Category: theatre

South Korea, producer Torben Brookman says, “has developed an enormous thirst for musicals, not just for Cats and Phantom, but also for new, cutting-edge work. Only in South Korea, Brookman says, is there an equivalent of an off-Broadway theatre circuit, where a city has streets full of small theatres, with seating capacities of 150 or 300, all showing a different musical. One small theatre in South Korea has been showing the cult musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch for two years.”

“This surprising robustness makes it all the more noticeable, and all the more sad, that something was seriously wrong with the musicals. But what was the disease giving so many of them the same livid complexion? Call it emphasitis: the enervating result of a synesthetic assault on the audience’s attention by talented people overdoing everything.”

“This season’s profusion of what one might call boutique, high-end productions was partly a consequence of the economic times. Assuming a familiar name — a Geoffrey Rush, a James Gandolfini, a Jane Fonda — has been persuaded to sign up at reasonable cost, it’s relatively cheap for Broadway producers to map out a modestly profitable way to do a limited run of a prestige title and snag a few ego-enhancing Tony nominations therewith.”

“If it becomes too widely known that Actor X is, say, 40 years old, Actor X is going to worry that he’s not going to be taken seriously when the next part for a 25-year-old ingenue is up for grabs. Better to stay discreet and avoid bringing it up and casting doubts.”

“Unlike some highbrow critics, I love musicals–and not just old ones, either. But the new shows that opened in the season just past illustrate my belief that the Broadway musical is suffering from four chronic problems that are growing increasingly pronounced.”

“The perception that the Guthrie may have mishandled the rollout of a show by one of America’s foremost playwrights has irked some of the nation’s most-important critics, whom the theater had encouraged to travel to Minneapolis in June to see Kushner’s latest effort.”

“Carolyn Forword walked out of a production of The Pied Piper of Hamelin after being directed to kiss fellow cast member Unathi Dyantyi repeatedly on the lips. Forword, 22, argues that the kissing was not suitable for the touring production’s audiences of young children. Dyantyi counters that her description of the kiss as ‘unhygienic’ was racially motivated, an allegation she vehemently denies.”

“Perhaps I shouldn’t draw sweeping conclusions about my kids’ cultural tastes based on the fact that they seemed distinctly more captivated by Shrek and Fiona’s brazen flatulence face-off in Shrek than by Tony and Maria’s clandestine fire-escape clutch in West Side Story.” Robin Pogrebin and her two preteens go on a seven-show Broadway bender. (Yes, they saw Hair.)

“In the world of Broadway musicals, nobody leaves the theater humming the orchestrations. But without the orchestrations, the songs would just be lonely little tunes. The Library of Congress recently convened a symposium on some of Broadway’s greatest orchestrators, many of whom remain little-known. Ever hear of Sid Ramin, Jonathan Tunick, Don Walker, Russell Bennett or Ralph Burns? Exactly.”

“Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton’s first year managing the Sydney Theater Company has been marred by a significant erosion of the company’s financial position. The result does not reflect the co-artistic directors’ programming, which began in earnest only at the start of calendar year 2009, but will impact their plans to expand the activities of Australia’s preeminent not-for-profit.”