Wrapping up the District’s season
The last Sunday of June is time to reflect on the theater season past, decides the Washington Post. I know there’s good theater in D.C., and this article talks of many good and/or noteworthy trends there: a couple of well-established venues dedicated 60% of their season to new works; one new work, columbinus, about the tragic shootings in Colorado, caught the attention of many and made theater seem important and relevant; and the Shakespeare Theatre stretched beyond the Bard, putting on a very successful version of Alfred du Musset’s Lorenzaccio.
I’m sure we can find something to complain about, but — Washingtonians, appreciate the good in your recent 2004-2005 season.
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?
So many choices, so little time
Programming a season of theater can be hard. The Lyric Stage Company of Boston has next year’s season (sort of) posted on their site. In a PDF promoting their 2005-2006 offering, you can see that 5 of 7 shows have been selected, but the remaining two will be from a list of four (Fiction, Fat Pig, Smell of the Kill, A Number). Is it rights issues? Marketing decisions? Even Friday’s call for Equity auditions had uncertainty, showing “Fiction/A Number” starting on October 25. 2005. Hmm. I think “Fat Pig/Smell of the Kill” is a catchier title.
These 75 festivals, where are they? Do tell.
The New York Times says there are more than 75 Shakespeare festivals across the United States this summer, and proceeds to list five of them. Where are the rest? Here is the most-comprehensive list I can find. Got a better list? Let us know.