Here are the ten most-read articles from this blog this year:
Will Slings and Arrows Return To TV?
I uncovered startling news for the many fans of “Slings and Arrows,” the cult Canadian TV series about a fictional theater suspiciously similar to the Stratford Festival: Co-creator Bob Martin told me (on Twitter) that they were thinking of reviving the series, creating a fourth season. “Slings may live again.” It’s been six months, and they still haven’t changed their mind — or done anything about it.
This was the number 1 story on NewYorkTheater.me in 2012, and an update on “Slings and Arrows” was the tenth most popular story.
Times Square, Wet…and After Sandy
I posted a photograph of Times Square which, viewers eventually agreed, was taken during Hurricane Irene in 2011, not during Hurricane (reduced to Storm) Sandy in 2012. Then I went to Times Square myself two days after Sandy — and it was dry, and busy, and inviting.
This was the second most popular page in 2012. The third most popular was another picture of the effects of Sandy — this one of all of Manhattan, showing the Dark Zones and the Energy Zones.
This was a simple list of shows scheduled for Broadway. As you can see from the picture (i.e.. Rebecca), nothing is actually simple in the theater. A more barebones list Broadway 2013 — which I will soon be updating — was the ninth most popular blog post.)
My review of Scandalous: Kathie Lee Gifford’s Term Paper
I did not like this musical about the life of 1920’s evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, although apparently I disliked it less than many of the other critics. I’m not sure why this was my most popular review, but traffic persisted even after “Scandalous” closed on December 9th, after 31 previews and 29 regular performances. The only reason it lasted as long as it did is because the hopeful producers were making up for its substantial losses in hopes it would attract a Christmas crowd.
(Does it say anything that my second most-visited review was “The Performers” which was an even worse bomb, closing just four days after it opened?)
Into The Woods First Preview: Attack on ‘Attack’ By Morgan James
The Broadway actor Morgan James (The Addams Family, Wonderland, Godspell and scheduled to be in Motown: The Musical) attended the first preview of “Into The Woods” at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, and Tweeted that she didn’t like it. She used some profanity in the process. She was attacked intensely for her criticism — and I was attacked for writing about it, but probably only because I did so before all the major theater news outlets, and New York newspapers, did so as well. James apologized — although as it turns out some critics agreed with her. Recently, Ms. James knocked, to far less notice, Les Miz.
Update: Morgan James sent me a message: “If you’re going to continue to drag my name into everything, please don’t print lies. I have never even seen les mis, & never “knocked it””
What led me to characterize her as knocking Les Miz is this Tweet.
I’ve never seen les mis on stage, and don’t plan on seeing the movie.But, as always, you’re all entitled to your opinions 🙂
— morgan james (@morganajames) December 27, 2012
and multiple Tweets she “retweeted” including (but not limited to):
Les Misérables sure is a whole lotta singing caused by a loaf of bread.
— Alec Sulkin (@thesulk) December 25, 2012
and
“@cerveris: Inspired by Hollywood, actors all over town ARE SINGING LIVE today. And tonight. 8 times a week. Every week.No second take.”amen
— Nicholas Rodriguez (@thenickrod) December 28, 2012
Top Ten Lists of Top Ten Theater in 2012
I listed the top ten lists of ten New York drama critics, including my own.
Patti LuPone Sings Happy Birthday To Meryl Streep At 54 Below
She may have ended the year with some bitterness because of the abrupt closing of David Mamet’s The Anarchist, but Patti LuPone helped inaugurate the theater-oriented nightclub 54 Below with Meryl Streep in attendance on her birthday. I was there too, and it remains one of my favorite performances of the year.
These were the most popular stories on this blog in 2012 — but they weren’t necessarily my favorite. I liked my reviews and my weekly summaries of New York theater news and views (mostly culled from my Twitter feed) and my monthly theater quizzes. I was especially fond of
The debates over theater etiquette:
What do theatergoers think of opening applause for celebrities?
Is it rude to leave at intermission, or skip out before the curtain call is finished?
Should ill theatergoers stay home?
Popularity or preference aside, what were the ten most noteworthy New York theater stories of 2012. I posted Top 10 New York Theater Stories of 2012 on Stage Status. In summary:
1. Sandy
2. Rebecca
3. Theater on Screen (from Smash to Les Miz)
4. Ticket Price Hike, Income Fall
5. Building (and Renovation) Boom
6. The Rise of the Short Run
7. The Rise and Fall of Religion
8. The Tables Turn on Stephen Sondheim
9. The Angry Enforcers of Theater Etiquette
10. #SIP – Saturday Intermission Pictures
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