Category: theatre

“Since his death in 1904, the Russian has certainly ascended to the pantheon of great writers, but he would be dismayed to see that his plays are still widely thought of as forbidding chronicles of human misery. Yet now, 150 years after his birth, a group of comedians, including Steve Coogan and Johnny Vegas, are appearing in productions of his short comedies – to prove Chekhov can be funny after all.”

Every year, nearly 1,000 scripts vie for the privilege of being included in what the New York Times called “the nation’s best-known new-play festival.”

Long before film and television, not to mention video games, legions of children stirred their imaginations and broadened their knowledge with toy theaters made of paper.

“There’s an up- and downside to being venerated. You start to believe your own notices, and that’s very dangerous. At the same time, it does feel like it’s gold-watch time. It’s ‘thanks so much for coming to the party.’ They’re nails in the coffin, is what they are.”

“Backstage at Seattle’s major three theaters there have been many discussions about merger, collaboration, or other cost-saving steps.”

“The $60million musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, the most expensive and technically elaborate Broadway show in history, will delay the start of performances this month by two weeks and open in January instead of Dec. 21 because more work is needed on it.”

“Long before film and television, not to mention video games, legions of children stirred their imaginations and broadened their knowledge with toy theaters made of paper. … In their heyday, such playthings were standard features of middle- and upper-class nurseries and parlors.”

Joe Nocera: “When I fall for something, I fall hard. Yet I don’t think I’ve ever fallen as hard for anything as I did for Mr. Sondheim’s music. His songs and shows became central to my life … My former wife once asked me what it was about Mr. Sondheim’s music that I found so compelling. I shrugged helplessly. ‘He makes me cry,’ I finally replied.”

“The Modern joins the Paramount Center and the Boston Opera House, all in the row on Washington Street, to represent the reclaiming of a once-glorious cultural center that became a porn-soaked symbol of city decay.”

“There’s a Trinidadian Three Sisters, a Liverpudlian Three Sisters, … Uncle Vanya has visited North Wales and Australia, and in Drowning Crow, The Seagull plays out in the black artistic community of South Carolina … Other plays have wondered how Arkadina reacted to her son’s suicide and how the sisters would actually fare if they ever got to Moscow. … What hubristic impulse is it that draws us to rewrite this man and his work?”