The Cincinnati Symphony says it struggled at the box office last season. “Attendance during the 53-concert season ending in May dropped 10 percent from the previous season, and subscription ticket sales slid by nearly 14 percent, orchestra officials said Friday.”
Tag: 08.19.07
Berkeley Rep Turns 40
“Four decades later, the small, but professional, neighborhood resident acting company has become one of the nation’s leading regional repertory companies, a Tony award-winning institution with two theaters in downtown Berkeley, known for innovative new work.”
Has Burning Man Been Spoiled By Money?
“This Labor Day weekend, Burning Man is expected to generate $10 million in revenue from 45,000 ticket-buying customers, each of whom will pay $195 to $280 for entrance to a patch of Nevada desert called Black Rock City. In art circles and around the blogosphere, Burners are asking: Is this famously anti-monetary event getting ruined by too much cash?”
Rowling Spotted Writing A Crime Novel
“JK Rowling, who launched her career with stories scribbled in an Edinburgh cafe, has been spotted back in her old haunts with a notebook in hand and crime on her mind.”
Previewing “Frankenstein” Awaits Reviews
Mel Brooks’ new musical “Young Frankenstein” is in Seattle. So far no local reviews. Why? Because the show’s in previews. “It stands to reason that when producers bring a monster-sized ‘Young Frankenstein’ to town, they want a lot of time to tinker with it. Or that they want to do the tweaking as far from Broadway theater wags as possible. Early criticism counts.”
The Continuing Nureyev Mystique
A new PBS documentary about Rudolf Nureyev probes his lasting influence. “They thought ballet meant nothing to them, and suddenly they were spellbound by him. And this is what all the people who saw him in the flesh still say. I found this really interesting — that even now he remains a door into the world of ballet for people who are not otherwise drawn to it.”
Directors’ Cut – LA As A Great Theatre Town
“The lingering doubts about whether L.A. is a ‘theater town’ tends to make me a bit snappish. Of course it is: How many other cities in the world boast such extensive offerings? But whether it’s a theater town that’s particularly hospitable to directors is an open question. And its answer may just determine whether this is a leading theatrical capital or an accidental oasis where, amid some serious work, an army of actors more interested in film and TV keep themselves fresh.”
The Man With His Own TV Show (Really)
Tom Green wanted his own talk show. So he built a home studio and some equipment and got on the internet. Now he has hundreds of thousands of viewers…
City Ballet’s All-Boys’ Class
“In 2007 being the only boy — at an audition, in a class, in a recital — is still a routine experience for ballet students in the United States. But for the promising group accepted each year into the School of American Ballet’s tuition-free boys’ program, which resumes Sept. 5, something different awaits: a class of their own.”
New Generation Of UK Playwrights Gets Traction
Britain’s older playwrights seem to be thriving. But “how are things for the younger writers and directors of British drama? Are they ready to take the places, centre-stage, of the great names of modern British theatre? And with the economics of major stage productions as difficult as ever, in what fresh directions will they drag British drama over the coming years?”