Poo hitting fan already for Diane Paulus!!

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/22/10 at 10:04pm

Dateline Boston: this didn't take long. I predict she'll be long gone before the end of the four remaining years on her contract.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 8/22/10 at 10:29pm

What happened?

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/22/10 at 10:34pm

There is a sense among some that she is destroying the institution of the American Repertory Theater and a sense among others that she has improved attendance.

But MAN, is she ever discarding the past... and I think this is going to condemn her to repeat it.

[macaphee]

Posted: 8/22/10 at 10:45pm

http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2010/08/22/some_say_arts_artistic_director_has_gone_too_commercial/

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/22/10 at 11:13pm

You know, I meant to include that link! Ha ha. I thought Adam was looking for a quick summary!

Sorry bout that.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 8/22/10 at 11:13pm

"...you are destroying the heritage of the ART by making it into something completely different — a place to preview musicals heading for Broadway, musicals in general, and sensory-saturated productions generating visceral experiences that often include pandering to sexual appetites..."

Diane Paulus should totally use that as brochure copy.

It would double--or triple--their subscriptions.

Updated On: 8/23/10 at 11:13 PM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/22/10 at 11:23pm

She has brochure copy down to a science already, with pull quotes about things that don't exist yet.

Somebody told me her big spring musical "Johnny Baseball" was as corny as Kansas in concert.

[strummergirl]

Posted: 8/22/10 at 11:38pm

When I was in the Cape, I caught a preview of Johnny Baseball on NESN, the Red Sox's regional channel since it related to the Sox, and it did seem corny as can be. Looked up the creative team that included the guy who wrote the 'book' for Good Vibrations.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 8/22/10 at 11:41pm

Ha, GREAT pedigree there!

[macaphee]

Posted: 8/22/10 at 11:43pm

Well it was as "corny" as "Memphis".
But a great cast, strong music/lyrics by Willy Reale & his brother, book needs work.

[macaphee]

Posted: 8/22/10 at 11:56pm

Back to Paulus and ART. Read the article ... sounds like sour grapes

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 8/23/10 at 12:22am

It definitely does not sound that different from many other changes in leadership at other regional theatres. There are always going to be people complaining that the new leadership isn't either honoring the past or is not doing enough to move the company forward. It's often a no-win situation for a new artistic director during their first couple of seasons. The ones that are successful are the ones who are strong enough to ride out a season or two of bickering and bad publicity about everything they are not doing right.

The part I found amusing in the article was where she was accused of "dismantling" the existing resident company of actors. It sounds like the resident company was pretty well gotten rid of long before she came in. I would hardly consider four actors who are not given a seasonal contract but still signed on a show by show basis a resident company.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 8/23/10 at 12:41am

...a scathing open letter from former ART actor Will LeBow...

Updated On: 8/23/10 at 12:41 AM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/23/10 at 6:55am

Sounds a LOT like sour grapes to me, too.

When someone not cast -- or not cast "enough" complains it usually is. Just because you "always" got cast doesn't mean you always will. The changes at ART have been amazing. Is everyting fabulous? No...but it's not like everything PRE-Paulus was,either.

When you go to a show there now, there is energy and youth and excitement.

I doubt very much that when Paulus was hired she had the following directive: we want to keep things exactly the same as its always been. She never would have taken the job -- or have been offered it.

I'm thrilled she's here.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 8/23/10 at 12:31pm

PJ's THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, this is the depressing catch-22 that all regional theatres are facing and I sympathize with both sides.

A.R.T. is one of the few--VERY few--regional theatres that has a success at avant-garde programming.
Seeing Brecht and Beckett replaced by a tourist show like THE DONKEY SHOW is genuinely depressing.
I also think Paulus is doing a disservice to the community by not utilizing the repertory.
Many new people seem to be coming to A.R.T. but what about the people who supported it before? They've come to know those actors and want to see them act.
Of course the actors are pissed...they've committed themselves to a mill town and the mill has shut them out.
All this is the same problem in Seattle when I was there. And I have no doubt its the same all over.
It's a great article, tho.
Nice microcosm of the dillema regional theatres are facing.

Updated On: 8/24/10 at 12:31 PM

[Jon]

Posted: 8/24/10 at 11:41am

She doubled their attendance and brought in an extra $3 million in grants.

Disgusting. Just disgusting.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 8/24/10 at 12:55pm

Don't forget to read the comments. Very interesting.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/25/10 at 10:06pm

Oh for Christ's sake.

The ART website has a cast list for the upcoming Cabaret, with Amanda Palmer as the Emcee. And she's the only cast member listed.

Meanwhile, over at TheaterMania, there's this more complete list. I shall bold the portion that will probably get the production shut down:

Take your seat at the Kit Kat Klub, the perfectly marvelous cabaret where singer Sally Bowles meets writer Cliff Bradshaw. As the two pursue a life of pleasure in Weimar Berlin, the world outside the Klub begins to splinter. Presiding over it all is singer, songwriter, and former Dresden Doll Amanda Palmer as the Kit Kat Klub's magnetic Emcee, with Aly Trasher as Sally Bowles and Matt Wood as Cliff Bradshaw. The cast also includes Remo Airaldi as Herr Schultz, David Costa as Ernst Ludwig, Claire Davies as Fraulein Kost, Thomas Derrah as Fraulein Schmidt, and Jeremy Geidt as Max, the Klub Owner; as well as Renee-Marie Brewster, Lucille Duncan, Tamara Hickey, Eric Johnson, Jordy Lievers, and Gaetano Pugliese as the Kit Kat Dancers, and Annika Franklin, Chris Thomas, and Edward Walsh as the Ensemble.

[timote316]

Posted: 8/26/10 at 2:35pm

I agree that JOHNNY BASEBALL was a bit on the commercial side as the article complains about.... but I'd argue that THE DONKEY SHOW and SLEEP NO MORE were the avant-garde, unique theatrical experiences ART is known for that became commercial hits. Isn't that what an artistic director supposed to do?

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/26/10 at 2:44pm

I don't think Donkey Show is particularly "unique," given it was a revival of an Off-Broadway tourist magnet. I also heard the critic performances and opening night cast was peppered with professional ringers who had done the show in NYC, who were quickly replaced by non-Eq performers once the show was going.

Although Sleep No More was one of the best things I've ever seen in my life, ART imported that. I'm grateful for having had the chance to see it, but it was Punchdrunk's baby.