A play about who we are now
In Chicago they're "bringing new life to literary masterworks," to quote gratuitously from Handcart's mission statement. This sort of theater, I like to hear about it. Read a review of a reimagined A Doll's House.
Sick of writing epics for six?
If I were anywhere near the Hampstead Theatre on Friday, I'd attend Monster Day Out. Since the Jubilee line doesn't stop on my continent, I'll try to be content to stay home and read about a new movement in British theater: Monsterism.
Monsterism is largely about being, well, large. Writer David Eldridge makes a good case in the Guardian for new (large) plays to be put on equal footing with plays of the long-dead. When the pertinent question is, "Why would anyone write stage plays now? If you can write dialogue and you can hit a deadline, you can write TV," the counter-argument is, "Dramatists should stop fooling around in little black boxes and think big."
Ooh, this article intrigues. A monsterist work shares many of Handcart's ideals. As a reminder of our ideals, I quote from Scott's initial blog entry:
Our company is about two things where theater is concerned:
1. Imaginative staging
2. Rich use of the written/spoken word
Beside the obvious factor of live performance, we believe these two elements are what make theater distinct as an art form, and that without them it risks being made irrelevant by film and TV.
At the end of the Guardian article, read Monsterism's Manifesto, their campaign to ensure non-irrelevance for the theater in our TV-dominated era. We at Handcart don't share all their goals, but we like "large concepts," "meaning implied by action," and more. Go monsterists!
What price success?
The Playgoer makes interesting comments today on yesterday's Variety article about the fact that average Broadway ticket prices have remained steady -- meaning musical prices are flat while play prices are up more than $5 this year, a huge increase of 10%. Yes, 10% annual inflation will turn away customers from any market, but the people I know that love theater are a bit on the poor side, so this makes an even bigger difference for many of those that really care.
He’s still here
Good read about Broadway in today's New York Times. Hal Prince is nostalgic. I think he's the one that said, "The American musical is dead. And we killed it." So a friend of mine quotes him, at least. Or maybe it was Sondheim that said it? Same difference, I suppose.
Anyway, it's not a wonder he dreams of a different era, a time when shows on Broadway weren't full of irony and rehashed pop songs, but is his new idea (at Columbia University) the way to go? Or is it an attempt to relive his glory days or perhaps atone for his murderous sins?
