It was a great night for regional theater at the 2008 Tony Awards…
Category: theatre
The Changing Colors Of Broadway
One thing is clear: Broadway is taking on a distinctly multiculti hue. Nowhere is this more evident than with some of this season’s dominant shows: “In the Heights” and “Passing Strange,” which have 13 and seven nominations, respectively; both are up for best musical.”
Weak Dollar Boosts Tourist Dollars On Broadway
“A weaker dollar encourages international tourism in the U.S., with foreign travelers lured by the new buying power their stronger currencies now afford. And increased New York tourism means more traffic on Broadway.”
An Actor Explains Why He Hates The Theatre
“I have a big problem with the audience. I don’t feel the desire to engage them. Which is what theatre is all about. And I also dislike an environment where people feel free to bandy about words like ‘Brechtian subtext’. As if we’re all supposed to know what that means. Do we? I don’t.”
Tony Forecast Not As Cut And Dry As Some Think
Tony speculation is rampant in New York this week. “Even in a year like this, when there are what many consider foregone conclusions in some categories and a general if mild dissatisfaction with the choices in others, the old urge to predict remains.”
New Musicals Bring In Different Audiences To Broadway
“Has Broadway finally found the younger, more ethnically diverse audience it’s been seeking for years? In a season when blockbuster musicals like “Young Frankenstein” and “The Little Mermaid” were dismissed by critics, the remarkable success of “In the Heights” (13 Tony nominations) and “Passing Strange” (seven nominations) suggests the quest for new audiences is gaining momentum.”
Post Mortem For Gone With The Wind
“The show we’re now performing is not the one the critics saw, but we’re still damned by those terrible reviews. Just as the owners of the Titanic didn’t anticipate the need for extra lifeboats – why, when their ship was deemed unsinkable? – nobody thought we’d need a money chest to keep Gone With the Wind afloat. We planned for every eventuality but failure.”
Will Tonys Be Less Predictable Than We All Think?
“Everybody on Broadway’s been complaining about how boring and predictable this year’s Tony Awards are going to be. And yet, if you look closely at your Shubert Alley tea leaves, you can discern the makings of an upset or two.”
New Rule Of Thumb: If You’re Long, You’re Done
Gone With The Wind was supposed to be the show of the year in London’s West End. Instead, it flopped badly and will close this weekend. So what happened? Well, the thing was over four hours long when previews began, for one thing, and that doesn’t play in the fast-paced modern world in which “the days of a slow story build-up are gone.”
NEA Steps In To Help New Plays
“The National Endowment for the Arts is kicking in $280,000 for developing and producing new plays during the next 2 1/2 years. The NEA New Play Development Program has $90,000 each available for two scripts; they must be already written and attached to theater companies planning to stage their world premieres by the end of 2010.”