All stories by Douglas McLennan on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Plan To Get San Jose Repertory Theatre Back Up And Running Again by Douglas McLennan

“Built in 1997, the city-owned $31.6 million facility has been largely dormant, with the exception of pop-up retail ventures, since last June when the Rep announced it was filing for b…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 02:47PM
Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Supporters Of Theatre Building Object When Theater Uses Some of The Money To Pay Staff by Douglas McLennan

“I know from experience that the public are extremely generous in their financial support for what they think is to benefit the fabric of the building. With this £10,000 flying out of the…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 02:07PM
Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Report: Only 10% Of UK Actors Are Working Class by Douglas McLennan

“Even when someone from working class origins is in the profession we are finding that they are about £10,000 less well off than other people, in theory for doing the same jobs.”

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 11:46AM
Friday, May 1, 2015

Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre Gets A New Artistic Director by Douglas McLennan

Dominic Dromgoole, who took over from Mark Rylance as artistic director in 2006, called it an “excellent appointment in keeping with the Globe’s traditions of boldness and advent…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 01:12PM
Friday, April 24, 2015

Cleveland Playhouse Wins 2015 Regional Tony by Douglas McLennan

“Cleveland Playhouse prides itself on being a longtime champion for new work, having presented Tennesee Williams before “The Glass Menagerie” and, more recently, premiering titles …

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 06:40PM
Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Cirque du Soleil Is Such A Singular Enterprise. Can Itrs Creative Spark Survive A Sale Of The Company? by Douglas McLennan

“Cirque has already played to over 160 million people around the world and I firmly hope it will continue to dazzle us with sights and wonders. But you’ll have to prove to me that a …

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 12:20PM

LA Stage Actors Strongly Oppose Wage Increase by Douglas McLennan

“The new wage could quadruple what actors earn from a typical production. But opponents say a change could backfire on actors by shutting down the most economically fragile theaters an…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 11:58AM
Friday, April 17, 2015

Shock Move: London National Theatre Executive Director Suddenly Quits Six Months Into The Job by Douglas McLennan

Announcing her resignation, Tessa Ross said only one person should be in charge. “It has become clear to me that the new leadership structure, with a separate role of chief executive, …

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 02:25PM
Thursday, April 16, 2015

Unconventional: How A String Of Bad Publicity Helped Create An Audience For This Broadway Show by Douglas McLennan

As “Finding Neverland” has developed, so have conflicts that on any other show would likely have remained backstage. The spats, which ranged from battles with journalists to staff confli…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 01:39PM
Wednesday, April 15, 2015

That Newly-Attributed Shakespeare Play? Kinda Bad, But Interesting by Douglas McLennan

“In short, a mediocre play, at least by Shakespeare’s standards, and in this instance, mediocre is perfect: It’s hard to understand how good Shakespeare could be until you’ve see…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 12:40PM
Friday, April 10, 2015

Using New Language Analysis, Scholars Attribute Another Play To Shakespeare by Douglas McLennan

“We can tentatively add another play to the Shakespeare canon. Using a unique form of text analysis, in which they weigh the “psychological signatures” of three possible authors, p…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 05:43PM
Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Canada’s Shaw Festival Gets A New Leader On The Eve Of A Big Project by Douglas McLennan

Tim Jennings will lead the Shaw Festival. Originally from Georgetown, Ont., he “has had a long career in theatre management, having worked at the Canadian Opera Company and held the po…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 11:30AM
Tuesday, April 7, 2015

We’re In A New Golden Age Of Comedians by Douglas McLennan

“There has never been a better time to be a comedian: The talent pool is broad, deep, and more diverse than ever before; a new generation of passionate fans is supporting experimental …

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 11:00AM
Sunday, April 5, 2015

Why Is My Hotel Following Me? (Ah, It’s Big Data) by Douglas McLennan

The hotel I stayed at in San Diego last month has been following me around for weeks. Seriously, it’s getting annoying – a one-night-stand that refuses to recede gracefully into memo…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 04:26PM
Friday, April 3, 2015

Five Philadelphia Theatre Companies Find A New Home by Douglas McLennan

“After 18 years performing at the tiny but storied Adrienne Theater on Sansom Street, InterAct Theatre Company will be picking up its props and sets and leading a group of four other t…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 09:33AM
Thursday, April 2, 2015

Do We Still Need Theatre Critics? by Douglas McLennan

“The American Theatre Critics Association, ATCA, the only national organization of American theatre critics, has been struggling with their criteria for membership. Right now they admi…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 01:19PM

Playwright Wins Copyright Infringement Suit Over “Three’s Company” Parody by Douglas McLennan

“The play is a highly transformative parody of the television series that, although it appropriates a substantial amount of ‘Three’s Company,’ is a drastic departure …

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 12:40PM
Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Wondering If The Show You’re Seeing Uses Union Actors? Here’s How To Find Out by Douglas McLennan

Actors’ Equity has been aiming to educate the consumer and protect its members with an “Ask If It’s Equity” campaign that today expanded to Washington and eight other cities. (It tes…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 09:55AM
Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Canada’s Largest Non-Profit Theatre Balances Its Books As Audiences Shrink by Douglas McLennan

“The Stratford Festival ended its 2014 season in the black – but the latest news on the Ontario theatre festival’s attendance is less black and white.”

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 10:17AM
Friday, March 27, 2015

Carey Perloff: The Big Challenges For American Theatre by Douglas McLennan

She’s disturbed by the way “many large-scale institutional theaters today have become roadhouses to incubate commercial productions headed for Broadway,” alarmed at the …

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 05:57PM
Thursday, March 26, 2015

Cirque du Soleil To Be Sold? by Douglas McLennan

Renée-Claude Ménard, senior director of public relations for the circus, told CBC News the company is searching for a “strategic partner. This is a very long process and [founder and…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 01:25PM
Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Amazon.com To Be London’s Theatre Ticket-Seller by Douglas McLennan

A spokesman for Amazon said that, up until this week, the retailer’s theatre ticket offering had been based around “deals” and discounted tickets. “Although that will…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 03:52PM
Friday, March 20, 2015

Why Are European Theatres Broadcasting But American Theatres Aren’t? by Douglas McLennan

“Yeah, this is embarrassing. And the Broadway ego takes a shellacking every time a list like this gets published. How are we supposed to uphold our reputation as being the biggest and …

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 11:56AM
Thursday, March 19, 2015

So Let’s Compare The National Tour Audience For Theatre With The Broadway Audience by Douglas McLennan

In the 2013-2014 season, Broadway shows touring across North America drew 13.8 million attendances. Broadway saw only 8.52 million attendees. The Road Audience is almost 2x the size of the B…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 02:40PM
Thursday, March 12, 2015

Broadway Theatres Sell Air Rights, Buy Banks by Douglas McLennan

“When the Shubert Organization sold the oxygen above its landmarked house for $17.1 million in May, Broadway’s biggest and richest landlord sheltered the proceeds from taxes in part …

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 11:52AM
Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Warning: Theatre Is Losing An Entire Generation by Douglas McLennan

“Now, there are fewer young companies and there has been an incredible drop in the number of drama teachers working. And that seems to me to be a fairly urgent thing that theatres need to …

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 01:18PM
Friday, March 6, 2015

Performers And The Art Of “Physical Leakage” by Douglas McLennan

“We all carry a physical signature in our bodies. When we’re under any kind of stress, our bodies behave in their usual habits – it’s called “physical leakage”. Your real per…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 10:29AM

Inside The Theatre – Immersive Experience Taking Hold Of Audiences by Douglas McLennan

“Immersive theater takes place without a stage of any kind, in deserted industrial spaces, nightclubs, hospitals, hotels and more. It invites audience members to explore the action at …

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 10:20AM
Friday, February 27, 2015

How Women Playwrights Are Marginalized by Douglas McLennan

“Of course the heightened visibility of plays written by women is welcome. But all over the country, even at venues which are attempting to make female playwrights’ voices heard, the…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 08:40AM
Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Theatre Cancels All-Asian “Showboat” After Concluding It Couldn’t Be Done by Douglas McLennan

“We spoke with, and listened purposefully to members of racially diverse communities and particularly with our most direct constituents, Asian-Americans, regarding how tackling this wo…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 09:33AM
Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Here’s Why American Musical Theatre Has Slipped From The Mainstream by Douglas McLennan

“Now that Broadway-minded songwriters no longer have a universal musical language on which to draw, it isn’t possible to write a show with genuine broad-gauge audience appeal. It say…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 11:05AM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 11, 2024: Oh, Mary! - Lyceum Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Nov 17, 2024: Elf - Marquis Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic
TBA: Ragtime