Random Happenings - April 2013

SEC investigates Rebecca musical and sets rules for companies to use social media networks. Tom Hanks tears up on opening night of play by beloved friend Nora Ephron. Film critic Roger Ebert fades. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof fails to recoup. Iron lady Margaret Thatcher dies. Spidy settlement finally reached. Terror strikes Boston marathon; subsequent manhunt kills one suspect and captures other. Playwright Richard Greenberg changes Boston reference in The Assembled Parties. Deadly explosion at Texas fertilizer plant. Disgraced takes home the Pulitzer. Ricin laced letters scare Washington DC. Gun control debate continues. First openly gay NBA player emerges. Tony nominations announced and Kinky Boots comes out on top with most nominations...

Thomas Bradshaw's "Lecture on the Blues" at the Whitney Museum

Look, someone is walking out the room offended! Oh, there must be a performance of Thomas Bradshaw material nearby. And that is exactly what happened yesterday on the final day of the Blues for Smoke exhibit at the Whitney Museum.

Let me take a step back. 

Imagine my surprise on Saturday morning when I perused the list of performances accompanying the Blues for Smoke exhibit at the Whitney Museum. The controversial playwright Thomas Bradshaw would be presenting a new 40 minute work - Lecture on the Blues - created just for the exhibit and featuring actors Jeff Biehl and Frank Harts. Excerpts from Amiri Baraka's Dutchman would also be presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc. 

How the heck did the Whitney team up with Mr. Bradshaw, I wondered. Not wanting to miss the exhibit, I purchased a museum ticket and with some hesitation reserved a spot in Mr. Bradshaw's "lecture."

WSJ Article - The Falling Apart of the Theater Subscription Model

From Ms. X, an artistic director of an undisclosed theater company in Terry Teachout's WSJ article - Theater's Expiring Subscription Model: 

Then the subscription model fell apart, for a lot of reasons. Some subscribers got too busy, or too old, to commit in advance to five shows on specific dates. Some of them couldn't afford to buy all five in one pop anymore. And young people never have gotten in the habit of subscribing to anything. On demand, that's their motto. Anyway, it all added up to the same thing: We had to start selling individual shows instead of a package. When that happened, everything changed. Instead of trusting us to give them something good, people started playing it safe, and we had to play safe with them. We didn't have any choice. The last time I tried putting on a classical revival, our single-ticket sales dropped by nearly half. And we've had to start using name actors as often as we can. Doesn't matter what the show is: It's the star that sells, not the play. 

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"Kinky Boots" at Lord & Taylor

Theater-loving fashionistas may want to head over to Lord & Taylor to check out fashions inspired by the new Broadway musical Kinky Boots. Tomorrow at 12:30PM, cast members will be performing at the 5th avenue location, and if you spend $300 on fragrance, you might be able to score a free pair of tickets to see the show (while supplies last of course). Enjoy!
 

 

"Who's Your Daddy?" And I Don't Mean Those "Annie" Posters Around Town

 

Uganda forced me to live in the present - apathy was no longer an option - and everything seemed possible again...Johnny O'Callaghan

The year is 2006. Actor Johnny O'Callaghan has just walked in on his lover in a compromising position with twins. He later runs into a colleague who is going to Uganda of all places to shoot a documentary about kids in an orphanage. Still devastated from his breakup, down on his luck, and not really caring whether he lives or dies, Johnny decides to tag along with his colleague to Uganda. And you know what...his life changes forever.

"Hands on a Hardbody" Closes Last Weekend and "Breakfast at Tiffany's" to Close This Weekend...

Full disclosure - I am writing this post just so that I can repost this hilarious gif posted by handle ClydeBarrow at broadwayworld.com.  

Roughly a month ago, I enthusiastically wrote about all the shows opening on Broadway in March and April, no doubt to make the Tony Award cut off on April 25th.

So, where do some of the productions stand as of today? Well, Hands on a Hardbody, which received a consensus B- on stagegrade.com, has opened and closed. And Breakfast at Tiffany's, which received a humiliating D+, has just announced that it will close this coming weekend.  Kitty drama. OVER!

But on a more pleasant note, Matilda received rave reviews and and an impressive A on StageGrade. I'm sure it'll be a while before I score tickets. And Michael Riedel may have poked fun at Motown The Musical in his NYP gossip column, but  Barry Gordy had the last laugh with advance sales of more than $16M. 

Tonight, The Nance opens on Broadway. We'll see how Nathan Lane fares. And in the next 10 days, 10 more productions open. 

Kitty may be coolly filing her nails, but I am anxiously biting mine, as I wait to see which ones survive and which ones don't...

Quote from David Ives "All in the Timing - The Philadelphia"

Al and Mark in David Ives' one act comedy The Philadephia: 

AL. Yes, physically you are in New York. But metaphysically you are in a Philadelphia. 

MARK. I've never heard of this!

AL. You see, inside of what we know as reality there are these pockets, these black holes called Philadelphias. If you fall into one, you run up against the kinda shit that's been happening to you all day. 

MARK. Why? 

AL. Because in a Philadelphia, no matter what you ask for, you can't get it. You ask for something, they're not gonna have it. You want to do something, it ain't gonna get done. You want to go somewhere, you can't get there from here.

They Command the Stage But Can They Fill the House...

Holland Taylor and Fiona Shaw both command the stage in their respective one woman shows now playing on Broadway. Both are captivating in their portraits of real and fascinating women - politician Ann Richards (a Democrat and the 45th Governor of Texas) and Mary of Nazareth...you know...mother of Jesus. As I sat through both performances though, I wondered why the plays are mounted on the Broadway stage and not a smaller, more intimate theater elsewhere. And as I skimmed through Broadway grosses last night, the same question came to mind once again.

Off/Off Off Broadway Keeping It Relevant

Packed with revivals, feel good pieces and long running productions, Broadway isn't the most relevant place. Off Broadway and Off Off Broadway do a much better job of tackling current issues.  

Michael Perlman's From White Plains, which recently had a short run at The Studio Theater at Signature, tackled bullying from a gay perspective. Laura Marks' Bethany tackled the story of a woman desperately trying to navigate the financial crisis. I suppose Paul Downs Colaizzo's Really Really tackles today's twenty-something generation. But please don't get me started on that right now. 

Instead get me started instead on revenge or involuntary porn. 

Animals (Literally) on the New York City Stage

Sunny..Macaco..Vito Vincent

It is not uncommon to see furry creatures on the Broadway stage. 

There is Sandy (played by Sunny) in Annie. Having won front row seats in the Annie lottery, I had as much fun watching Sandy's animated trainer off stage as I did Daddy Warbucks. Sandy has an interesting story. Turns out she was on death row in a Texas animal shelter 24 hours away from her last breath when she was discovered by trainer William Berloni. Now, she and understudy Casey are doing their part to delight audiences over at the Palace Theatre. 

Quote from Guillermo Calderón's "Neva”

Masha in Guillermo Calderón's Neva:

Sometimes, I think I would have liked to be a man. I would have liked to drink vodka, to fall and fight in the street, to see blood. Wear boots, leather jackets. Smoke. Whistle. Offend women. Laugh at my own jokes, love my own stench. Bathe in the river Neva with polar bears in winter. I would have liked to be a man, having been in prison, having been kicked, not believing in God, urinating in the street, sleeping by day, having no fears...I would have liked to be a man. Killing...eating human flesh, having fought in the war, killing children, raping children and old. I would have liked to be a man. I would be happy...

Translation provided by Google.

"The Testament of Mary" by Colm Toibin

Her husband is gone
Her Son has left home
He raises Lazarus from the earth 
Turns water into wine
Now He is to be crucified
And she is in complete and utter despair

Random Happenings - March 2013

Doctors announce Mississippi newborn with HIV infection cured after aggressive treatment with antiretroviral drugs. Broadway Backwards raises $347K. Hugo Chavez dies. Cat understudy fired from Breakfast at Tiffany's. Suspect arrested in Sarai Sierra Turkey murder. Leads and other cast members in Once musical change. Pope Francis installed. Spring arrives. The Book of Mormon breaks ticket sale record in UK. Youtube has a billion users. Newsies celebrate one year anniversary. Americans recall 10 year anniversary of US invasion of Iraq. Matilda The Musical investors gear up for lucrative payday.