Recently Torn Out Theatre presented an all male production of Hamlet in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. Here’s the kicker, this all male production performed the show naked! Yup, Naked Shakespeare in the park! You’re probably thinking one of two or three things, “what the hell is the world coming to?” “That’s a whole lot of dick!” Or “Yasssss show me the D.”
I had the lovely chance to talk with Marcus Stewart who plays Ophelia. I asked him about stereotypes, and being naked… duh.
Read MoreThe first time I saw Shakespeare, I fell asleep.
My high school theater class had just spent the whole day driving from Portland to Ashland (home of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival) and then gone directly into a very long production of “Richard III”, and…. Okay, I don’t have an excuse. I have no doubt it was an excellent production. But I fell asleep. Afterwards, my teacher asked me how I liked the show. I avoided eye contact and mumbled something about the battle scenes (didn’t sleep through them—too loud).
Read MoreLike many “Fansies,” I was excited to find out that Disney Theatrical Productions was screening the national tour of Newsies in movie theaters nationwide. This version included the return of many of the original cast I saw on Broadway including Jeremy Jordan, Kara Lindsay, Andrew Keenan-Bolger, and Ben Fankhauser. However, seeing Newsies five years later brought up a lot of emotions I had the first time, put now in a different context.
Read MoreOn Monday the 14th, a bunch of actors of color are coming together to showcase their talents and make their voices heard. Project Am I Right’s The White-List Cabaret. We will be singing some of your favorite, usually-played-by-White-people, show tunes.
Lauren Villegas, the creator of Project Am I Right (PAIR), is on a mission to make the theatre world aware of the perils of whitewashing.
Read MoreIthink we can all agree that it's wrong for local theatres to copy Broadway production design.
While I agree there are some design elements that are necessary for every production(Les Mis' barricade for instance), many of these shows' licensing agreements allow theatres to be creative with their design.
Read MoreControversy is not only exciting, but it generates discourse. If a subject isn't talked about enough, or if it's been talked about perhaps in the wrong way, one of the few things that can genuinely fix that problem, is controversy. My favourite source of controversy?
Culture. Film, theatre, television, art, literature, whatever it may be. It's one of the best places to find controversy, it's practically a fountain for emotion, personal reaction (good and bad) and debate, a rich fountain one can dip in and out of whenever one wants, a fountain which must be protected at all costs. There's often debate about how much cursing should be allowed in certain productions for example. And this is just one of those things that I both hate debating and think it necessary to do so. Because of course, like many things, it should probably be decided on a case-by-case basis. However, I also think it necessary to point out a few things.
Read MoreIn Vancouver this year it seems Jason Robert Brown is one popular composer with a production of Songs for A New Word (link to that article at bottom) Parade, Last 5 Years upcoming in the fall and two productions of 13 it seems this is the year for a more edgy musical scene in Vancouver, Canada. I sit down with Laura Reynolds, director of 13 (the first production of the two) which is being produced by Eternal Theatre Company, who's mandate is by youth for youth.
Read MoreToday, the music world lost a legend. That term is often tossed around rather lightly, but in the case of Barbara Cook, it is supremely fitting. No one who has the claim of originating Cunegonde in Candide, Marian in The Music Man, & Amalia in She Loves Me; who has given fantastic, award-winning performances as Julie in Carousel, Anna in The King and I, as well as untold amazing concert appearances and recordings including a stellar turn in Follies with the NY Philharmonic, Sondheim on Sondheim...well, you get the idea - no one who has done all she did is anything less than legend. She gave us joy and wonder in every performance, with her final appearance at age 88, just last year.
Read MoreThe 2016-17 Broadway season was chock full of new musicals, but the 2017-18 season is looking a bit. By my count, as of right now, it looks like there will be about six new musicals this season which is less than half of what we got this past year.
While it's a small group, there are some that stand out as sure fire Tony favorites, with David Yazbek's The Band's Visit leading the pack.
Read MoreI have always said that theater is my home, but the props department is like my room within my home. After trying out a few different aspects of the production team, I felt in love with props (by accident) and found that being the props master best utilizes my skills and creativeness. To read a script and not make a prop list is really weird to me and when I am not the props person for the show that I am working on, I really do miss it.
Read More
