I hate going to the theater
Jan 19
2011, 06:53:48 PM
I hate going to the theater.
I've always said that it's a bit like being at the office. Unless it's mindless spectacle (c'mon Spider-man, get your act together and you'll have a fan for life!), my mind tends to wander and I start counting lights, empty seats, # of AEA contracts, running budgets, etc.
But after recently catching a performance of Angels in America at Signature, I finally realized the other reason I hate it so much.
I think I might hate people.
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Anybody have opinions on Gruesome Playground Injuries, A Small Fire, or the
Jan 14
2011, 10:49:09 PM
I saw A Small Fire, and liked it quite a bit. Some funny parts, a story that stayed with me, great performances. Also, saw it very early in previews, and I know that PH is a pretty nurturing environment for writers/directors/performers so have no doubt the show marinated well.
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Spidey's Recoupment
Jan 14
2011, 08:52:29 PM
Snafu -- you are correct! The initial postponement most likely cost them dearly. The weekly cost (figure $1.5m maybe?), plus the loss of revenue ($1m -- maybe?), for a loss of over $2m/week.
I was thinking of the "internal" postponements (once previews began) probably aren't nearly as costly.
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Spidey's Recoupment
Jan 14
2011, 06:48:46 PM
Hi all -- two thoughts:
1. I'm not convinced that the postponements are really adding all that much to the capitalization of the show. By my calculations they've taken in approx. $7.25m against six full weeks of previews thus far. That leaves an extra $1.25m before they really start to add to the capitalization (assuming a $1.0m weekly operating cost).
2. While I have no doubt that they've spent tons and tons of money, there's been no indication that they've spent all of th
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Assassins' Amazing last-minute replacement!
Jan 14
2011, 01:50:22 AM
In 1994 during a run of "Evita" at North Shore Music Theatre the actress playing Eva Peron (Kathleen Rowe McAllen) lost her voice between a matinee and evening performance. NSMT hadn't understudied the role, so a member of the ensemble who had previously played the role at a different theater sang the role from a stool in the pit while McAllen lip-sync'd the show on-stage. It was a strange and crazy show, actually, but also pretty amazing.
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If the critics come in and review -
Jan 13
2011, 09:34:50 PM
And I hear they've banned patrons with disabilities!
Oh, I kid I kid. Just baiting FinishMyHat!!! Loves ya's all!
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"...backstage hissy fits aren't punishable offenses."
Jan 12
2011, 04:32:35 PM
Riedel's column makes the "Dracula" goings-on sound totally cray-cray! Money quote in the headline.
http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/dracula_crew_raises_stakes_zZjzDpQruhzrNmgmKUfDXJ?sms_ss=facebook&at_xt=4d2e0e6b10987bf1%2C0
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Results Are in for BWW Best of Boston Awards
Jan 12
2011, 03:01:36 PM
Was the Lyric's "Nicholas Nickleby" not considered? Maybe there was a dates cut-off (or maybe it was considered and nobody liked it). Anyway, I loved it (though the only other show I saw was "All My Sons" at Hunt which was great, too!).
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Men singing women songs
Jan 10
2011, 10:59:17 PM
If you do a YouTube search of "gay men's chorus" you'll find tons of clips of choruses from around the country (and the world for that matter) taking on songs for women. A favorite of mine is the LA GMC covering "Cell Block Tango" from Chicago. Aside from sounding good, some of these guys wear pants like it's their job.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4se7auC-6bo
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National Tours-Plays
Jan 9
2011, 09:13:05 PM
Carrie Fisher did a tour of "Wishful Drinking" before it hit Broadway, but she only hit regional theaters (vs performing arts centers). Also, it was a while ago, but "The Graduate" toured. And "Vagina Monologues." FWIW I saw "The 39 Steps" at the Ahmanson from the back of the balcony and thought it was terrible. The show most definitely wasn't meant to play a barn like the Ahmanson. Saw it again a month ago at New World Stages and it was night and day -- amazing!
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Friday matinees... discuss!
Jan 7
2011, 04:48:47 PM
Ohh, snap. Okay, you've got it. Book of Mormon. Guess I was just trying to make fetch happen.
Thanks for the discussion all!
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Friday matinees... discuss!
Jan 6
2011, 02:37:40 PM
ROA starts up May 23, and BOM (not sure I like the acronym but whatevs) starts May 30.
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Friday matinees... discuss!
Jan 6
2011, 02:26:08 PM
For the summer, both will take Monday off, do Tues thru Thurs night, two on Friday and Saturday, one on Sunday. So the trade-off for the summer is losing a Sunday evening show and gaining a Friday matinee.
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Friday matinees... discuss!
Jan 6
2011, 02:08:21 PM
So Book of Mormon went first, and announced their Friday matinees for the summer. And now Rock of Ages... which officially makes it a thing, huh?
What do you all think? Who's the target audience? Are there really enough tourists coming in for the long weekend to fill out houses on a Friday afternoon?
And what do you think the TKTS booth will do? Open early? Sell Friday matinees on Thursday night?
And will other shows follow suit?
Thanks in advance for sh
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Rock of Ages at the Hayes
Jan 5
2011, 11:25:13 PM
Per the Telecharge page, it does say "first preview." Any word on casting? If it's a new cast, perhaps they'll try and open it afresh...
As for booze at the HH, yes, they're serving full bar... in sippy cups.
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Rock of Ages at the Hayes
Jan 5
2011, 06:33:05 PM
Just thought I'd add one piece of info from Telecharge missing from above -- first preview March 24.
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Has anyone seen or heard anything about 'A Small Fire'?
Jan 3
2011, 01:14:17 AM
Saw it early in previews. Obviously it was a bit of a work in progress (not to say it needed tons of work, but with a few gentle tweaks and the playwright and director attending the previews -- I'm sure they were doing the work).
That said, I thought Michele Pawk was great for the second half of the show, when the role required her to be vulnerable. When she was playing the hard-as-tacks construction company owner, she was ACTING, damnit. But once her world started to get rocked by
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"Mamma Mia" question (ref. NYTimes)
Dec 29
2010, 12:30:17 AM
Okay, I loved "Mamma Mia" -- shoot me!
Oddly, I haven't seen it on Bway (London and on tour a couple of times). Here's the question that one of you fine folks might be able to answer for me, and it references a line from David Itzkoff's ArtsBeat blog post on Playbill making their delivery.
He wrote, "...and audience members at “Mamma Mia!” will know exactly when in Act I they can expect to hear “Dancing Queen.""
Here's my question: When I saw the show, the progra
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Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 12/26
Dec 28
2010, 04:40:07 PM
Re: Spiderman and their weekly gross (and correct me if I'm wrong):
As I understand it, producers consider the expenses of previews to go towards the tabulation of capitalization (the $65 million you see thrown about).
So let's say going into this past week, their capitalization sat at $65 million exactly, then they ran the week with expenses of $1.5 million and box office take of $1 million, their new capitalization would sit at $65.5 million.
Not until they reach
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Actor injured in Spiderman tonight
Dec 23
2010, 03:18:49 AM
Sean Martin wrote: Cirque de Soleil does this stuff nightly in a dozen productions around the world, without a mishap.
This seems like a pretty important rebuttal to BroadwayGirl's great post, and honestly when I read it, I thought that it couldn't be true. So I Googled "cirque du soleil" and injury and found... lots of news reports of injuries.
This performer fell 20 feet ("Like a rag doll, her shoulders then head and finally hips hit the stage.Stunned silence. She did not move."): http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2008/04/update_injured_cirque_du_solei.html
This performer fell off a trampoline during rehearsals ("Emergency-services workers say the man was unconscious when they arrived on the scene, and they rushed him to hospital."): http://www.conradaskland.com/blog/2009/10/cirque-du-soleil-performer-suffers-head-trauma-after-fall/
These two performers fell 15 to 35 feet in front of a live audience during Zumanity in Las Vegas ("Both hit the stage with a resounding thud and bounced several inches in the air, witnesses said"): http://www.lvrj.com/news/11339291.html
And that's just the first page...
Now, it can easily be argued that Cirque shows and Spiderman are apples and oranges, but to say one is injury-free and the other not is wrong.
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