Broadway's Dark Summer

According to an article on Bloomberg by mid-July 49% of Broadway theatres will be closed to any production despite coming out of a record year for ticket sales. Many shows ended profitably, some were scheduled to close at this point, while there were the usual commercial failures.

It means that during the height of the summer season there will be a limited choice available to the tourists.

"Our costs to carry a dark theater are very low -- real estate taxes, insurance, heat and electricity -- because we lay everybody off," Philip J. Smith, chairman of the Shubert Organization, which owns 17 Broadway theaters, told me [Jeremy Gerard].

Smith points out that while the number of dark theaters may be higher than last year, it's business as usual: His houses are all booked with shows scheduled to open in the fall and winter. Hugh "Wolverine" Jackman and Daniel "Bond, James Bond" Craig are moving into the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre with Keith Huff's "A Steady Rain." That new police drama will be produced by the husband-and-wife team of Frederick Zollo and Barbara Broccoli (whose late father, Albert "Cubby" Broccoli, produced the Bond movies).

And the Barrymore Theatre, which had been home to Rush and his dysfunctional royal court, has been booked by producer Jeffrey Richards and his partners for David Mamet's new play, "Race." An acclaimed Los Angeles revival of Mamet's "Oleanna" is also in the offing for the coming season.

Perhaps it will be an Autumn Awakening this year.

More Women Directors on Broadway

The New York Times reports that it's been a good year for women directing Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, a fact that should not be remarkable, but remains noteworthy because it's been a rarity - thus far:

As it turns out, bias against female playwrights has also received attention recently because of a new study that found there is discrimination against women who are writing for the theater. Last week at a meeting about the research, participants discussed how bias in one part of the business can ripple throughout the industry, affecting directors and others.

Still, Ms. MacKinnon and Ms. Sardelli said they feel fortunate to be directing when the industry is opening up to more women. "I think the generation above me really had it harder," Ms. MacKinnon said. "That's when there was the one girl in the room."

She added, though: "It seems to me that there are number of men who aren't that much older than me whose names you see over and over again. There are not that many women who have that kind of relationships with producers. How do you break into that tiny Rolodex?"

The Kushner Process

Playwrights might be interested in the The New York Times article on Tony Kushner's new play, The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism With a Key to the Scriptures, in which Kushner describes his writing process for his current project, and how he is developing it for the stage.

2009 Tony Winners

The winners of the 63rd Annual Tony Awards were announced last night in New York City.

A full list of all the winners is available from the web site, but the following should be of particular interest to our members:

Best Play:
God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza

Best Musical:
Billy Elliot, The Musical; book and lyrics by Lee Hall, and music by Sir Elton John,

Best Revival of a Play:
The Norman Conquests by Alan Ayckbourn.

Best Revival of a Musical:
Hair; book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni, and music by Galt MacDermot.

Brodway Remains Buoyant

New York Times reports on figures released recently by the Broadway League about figures for the grosses for the 2008-9 Broadway theatre season.

Broadway musicals and plays made approximately $943.3 million during that period, which is a slight increase on the previous season, and just enough to set a new record for total grosses -- the previous high was set during the 2006-7 theatre season, which had total grosses of $938.5 million.

Last summer and fall, a few producers prepared for the recession by postponing or canceling planned Broadway shows, and a few others shuttered long-running shows such as "Hairspray" and "Spring Awakening." Some cited a lack of capital from investors; others expressed concern that potential audience members might stay away to save money.

But many other producers responded to the recession by offering steep discounts to plays and musicals, and by staging an unusually high number of appealing shows that drew positive reviews from critics.

Drama Desk Awards

The 54th Annual Drama Desk Awards have been announced.

The following awards should be of particular interest to our members:

Outstanding Play
Ruined by Lynn Nottage

Outstanding Musical
Billy Elliot The Musical

Outstanding Revival of a Play
The Norman Conquests by Alan Ayckbourn

Outstanding Revival of a Musical
Hair

Outstanding Ensemble Performances
The cast of The Norman Conquests and the cast of The Cripple of Inishmaan

Outer Critics Circle Awards

The Outer Critics Circle in New York has announced the winners of its 59th Annual Awards.

The following are the categories of particular interest for our members:

Outstanding New Broadway Play
God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza
Irena's Vow by Tovah Feldshuh
Reasons To Be Pretty by Neil LaBute
33 Variations by Moises Kaufman

Outstanding New Broadway Musical
Billy Elliot the Musical
Rock of Ages
Shrek the Musical
A Tale of Two Cities

Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play
Ruined by Lynn Nottage
Becky Shaw by Gina Gionfriddo
Farragut North by Beau Willimon
Shipwrecked! The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (As Told By Himself) by Donald Margulies
Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them by Christopher Durang

Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical
The Toxic Avenger
Happiness
Rooms A Rock Romance
What's That Smell? The Music of Jacob Sterling

David Pearse won the award for Outstanding Feature Actor in a Play for The Cripple of Inishmaan. A full list of all the categories and the winners are available on the web site.

2009 Tony Awards

The nominees for the 2009 Tony Awards have been announced.

Of particular interest to our members:

Best Play

• Dividing the Estate by Horton Foote
• God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza
• Reasons to Be Pretty by Neil LaBute
• 33 Variations by Moisés Kaufman

The full list of all the nominees is on the web site.

Broadway Up in 2008

The Stage reports that despite a global recession last year's takings on Broadway were up in 2008, compared to 2007.

Commenting on the totals, Charlotte St Martin, executive director of the Broadway League, noted: "Even though the last few months of the year were challenging, these last two weeks encompassing the Christmas and new year's holidays grossed nearly two million dollars more than the same two-week period last year. This reflects that even in tough economic times, theatregoers go to the theatre."

While more shows than usual are closing on Broadway as 2009 dawns, there is a lot of product coming up in the next few months and St Martin is optimistic about 2009. Among the shows set to open on Broadway in 2009 will be Impressions with Jeremy Irons, Blithe Spirit with Angela Lansbury, Waiting for Godot with Nathan Lane, and Mary Stuart with Janet McTeer - the latter a London transfer.

1st Irish in NY

The New York Times recently reported on the forthcoming 1st Irish Theatre Festival, which will be going on in New York City from September 6 - 28, 2008.

Among the groups taking part in 1st Irish 2008 is the Tir Na Theater Company of Boston; it is presenting the New York premiere of the Northern Irish playwright Owen McCafferty's "Mojo Mickybo," the story of two boys, one Protestant and one Catholic, in 1970 Belfast. The Washington company Solas Nua is bringing New York its first production of Enda Walsh's "Disco Pigs," about two characters who were born on the same day. Mr. Walsh's most recent play, "The New Electric Ballroom," was a critical hit at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe. That play, Charles Isherwood wrote in The New York Times, "affirms Mr. Walsh's growing reputation as a contender to take his place in the long, distinguished line of great Irish playwrights."

Liam Heylin's "Love, Peace and Robbery," a three-hander about two men adjusting to life out of prison, is being presented by the Keegan Theater, also from Washington. "Ireland is changing," said Kerry Lucas, the play's director. "These plays need to be seen because there is a whole global thing happening. If the Irish are grappling with an American-type dream of success, still there are a lot of people that is not happening to."

John P. Waters, director of graduate and undergraduate Irish Studies at New York University, said, "We need to see new theater, because we have a new Ireland." Mr. Waters will participate in a panel on contemporary Irish theater at Glucksman Ireland House at New York University on Sept. 11.

"Ireland has been blessed with rapid, bewildering challenges in recent years, and drama is guiding the conversation," Mr. Waters said.

Check out the 1st Irish web site for the full listing of all the events.

Irish Off-Broadway

The New York Times features an article about Irish playwright, Abbie Spallen, and her forthcoming off-Broadway play, Pumpgirl.

Broadway on Strike

Strike fever is hitting America. According to the BBC theatre stagehands are on strike on Broadway, New York, and have shut down over twenty plays and musicals. It's happening at the run-up to Christmas, which is traditionally the busiest time of the year for the industry.

The dispute has largely been over work rules that govern how many stagehands must be called for work, how long they work, and what kind of tasks they can perform.

The League of American Theatres and Producers wants more flexibility in those rules so as to avoid paying for workers who have nothing to do.

"Our goal is simple - to pay for workers we need and for work that is actually performed," Charlotte St Martin, executive director of the league said.

But the union says theatre owners have been unclear about what offsetting benefits stagehands can have in return.

Actor Patrick Page, star of How The Grinch Stole Christmas, said he supported the strike but hoped for an early settlement:

"These guys on strike over here are the backbone of Broadway. They are the guys who keep me safe, when I get hoisted up in the air in the show, they are the guys who put light on me, who make sure everything happens."

"I know that the Actors Equity Association really supports the guys at Local One, I am a member of the union and we all just want the shows to happen again," he said.

Broadway Might Go Dark

Broadway is on the verge of being shut down due to a strike, according to The New York Times.

After two and a half months of sometimes contentious contract negotiations, the organization representing most of Broadway's producers and theater owners and the union representing stagehands are at an impasse, bringing most of Broadway to the

At 7 p.m. yesterday, the League of American Theaters and Producers put what it called its final offer on the table; three hours later, Local One, the stagehands' union, gave the league a final offer in response.

In a statement, Charlotte St. Martin, the executive director of the league, said the response "made no progress on any of the issues we have identified as crucial to these negotiations. In fact, the union's offer has made the situation worse for all productions."

The announcement of a final offer is one of the last steps before a bargaining group can call a work stoppage, which, in this case, would mean the theater owners' locking out the stagehands and leaving most Broadway theaters dark. As of now, there are no more negotiating sessions scheduled, and a lockout is highly likely.

Tonys Round-Up

Playbill summarises last night's Tony Awards in New York. Among the seven Tonys The Coast of Utopia took home was the prestigious Best Play. Spring Awakening took home a record eight Tonys including Best Musical.

RTÉ notes that Irish set-designer Bob Crowley took home two Tonys: Best Scenic Design of a Play for The Coast of Utopia and Best Scenic Design of a Musical for Mary Poppins.

The Queen Sinks

The Pirate Queen, the latest musical from Riverdance producers Moya Doherty and John McColgan, will close on Broadway on June 17.

RTÉ reports that the show will lose approximately $16m.

In their statement announcing the closing of 'The Pirate Queen', its producers said that plans "for a European English-language production are under way and will be announced in the near future."

2007 Tony Race

The 2007 Tony Nominations have been announced. Spring Awakening, an Off-Broadway musical hit that transferred to Broadway garnered 11 Tony nominations, followed by Tom Stoppard's The Coast of Utopia trilogy, which received ten nominations. The winners will be announced at the 61st Tony Award Ceremony in New York on Sunday June 10th.

Outer Critics Choice

The winners of the Outer Critics Circle Awards have been announced, and Playbill has a summary of the event. Tom_Stoppard's The Coast of Utopia trilogy won six awards, the musical Spring Awakening scooped three awards, and other multiple winners were Company, In the Heights, Journey's End, LoveMusik and No Child.

It's Alive!

According to The Seattle Times Mel Brooks has decided to transform another of his early films into a theatrical musical.

This time he's adapting his black and white horror homage film, Young Frankenstein (1974), to the stage. It will be called It's Alive! The musical will rehearse in both Seattle and New York, and will have its premier on August 4 in Seattle, before opening in Broadway in the autumn.

As he did for The Producers, Brooks will pen the score for Young Frankenstein, and co-author the book (based on his screenplay) with Thomas Meehan. The design team: Robin Wagner on sets, William Ivey Long on costumes and Peter Kaczorowski on lighting.

All the above won Tony Awards for The Producers, which garnered an even dozen in 2001, including one for director Susan Stroman.

A Wet Beginning

The Stage summarises the situation of the Broadway musical, The Pirate Queen, which was created by the Riverdance originators, Moya Doherty and John McColgan.

Based on the life of the 16th-century pirate, Grace O'Malley, the production cost approximately $20 million to stage, and opened to poor reviews from the theatre critics, like this notice from the New York Times, which dubbed it "Oceandance, with Swordplay".

The Stage estimates that to recoup its investment "it would need to play to full houses at the 1,800-seat Hilton Theatre for three to four years."