Category: theatre

Mel Brooks’ new musical “Young Frankenstein” is in Seattle. So far no local reviews. Why? Because the show’s in previews. “It stands to reason that when producers bring a monster-sized ‘Young Frankenstein’ to town, they want a lot of time to tinker with it. Or that they want to do the tweaking as far from Broadway theater wags as possible. Early criticism counts.”

“The lingering doubts about whether L.A. is a ‘theater town’ tends to make me a bit snappish. Of course it is: How many other cities in the world boast such extensive offerings? But whether it’s a theater town that’s particularly hospitable to directors is an open question. And its answer may just determine whether this is a leading theatrical capital or an accidental oasis where, amid some serious work, an army of actors more interested in film and TV keep themselves fresh.”

“The increasing feeling among everyone concerned with the festival was that it had grown too big for just one individual or artistic vision. So the board came up with the idea of a general director who would take charge of the whole organization and have three artistic directors underneath him – none of them with specific responsibilities for a certain theatre, etc., but all of them expected to contribute to a new and exciting entity.”

At this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, a kind of theatrical equivalent of ‘misery lit’ is packing in the crowds. “This breed of biography-based plays has very little to do with art (they have only the merest veneer of it) and everything to do with flogging a lump in the throat and a neatly packaged, easy-to-take-home uplift.”

Britain’s older playwrights seem to be thriving. But “how are things for the younger writers and directors of British drama? Are they ready to take the places, centre-stage, of the great names of modern British theatre? And with the economics of major stage productions as difficult as ever, in what fresh directions will they drag British drama over the coming years?”

“Even great shows, with great reviews, have not been getting the crowds. It’s the first time I have felt there are too many shows in Edinburgh.”

“The Children’s Theatre Company, the nation’s largest theater for youth and families, announced Thursday that Gabriella Calicchio will be its next managing director. … Since 2001, Calicchio, 43, has been managing director of the 40-year-old Marin Theatre Company in Mill Valley, Calif.”

“Just how much reality can the theater bear? If you’re talking West End musicals, as much as possible: reality TV increasingly seems the only way to have a sold out show.”

As of yesterday, “playgoers seeking a deal at Playwrights Horizons can put their names in a lottery list for a chance at $5 tickets. There will be no more waiting in line for Playwrights Horizons’ ticket discount on the first day of previews. Off-Broadway’s Playwrights Horizons is introducing a new online lottery ticket system that will give theatregoers access — from home — to low-price seats for the first preview performances of its productions.”

A play about Hillary Clinton at the New York International Fringe Festival is “the latest provocative entry in the Hillary Canon, the continuing mapping of Mrs. Clinton across the cultural landscape, from her ludicrous depiction in a recent ‘South Park’ episode to her cameo in Michael Moore’s ‘Sicko’ to her dissection in a steady stream of biographies.”