”

“Of the 19 shows that opened this season, only two are staying put for now. … Some productions have closed ahead of schedule or had their open-ended runs swiftly cut short. Others, like the highly anticipated Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, won’t be extending their limited runs.”