Category: theatre

“A lot of things have happened this year for Disney Theatrical Productions: the closing of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ after 13 years; the steady weeks of million-dollar grosses for ‘Mary Poppins’ on Broadway and the demise of its struggling London counterpart; and the belated entry of ‘High School Musical’ into the Disney theatrical catalog. There was also, of course, that ‘Tarzan’ unpleasantness.” Next, “The Little Mermaid” will sneak onto Broadway, obscured so far by Mel Brooks’ latest publicity-sucking behemoth.

“How do you make a play written 2,500 years ago communicate to a 21st-century audience? Using the latest technology is one way. Putting the characters in modern dress is another. But sometimes the key lies in a seemingly trivial or random detail,” writes Blake Morrison, who noticed a line in Aristophanes’ “Lysistrata” that makes reference to a woman in a snood. In his version of the play, that snood becomes a Muslim veil.

“Cross-dressing is a vital part of theatrical tradition. It has also acquired an extra layer of significance in an age when women feel a new empowerment and want to extend their theatrical territory. But in society, as Caryl Churchill reminds us in Top Girls, it is pointless for women to ape role models. Equally, in theatre, there is little purpose in women (or men, for that matter) merely replicating the opposite gender.”

The producers won’t be releasing grosses, and they’ll be charging $450 for the best seats in the house, but wait! Impecunious Broadway fans have a shot at seeing Mel Brooks’ “Young Frankenstein” from the front row for only $25, provided they don’t mind taking their chances in a lottery. Well, okay, it’ll cost ’em $26.50, counting the facility fee….

“South Coast Repertory on Saturday announced a fundraising campaign to nearly double its endowment to $50 million by 2010, a goal intended to secure the nonprofit theater’s financial future and safeguard its status as a leading incubator of new plays. The cornerstone of the effort is a $10-million gift….”

In a move which is causing a stir in Broadway circles, producers of the new Mel Brooks musical, Young Frankenstein, have announced that they will not be releasing reports of “grosses” for public consumption. “These figures include attendance and average ticket prices, among other statistics, and are still the most reliable way to gauge what is selling and what is not… Reporting grosses is customary, not mandatory.”

A Broadway performance of “Legally Blonde” is being broadcast on MTV. “Admittedly, securing that much airtime on MTV isn’t quite the seal of zeitgeist approval that it would have been 20 or even 10 years ago. MTV has strayed from the actual music business, now retailing lots of reality TV (and not the fun kind). But to have a Broadway musical reach a nationwide audience behind an MTV logo seems a big deal indeed.”

Are we even entering an era when theatre buildings will become obsolete and be replaced by “found” spaces?

Wal-Mart, the world’s biggest retailer, has failed to see the funny side of a musical about its global dominance, which began an off-Broadway theatrical run in New York this week.

“At $450 the Premier ticket is, in fact, $30 less than the top $480 ticket for The Producers six years ago! That’s not all. There are next-best Premium seats for our convenience at a mere $375 each–or $75 less than The Producers’ original Premium ticket! And the really good news is that all the remaining orchestra and dress circle seats are obviously a bargain at only $120 each.”