Category: theatre

“Shakespeare Santa Cruz … is now itself facing a dilemma worthy of Shakespeare. After 27 years it has come to this: Either the SSC board raises $300,000 by Monday, Dec. 22, or the 2009 summer season will be shelved. And if that happens, the company will likely face ‘the most unkindest cut of all,’ to quote Marc Antony in ‘Julius Caesar’: extinction.”

“A children’s musical with a budget of about $25 million! One wonders how many more of those we’ll be seeing. But frankly, recession might bring artistic relief. It’s not that “Shrek the Musical” is a disaster. Not at all. Given the givens, there’s a lot to admire and enjoy. It just can’t sufficiently relax into itself. Its source material lays too many traps. And the world has changed beneath it.”

“High ticket prices do not appear to be the primary factor, according to the report by the National Endowment for the Arts that is being released on Monday. Instead the Cassandras who have been fretting over the future of Americans’ dramatic appetites seem to have a point; there are more straight plays than demand for them.”

“The Royal Shakespeare Company has declined to reimburse the Doctor Who fans who paid up to £48 each to see [series star] David Tennant play Hamlet but ended up with the actor’s understudy.”

“The 2000 film Billy Elliot was a surprise hit. It’s an absorbing drama about personal transformation and the power of art to ennoble the human spirit. Billy Elliot: The Musical – the noise is supplied by Sir Elton John – is a depressing spectacle about partisan politics and the ephemeral power of schlock.” How did this happen?

“It follows problems at the box office this summer which affected tickets for hundreds of shows. The funding package includes a loan of £125,000 from Edinburgh City Council and a one-off grant of £65,000 from the Scottish Arts Council.”

“An actor slit his throat on stage [in Vienna] when the prop knife for his suicide scene turned out to be a real one. Daniel Hoevels, 30, slumped over with blood pouring from his neck while the audience broke into applause at the ‘special effect’… It was only when he did not get up to take a bow that anyone realised something had gone wrong.”

“For half the Doctor Who fans who queued overnight, crashed booking websites and jammed ticket hotlines to see David Tennant play Hamlet, it is sadly not to be. The [Royal Shakespeare Company] confirmed yesterday that the actor would not be returning to the Novello Theatre stage in the West End before Christmas. He has a prolapsed disc and will undergo surgery today.”

The stunning arrest of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich on corruption charges has sent Chicago’s Second City theatre troupe scrambling for new material. “Blagojevich has now given Second City a much more personal darker side on which to build its themes. And comedy thrives on personality.” But for a company that thrives on topical humor, there just hasn’t been much lead time to develop the Blagojevich storyline…

“Critics didn’t have much use for the re vival of David Mamet’s “American Buffalo,” which closed Nov. 23 after just a week of performances. But they weren’t alone in their indiffer ence. To hear backstage sources tell it, Mamet himself could barely be bothered with the play, which is generally considered one of his best. He never attended a rehearsal, didn’t see a performance and refused to do any press for it.”