Signature Theatre Company announced yesterday that its wildly successful Ticket Initiative will continue for the next four years -- and coincide with four years of pretty amazing programming. (Okay, three years as I don't think this year is all that exciting.)
The big news is that all seats will be only $20 - and for $20 you can see Chuck Mee's plays, plus an Ablee play (2007-2008) followed by a year dedicated to the Negro Ensemble Company (2008-2009), and a season devoted to Suzan-Lori Parks (2009-2010) and finally, one devoted to Tony Kushner (2010-2011).
I think that's amazing. Bravo to Signature for both having the guts to pursue funding for this initiative and for announcing these terrific playwrights to go with the low price. Frankly, they could do Albee, Parks and Kushner, as well as the Negro Ensemble plays for full price and save themselves the headache of finding the underwriters...
This is a great example of a theatre pursuing what's right versus what is commercial or good for the artistic director's ego. I'm officially a fan.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Thursday, May 24, 2007
OCC ceremony
Today's ceremony felt like we stepped back into the 50's. The OCC has to be the oldest group of award nominators and voters out there and their taste is certainly reflected in the voting and nominations. These are people who have memories of Ethel Merman and Cole Porter, names that may not be as meaningful to those of us under a certain age. I must say, I think Bernadette Peters and Sondheim are more my speed. But that's just me.
The awards are more intimate than the Lortel or Drama Desk awards. Only winners attend and there is no suspense as all winners are pre-announced. The highlight of the afternoon was Frank Langella's funny speech about backhanded compliments he receives from other actors. He mercifully deviated from the typical thank you speech. He ended it with a hysterical story about Lauren Bacall and Kirk Douglas, who obviously hated his performance in FORTUNE'S FOOL. Hard to imagine anyone hating Frank in anything, except maybe Dracula.
Raul Esparza also had a lovely speech. He spoke about being afraid of critics and critism but how necessary it is for the growth of an actor. He complimented John Doyle's direction, saying it was the first time he felt he had been truly "directed." I don't know what I was expecting - maybe because of his cold take on Bobby I thought he would be slightly arrogant and withdrawn but he seemed warm and truly sincere. I've just become a fan of his.
Jack O'Brien talked about the need for a national theatre here and mentioned creating a company where a group of amazing actors could come together and work and have a creative home. COAST was a very special, unique experience made possible by the extraordinary efforts of Lincoln Center but it shouldn't be - we should have a place where projects of this size happen because they have to and are good for the theatre. We all agreed.
Both Swoosie Kurtz and Charles Busch, old pros at hosting duties, were stellar. As they deviated from the script, they kept the proceedings going and kept us in stiches. Busch gave a shout out to costume designers, saying his career was practically built on costumes so he could truly appreciate their artistry.
Donna Murphy gave a nice speech and at the end noticed a caricature of Lotte Lenya right in front of her. A nice serendipitous moment!
Martha Plimpton was surprisingly intelligent and poised. She's done an amazing job of reinventing herself since her teen movie years.
Steven Sater got weepy talking about the journey of SA. Duncan Sheik complimented the OCC members for being so hip that they got his show.
Brian Stokes Mitchell was charming and wonderful. He gave a big plug to the Actor's Fund and clearly takes his Board duties very seriously there. Bravo to him for giving back like that. He made all of us feel like he was talking to each of us individually. What a gift he has for public speaking - even when his mic went out, he employed his the-ah-tur voice and we heard him just fine.
A.R. Gurney spoke as eloquently and elegantly as he writes. What a gentleman! He's such a gem.
The producer of JOURNEY'S END -Bill Haber? - talked about how it has been worth it and he'd do it again even with small houses. He felt it was important to ask the question the play asks - isn't there must be a better way to resolve conflict than with war? He got thunderous applause.
Walkers and canes seem to be out in full force. One slightly demented OCC member arrived late and talked really loudly distracting everyone in the nearby tables (where I was sitting.) She kept up her loud talking throughout the ceremony, upsetting many of the people at my table. After the lighting design speeches, she turned to Bob Boyett, who had the unfortunate luck of sitting next to her, and said "If you are a theatre person, you shouldn't be making bad speeches." What an ornery old loon. We heard her loud and clear and I wonder if the UTOPIA designers heard her. Now, the speeches weren't bad. These are just normal people not used to talking in front of crowds and they were nervous and humbled by the attention.
Marge Singer got up to present the last award for directing to Jack O'Brien and acted like the Queen. She clearly misses being in the spotlight and it shows - she could barely contain herself and just had to mention that when SHE hosted the event, she always had Wendy Wasserstein give the last award. There was no point to this statement other than to remind us yet again that she's the President Emeritus. Thank god they got her out and the nicer, more affable Simon Saltzman now acts as President and host.
The writing for Victoria Clark and John Lloyd Young was pretty cheesy and horrible. They were troopers but some of the jokes fell really flat. Whoever wrote that portion of the event should be ousted from the OCC.
The awards are more intimate than the Lortel or Drama Desk awards. Only winners attend and there is no suspense as all winners are pre-announced. The highlight of the afternoon was Frank Langella's funny speech about backhanded compliments he receives from other actors. He mercifully deviated from the typical thank you speech. He ended it with a hysterical story about Lauren Bacall and Kirk Douglas, who obviously hated his performance in FORTUNE'S FOOL. Hard to imagine anyone hating Frank in anything, except maybe Dracula.
Raul Esparza also had a lovely speech. He spoke about being afraid of critics and critism but how necessary it is for the growth of an actor. He complimented John Doyle's direction, saying it was the first time he felt he had been truly "directed." I don't know what I was expecting - maybe because of his cold take on Bobby I thought he would be slightly arrogant and withdrawn but he seemed warm and truly sincere. I've just become a fan of his.
Jack O'Brien talked about the need for a national theatre here and mentioned creating a company where a group of amazing actors could come together and work and have a creative home. COAST was a very special, unique experience made possible by the extraordinary efforts of Lincoln Center but it shouldn't be - we should have a place where projects of this size happen because they have to and are good for the theatre. We all agreed.
Both Swoosie Kurtz and Charles Busch, old pros at hosting duties, were stellar. As they deviated from the script, they kept the proceedings going and kept us in stiches. Busch gave a shout out to costume designers, saying his career was practically built on costumes so he could truly appreciate their artistry.
Donna Murphy gave a nice speech and at the end noticed a caricature of Lotte Lenya right in front of her. A nice serendipitous moment!
Martha Plimpton was surprisingly intelligent and poised. She's done an amazing job of reinventing herself since her teen movie years.
Steven Sater got weepy talking about the journey of SA. Duncan Sheik complimented the OCC members for being so hip that they got his show.
Brian Stokes Mitchell was charming and wonderful. He gave a big plug to the Actor's Fund and clearly takes his Board duties very seriously there. Bravo to him for giving back like that. He made all of us feel like he was talking to each of us individually. What a gift he has for public speaking - even when his mic went out, he employed his the-ah-tur voice and we heard him just fine.
A.R. Gurney spoke as eloquently and elegantly as he writes. What a gentleman! He's such a gem.
The producer of JOURNEY'S END -Bill Haber? - talked about how it has been worth it and he'd do it again even with small houses. He felt it was important to ask the question the play asks - isn't there must be a better way to resolve conflict than with war? He got thunderous applause.
Walkers and canes seem to be out in full force. One slightly demented OCC member arrived late and talked really loudly distracting everyone in the nearby tables (where I was sitting.) She kept up her loud talking throughout the ceremony, upsetting many of the people at my table. After the lighting design speeches, she turned to Bob Boyett, who had the unfortunate luck of sitting next to her, and said "If you are a theatre person, you shouldn't be making bad speeches." What an ornery old loon. We heard her loud and clear and I wonder if the UTOPIA designers heard her. Now, the speeches weren't bad. These are just normal people not used to talking in front of crowds and they were nervous and humbled by the attention.
Marge Singer got up to present the last award for directing to Jack O'Brien and acted like the Queen. She clearly misses being in the spotlight and it shows - she could barely contain herself and just had to mention that when SHE hosted the event, she always had Wendy Wasserstein give the last award. There was no point to this statement other than to remind us yet again that she's the President Emeritus. Thank god they got her out and the nicer, more affable Simon Saltzman now acts as President and host.
The writing for Victoria Clark and John Lloyd Young was pretty cheesy and horrible. They were troopers but some of the jokes fell really flat. Whoever wrote that portion of the event should be ousted from the OCC.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Awards season overdose
Awards season is almost over. And while I'm grateful for the attention being paid to worthy artists, I'll be more thankful that I won't have to sit through these award ceremonies for another year.
LORTELS - Personally, I think these awards are great. There is a true camraderie amongst the off-Broadway theatre community, especially the non-profits. The artists honored are almost always very worthy of their nominations and there seem to be less politics involved in deciding them than the other awards. The nominators take their duties really seriously and I find that when their list comes out, I rarely disagree with their choices.
DRAMA DESK - A big party, this year's ceremony felt more excruciating than usual, mostly thanks to Kristin Chenowith going on and on. It's fun to see the off-Broadway artists mingled in with the Broadway ones, but in most cases, the powerhouse shows always win, so it's not much of a competition.
OBIES - The OBIES used to be fun. At the old location at Webster Hall, the bar was kept open so it felt like a big irreverent party all night. Now in a nicer space, NYU's Skirball Center, the ceremony feels a bit boring and like every other awards show. I do love the fact that they don't announce categories and that they can make up categories at whim. It's also great to see all the smaller theatre companies getting some attention. I don't miss sitting on a folding chair but it would be nice to keep the party going, especially as this year, the ceremony went on for 2 hours and 40 minutes, a very long time to be sitting through a program without an intermission. Some of their choices seemed odd to me - I like Michael Friedman's music just fine, but he's quite young and has yet to have a really big triumph in his career so the "sustained excellence" OBIE seemed strange. Seating this year was general admission and that didn't work well. Finding seats took forever and I'm not sure what the point of that was, except to be controversial and "downtown."
OUTER CRITICS - They don't even do a proper ceremony - they just have dinner with the pre-announced winners at Sardi's, presumably for their members to hobnob with stars. I'm going as the guest of a member. It's my first time going to this, so I'll report back after tomorrow. Looking at lists of past winners, it seems like they always give awards to the biggest stars they can. This year, they are giving a special award to Angela Lansbury even though the show asked not to be considered for awards.
I was reading about the Boston area awards and they seem to have an interesting system. They give awards at three levels - for large, mid-size and small companies. What a concept! If the Drama Desk and Outer Critics had such a system, the set designer for a big Broadway show wouldn't be pitted against the one who designs for a 99 seat house. It also allows for more winners and spreads the wealth a lot more.
LORTELS - Personally, I think these awards are great. There is a true camraderie amongst the off-Broadway theatre community, especially the non-profits. The artists honored are almost always very worthy of their nominations and there seem to be less politics involved in deciding them than the other awards. The nominators take their duties really seriously and I find that when their list comes out, I rarely disagree with their choices.
DRAMA DESK - A big party, this year's ceremony felt more excruciating than usual, mostly thanks to Kristin Chenowith going on and on. It's fun to see the off-Broadway artists mingled in with the Broadway ones, but in most cases, the powerhouse shows always win, so it's not much of a competition.
OBIES - The OBIES used to be fun. At the old location at Webster Hall, the bar was kept open so it felt like a big irreverent party all night. Now in a nicer space, NYU's Skirball Center, the ceremony feels a bit boring and like every other awards show. I do love the fact that they don't announce categories and that they can make up categories at whim. It's also great to see all the smaller theatre companies getting some attention. I don't miss sitting on a folding chair but it would be nice to keep the party going, especially as this year, the ceremony went on for 2 hours and 40 minutes, a very long time to be sitting through a program without an intermission. Some of their choices seemed odd to me - I like Michael Friedman's music just fine, but he's quite young and has yet to have a really big triumph in his career so the "sustained excellence" OBIE seemed strange. Seating this year was general admission and that didn't work well. Finding seats took forever and I'm not sure what the point of that was, except to be controversial and "downtown."
OUTER CRITICS - They don't even do a proper ceremony - they just have dinner with the pre-announced winners at Sardi's, presumably for their members to hobnob with stars. I'm going as the guest of a member. It's my first time going to this, so I'll report back after tomorrow. Looking at lists of past winners, it seems like they always give awards to the biggest stars they can. This year, they are giving a special award to Angela Lansbury even though the show asked not to be considered for awards.
I was reading about the Boston area awards and they seem to have an interesting system. They give awards at three levels - for large, mid-size and small companies. What a concept! If the Drama Desk and Outer Critics had such a system, the set designer for a big Broadway show wouldn't be pitted against the one who designs for a 99 seat house. It also allows for more winners and spreads the wealth a lot more.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Awards season
Drama Desk nominations were announced today and once again, there are some real puzzling choices. In my opinion, there were three egregious omissions. First, I was suprised that there was not one nomination for the Atlantic's fine production of THE VOYSEY INHERITANCE. Surely one of the actors in the show deserved a nod, especially the excellent performances by Michael Stuhlbarg and Fritz Weaver. Second, where was the nomination for lighting design for SPRING AWAKENING? I liked the show a lot and I thought the design was terrific and certainly more worthy than at least two of the other nominations. Although, I must admit the categorizing of John Gallagher, Jr. as a lead performance was a bit odd. In this ensemble piece, the only true "lead" that emerges is Jonathan Groff. Third, I was struck by the lack of nominations (not a single one, in fact) for Signature's August Wilson season. All three shows were worthy of a revival nod and the acting, especially by Stephen McKinley Henderson in two very different parts, was superb.
I still don't understand all the love for MARY POPPINS. I have not yet seen LOVEMUSIK so I can't really pass judgement on that set of nominations, but from the word of mouth buzz on the show, I was surprised.
And once again, the Drama Desk people, like all the other awards nominators, has included shows in previews, which seems to me to be just plain wrong. Why not wait until shows actually open for them to eligible? Many shows make significant changes during previews and to consider them while they continue to evolve just seems unfair. It is possible that a show receiving a nod for one actor could receive more if the nominators wait to see the finished product. Perhaps the directing or lighting design will come together by opening night - or perhaps an actor will find his voice and give it his all once he is no longer rehearsing a part by day. I haven't seen much discussion on this subject so I'd be interested to see what others have to say about it.
I still don't understand all the love for MARY POPPINS. I have not yet seen LOVEMUSIK so I can't really pass judgement on that set of nominations, but from the word of mouth buzz on the show, I was surprised.
And once again, the Drama Desk people, like all the other awards nominators, has included shows in previews, which seems to me to be just plain wrong. Why not wait until shows actually open for them to eligible? Many shows make significant changes during previews and to consider them while they continue to evolve just seems unfair. It is possible that a show receiving a nod for one actor could receive more if the nominators wait to see the finished product. Perhaps the directing or lighting design will come together by opening night - or perhaps an actor will find his voice and give it his all once he is no longer rehearsing a part by day. I haven't seen much discussion on this subject so I'd be interested to see what others have to say about it.
Monday, April 23, 2007
OCC Noms - bizarre
Now, I normally don't expect much from the OCC. After all, this is mostly a group of older "critics" whose record indicates that they really favor Broadway and they looooove musicals. In fact, many of them don't actually visit too many of the off-Broadway houses, especially those that live in NJ, CT, Westchester, etc. I remember when I was a young press agent I tried to get Marge Gunner, the then president, to one of my shows. I even called her to see if she had received my invite and she just hung up on me. Not a polite no or even a "don't call me"--just a rude sigh and hang up. And this was for a legit off-Broadway house not some fledgling theatre company. She struck me as a cantankerous old lady who couldn't be bothered with a non-Broadway show and I'm glad to see she's no longer their president.
Today's nominations are just plain bizarre. 11 nominations for MARY POPPINS but nary a one for one of the best play of the season, BUSY WORLD IS HUSHED? What about Signature's THREE excellent August Wilson revivals? Surely ONE of them was better than the okay TALK RADIO, which was good only because of its lead actor. I guess any year has omissions but this year, they seem to be more glaring than usual.
What about squeaking in CORAM BOY and RADIO GOLF? The shows might be worthy but CB only began performances on Monday and RG began on FRIDAY. Even if they did the nominations last night and were up last night all night to get them done, did all of the Nominating Committee actually see these shows in its first week - did the whole committe go to RG between Friday night and Sunday afternoon? Or were they both nominated sight unseen? And if they did go en masse to the theatre, is it fair to judge a show in previews? Perhaps both will be completely different shows by the time they open.
I guess the problem with mixing Broadway and off-Broadway awards is that they committee can get star-struck and overpowered by the starrier names and production values of the Broadway shows. It's a real shame to reward Disney's mediocre kiddie show in this way, especially in a year that featured so many other worthy candidates.
Today's nominations are just plain bizarre. 11 nominations for MARY POPPINS but nary a one for one of the best play of the season, BUSY WORLD IS HUSHED? What about Signature's THREE excellent August Wilson revivals? Surely ONE of them was better than the okay TALK RADIO, which was good only because of its lead actor. I guess any year has omissions but this year, they seem to be more glaring than usual.
What about squeaking in CORAM BOY and RADIO GOLF? The shows might be worthy but CB only began performances on Monday and RG began on FRIDAY. Even if they did the nominations last night and were up last night all night to get them done, did all of the Nominating Committee actually see these shows in its first week - did the whole committe go to RG between Friday night and Sunday afternoon? Or were they both nominated sight unseen? And if they did go en masse to the theatre, is it fair to judge a show in previews? Perhaps both will be completely different shows by the time they open.
I guess the problem with mixing Broadway and off-Broadway awards is that they committee can get star-struck and overpowered by the starrier names and production values of the Broadway shows. It's a real shame to reward Disney's mediocre kiddie show in this way, especially in a year that featured so many other worthy candidates.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
OUTER CRITICS CIRCLE
Quick post today: the OCC nominations are announced tomorrow at 11am. This set of awards covers both Broadway and Off-Broadway, but traditionally does get dominated by the higher profile Broadway shows. It will be interesting to see what the critics thought this year - the strongest field will no doubt be Outstanding Lead Actor, which has many candidates - Liev Schrieber (TALK RADIO), Hugh Dancy and Boyd Gaines (JOURNEY'S END), Michael Stuhlbarg (VOYSEY INHERITANCE), Russell Hornsby (KING HEDLEY II), the Coast of Utopia folks and several others. Hell, I would even throw Pablo Schreiber in there for his terrific performance in DYING CITY. I don't think RADIO GOLF, CORAM BOY or FROST/NIXON opened in time for the nomination cut-offs but we'll see. Otherwise, I'd say Frank Langella is the front-runner.
I think the weakest field is LEAD ACTRESS - I'm hard pressed to come up with one other than Vanessa Redgrave (MAGICAL THINKING) and Jill Clayburgh (BUSY WORLD IS HUSHED). I do believe Vanessa's got this all sewn up.
The Outer Critics are probably the least prestigious of the three non-Tony Awards, with I think the Drama Desk being #1, followed by the Lortels (which are only off-Bway.) Yeah, I know there are other awards, but those are a lot less legit (Drama League is just a fundraiser, really).
I think the weakest field is LEAD ACTRESS - I'm hard pressed to come up with one other than Vanessa Redgrave (MAGICAL THINKING) and Jill Clayburgh (BUSY WORLD IS HUSHED). I do believe Vanessa's got this all sewn up.
The Outer Critics are probably the least prestigious of the three non-Tony Awards, with I think the Drama Desk being #1, followed by the Lortels (which are only off-Bway.) Yeah, I know there are other awards, but those are a lot less legit (Drama League is just a fundraiser, really).
Friday, April 20, 2007
HAMLET and LEAR
Two Shakespeare performances I'm looking forward to:
I'm reading on the bulletin boards that Michael Stuhlbarg will play Hamlet next season at the Public. Hope it's true! Is there a finer actor of our generation than MS? I think not. The man is a virtual chameleon. I have no idea what he actually looks like. He gained, what sixty (?) pounds for BELLE EPOQUE and PILLOWMAN, then lost most of it for the next gig. He looked like he was back to his normal weight for MEASURE FOR PLEASURE and THE VOYSEY INHERITANCE.
There is something so beautiful and heartbreaking about his acting - I can already picture him doing the "what a rogue and peasant slave am I..." speech. I'm a fan - I've been following his career over the years and am happy to see that he's risen to leading roles. Those that know him say he's a nice guy as well.
Ian McKellen coming to BAM in September to do Lear. All I can say is WOW. I saw his RICHARD III about ten years ago and have never forgotten it. I also still have a program he autographed for me. Couldn't have been nicer. I've seen him in other shows, like DANCE OF DEATH with Helen Mirren, but Sir Ian doing Shakespeare is such a special experience - maybe it's the writing...can't wait.
I'm reading on the bulletin boards that Michael Stuhlbarg will play Hamlet next season at the Public. Hope it's true! Is there a finer actor of our generation than MS? I think not. The man is a virtual chameleon. I have no idea what he actually looks like. He gained, what sixty (?) pounds for BELLE EPOQUE and PILLOWMAN, then lost most of it for the next gig. He looked like he was back to his normal weight for MEASURE FOR PLEASURE and THE VOYSEY INHERITANCE.
There is something so beautiful and heartbreaking about his acting - I can already picture him doing the "what a rogue and peasant slave am I..." speech. I'm a fan - I've been following his career over the years and am happy to see that he's risen to leading roles. Those that know him say he's a nice guy as well.
Ian McKellen coming to BAM in September to do Lear. All I can say is WOW. I saw his RICHARD III about ten years ago and have never forgotten it. I also still have a program he autographed for me. Couldn't have been nicer. I've seen him in other shows, like DANCE OF DEATH with Helen Mirren, but Sir Ian doing Shakespeare is such a special experience - maybe it's the writing...can't wait.
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