Category: theatre

“He and his collaborators instinctively recognized that pop culture and the manufacturing of pop culture was fast becoming one of America’s primary obsessions. They probably could not know that it would also became one of the country’s most profitable and world-dominant exports.”

The Geffen Playhouse has collected lines from the many harsh notices the satire has received and put them all in a big display ad in the Sunday L.A. Times.

“In general, 90 minutes can please a lot of people. Technology has helped too. When I saw the Las Vegas ‘Phantom,’ which is about 90 minutes, I was amazed that it seemed to contain almost all the same material found in the three-hour ‘Phantom of the Opera’.”

“Hackney Empire – London’s flagship variety theatre – is to go dark in the new year due to financial difficulties, making much of its workforce redundant. The venue will continue to operate a full programme until the end of its pantomime in January 2010,” then close the house “‘for a period of reflection’ of between six and nine months.”

“DreamWorks TV and Showtime are in the early stages of developing a scripted series that will chronicle the development of an original Broadway musical, from its creative inception through its opening night. The intention is to then mount the tuner on [Broadway] after the series airs.”

“When Enron premiered at the Minerva Theatre in Chichester in July, the critics went a bit bonkers. Enron is a Citizen Kane for our time, said one. ‘Aristotle himself would relish the hubris,’ gushed another.” Finance professionals had a slightly different take.

“The Dallas Arts District Theater was a magnificent piece of crap. … Fortunately, its replacement, which hosts its first production in October, is a worthy successor. The Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre was designed by New York megafirm Rex to be an enormous Transformer that can suit almost any directorial whim.”

“Demolition of the 20-year-old ‘temporary’ buildings that house public restrooms and a refreshment stand, as well as dressing rooms and offices, will begin Oct. 12, after the last show of the season.”

“The highest attendance figures for seven years helped the National Theatre to a £456,000 surplus, its annual report revealed today. … The total programme of 25 productions in 2008/2009 was seen by 817,000 paying audience members,” while “[h]ouses were on average 93 per cent full.”

“[W]ithout new blood being pumped into the genre, we’ll end up trapped in a theatrical Twilight Zone populated entirely by drag queens, film adaptations, and greatest hits CDs. Even the Edinburgh fringe, an invaluable platform for new material, seems to treat musicals with vague embarrassment and a lack of critical seriousness.”