Category: theatre

“France’s most venerable establishment theatre, the 328-year-old Comédie-Française, has become embroiled in a row with a cutting-edge drama company over the place of high art in Paris’s rough suburbs.” With the backing of the Ministry of Culture, the Comédie-Française decided that a smaller theatre company, MC 93, “was to become its entry point into the suburbs” — a move MC 93 views as a hostile takeover.

“A spate of West End shows have issued early closure notices over the weekend, prompting caution in theatreland as the credit crunch hits box office sales.”

“Stratford’s general director, Antoni Cimolino, admitted that the festival would be running a significant deficit on this year’s operations… Sources close to the festival are estimating the deficit at approximately $3 million, or 5 per cent of their total budget of $60 million. When you hear about a seemingly bulletproof place like Stratford dipping its toe into red ink, the rumours are bound to start flying.”

“A town in El Salvador, once known as much for the killing and upheaval of the country’s civil war as for its architectural beauty, is being helped by Ontario’s Stratford Shakespeare Festival to become a major new centre for theatre and the arts in Central America.”

“After nearly four years, the Tony Award-winning show “Monty Python’s Spamalot” will be shutting its doors at the Shubert Theater on Jan. 18… By the time it closes, it will have earned more than $175 million.”

“As the financial markets melt down and anger at Wall Street excesses rise, Broadway stages seem to mirror the mood. This fall, a collection of prescient and searing dramas examines the sins of men (and women) behaving badly and takes a closer look at their self-serving, scheming, damaged souls.”

The Broadway production of “Billy Eliot” has been marred this month by a series of technical glitches that one critic says were closer to disasters. “At a performance last weekend, the set broke down five times. The fifth time, the audience started booing… The gremlins struck again Tuesday, when a hydraulic valve broke, forcing the cancellation of the performance.”

What happens when two prominent and highly anticipated Broadway shows schedule their openings for the same night? One moves the date, of course: dueling openings aren’t good for anyone. But apparently, no one’s told this to the producers of the new musical “9 to 5” and the revival of “Waiting For Godot,” which are currently on an opening night collision course.

Comedian Will Ferrell, known among other things for his signature portrayals of President Bush on Saturday Night Live, will take his mimicry to Broadway next year with a one-man show entitled, “You’re Welcome America. A Final Night With George W Bush.”

“The opportunity comes as Mary Rodgers Guettel and Alice Hammerstein Mathias, the duo’s elderly daughters, are exploring future options for the business they operate through family trusts.”