![]() |
|
|||||||
|
|
Saturday, April 06, 2002 Hot Flashes! Squishy Thighs! Yee-Ha! By ANITA GATES His Attorney's Bernie By STEPHEN HOLDEN Mr. Jones directed many of television's first large-scale live arts programs, including a 1952 broadcast of "Carmen" from the Metropolitan Opera, "Peter Pan" with Mary Martin in 1955, the Royal Ballet's "Cinderella" in 1957 and nearly 20 years of the Tony Awards from their first television broadcast in 1967. He may not have written for Broadway, but he was one of America's great dramatists. If you want to read Huggins' insights into what works, and doesn't, in drama, pick up the three books Ed Robertson has written about Huggins' biggest hits (The Fugitive, Maverick and The Rockford Files). 'Twelfth Night' only entry in Park fest By PATRICIA O'HAIRE By ROBERT DOMINGUEZ John Mauceri will lead the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra through "The Music Man," with Eric McCormack and Kristin Chenoweth in the leads, on Aug. 4, while the 100th anniversary of the birth of Richard Rodgers will be celebrated Aug. 16-17 with the HBO performing Rodgers & Hammerstein songs while scenes from films such as "Oklahoma!" and "The King and I" are shown on a giant screen. I spoke with Liza Minnelli after her show Wednesday night at London's Royal Albert Hall. She was bubbling over in her dressing room after a dozen standing ovations. Emmy winner Doris Roberts spends her "Everybody Loves Raymond" hiatus in a new production of "Arsenic and Old Lace" at the Strand in London's West End, bowing May 15. Charles Wright reviews a new book that takes issue with a popular notion regarding the career of Kurt Weill. Ask the prolific director-choreographer Susan Stroman to name her favorite creation, and you might expect her to point to her first Broadway effort (the exhilarating dances for "Crazy for You") or her work on such high-profile revivals as "Show Boat," "The Music Man" and "Oklahoma!," or, most obviously, her undisputed megahit, "The Producers." posted at 4/6/2002 10:03:43 AM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link Friday, April 05, 2002 In the (short) history of Debbie Does Dallas (the musical), we heard that it was a go for late May, early June. Then we were told by the producers, not so fast. This was followed by the producers saying to Playbill that May - June was a go. Now we hear that Debbie Does Dallas will be a September thing... Hmmm.... who's zoomin who? posted at 4/5/2002 05:08:26 PM by James Marino | Item Link Bancroft is bowing out of return to NY stage By Patrick Pacheco Bay Street and Gateway unveil their seasons By Steve Parks Harvey Fierstein tests the Waters, Chase Mishkin hopes to enter a dark horse in the Tony race, and rarely heard Rodgers holds sway at the York. The Siegels spend a l-o-o-o-ng evening at the 2002 MAC Awards. posted at 4/5/2002 03:05:19 PM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link Robert Johanson is leaving his post as Artistic Director of Paper Mill Playhouse after the close of the current season. He will return to the theater next season as a contract director for productions...[Read More] Public Theater Artistic Associate Brian Kulick has been tapped to direct the New York Shakespeare Festival production of Twelfth Night. The play is scheduled to run at the Delacorte Theatre fro...[Read More] Looks like plans are going ahead to mount Debbie Does Dallas at the Jane Street Theatre. Though a production spokesperson could not confirm any details, Broadway.com has learned that the produc...[Read More] Matt Damon, Casey Affleck and Summer Phoenix will take over for Hayden Christensen, Jake Gyllenhaal and Anna Paquin (respectively) in the West End production of Kenneth Lonergan’s This Is Our Youth...[Read More] posted at 4/5/2002 09:23:31 AM by James Marino | Item Link Musings about The Graduate and its soundtrack album The Broadway production of "The Graduate" feels barer — and certainly less substantial — than Kathleen Turner in the 20 seconds she spends nude on stage. In 1967, the year Mike Nichols' film "The Graduate" came out, Time magazine, unable to name an individual as Man of the Year, gave that honor to the entire generation of Americans under the age of 25. Dying may or may not be easy, as Edmund Kean claimed — who knows? — but comedy is definitely hard. Thankfully we have practitioners like Steve Martin, who is pursuing the intelligent laugh across the narrative arts with ardor and seriousness and a good deal of skill. STEVE Martin has brought it off this time - he's written a brilliant, hilarious, mad adaptation of an old play.He didn't, in my judgment, succeed a while ago in turning "Cyrano de Bergerac" into the movie "Roxanne." Not since Monica Lewinsky's thong almost toppled a presidency has a pair of panties caused such a national fuss. Hair is central to "Thoroughly Modern Millie," a musical set in the 1920's. To ensure perfect hairdos, Paul Huntley, Broadway's leading hair and wig designer, was hired. JUST where is the theater getting its themes these days? Both Broadway and off- seem to be hitting below the belt. TIME to start handicapping this year's theater prizes and awards.First up, the Pulitzer, which will be doled out Monday. Almost... except Moses got a TV pilot and had to be replaced. posted at 4/5/2002 06:36:38 AM by Matthew Murray | Item Link Thursday, April 04, 2002 After 17 years, Johanson to become a free-lancer BY PEGGY McGLONE Thanks to kafritz at All That Chat for the link. NEW YORK --- "The Guys," a film adaptation of the one-act play of the same title by Anne Nelson documenting a fire captain's response to losing his men on Sept. 11, has been greenlighted by ContentFilm. Sigourney Weaver and Anthony LaPaglia, both of whom have appeared in the stage play, will star in the film. Weaver's husband, Jim Simpson, who commissioned and directed the play, will direct the film. But not for long... see above. Tovah Feldshuh juggles two Off-Broadway shows while garnering great reviews for her supporting role in a new hit movie. Wow, the Times is on top of all the latest breaking news, aren't they? posted at 4/4/2002 01:09:13 PM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link posted at 4/4/2002 09:55:14 AM by Matthew Murray | Item Link Wednesday, April 03, 2002 A video clip of last night's OKLAHOMA! appearance is on the Late Show website. If you missed the show, click the "Wahoo Gazette" link to read a summary. Both links will be gone by Thursday, so hurry... A chat with Carolee Carmello, the radiant co-star of the Paper Mill Playhouse production of The King and I. posted at 4/3/2002 12:59:47 PM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link Drabinsky preps comeback "Debbie Does Dallas" is going legit, Steve Martin is showing his "Underpants," the Public Theater has more "Nights" but fewer productions, Lynn Redgrave may be taking "Root" Off Broadway -- and Garth Drabinsky is getting ready for a comeback. No, this is not the April Fool edition... Garth really is coming back... his actual line to a friend: "I guess I'll have to accept my fucking Tony for Best Revival on Fucking closed circuit television." L.A. Drama Critics also laud 'River,' 'Shadow' Special awards to be given to Dee, Stritch, Albee, Linney, Second Stage. Thesp Close saluted with Excellence in Media Award posted at 4/3/2002 07:26:39 AM by James Marino | Item Link Alan Bates plays a fellow whom liquor turns into a logorrheic, napkin-slinging nightmare in an Ivan Turgenev play some 150 years old that is only now receiving its Broadway premiere. WHERE has Ivan Turgenev's "Fortune's Fool" been all our lives?Turgenev, celebrated for his short stories, novels and delineation of what he called the "superfluous man" - the idle aristocrat in Czarist Russia - wrote quite a few plays, but only "A Month in the Country" seems to have survived outside of Russia. Isn't it enough that we have four Chekhov plays that are set on forlorn country estates and are constantly revived and, invariably, weakly done? "I want you all to myself," purrs Frank Langella toward the end of the first act of "Fortune's Fool," and for a startling moment you wonder whether a character is addressing his companions or an actor is overtly seducing his audience.... There is a sublime and almost euphoric pleasure only felt when watching genuinely talented people plying their craft. Pay a visit to Fortune’s Fool, which opened tonight at the Music Box theatre, to experience it for yourself. 'THE Graduate" is the closest thing to a critic-proof show as you are likely to find this season. posted at 4/3/2002 06:28:57 AM by Matthew Murray | Item Link Tuesday, April 02, 2002 American talent floods the West End even as bunches of Brits continue to hit Broadway. Also at NBC, Fox TV Pictures is developing in association with Merv Griffin Entertainment a TV adaptation of the musical "Hello, Dolly!" to be executive produced by Ernest Chambers ("Dream Girl, U.S.A."). Let the online casting fantasies begin! posted at 4/2/2002 03:18:43 PM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link Heard from Araca that I was way off base with the dates for Debbie Does Dallas that I ran yesterday. They are still making decisions. posted at 4/2/2002 12:01:33 PM by James Marino | Item Link By RALPH BLUMENTHAL Beverly Sills, the chairman of Lincoln Center since 1994, told board members on Monday that she intended to step down on May 1. Former opera star resigns as chair Beverly Sills has resigned as chair of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, effective May 1. Musicals score, plays see lower revs City gives $1 mil in subsidy rebates to small orgs Love to serve as artistic director Alan Bates says it himself. "Actors talking about acting can be so terribly pretentious. Sometimes I read an article about myself and I think, 'Oh, no! Not again. Please don't say all that again.'" Urinetown and Metamorphoses, which both transf...[Read More] Kathleen Marshall will choreograph the upcoming television movie of Meredith Willson’s The Music Man, according to a production representative. As we [Read More] By BARBARA HOFFMAN BUBBLES has finally popped.After years of threatening - or promising - to do so, Beverly Sills, Lincoln Center's indefatigable, unpaid chairwoman for the last eight years, is stepping down. But even with Betty Buckley, it's not good enough for Broadway by Richard Ouzounian Versatile diva opens new A.R. Gurney play in Buffalo by Richard Ouzounian On a different note, congratulations go out to Richard, who is now the Regional stringer for Variety (Toronto, Buffalo, Stratford, Shaw, etc.) The York Theatre Company presents a concert version of Rodgers & Hart’s longest-running show—and you’ll never guess what show that is. CAP21 lauds James Naughton and Julian Schlossberg in a benefit gala on April 8. posted at 4/2/2002 07:06:07 AM by James Marino | Item Link Monday, April 01, 2002 DEBBIE DOES DALLAS: Rehearsal starts 4/29. Tentative preview 5/23, opening mid-June at the JANE STREET. posted at 4/1/2002 03:34:22 PM by James Marino | Item Link The Lucille Lortel Foundation will unveil its new websites: Designed by Marketorial.com, these sites are surely the most comprehensive sites of their kind. IOBDB.com includes information about Off-Broadway shows, from the 1950s to the present, cross-referenced by title, cast, producers, designers, staff and theaters; this is the first site created to give the on-line theater community quick and complete access to each facet of every off-Broadway production, from the stage managers to the stars. IOBDB is an on-going project, constantly being expanded to preserve the history and legacy of Off-Broadway theater. One of the more intriguing aspects of the Lortel Theatre site is the inclusion of the "Window Card Gallery," an all inclusive poster history of the Lortel Theatre, from Threepenny Opera (1957) to today, featuring rare and unique poster art, presented in chronological order, offering a special insight into the history of off-Broadway through its artwork. Another interesting aspect is the interactive "Playwrights Sidewalk," giving biographical and bibliographical information on each of the playwrights inducted onto the Playwrights Sidewalk in front of the Lucille Lortel Theatre, the only permanent tribute to Off-Broadway playwrights. posted at 4/1/2002 01:39:16 PM by James Marino | Item Link The York Theatre Company presents a concert version of Rodgers & Hart’s longest-running show—and you’ll never guess what show that is. Mrs. Robinson of 'The Graduate' is back, but Kathleen Turner aims to seduce the young man in her own way. Small Ashland, Ore., is devoted to repertory theater on a scale unseen elsewhere in the country. Shakespeare is only part of the story. posted at 4/1/2002 12:39:10 PM by Tim Dunleavy | Item Link TimesTalks symposium cancelled The New York Times announced last week that its TimesTalks symposium with the creative team of "Sweet Smell of Success" has been cancelled. Times reporter Jesse McKinley was to have moderated the panel, originally scheduled for Sunday at Lighthouse Intl. Thanks for Sharing, Stranger. By BRUCE WEBER Tom Noonan shrinks the conventional distance between character and theatergoer in his new play that recreates a New Age-style therapy meeting. posted at 4/1/2002 06:46:12 AM by James Marino | Item Link Sunday, March 31, 2002 Heard on the street: For the ABC's Movie of the Week presentation of THE MUSIC MAN, they are probably going with JASON ALEXANDER as Mayor Shinn. posted at 3/31/2002 10:11:00 PM by James Marino | Item Link posted at 3/31/2002 08:24:42 PM by the other James | Item Link The musical mantra is enjoying renewed popularity on Broadway, TV and at the movies, but this time around, it's being done with by Richard Ouzounian But even with Betty Buckley, it's not good enough for Broadway by Richard Ouzounian [Thanks to Leanna for this... odd... link!] Musical theater and soap opera star Ron Raines visits Chicago by Michael Buckley Readers respond to Filichia’s "Time Machine" column with their own wish lists of historic performances they'd love to have seen. Karen Akers, who will be honored at the MAC Awards on Monday, discusses the importance of the cabaret art form in a post-9/11 world. Al Pacino is among the Angels, The Music Man is on the way, Chris Durang is tuning up a tuner, and an actor’s dream is about to come Tru. Performance artist Tim Miller shows off his great Body of work. Debbie Does Workshop... Buzz around town this weekend is good about the DDD workshop presentation at the Jane Street the past few days. Looks like Araca may have another fringe hit on their hands... posted at 3/31/2002 11:13:33 AM by James Marino | Item Link Happy Easter, everyone! Jason Biggs corners the market on young American male sexual angst, from teen-movie losers to "The Graduate" on Broadway. Rapping, like acting, exists in a gray area between charisma and craft. You put on some nice clothes, you deliver your lines and people respond, because they like you, or the character you're playing.... Having lived in the fragile glass house of criticism for as long as I have, I am never particularly disposed to throw stones at fellow inmates. During a preview performance of "Fortune's Fool," starring Alan Bates and Frank Langella, a door on the set closed with such force that a chandelier fell down. posted at 3/31/2002 09:38:09 AM by Matthew Murray | Item Link BroadwayStars is powered by Blogger Pro! [Past News] |
|
||||||
|
| |