Category: theatre

“A public forum is planned today to discuss the latest drama at the Omaha Community Playhouse. … Two directors at the playhouse, Artistic Director Carl Beck and Associate Director Susie Baer-Collins, have resigned” after Beck, the longtime artistic director, was offered a lower-paying job and Baer-Collins was offered Beck’s job. The cast of the playhouse’s upcoming production walked out in support, and the show was canceled.

“With musicals, at least the money is visible in all those huge, constantly changing sets, flashy costumes and union musicians, not to mention the battery of stars and hoofers. But how much can it cost to plant a bunch of actors on a stage with one set and, in the latest trend, no intermission?” Answer: Quite a bit — and the price keeps rising.

” ‘Slot plays’ are a double-edged sword. They offer clear evidence of a company’s ongoing commitment to underrepresented communities. They expose the mainstream audience to lesser-known writers and theatrical styles. But slot plays can be seen as condescending to the very people they aim to attract.”

“Widely said to be on the short list are “Ruined,” Lynn Nottage’s riveting look at a brothel owner navigating the treacherous politics of the Congo; “Becky Shaw,” Gina Gionfriddo’s sharp satire of love and money among the 30-something set (which recently ended its run at Second Stage); and “In the Heights,” Lin-Manuel Miranda’s dopey, infantile, hopelessly sentimental, excruciatingly peppy, pleased-as-punch-with-itself celebration of life in the barrio, where everybody sings and dances and rhymes.”

There are four slots for nominees in the Tony race for best play. Three shows seem like sure shots to get in.

“The answer is complicated. Interviews with theater patrons, artists and leaders point to a battery of reasons why blacks have been staying away from shows that should draw them, including marketing opportunities missed, a perceived lack of welcome and the economy. All of these things have conspired to keep African-Americans away from the unprecedented surge of black writing, acting and directing talent that has been showcased at venues large and small in recent months.”

”Mid-size theaters are really feeling the pinch, and they’re so important to the ecology of new-play development. `Smaller theaters are used to operating in a super-scrappy way. Flagship institutions will downsize a bit, but they’ll be OK. People have to re-evaluate using resources in the smartest way and ask how much of the budget goes to making art vs. maintaining the institution.”

Last month 23 members of Chicago’s 24-year-old American Theater Company ensemble walked out.The implication that the ensemble might be too old, white, and hetero upset the departed…

“The moments of beating and crucifixion are sparse in the Gospel accounts, but modern Passion plays match our culture’s taste for visual realism. The audience viscerally experiences each of the 39 lashes delivered onto Jesus’ body and each of the four stakes driven into his limbs. Christians have long dwelled on the details of the suffering of Christ, but with today’s theater techniques, nothing has to be left to the imagination.”

“In a blockbuster arts and real-estate deal, the Cleveland Play House will sell its longtime home in Midtown and move downtown to PlayhouseSquare’s Allen Theatre along with Cleveland State University’s drama program. … Play House managing director Kevin Moore said Tuesday that renovating the 2,500-seat Allen into a 550-seat theater and a 350-seat theater – and adding state-of-the-art scenery and costume shops and a third, 175-seat theater alongside the Allen – would cost about $30 million.”