  Reba get your gun <Link Dead>
 SAG Planning Possible Theatre District Strike Rally for June 25
 Tony committee votes for 'special' addition. But will 'Squonk' be satisfied?
SAG card special Union membership offered to those who help strike
AOL axes Moviefone tix service charge. Netizens now pay same online and at box office.
Wait... Moviefone/AOL has nothing to do with theatre. Or does it... Hmmmm.... Can you purchase theatre tickets on AOL?
 And the Biltmore? by Peter Filichia
Jennings Is Albert Speer, Opening May 25 at London's National Theatre
Uhhh... Naaa. Couldn't be. I just saw him. He would have told me. [Mermaiac]
Gently Sheep May Graze: Andrew Kato Produces Musical At Columbia, June 7-10
 FEVER spreads by Ken Mandelbaum
Speaking of FEVER, does Paige Price miss any photo ops? Not that it is a bad thing. It is always nice to see what Paige is "off and running" to...
TALLER THAN A DWARF was shorter than they thought.
THE VISIT into the Broadway is official.
MAMMA MIA opened in Toronto to mixed to bad reviews. The National Post had a few things to say, like:
"So this is a Canadian production of a British musical with a Swedish score, set in Greece and with an Italian title...
At the end, after the lovers have walked into a 360-degree sunset such as they presumably have in Greece, the show prolongs itself for a lame-suited reprise of most of the numbers: a pop concert in fact. This seemed to me to be, on its own terms, the most enjoyable part of the evening, and certainly the most honest. It has of course nothing to do with musical theatre."
The Globe and Mail's headline was: "Entertaining musical may baffle Martians"
Reviews like this no longer carry weight (or seem to) when making decisions to transfer to NYC. With the raging success of SNF against similar reviews, and the huge BO in London's MM, it seems as though we are destined to see another concert on Broadway as the influence of pop stars from the 70s create vehicles that change the face of Broadway. Think this time next year... if we have the same season as we did this year, MAMMA MIA will be up for Best Musical. Yet who can we blame? Perhaps the industry as a whole for not doing any audience development in the 70s and 80s. Meanwhile the new crop of Broadway writers have yet to define themselves to commercial producers as visionaries that will provide the next 20 years of musical theatre, MJL not withstanding.
Speaking of which, NOTRE DAME de PARIS did not fare much better in reviews.
Nathan Lane to play role at Tonys?
Fynsworth Alley newsletter sheds light on the future of musical theatre and artist recordings as we know it. While the driving force behind 106 recordings at Varese Sarabande, Bruce Kimmel (and his new label), are based in Los Angeles, he is drawing on East Coast - Harvard talent David Levy who seems to have turned a summer internship into a hot dot com startup position. Other talent is Jennifer Kalman from Montreal who is writing the Fynsworth Alley newsletter, a type of internet pre-sales marketing campaign. The first one was released with the news about upcoming projects and all you ever wanted to know about Bruce Kimmel. To receive the newsletter, visit the website at http://www.fynsworth.com/
My comment and link about Garth Drabinsky a few days ago brought on some email, one person summed it up best. In the interest of fairness, I thought I would mention the email here:
"It should be said that in Canada, since no case was made against Mr. Drabinsky for a year after being accused, he is legally innocent there, and free to produce in Canada."
Since when am I ever interested in fairness? Well it is open litigation season. And I thought it was duck season. Rabbit season.
STAGEBILL hosted a Tony press event yesterday at the China Club. Lets hope STAGEBILL's move into theatre is a bit better planned and received. Other than Jed Bernstein, there were few other people there. Four of the possible many nominees were there. But the food was good.  |
