Platinum Broadway

Extension for 'Mary Poppins' - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety

Extension for 'Mary Poppins' - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety.

"Mary Poppins" will stick around four weeks longer than announced, based on demand for ducats at L.A.'s Ahmanson Theater. Tuner opens Nov. 15 and runs through Feb. 7, according to producers the Center Theater Group, Disney Theatricals and Cameron Mackintosh. Helmed by Richard Eyre, the musical is toplined by Ashley Brown, who originated the title role on Broadway, and Gavin Lee, who originated the role of Bert on the West End and Broadway.

Used to Be a Major Motion Picture - ‘Catch Me if You Can’ Onstage - NYTimes.com

Used to Be a Major Motion Picture - ‘Catch Me if You Can’ Onstage - NYTimes.com.

AS opening night approached early this month for the new musical “Catch Me if You Can,” about a con man on the run from the F.B.I., the director Jack O’Brien and his creative team were making changes to the production here almost hourly. Dialogue was added; dialogue was dropped. The pacing of some scenes was stepped up. Actors’ hand gestures and body language were tweaked. And one entire section — “mostly nuts-and-bolts exposition” — was excised entirely. What Mr. O’Brien did not do — did not even contemplate doing, he said — was turn for last-minute inspiration to the commercially successful 2002 film by Steven Spielberg that is the basis for the musical (and shares its title). Mr. O’Brien directed the Broadway productions of “Hairspray” and “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” which were also created from movies, and he said he believed it was essential to reimagine the original movies, add new layers to the stories and characters and demonstrate clearly to audiences why a theatrical version of a popular film is warranted. “The ones that usually don’t work are the musicals that are slavish to the original movie,” Mr. O’Brien said over breakfast with the rest of the “Catch Me” creative team. “I’m not going to talk about any specific musicals. But there are some movies that have an inherent theatricality, where you can imagine these characters singing and dancing. And there are others that simply don’t.”

Times Square: Broadway unbound - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety

Times Square: Broadway unbound - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety.

This summer, Broadway has been radically different. The street itself, that is. Since Memorial Day, five blocks of Broadway, stretching from West 42nd Street to West 47th Street, have been closed to traffic in an effort to ease congestion and to turn a significant chunk of Times Square into a pedestrian promenade. And with those newly established semi-piazzas right in the heart of the theater district, reviews from legiters have been coming in all summer. The more serious logistical obstacles raised as possibilities by the theater industry when the plan was first announced in February seem not to have materialized -- at least not yet -- while many of the hassles associated with the area have been alleviated. Take, for instance, the annual Rialto promotional performance Broadway on Broadway. This year the event, which attracts an estimated 50,000 people, will occur Sept. 13 in its usual prime outdoor spot in the center of Times Square, without requiring the same organizational hoops formerly necessary to shut down the area to vehicular traffic. Some spectators might now even get the unprecedented luxury of a seat. But legiters still hold other concerns, which the orgs that maintain the area are working to address. The official report card on the $1.5 million transformation (which also occurred on a few blocks of Broadway in nearby Herald Square) isn't due until December from the Dept. of Transportation, the city org that masterminded the project. Then at the end of the year, based in part on the finding in that report, the mayor will decide whether the change should be permanent. At least so far, the plaza-fication has, surprisingly, not seemed to have much effect at all on area business, positive or negative. Nonetheless, the move has stirred its share of controversy among those who make their livelihoods in the area, including legiters. Many cab drivers will tell you they hate the new set-up, and in recent weeks the addition of sun umbrellas prompted alarm from the neighborhood's outdoor sign industry, worried that their billboards, many of which advertise Rialto fare, would go unnoticed with too many umbrellas blocking the view. (In light of those fears, the number of umbrellas was reduced.) Transportation snafus, involving buses attempting to deposit masses of group ticket buyers in front of their theater, have not occurred as originally feared, although it remains to be seen whether this will hold true in the fall, when group theatergoing generally picks up momentum. Still, this summer, it hasn't been uncommon to hear grumbling from legiters who must now wade through new swaths of lounging humanity to get to their Times Square offices. Many of them rolled their eyes at the cheapo lounge chairs placed in the area temporarily while the more permanent seating was on its way. But since the sturdier but aesthetically unimpressive plaza furniture was installed a couple of weeks ago, legiters now fret that the area still looks like more like a dirty street than an enticing piazza. Those responsible for the promenade respond that the current configuration is still just a pilot version, which will stick around until the mayor's office gives the go-ahead to make the pedestrian areas permanent, and presumably more appealing. And as business development org Times Square Alliance points out, the plazas aren't any dirtier than your average Gotham street -- it's just that now people look at them in a new light. "People's expectations for it are different," says Alliance prexy Tim Tompkins. "They expect it to be cleaner and nicer, and we've got to meet that standard." No matter how it looks, the plaza's effect on sales at area businesses appears to be largely neutral, according to the Alliance -- although those polled have noted the difficulty of making a direct comparison year-on-year given that the economic downturn hadn't yet hit at this time in 2008. The boom in walk-up sales, formerly seen as a possibility by some in the theater industry, didn't seem to happen, at least not at the Marquis Theater, situated right on Broadway. The show in that venue, "9 to 5," has never managed to take off at the box office and will shutter Labor Day. The same holds true at the TKTS booth, the long-established but newly renovated discount ducat outpost located on the north end of the pedestrian zone. The remodeled booth, unveiled last fall, includes attention-grabbing illuminated red steps that also contribute to the new public-space feel of the area. "I don't think the pedestrian zone has had too much of an impact either way," says Victoria Bailey, exec director of Theater Development Fund, which runs the TKTS program. She adds that according to TDF surveys, a surprising number of people lounging on the booth's steps or sunbathing in the plaza don't actually know they can purchase theater tickets there, too. "We're thinking about how we can educate and engage people who are coming to the square and not thinking about buying tickets," Bailey says. Some of those people will be attracted by promotional events, which seem likely to increase in frequency now that planners have begun to take note of the new, more user-friendly layout. In June, the Tonys were simulcast on giant screens in Times Square, and a few weeks ago the season preem of AMC skein "Mad Men" was broadcast there to drum up attention. "The plaza has made a lot of event promoters look at Times Square in a new way," says Tompkins.

Broadway vets join 'Sisters' - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety

Broadway vets join 'Sisters' - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety.

Broadway vets Alexander Gemignani, Laila Robins, Lynn Cohen, Hannah Cabell, Keith Reddin and Frank Wood are among the cast of Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park's upcoming production of Chekhov's "Three Sisters," in a new version written by Sarah Ruhl and helmed by John Doyle. Doyle's production of "Company" originated at the Playhouse before it went on to a Broadway run in 2006. Gemignani appeared in the 2005 Broadway staging of Doyle's production of "Sweeney Todd." Design team includes Scott Pask (sets), Ann Hould-Ward (costumes) and Jane Cox (lights). Show runs Oct. 24-Nov. 21.

Arbitrator Favors Jeremy Piven in ‘Speed-the-Plow’ Dispute - NYTimes.com

Arbitrator Favors Jeremy Piven in ‘Speed-the-Plow’ Dispute - NYTimes.com.

The most famous fish story on Broadway reached its conclusion on Thursday after an arbitrator found that Jeremy Piven did not violate his contract when he withdrew from the revival of “Speed-the-Plow,” citing a case of mercury poisoning.

Henry Miller's Theater takes centerstage - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety

Henry Miller's Theater takes centerstage - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety.

There’s one key factor that gives the Great White Way its sense of permanence: those quirky 40 stages in a narrow patch of Midtown Manhattan. When one of them turns into a movie theater or becomes a dance club, it’s cause for sadness. When one is demolished, Broadway mourns, as if for a favorite uncle. So it should be cause for celebration next month when Broadway welcomes back a theater, as the Roundabout’s "Bye Bye Birdie" takes the stage at the new Henry Miller’s Theater.

B'way 'Fela' adds mama - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety

B'way 'Fela' adds mama - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety.

Lillias White has joined the cast of the Broadway production of tuner "Fela!" Thesp ("Once on This Island"), who picked up a 1997 Tony for her perf in "The Life," will play the mother of Afro-beat musician Fela Anikulapo Kuti in the bio-tuner. White did not appear in last season's Off Broadway incarnation of the musical, unlike the show's star, Sahr Ngaujah, who appears in the Rialto transfer after originating the role in the earlier production.

Lithgow, Ehle topline 'Fitch' - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety

Lithgow, Ehle topline 'Fitch' - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety.

John Lithgow and Jennifer Ehle will topline the world preem of "Mr. and Mrs. Fitch," the latest play by Douglas Carter Beane ("The Little Dog Laughed," "Xanadu"). Lithgow ("Sweet Smell of Success") and Ehle ("The Coast of Utopia") will play the title roles in Beane’s comedy about married gossip columnists and the lengths to which they go for celeb news.

Hunter Foster set for 'Days' - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety

Hunter Foster set for 'Days' - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety.

Hunter Foster is among the thesps who will appear in “Ordinary Days,” the small-scale new musical getting a run as part of the Roundabout Underground program. Foster, Lisa Brescia, Jared Gertner and Kate Wetherhead will star as four New Yorkers whose lives are connected by unexpected circumstances. Marc Bruni helms the show, which has music and lyrics by Adam Gwon.

Theater Review: Quartermaine's Terms - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Quartermaine's Terms - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

"Quartermaine's Terms," Simon Gray's terrifically sad/funny play of isolation in academic circles, now receiving a worthy revival in the Massachusetts Berkshires, could have just as easily been called "Otherwise Disengaged." The lonely, well-meaning bachelor St. John Quartermaine (Jefferson Mays) survives, barely, in the dreary staff room of an English private school for foreigners. It's the classroom where his disconnect is increasingly evident: not knowing his students, skipping out on class or just drifting away in an old, worn armchair, oblivious to the changing forces around him.

Theater Review: The 39 Steps - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: The 39 Steps - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

Alfred Hitchcock announced that his 1935 spy yarn "The 39 Steps" was "out to give the public good, healthy, mental shakeups," because society had become so drowsy, "We cannot appreciate sufficient thrills at first hand." Seventy-five years and innumerable first-hand mental shakeups later, the belly laughs of Patrick Barlow's live adaptation are positively restorative. Maria Aitken's La Jolla restaging of her metatheatrical London and Gotham hit, performed by four of the world's hardest-working thesps, has its arid patches and disappears into the ozone almost upon arrival. But it's a treat while it lasts.

Theater Review: Midsummer (A Play With Songs) - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Midsummer (A Play With Songs) - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

When Cora Bissett's Helena pays a parking toll in this joyous comedy by David Greig and Gordon McIntyre, the message on the machine reads: "Change is possible." The joke, delivered by Matthew Pidgeon's deadpan Bob, is that "it's funny to have a parking machine doling out philosophical advice." As advice goes, however, it is exactly what Helena and Bob need. These two 35-year-olds are suffering an identity crisis and, over one weekend of wild abandon -- as riotously funny as it is touchingly romantic -- they find the courage to liberate themselves and live happily ever after.

Theater Review: Summer Shorts 3 - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Summer Shorts 3 - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

Short-play anthologies are like books of short stories, except that you can skip through a book of short stories if you're not enjoying one of the entries. Producers of the "Summer Shorts" series would do well to bear that in mind the next time they have a forgotten gem like William Inge's "The Killing" or a tight little drama like Neil LaBute's "A Second of Pleasure" on their hands. Just because you can force your audience to sit and wait for the good stuff to start doesn't mean you should.

Theater Review: The Receptionist - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: The Receptionist - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

"Will and Grace" star Megan Mullally dominates the stage as surely as her character, Beverly, dominates the Northeast Office's anteroom in "The Receptionist," Adam Bock's miniature postmodern comedy-turned-paranoid chiller. If Bart DeLorenzo's Evidence Room co-production with, and at, the Odyssey lacks some of its intended whip-crack impact, its sterling professionalism is well worth making an appointment for.

It’s Broadway Gone Viral, With ‘Next to Normal’ Via Twitter - NYTimes.com

It’s Broadway Gone Viral, With ‘Next to Normal’ Via Twitter - NYTimes.com.

At a recent performance of “Next to Normal,” the Broadway musical at the Booth Theater on West 45th Street, Alice Ripley, who won a Tony for her portrayal of Diana, a suburban mother with bipolar disorder, was reaching to answer a cordless telephone when she knocked it off the stage. Fourth wall broken, Ms. Ripley asked, with a smile, “Could you hand that to me?” Audience members were suddenly on all fours, but when they could not find the prop, a woman in the front row held up her cellphone, which Ms. Ripley accepted and spoke her lines into before tossing it back, to laughter and applause. It is, it turns out, strangely fitting that a theatergoer’s cellphone should play a role in a “Next to Normal” performance, since many people have been introduced to the musical by the devices. In early May, six weeks after opening, the production began what is by all accounts a Broadway first: over Twitter, the social networking site, an adapted version of the show began to be published in the form of short text messages, or tweets — just a line from a character at a time. Several times daily over 35 days, followers of N2NBroadway eagerly awaited the arrival of the tweets on their cellphones and computers. On May 12, about a week into the serialized Twitter performance, “Next to Normal” had 30,000 followers; when it ended on June 7 with the last line of text and audio from the final song, “Light,” about 145,000 had signed up. Then, as the cast began text messaging back and forth with followers, their numbers continued to grow, recently topping 550,000.

Unlikey Survivor - ‘39 Steps,’ Sole Straight Play on Broadway - NYTimes.com

Unlikey Survivor - ‘39 Steps,’ Sole Straight Play on Broadway - NYTimes.com.

The 1,000-watt celebrities have either gone home or on vacation. The enriching revivals from canonical playwrights have finished their runs, and the Tony winners have packed up their trophies. Starting on Monday there will be just one nonmusical on Broadway: “Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps.” This joyously wacky four-person show has endured cast changes, runs in three different Broadway theaters and a recession, outlasting pretty much every other straight play without the benefit of elaborate sets or well-known stars

A Playwright at Ease in His Own Pigeonhole - NYTimes.com

A Playwright at Ease in His Own Pigeonhole - NYTimes.com.

CAN a New York playwright be too Jewish? If that sounds like wondering whether a pizzeria is too Italian or a matinee idol is overly handsome, tell that to the 36-year-old writer Daniel Goldfarb, who says that in his decade of writing dramas about assimilation and Jewish identity, well-meaning friends and colleagues have repeatedly suggested that maybe he should consider writing about, you know, something else.

Theater Review: August: Osage County - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: August: Osage County - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

Tracy Letts' Pulitzer-winning "August: Osage County" hits the road with all strengths intact in its national touring production. This richly entertaining dysfunctional-family fire sale juggles the hilarious, the poignant and the appalling on a retro "well-made play" scale seldom seen in these times of lean budgets. Impeccably cast with thesps largely new to the work -- Broadway replacement Estelle Parsons' matriarch is the major holdover -- Anna D. Shapiro's staging otherwise levies few significant changes on her prior incarnations for Chicago, New York and London. Hopefully, critical acclaim and audience buzz will create sufficient event status for this now-rare touring ensemble drama in its post-San Francisco stops.

Theater Review: Herringbone - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Herringbone - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

In the opening moments of "Herringbone," the unique musical fable now occupying La Jolla Playhouse's black-box space, the affably sinister title character announces, "What's life without a window ledge?" For a thesp, few window ledges are narrower than single-handedly performing 11 roles and 17 songs (including duets and production numbers), and BD Wong proves triumphantly up to the challenge even though his vehicle, first unveiled in 1975, inspires more admiration than warmth.

Theater Review - 'Al's Business Cards' - A Shuffle of Cards From Josh Koenigsberg at the Lion Theater - NYTimes.com

Theater Review - 'Al's Business Cards' - A Shuffle of Cards From Josh Koenigsberg at the Lion Theater - NYTimes.com.

Plenty of young writers hit on a good opening gimmick for a play but don’t know where to go with it after the first scene or two. Josh Koenigsberg doesn’t have that problem in “Al’s Business Cards,” a zippy new comedy receiving a very funny staging at the Lion Theater by the company called At Play. The setup is beautifully simple. A blue-collar type named Al Gurvis (Azhar Khan) has, preposterously, had business cards made for himself (“professional gaffing assistant,” they say), but the print shop mistakenly gives him the wrong cards, those for “Eileen Lee, Executive Realtor.” So of course Al and Eileen (Lauren Hines), two people living in very different worlds, have to meet to straighten out the mix-up. Where Mr. Koenigsberg goes from there is rarely anyplace you’re expecting, which is what makes this play so tasty. By the time he’s done, Al’s dumb-as-dirt co-worker (Bobby Moreno), Eileen’s estranged husband (Malcolm Madera) and a private detective (Gabriel Gutiérrez) have been woven into the story, which has been given just enough depth to elevate the play above sitcom level. The director, Lauren Keating, has the cast clicking nicely, with Ms. Hines giving a particularly sharp performance and Mr. Madera turning in a hilarious version of the suspicious spouse. Amid the jokes, though, Mr. Koenigsberg gives Ms. Hines a devastatingly bleak monologue, a particularly sublime touch considering that the play’s other high points include a ridiculous typographical error and one perfectly timed pratfall. “Al’s Business Cards” continues through Aug. 22 at the Lion Theater, 410 West 42nd Street, Clinton; (212) 279-4200, ticketcentral.com.

Theater Review: Hello, Dolly! - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Hello, Dolly! - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

An entire generation pitching up to this summer's musical in the park will gasp, "Hey, these songs are from 'Wall-E.' " If that sounds like musical-theater sacrilege, it should be pointed out that London hasn't seen "Hello, Dolly!" in 25 years. And watching the arrant preposterousness that passes for its book, you can see why. But the zesty choreography and cheery playing of Timothy Sheader's production bring out the sun in Jerry Herman's score, even when, as on press night, they're happily singing in the rain.

Theater Review - 'George Bataille's Bathrobe' and 'Blood on the Cat’s Neck' - Fassbinder and Foreman on the Limits of Language - NYTimes.com

Theater Review - 'George Bataille's Bathrobe' and 'Blood on the Cat’s Neck' - Fassbinder and Foreman on the Limits of Language - NYTimes.com.

“George Bataille’s Bathrobe,” by Richard Foreman, takes place, or so it would seem, in the mind of a writer named Frank. “We are alone on earth,” he says as the play opens. “Therefore to speak is an exercise in futility.”

Theater Review: Ever Yours, Oscar - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Ever Yours, Oscar - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

Perfectly simple, simply elegant and elegantly touching, "Ever Yours, Oscar" provides a minor-key look at the life of Oscar Wilde to accompany the C-major exercise in hilarity Brian Bedford has made of Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest," also in the Stratford season. Both shows are playing to SRO audiences, which is a tribute to Bedford's undiminished drawing power in this, his 27th season at the festival, as well as the public's appetite for first-rate material presented with a minimum of fuss.

Theater Review - 'A Lifetime Burning' - A Memoir So Compelling It Just Has to Be Phony - NYTimes.com

Theater Review - 'A Lifetime Burning' - A Memoir So Compelling It Just Has to Be Phony - NYTimes.com.

The embellished memoir has practically become a genre unto itself in recent years, with scandals about fiction masquerading as fact hitting the news media with the regularity of hurricanes threatening Florida during the storm season. Cusi Cram takes inspiration from this abiding form of aesthetic fraud in her unwieldy if intermittently amusing new play, “A Lifetime Burning,” which opened on Tuesday night at the 59E59 Theaters in a production from Primary Stages starring Jennifer Westfeldt as the literary poseur.

Theater Review: Noises Off - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Noises Off - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

Mid-summer madness prevails at the Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey with a revival of Michael Frayn's giddy 1982 farce "Noises Off," which remains one of the funniest plays of the past half-century. The play-within-a-play concerns the chaotic rehearsals of a feuding troupe of traveling performers; director Paul Mullins has harnessed his clownish players into a three-act comedy that's as knee-slapping as a three-ring circus.

Theater Review: Life Could Be a Dream - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Life Could Be a Dream - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

The creators of "The Marvelous Wonderettes" have presented the male equivalent, "Life Could Be a Dream," but the results in this world premiere are mixed. Whereas in "Wonderettes" writer-director Roger Bean created a memorable group of femme singers and an effective plot device of 20 years passing between acts one and two, in "Life," the characters couldn’t be more generic and the plot less compelling. There are a few strong voices in the show and plenty of classic 1950s songs, but some of the singing is uneven.

Theater Review: Caroline in Jersey - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Caroline in Jersey - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

Things are going down the tubes for Caroline: She's playing a dog in a way Off Broadway musical called "Petz." Her actor-husband knocked up a young babe in the cast. And she's now reduced to renting a crummy apartment in Jersey to which she is strangely drawn. But things aren't much better for the audience, either, in this jokey, hokey work, which has the feel of a failed sitcom pilot despite late-play efforts at seriousness centering on grief issues.

Theater Review: Al's Business Cards - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Al's Business Cards - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

Consider it a backhanded compliment to say that "Al's Business Cards," a sweet-tempered sitcom by Josh Koenigsberg, ends too soon. The twisty plot turns on complications that arise when a New Jersey print shop mixes up the business cards of a non-union electrician and a pretty real estate agent. Koenigsberg smartly shows that the mistakes and misunderstandings -- both comic and hurtful -- are largely based on assumptions about gender, class and ethnicity. But having made his larger point, the scribe neglects to resolve the dilemmas he's raised for his characters, who have too much life in them to be hung out to dry.

Hello, Dolly! | The Official London Theatre Guide

Hello, Dolly! | The Official London Theatre Guide.

It will take more than a little drizzle at the Open Air theatre to dampen the spirits of audience and cast alike in Timothy Sheader’s new production of Hello, Dolly!. Sheader, the Artistic Director of the Open Air theatre, has resisted the urge to mess with Jerry Herman’s classic musical, straying away from forcing a new stylistic twist on it like feathers and cherries on a hat which should only have ribbons. Instead the production revels in being entirely of its time; a big, bold musical comedy with big, bold musical numbers and quirky characters who you instinctively know will enjoy a brightly coloured happy ending. Together with choreographer Stephen Mear, he ensures the show is packed with wit and laughter, from the farcical slapstick of escaped shop clerks hiding from their boss, to the sharpness of Dolly’s dialogue and the inventive, mesmerising choreography. The ensemble dance numbers really do bring the best out of this production, Peter McKintosh’s colourful gowns and suits blending with Mear’s choreography to create spectacle after spectacle on the Open Air stage; a moldable vision in wood, simply transformed for each set change, with a bandstand watching over proceedings from above. As the ever-interfering widow, Samantha Spiro offers a fast-talking pocket dynamo of a Dolly Levi, whirling in and out of lives and situations like a tornado creating the best, most well-intentioned kind of havoc imaginable. For someone with a greater ability for sticking her nose in where it is not required than Pinocchio at a lie-athon, she is remarkably loved within New York society, yet in Spiro’s hands you can see why. It is hard to dislike a character so full of life, which is why it is so painful when it becomes obvious she wistfully views love from the sidelines without feeling able to get involved. Allan Corduner as the object of her desire, Horace Vandergelder, growls his way through the show, mistreating his staff and refusing to share any of his fortune. Yet through all the bluster and bravado, we love him too. If he is good enough for Dolly, he is good enough for us. There are strong performances also from Josefina Gabrielle as the subtly playful milliner Irene Molloy, and Daniel Crossley as the browbeaten clerk Cornelius Hackl, his attempts at dancing reminiscent of Dick Van Dyke’s all-legs-and-arms technique. The rain tried its best to drown out the joy of opening night, but the sheer warmth of Sheader’s production was enough to keep the summer chill from the hearts of the first night audience.

Theater Review - 'After Luke' and 'When I Was God' - Generational Bonds, in All Their Knots, at Irish Rep - NYTimes.com

Theater Review - 'After Luke' and 'When I Was God' - Generational Bonds, in All Their Knots, at Irish Rep - NYTimes.com.

Fathers and sons and the damage done: this is the theme, with variations, of the Cork writer Conal Creedon’s fine one-acts “After Luke” and “When I Was God,” which can be seen in a nearly pitch-perfect production at the Irish Repertory Theater. The first updates the parable of the prodigal son in Luke; the second looks at the father-son bond through the warping lens of sports.

Brian d’Arcy James to Leave ‘Shrek’ for ‘Time Stands Still’ - ArtsBeat Blog - NYTimes.com

Brian d’Arcy James to Leave ‘Shrek’ for ‘Time Stands Still’ - ArtsBeat Blog - NYTimes.com.

Brian d’Arcy James will have to endure those 90-minute makeup treatments for only a few more months: next year, he’ll depart the swamps of “Shrek the Musical” to join the cast of the Manhattan Theater Club production of “Time Stands Still,” the Donald Margulies play, publicists for the theater company said on Monday. Mr. James, whose Broadway credits include “Sweet Smell of Success” and “The Lieutenant of Inishmore,” was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance as the titular belching green ogre in “Shrek.” In “Time Stands Still,” he will play the journalist husband of a photographer played by Laura Linney, who is recovering from a injury in the Iraq War. The cast also includes Alicia Silverstone, and the play will be directed by Daniel Sullivan. It is scheduled to begin previews at the Samuel J. Friedman Theater on Jan. 5 and open on Jan. 28.

Theater - Broadway - New York Times

Theater - Broadway - New York Times.

Conal Creedon’s fine one-acts can be seen in a nearly pitch-perfect production at the Irish Repertory Theater.

Cheap Seats: Theater Discounts Without Standing in Line - ArtsBeat Blog - NYTimes.com

Cheap Seats: Theater Discounts Without Standing in Line - ArtsBeat Blog - NYTimes.com.

Update | 5:34 p.m. A spokesperson for “Bye Bye Birdie” says all $10 tickets for the first preview are sold out. Update | 4:13 p.m. OK, so technically you had to stand in line, but still: the tickets were dirt cheap. This morning hundreds of people stood in line outside Henry Miller’s Theater on 43rd St. to get $10 tickets to the first preview of the Roundabout Theater’s revival of “Bye Bye Birdie.” On hand for the promotional event were Nolan Funk, who plays Conrad Birdie, and several of his “fans” (played with shrieking enthusiasm by a group of teens in “Bye Bye Birdie” t-shirts).

Theater Review: Helen - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Helen - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

Euripides al fresco may not exactly sound like a summertime treat, but this infrequently performed late romance, in Frank McGuinness' playful new version, turns out to be quite the crowdpleaser -- sometimes to a fault. Helmer Deborah Bruce takes the original's irreverent spin on its source tale -- the story of the Trojan war -- as a cue to present the material at a heightened, ironic remove. Visual excesses aside, the evening overall is a eye-opening success due to Penny Downie's bravura performance in the title role and the startling contemporaneity of the material as retold here.

Theater Review: Catch Me If You Can - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Catch Me If You Can - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

The new musical version of "Catch Me If You Can," based on the DreamWorks picture, is an aqua-and-tangerine trip to the early '60s. And like some of the pop-cultural touchstones of that era -- Twiggy, the Corvette, "The Avengers" -- it's most appealing when it keeps things stylish and upbeat. On the flipside, when it pauses for a backstory ballad or a cry-in-your-beer confessional, "Catch Me" feels heavy and slow. At nearly three hours, the musical could stand to lose a few pounds of psychological motivation. But there's every indication that this show can undergo the diet it needs and lighten up. It's got great bones.

Theater Review - Summer Shorts 3 - At 59E59, a Death Requested and Other Tales - NYTimes.com

Theater Review - Summer Shorts 3 - At 59E59, a Death Requested and Other Tales - NYTimes.com.

After watching “The Killing” by William Inge, it’s best to take a slow, quiet walk home. This is a play that benefits from reflection, a story that sticks in the mind and demands further thought, no matter how dark those thoughts may be.

Theater Review - 'Slipping' - At Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, a Past Love Affair Haunts a Troubled Teenager - NYTimes.com

Theater Review - 'Slipping' - At Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, a Past Love Affair Haunts a Troubled Teenager - NYTimes.com.

“Slipping,” Daniel Talbott’s play now at the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, might well be titled “Gay Rebel Without a Cause,” packed as it is with adolescent angst and starring a handsome leading man, Seth Numrich. If there is a cause, it’s the hero’s quest to find love and heal wounds left by an earlier affair. That’s as deep as it gets, although there’s plenty of gay wish fulfillment too.

'On the Waterfront' screenwriter dies in NY at 95 - Yahoo! News

'On the Waterfront' screenwriter dies in NY at 95 - Yahoo! News.

NEW YORK – Budd Schulberg, the son of a studio boss who wrote a novel that defined the Hollywood hustle and later proved himself a player with the Oscar-winning screenplay for the Marlon Brando classic "On the Waterfront," died Wednesday at age 95. Schulberg died of natural causes at his home in Westhampton Beach, in New York State, said his wife, Betsy Schulberg. He was taken to a nearby medical center, where doctors unsuccessfully tried to revive him, she said. "He was very loved," she said, "and cherished." "On the Waterfront," directed by Elia Kazan and filmed in Hoboken, New Jersey, was released in 1954 to great acclaim and won eight Academy Awards. It included one of cinema's most famous lines, uttered by Brando as the failed boxer Terry Malloy: "I coulda been a contender." Schulberg never again approached the success of "On the Waterfront," but he continued to write books, teleplays and screenplays — including the Kazan-directed "A Face in the Crowd" — and scores of articles. Spike Lee was an admirer, dedicating the entertainment satire "Bamboozled" to Schulberg and working with him on a film about boxer Joe Louis. Schulberg was first known for the novel "What Makes Sammy Run?" Published in 1941, it follows the shameless adventures of Sammy Glick (born Shmelka Glickstein) as he steals, schmoozes and backstabs his way from office boy at a New York newspaper to production chief at a major Hollywood studio. Unlike Nathaniel West's "The Day of the Locust," which immortalized the desperation of show business outsiders, Schulberg's book was an insider's account, and Hollywood responded as it would to one of its own: fascinated and betrayed. Everybody from movie executives to columnist Walter Winchell was convinced he or she knew the real-life model for Glick. Schulberg later said he based the character on numerous hustlers he had encountered. "What I had, when I read through my notebook, was not a single person but a pattern of behavior," he later wrote. The model for countless Hollywood satires to come, Schulberg's novel was adapted for television, Broadway (a flop musical starring Steve Lawrence), but, ironically, has waited decades to be made into a film. A planned DreamWorks production featuring Ben Stiller was "in development" in recent years. "I have a feeling they're not going to do it," Schulberg told The Associated Press in 2006. "It's still a little tough for them."

Theater Review: The Importance of Being Earnest - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: The Importance of Being Earnest - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

Although there's nothing revolutionary about either the production concept or the conceit of a male actor playing the pivotal role of Lady Bracknell, the current version of Oscar Wilde's comedy classic "The Importance of Being Earnest," now on at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, moves comfortably into the winner's circle through a combination of wit, talent and sheer class. Director Brian Bedford is one of this continent's past masters at how high comedy should be done, and his expertise with the likes of Coward and Moliere have easily paved the way for his triumph with Wilde. Bedford knows the key to such works lies in two things: devotion to what's in the text and a true sense of what lies underneath it. He delivers both here, thanks to a cast that shares his vision perfectly. This isn't a Chekhovian "Earnest" or a brittle, frivolous one, but rather a production that seems filtered through what we know about what happened to Wilde just after he wrote it. Yes, it's consummately witty, but also dangerously so, with lines that mock everything Victorian England held dear. No wonder the establishment of the period was so anxious to leap on the bandwagon of Wilde's destruction once his relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas became public. Designer Desmond Heeley sets the whole thing in shades of silver and gray, filled with swirling textures, almost as though it were an aging and slightly decadent greeting card. It's a beautiful physical production but a slightly melancholy one as well, which is a sublime combination. Equally inspired is the casting of the two leads. Ben Carlson gives us a Jack as foursquare and solid as any Victorian would want his son to be, while Mike Shara, while never tipping over into effeminacy, is deliciously equivocal in his sexuality -- provoking, charming and flirting with virtually everyone on the stage, from his dour manservant Lane (a superb cameo from Robert Persichini) to his beloved Aunt Augusta. She, of course, is better known as Lady Bracknell, and although she only appears in two of the play's three acts, she sets its tone with her vinegar-dipped aphorisms and air of social superiority. Bedford is superb in the role, never once camping or sending it up, but being deeply funny simply because he takes himself so seriously. It's not only a hilarious performance in itself but also an object lesson in how this sort of comedy ought to be played. That extends to the whole cast as well, most notably Sara Topham's elegantly lacquered valentine of a Gwendolen, charming and chilly all at once. This superb production would be at home on any major stage in the world, and one can't help but think that with Bedford's reputation, it would also be able to earn a profitable place for itself on Broadway. Set and costumes, Desmond Heeley; lighting, Kevin Fraser; composer, Berthold Carriere. Opened, reviewed June 2, 2009. Runs through Oct. 30. Running time: 2 HOURS, 20 MIN.

Theater Review - 'The Prisoner of Second Avenue' - Neil Simon Comedy at the Berkshire Theater Festival - NYTimes.com

Theater Review - 'The Prisoner of Second Avenue' - Neil Simon Comedy at the Berkshire Theater Festival - NYTimes.com.

STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — “There are no jobs for 47-year-old men,” wails the newly and miserably unemployed Mel Edison in Neil Simon’s temper-tantrum comedy “The Prisoner of Second Avenue.” The plaintive cry elicits robust chuckles of sympathy from audiences at the Berkshire Theater Festival here, where this play from 1971 has been revived during our own summer of seething economic angst.

Founder of Oswego's marine museum, Rosemary Nesbitt, dies - syracuse.com

Founder of Oswego's marine museum, Rosemary Nesbitt, dies - syracuse.com.

She played a Civil War doctor and Mrs. Claus. She wrote children's books and spun ghostly tales. Oswego's Rosemary Nesbitt, whose long resume of community involvement includes volunteer, organizer, museum director, drama professor, children's theater director and city historian, died Sunday. She was 84. "Rosemary was a force," said her friend Mercedes Niess, who succeeded Nesbitt as director of the H. Lee White Marine Museum last year. For years Nesbitt would tell stories of Oswego's haunted harbor at the museum and Fort Ontario. At the museum's annual Christmas party, she would arrive by Coast Guard boat dressed as Mrs. Claus. Nesbitt, who founded the museum, retired in January 2008, one day after celebrating its 25th anniversary. Niess was Nesbitt's assistant for many years. "The thing about Rosemary was she wanted you to work as hard as you could and do the best that you could. She brought out the best of everyone," Niess said. Nesbitt's funeral will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at St. Mary of the Assumption Church, 103 W. Seventh St., Oswego. Calling hours are private. A public memorial is set for 7 p.m. Aug. 14, in Oswego's Breitbeck Park, near the monument the city dedicated to Nesbitt in 1999. The monument lists Nesbitt's many roles in the Oswego community and includes one of her quotations: "The volunteer made America." "That's Rosemary," Niess said. Nesbitt often gave speeches about the city's early history, volunteerism and Oswego's Dr. Mary Walker, a Civil War doctor and Congressional Medal of Honor recipient. Nesbitt, who often portrayed Walker in local performances, championed Walker's inclusion into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2000. Nesbitt's last public appearance was July 9 before the Fulton Rotary Club, where she spoke about the marine museum. "We went together to the Rotary," Niess said. "The next week I went to pick her up to take her to another engagement and she wasn't feeling well." Born Rosemary Sinnett in Baldwinsville Oct. 12, 1924, Nesbitt graduated from Baldwinsville High School and Union Free Academy in 1942. That year she helped found the Baldwinsville Theater Guild, which bills itself as the oldest continually performing community theater group in New York state. "She was pleased Baldwinsville had a theater group. She started it all those years ago and it's still going," said Jon Barnum, president of the guild's board of directors. Nesbitt graduated from Syracuse University in 1947, received her master's degree in 1952 and then went to England to study the works of William Shakespeare. After she returned, she taught at Wells College in Aurora and Syracuse University for several years before marrying George R. Nesbitt, a General Electric engineer. The Nesbitts had four children. Her husband died in 1971. The family moved to Oswego in 1959 and Nesbitt was hired to teach in the theater department at the State University College at Oswego. She became a distinguished teaching professor in 1977. "Rosemary left a resonating, long-lasting and far-ranging impact on us all. She was a tireless community advocate who cared passionately for Oswego and put a lifetime of energy into letting people know what a special community Oswego is," said SUNY Oswego President Deborah Stanley in a prepared statement. Nesbitt also served 10 years as chair of the Port of Oswego Authority's board of directors. She left the board in 1988. Nesbitt wrote 15 children's plays and authored two children's books. "The Great Rope," is the story of a young Oswego boy's involvement in the War of 1812 and "Colonel Meacham's Giant Cheese" tells the tale of an Upstate boy who made a 1,400-pound cheese as a gift to President Andrew Jackson. Every year the United Way of Greater Oswego County selects someone to receive its Rosemary Nesbitt Volunteer of the Year Award. "She just got people moving and inspired them to get involved," said Lois Luber, the United Way's resource development director. "She worked with and helped so many nonprofit and other groups. She was always willing to help out where she was needed." John Doherty can be reached at jdoherty@syracuse.com and 470-6078.

Theater Review: The First Wives Club - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: The First Wives Club - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

The female empowerment tuner, lately represented by "Mamma Mia!," "9 to 5" and "Vanities," gains no fresh luster with "The First Wives Club," which slavishly follows the hit 1996 pic in every respect except the most important one: the emotional grounding to make us care about its titular trio. Constructed around vague hear-me-roar sentiments hammered out in generic Motown terms, this Old Globe tryout tuner is eyeing Gotham, but one is skeptical -- to paraphrase Groucho -- whether audiences will opt to join any club with these ladies as members.

LCT3 books 'Felt' bow - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety

LCT3 books 'Felt' bow - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety.

"What Once We Felt," a new play by Ann Marie Healy, will have its world preem as the season's first offering from Lincoln Center Theater's LCT3 initiative. Ken Rus Schmoll will helm the play by Healy ("Now That's What I Call a Storm"). Set in a grim future, story centers on a writer whose novel turns out to be the last one ever printed. "What Once We Felt" will be the first of three LCT3 productions during the 2009-10 season, with the other two offerings still to be announced. Prior productions by the initiative, which aims to showcase the work of emerging legit creatives, include Matt Sax and Eric Rosen's "Clay" and David Adjmi's "Stunning." "What Once We Felt" will play the Duke on 42nd Street Oct. 26-Nov. 21.

Big Opening for Epilogue to ‘Laramie Project,’ About Matthew Shepard’s Murder - NYTimes.com

Big Opening for Epilogue to ‘Laramie Project,’ About Matthew Shepard’s Murder - NYTimes.com.

The creators of “The Laramie Project,” the acclaimed play about the 1998 murder of a 21-year-old gay man, Matthew Shepard, are finishing work on an 80-minute epilogue to the original work that will be given its debut simultaneously at dozens of theaters across the United States on Oct. 12, the 11th anniversary of Mr. Shepard’s death

Theater Review - 'Dreyfus in Rehearsal' - Resurrecting a Comic Flop by Garson Kanin - NYTimes.com

Theater Review - 'Dreyfus in Rehearsal' - Resurrecting a Comic Flop by Garson Kanin - NYTimes.com.

Garson Kanin, the multitasking writer and director who died in 1999, had more than his share of hits, among them his play “Born Yesterday”; the scripts for two Tracy and Hepburn films he wrote with his wife, Ruth Gordon; and the Broadway productions he directed of “The Diary of Anne Frank” and “Funny Girl.”

Theater Review: Guys and Dolls - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Guys and Dolls - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

Call it dumb, call it clever; ah, but you can give odds forever that any staging of "Guys and Dolls" is going to bring more pleasure than pain, thanks to the peerless professionalism of its creators and unfailing good nature. Last weekend, Kevin Stites and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra did right by the evergreen Frank Loesser score for a pleasant night out, in the face of grievous miscasting and a total absence of drama.

Theater Review: Burn the Floor - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Burn the Floor - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

Let's call it "So You Think You Can Step It Up and Dance Your Ass Off With the Stars of America's Best Dance Crew." While ballroom blitz "Burn the Floor" has been touring internationally for 10 years, its arrival on Broadway clearly aims to cash in on the resurgent popularity of dance on television reality shows. But if you're going to invade the turf of Bob Fosse, Jerome Robbins and Michael Bennett, you need to bring something beyond adrenaline and aggressive sizzle. Something like grace, style or wit. While there's only about 15 ounces of collective body fat onstage, there's also about 15 ounces of imagination.

National Black Theatre Festival Honors Jubilee Theatre Artistic Director Ed Smith 8/3

National Black Theatre Festival Honors Jubilee Theatre Artistic Director Ed Smith 8/3.

This year, the prestigious National Black Theatre Festival® will honor Jubilee Theatre Artistic Director Ed Smith with the festival's first annual Lloyd Richards' Director's Award. Smith is receiving this award because of his significant contributions to black theatre and American theatre in general. The festival will be held from August 3 through 8, 2009 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The theme for this year's festival remains the same as the past ten festivals: An International Celebration and Reunion of Spirit. Mr. Smith will be presented with the award at the Opening Night Gala Awards Banquet, which will be held on Monday, August 3. Larry Leon Hamlin founded the National Black Theatre Festival® (NBTF) in 1989. His goal was to unite black theatre companies and ensure the survival of the genre into the next millennium. With the support of Dr. Maya Angelou (who served as the Festival's first Chairperson) the NBTF was born. The NBTF is a biennial event that brings together the black theatre companies of America and the world. Approximately 25 companies are selected to perform during the week for a total of over 100 performances. The festival hosts nightly Celebrity Receptions as well as an International Vendor's Market. This year, the Youth/Celebrity Project will serve at least 6,000 children and teenagers. Nearly 50 celebrities of television, film and stage will lend their support to the celebration. Over 50,000 people are expected to attend this theatrical experience. In 1958, Lloyd Richards galvanized Broadway with his production of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun. This production began a new era in the representation of African-Americans on the American stage. In 1979, he was tapped to become dean of the prestigious Yale University School of Drama and Artistic Director of the highly influential Yale Rep. Throughout his career, Lloyd Richards sought to discover and develop new plays and playwrights as Artistic Director of the National Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Memorial Theatre Center from 1968 to 1999. Richards's long search for a major new American playwright bore fruit with the 1984 production of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom by August Wilson. Throughout the 1980s and into the '90s, Richards directed the Yale Rep and New York productions of the successive installments of August Wilson's multi-part chronicle of African-American life. The plays in this cycle include Fences, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, The Piano Lesson, Two Trains Running and Seven Guitars. Their pairing has been described as one of the most important in the history of American theater. Lloyd Richards's productions for television included segments of Roots: The Next Generation, Bill Moyers' Journal and Robeson, a presentation on The Life of the African-American actor and activist Paul Robeson, who was an early inspiration for the young Lloyd Richards. He continued to serve as Artistic Director of the Playwrights Conference at the O'Neill Center until 1999. He died in 2006, on his 87th birthday. Ed Smith is an award-winning director whose productions of Fences, Our Town, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Piano Lesson, I'm Not Rappaport, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, and most recently, The Bluest Eye, have all received critical praise. Smith has directed over ninety plays at many of the country's professional and university theatres, as well as in Canada and the West Indies. In the late 1960's, he founded his first theatre, the now-defunct Buffalo Black Drama Workshop. In the 1970's, he also helped to start Black Canada in Toronto. Then in the 1980's, he served as Founder/Artistic Director of Buffalo Black Dinner Theatre. In 1989, Ed created the original staging and direction for Endesha Ida Mae Holland's From the Mississippi Delta. From 1993 to 1996, he served as Associate Artistic Director of the acclaimed Alabama Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery, Alabama. While there, his duties included directing many of the main stage productions, as well as directing and conducting a reading series for the Southern Writers Project. In 2002, Ed was recommended by the notable and distinguished director Lloyd Richards to direct Ossie Davis's last play, A Last Dance for Sybil, featuring Ruby Dee, Earl Hyman, and Arthur French. Ed acknowledges this production as one of his best experiences in American Theatre. Ed was a full professor at State University of New York at Buffalo and at Florida State University. He also taught at the University of California in Los Angeles, and while at Wayne State University he taught in the Hilberry graduate program and was director of the Black Theatre Program. Ed is the author of Black Theatre: Ethnic Theatre in the United States (Greenwood Press). He has fed his love of traditional/jazz recordings by working as a radio jazz announcer for almost 20 years. Currently, Ed acts as Jubilee Theatre's Artistic Director.

Theater Review - 'Burn the Floor' - At the Longacre Theater, Shimmying Under the Disco Ball - NYTimes.com

Theater Review - 'Burn the Floor' - At the Longacre Theater, Shimmying Under the Disco Ball - NYTimes.com.

The good news about “Burn the Floor,” a ballroom dancing extravaganza that opened Sunday at the Longacre Theater, is that it is every bit as flashy and tacky as you would expect.