T’was not a great week to be jolly for many in New York theater, with stars leaving shows, closing announcements, and Broadway openings marred by pans.
On the other hand, there was some good news involving Cicely Tyson, Nathan Lane, playwright Amy Herzog and fans of The Lion King. Also below: a chance to weigh in on the worst Broadway show of 2012, and to test how well you were paying attention to theater news in November.
November 26, 2012
Holland Taylor will be starring on Broadway in the Lincoln Center Theater production of “Ann,” about late Texas Gov Ann Richards, opening March 7
Quiz: What recent NYC show also featured Ann Richards?
Karen Wilson (@akakarenwilson)” Pre-show speech at Urban Cowboy
Jonathan Mandell (@NewYorkTheater): Not what I was thinking, no
Patricia Milton (@PatriciaMilton): Anna Deavere Smith played Ann Richards in “Let Me Down Easy” Off-B’way in 2009.
Scottish play, rainbow casting, ghost light. Know these theater terms? If not,check out TDF’s theater dictionary
Tina Packer’s marathon “Women of Will” (about Shakespeare’s female characters) Jan-June 2013 at Gym at Judson
Actor just starting out cast in what he discovers is incompetent unprofessional production asks: Should I quit?
Daniel Bourque @Danfrmbourque: Tough one early in career, especially for an actor. I’d say stick it out and then not go near company again.
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Ricky Martin, Elena Roger and Michael Cerveris will all leave Evita after Jan 26. Show continues with unannounced new cast. Who will they have to get to keep Evita going after its stars leave in January?
Lights will dim on Broadway tonight for producer Marty Richards (Sweeney Todd, etc), co-founder of Broadway Care/Equity Fights AIDS, who died yesterday at age 80
After 18 months, the unexpected hit Silence: The Musical, a spoof of the movie “Silence of the Lambs,” will close December 30th at the Elektra Theater in Times Square.
Nathan Lane will be host of the Symphonic Sondheim at the New York Philharmonic January 29
Audra McDonald to be new host of “Live From Lincoln Center” on PBS
Parishioner at Aimee Semple McPherson’s church who met Kathie Lee leaves comment on my review of Scandalous: Kathie Lee Gifford “said she felt the show needed to be done and that God would use it.”
Worst-performing show on Broadway last week, by most measures (e.g. attendance down more than 40%!) was Scandalous
BackStageBarbie @barbiebackstage oh geez. I have comps to use for that show. Sounds like I better get on before it closes.
Why is Scandalous still playing when theater is 2/3rds empty? Amway millionaires Dick and Betsy DeVos covering losses in hopes of a miracle turnaround in audience attendance.
William Akers @ouijum I should send them one of my scripts. Gotta love producers with blind faith and deep pockets.
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Do labels for artists “young” and “emerging” discriminate on basis of age and insult based on experience?
Kicked off Smash in March, Theresa Rebeck has a new play Dead Accounts opening Thursday. She talks about both Rebeck saw herself as the architect of Smash, she says; NBC saw her as the general contractor. “…you don’t fuck with the muse.
Government “invests” in manufacturing, says UK arts writer Louise Jury, but “subsidizes” the arts. “But both make things.”
Free Lion King exhibition this Saturday through Dec. 16. Mask-making etc
The arts teach kids creativity, confidence, problem-solving,perseverance, focus, collaboration, dedication
“To make theater, one must live in a state of crisis,” writes playwright & actor Michael Yichao http://bit.ly/Se66Zw True?
My Name Is Asher Lev: What does it take to be an artist? What is the artist’s responsbility?
Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark began performances for the paying public two years ago today. (It opened 6 1/2 months later.)
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August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson at Signature Theater is extending 3 weeks through January 13.
Crystal T. Johnson @ArtsGift2Crys Yessss! I need tickets
DRG Records making cast recording of Roundabout Theater Company’s revival of The Mystery of Edwin Drood. In studio: Dec 10. Available: Jan 29
In 8 videos on Sony Masterworks “Legends of Broadway,” Sondheim discusses Gypsy, Follies,Into the Woods
After departing “Smash,” the television series she created that looks with fluttering heart at the making of a Broadway musical, Theresa Rebeck apparently has changed her mind about New York City, judging from her inconsequential and oddly hostile new comedy, “Dead Accounts.”
….What was most entertaining for me about “Dead Accounts” was the mystery behind Norbert Leo Butz’s character – and the teasing, intriguing clues Rebeck sprinkles in the first act, with little surprises leading up to the biggest surprise.
And then the big surprise turns out to be a dud.
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Neil LaBute is following up his Reasons to be Pretty with new play Reasons to Be Happy, which he will
direct for MCC Theater in 2013
Wendy Rosenfield @WendyRosenfield Reason to be annoyed
David Robson @davidrobsonplay Come on, you know you love him.
November 2012 New York Theater Quiz
Sample Q: In a review of what work did Isherwood use the word “Weltanschauung”? http://
December 1
The Worst Broadway Show of 2012? Vote in the poll:
Stage Acting Tips: e.g. keep a notebook, read the play out loud at least 3 times, don’t drink cold water
Glenda Jackson: Acting is not about dressing up. Acting is about stripping bare
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Happy 87th birthday,Julie Harris,winner of 6 Tonys,veteran of 33 Broadway shows, co-star w/James Dean, Paul Newman, Marlon Brando
“Degrassi: The Next Generation” star Epstein to play Peter Parker/Spider-man in “Spider-man: Turn Off The Dark” Saturday and Sunday matinee performances beginning Dec. 8
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David Mamet will not be quoting reviews of The Anarchist in ads
“a wearying lecture”…”strangely gassy”…”restrained to the point of somnambulance”…”drone on and on”
Cicely Tyson returns to Broadway after 30 years in revival of Horton Foote’s The Trip to Bountiful, opening April, 2013 Sondheim Theater. The last time she was on Broadway was in “The Corn Is Green” in 1983.
Amy Herzog has won fourth annual NY Times Outstanding Playwright Award for After the Revolution, about radical family,
Chaplin will close after 24 previews and 136 regular performances.
@ChaplinBway With heavy hearts, we announce our final perf, Jan 6.
The announcement that Chaplin is closing comes a day before its cast recording becomes downloadable, 5 days before CD available
Broadway audiences: 2/3rds female, almost 2/3rds tourists. Almost half buy tickets online., according to a new report from The Broadway League.
Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean sings Who Am I in Les Miserables Movie
