LATE AFTERNOON ADDITIONS
New York Times ArtsBeat Blog
‘Superior Donuts’ Heads to Broadway
The latest play by Tracy Letts, will transfer from the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago to Broadway this fall for an Oct. 1 opening.
Schedules Derail Plans for ‘Torture’
Two principal actors and the director of “Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them,” determined that they were unavailable.
Hampton Signs On to Write ‘Rebecca’ Musical
Christopher Hampton, whose play “The Philanthropist” and translation of “God of Carnage” are now on Broadway, has signed on to write the English-language adaptation of the book for the musical “Rebecca,” based on the Daphne Du Maurier novel.
BackStage – BlogStage
‘In the Heights’ on PBS ‘Great Performances’
The PBS documentary In the Heights: Chasing Broadway Dreams premieres May 27 on the PBS series Great Performances. The program includes extended performance sequences of the original cast of In the Heights onstage at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway, as well as an intimate look at the production backstage and off-stage.
Village Voice La Daily Musto Blog
Barbra Streisand And Diana Ross To Duet!
That’s the rumor coming down the turnpike, insiders swearing that for Miss Ross’s next album, the very white Diana Krall will produce a back-and-forth number featuring the Motown superstar and the O…
Playbill
* Cows That Type: Rando to Direct Musical Click, Clack, Moo for Free Summer Run in NYC
* Sherman Brothers Are Focus of New Film, “The Boys,” in Theatres May 22
TheaterMania
* Peter Michael Goetz, Helen Carey, Barbara Bryne, et al. to Star in Guthrie’s When We Are Married
* Anthony Crivello, Hal Prince, et al. to Participate in Phantom – The Las Vegas Spectacular’s “Fan’s Week”
Bitter Lemons
The-New-Motto-for-the-NEA-Contest
Hey, Lemonheads, Christopher Knight over at the LA Times Culture Monster Blog thinks the NEA should come up with a new motto. The present one is: “A Great Nation Deserves Great Art”. He thinks that’s too much of an “imperialistic bit of provincial pomposity”. Talk about WINCE! His offering: “Great Art Makes a Great Nation”. [...]
The Halcyon Blog
Subsidies
It’s hard to have a discussion about the start of the arts without a common thread popping up. Subsidy. If there were more subsidies, we would . . . (insert whatever you think needs to be done.) Over time the notion wears on me. I wouldn’t argue against more funding for the arts, but it is foolish to think that more money would solve all of the problems we face. Most of the issues facing theatres are of their own making and mo money would just equal mo problems.
Live Design Online
Brian MacDevitt, guest blogger, Broadway Lighting Master Classes
I love it. I’ve got to tell you, last year when I did my talk, and this year as well, it makes me feel really useful, when people react and you feel they are learning something, and they get what you are doing. As a result of this last year, I got a phone call from Cindy Limauro from Carnegie Mellon who said, “I am at the BLMC, and we…
Parabasis
Steppenwolf Blog on “Color-Blind” Casting
Read all about it here.
The Playgoer
Bart Sher: On the Move?
NYT’s Patrick Healy tries to get a rumor going about NY director of the moment Bartlett Sher finally packing up and leaving Seattle’s Intiman, where he is still nominally Artistic Director, to settle into some role as “heir apparent” at Lincoln Center Theater. I don’t see Andre Bishop stepping down any time soon, and both he and Sher deny it, of course. But it wouldn’t surprise anyone to know there may be some “grooming” going on.
The Stage UK
John Barrowman to star in La Cage aux Folles
Torchwood star John Barrowman has confirmed that he is to join the West End production of La Cage aux Folles from September.
Browse all of the late day clippings
EARLY AFTERNOON ADDITIONS
BackStage
Obies Totally ‘Ruined’
‘Ruined’, the multi-award winning play about women surviving rape and civil war in the Congo, dominated the 54th annual Village Voice Obie Awards, winning prizes for playwright Lynn Nottage for best new American play (and a check for $1,000) and for cast members.
BackStage – BlogStage
‘The Norman Conquests’ Quirky Question Contest
Fans of the Broadway production of Alan Ayckbourn’s comedy trilogy The Norman Conquests are invited to be “journalists for a day” and submit questions for the “Norman Conquests Quirky Questions Contest.” (Try saying that five times fast…) The quirkiest question wins a $100 prize.
Time Out New York Upstaged Blog
Which producer will bring Wallace Shawn back to New York?
Wallace Shawn’s new play opens…in the U.K.
Obies Awards: Everyone’s a winner
2009 Obie Awards
Thirteen / WNET
Sunday Arts News for 5/17/09
includes Offices’ F. Murray Abraham
Playbill
* LCT to Present Reading of New Musical Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
* Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre to Stage Avenue X in 2010
* Meisle Is Schemer of NJ Little Foxes, with Cover, Goodwin, Dykstra, Lorette
* John Barrowman to Join Cast of London’s La Cage aux Folles
TheaterMania
* James Earl Jones, Bernadette Peters, George Takei, et al. to Appear With San Francisco Symphony
BroadwayWorld.com
* Photo Coverage: 2009 Tony Awards Preview Concert Performance
* RIALTO CHATTER: Biel Headed To A New York Stage?
Phillyist
It’s Not the Show with Puppets!
But 11th Hour Theatre Company has sure got a great spokesperson
Orange County Register The Arts Blog
O.C.’s arts scene copes with the recession
Where is schadenfreude when you need it?
Seattlest
Sher & Schwarz Making a Break for It
Surprising absolutely no one, Intiman Theatre artistic director Bart Sher announced he’s decamping for for New York, and will wrap up his term at the end of this 2010. He’s more or less gone as of now, though–he’s been in New York
Time Out Chicago Blog
Another week, another award for Our Town
What’s that? Our Town picked up another award? Oh great…I kid, I kid. It’s just that David Cromer’s searing revival of the Thornton Wilder classic (which began life as a Hypocrites production last spring before being recruited by Off-Broadway producer Scott Morfee …
On Theatre and Politics
Showcase Code Modifications!
Some changes have been made to the Showcase Code! You can read about them here.
The Guardian Performing Arts Blog
Mark Fisher: Scottish theatre awards celebrate wandering stars
The nominations for this year’s Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland applaud site-specific work – and prove that companies don’t need a permanent building to create great productions
Lyn Gardner: The trouble with new-build theatres? No ghosts in the house
Modern playhouses are popping up all over the place, but the best venues come with a sense of history attached
The Stage UK
Actor Cox to return to UK theatre
Acclaimed classical and film actor Brian Cox is poised to make a return to UK theatre following a three-year absence and is in talks to star in a major reworking of Henrik Ibsen’s John Gabriel Borkman.
Browse all of the day’s clippings
MIDDAY ADDITIONS
Playbill
* Cherry Lane Announces Administration Agreement with DreamWorks for Shrek
* Manderley, Again: Tony Winner Hampton Will Pen Book and Lyrics for Rebecca Musical
* “Glee” Songs Will Be Available on iTunes; Soundtrack Due in Fall
* Track Listing Announced for West Side Story Cast Recording
* Julian Patrick, Broadway Actor and Opera Singer, Dies at 81
* Rodger McFarlane, Former BC/EFA Director, Dies
* London Revival of Sunset Boulevard to Close May 30
TheaterMania
* Michael Arden, David Burnham, Barrett Foa, Chad Kimball Set for Broadway’s Young Leading Men
* Robert Newman to Join Off-Broadway’s Sessions on May 29
* Polly Bergen, Mario Cantone, Jackie Hofman, Karen Mason, Marilyn Maye, et al. Win 2009 MAC Awards
Gothamist
OBIE Awards 2009 Bring Hathaway and Hyman Together
The Village Voice OBIE awards are always a raucous affair; a sort of debauched downtown theater raspberry to counter the Tonys’ mainstream proceedings. And because the OBIEs call attention to risk-taking, less-famous artists who succeed despite severely limited budgets, they’re arguably much more vital to the theater world— …
Hartford Courant Behind the Curtain Bog
“Glee” Could Be Next “High School Musical”
The advance word is very positive for the new Fox series “Glee,” which will have its premiere following “American Idol” tonight. (Tonight’s episode will be a “preview” and the series returns for its regular run later this fall.)
ARTSBLOG
Proving Social Net-Works
KAIPS is a Cause on Facebook – Keep the Arts In Public Schools (click to join)
The Mirror up to Nature
Lost Oasis – At the Factory Theater
A few strangers meet in a secret place in the deep woods. Each has a reason for being there, each has struggled to find it , and each wants the other to leave. Who really owns this “place away”?
The Mission Paradox Blog
An Open Letter to Arts Administrators
I’ve gotten your emails and your phone calls, expressing your frustrations and wondering why a life as an arts professional has to be so damn hard.
NEA New Play Development Program
Outstanding Plays in the News
The two plays selected in the Outstanding New Play Category are making some noise in the press right now. Rajiv Joseph’s play has just opened to a rave from the LA Times. Tarell McCraney’s trilogy is unfolding at McCarter and the NY Times Company has named him the first Outstanding Playwright Award winner. Vijay was in LA for the opening of Joseph’s Tiger and will be at the McCarter for McCraney’s Marcus. Expect a rundown from him here shortly.
Parabasis
A Thought…
Could it just be (as a follow-up to this post and the comments) that New York City is a bad place to see classics? We don’t have a really great theater dedicated to them (The closest we have are Red Bull which produces one show a year and Classical Theater of Harlem) and the best of the classics we can offer are largely imported from other areas and shown either on Broadway or at BAM.
Browse all of the midday clippings
New York Times ArtsBeat Blog
‘Ruined’ Wins Obie Awards
Three cast members in the Manhattan Theater Club production of “Ruined” – Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Saidah Arrika Ekulona, and Russell Gebert Jones – were among the actors who received Obies, which honor Off Broadway theater.
Mrs. Obama: ‘The Arts Define Who We Are as a People’
First Lady Michelle Obama was the official ribbon-cutter at the reopening of the American wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Time Out New York Upstaged Blog
The Inner Circle: The Norman Conquests
More exclusive video from the Drama Critics’ Circle awards
Associated Press
Lee Solters, Publicist for Sinatra & Others, Dies
Longtime Hollywood publicist Lee Solters has died. He was 89.
USA Today
‘Carnage’ cast doesn’t fight like that offstage
Playbill
* PLAYBILL.COM’S CUE & A: Jessica Hynes
* Broadway Grosses: May 11-17
TheaterMania
A Whole Lot of Drama!
Brian D’Arcy James, Geoffrey Rush, Janet McTeer, Allison Janney, Carson Kressley, Pablo Schreiber, Haydn Gwynne, Gregory Jbara, Lorenzo Pisoni, Stephen Daldry, Peter Darling, and Diane Paulus speak out at the 2009 Drama Desk Awards.
Variety
Tony nominations fluff ‘Hair’
“Hair” seems to have gotten the biggest spritz from the Tony noms, with the revival seeing sales jump last week by 15% to land in the No. 6 spot in the top 10.
Slow transition for Intiman
Sher unveils unusual, multiyear succession plan
Seattle Times
Bartlett Sher, Tony Award-winning director, to leave Intiman
Bartlett Sher will step down as artistic director of Seattle’s Intiman Theatre at the end of 2010.
Dallas Morning News Arts Blog
Tom Sime gets another New York production
Former Dallas Morning News colleague Tom Sime has another new production in the Big Apple. His vampire thriller Bloodletters, seen in Dallas last year, runs Wednesday through May 29 in the basement space of the Bleecker Street Theatre, where Tom is playwright in residence. The production is under the aegis of the Modern Stage, Tom’s own company, and Joe Black.
TheaterJones
Q&A: Akin Babatunde and Terry Vandivort
On getting “Lost in the Stars”
Chicago Tribune Theater Loop Blog
Time Out Chicago announces new theater writer
Minneapolis Star-Tribune
U to give honorary doctorate to Kushner
Playwright Tony Kushner on Thursday will take a break from working on his new play at the Guthrie Theater to receive recognition at the University of Minnesota.
Encore Michigan
The Acorn welcomes back the bawdy comedy of The Weird Sisters And Strange Brothers May 22
Chicago audiences have consistently been delighted by the comedic antics and musical mastery of The Weird Sisters since 1999…
Cincinnati Enquirer
Broadway series loaded with bright lights
Crowd-pleasing 2009-10 Broadway touring season at the Aronoff Center has girl-power icons.
Los Angeles Times Culture Monster Blog
‘Octomom the Musical’: More than just octuplets
Did you roll your eyes at last month’s news of the upcoming “Octomom the Musical”?
Contra Costa Times
Pat Craig: Comedic actor Danny Scheie gets role of a lifetime in ‘Nero”
The Guardian
Portrait of the artist: Lucy Bailey, director
I asked Beckett if I could stage one of his poems. He said I’d got it all wrong – but yes’
The king and I
Alfred Hickling talks to composer Adam Guettel, grandson of the Broadway giant Richard Rodgers
The joy of not getting it
Michael Billington: Making esoteric art more accessible should not result in a dilution of the artist’s original vision
The Stage UK – Blogs
Mark Shenton: A theatrical masturbation marathon….
Theatre is typically something you can’t do at home alone; it’s an event you usually have to go out for (though it can occasionally come to you, as I recently reported here when Kathryn Hunter brought Rockabye to Blanche…
Whatsonstage.com
Hurricane Katrina & Recession Inspire New Plays
‘Nomadic venue’ The Jericho House is staging a promenade work this autumn at the Bargehouse, Oxo Tower Wharf, composed entirely of testimonies from those affected by Hurricane Katrina. Katrina, which runs from 1 to 26 September 2009, tells the s…
London Theatre Guide
Milligan’s memoirs star in Hampstead summer
The stage adaptation of Spike Milligan’s Adolf Hitler: My Part In His Downfall, is to play at the Hampstead theatre this summer following its world premiere at the Bristol Old Vic.
Docklands to witness aquatic spectacular
The 2009 Greenwich And Docklands International Festival, which comprises four days of free outdoor performance, is to feature a host of artists presenting work linked by a common theme, water.
Artsblog
ArtCast: Incorporating the Arts into Special Events
Bob Lynch, President and CEO of Americans for the Arts, discusses how awards presentations and special events can better integrate the arts and artists throughout programs.
Arts Education, Performance, and Sweeney Todd: What Were They Thinking?
This week I attended a performance of Sweeny Todd staged and performed by my local High school drama department, Carlsbad High School, (in southern California). When my neighbor informed me that the high school was embarking on Sweeny Todd, I immediately thought to myself, “what the heck is this high school drama teacher, Monica Hall, thinking?!”
Fractured Atlas Blog
LMCC’s Swing Space Project-Based Residencies For Visual and Performing Artists and Arts Groups
Lower Manhattan Cultural Council will begin accepting online applications for the next session of its Swing Space program on June 15, 2009.
Browse all of the day’s clippings
Original post blogged on b2evolution.
Post a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.