Has there been a good musical theatre score written in the last five years? Or even 10? Here’s the list — as a solid case for why music theatre isn’t dead. Long live music theatre.
READ MORE
REVIEW: Rock Of Ages | Comedy Theatre, Melbourne
Just how much ’80s kitsch can one city handle? Not all that much, as it turns out; Xanadu packed up its tent over the weekend after an aborted run, leaving another Broadway retro jukebox hit Rock of Ages to, well, rock on. It doesn’t bode well. Rock is at least as stupid. At least as [...]
READ MORE
We’re selling our performers short by cutting previews
When a show opens on Broadway, especially a big musical, it is normal practice to have up to 28 previews before opening night. During the last week of these previews, critics are invited to the show, but by this time the cast is well and truly settled into their stage routine and also have become accustomed to the reactions and quirks of an audience. One could call this the ideal situation for big shows.
READ MOREGays in the theatre? SHOCK! Perhaps it’s imagination we lack
Sean Hayes will host this year’s Tony Awards (the Oscars of Broadway, if you will) — sweet vindication for the Will and Grace star, who was slammed by one critic for his unconvincing portrayal of a straight man in musical Promises, Promises.
READ MOREGays and theatre: maybe they SHOULD just stay in the closet
Newsweek is on the nose. And not just because it sits unloved on the auction block, an almost-extinct relic of new media. An essay on the venerable magazine’s website has caused a minor storm, at least in theatrical circles. Author Ramin Setoodeh asked — not unreasonably — whether gay actors could play straight, singling out [...]
READ MORE
What is opera? Australia’s company is changing perceptions
What is opera? It seems the nation’s premier company wants to shift the goal posts. I have a piece on Crikey today on the changing face of Opera Australia and the delicate balance between presenting the classics along with inventive new works (like the recent staging of Australian work Bliss, pictured above) and crowd-pulling opera-lite [...]
READ MORE‘House full’ sign goes up on $1b Broadway biz
There’s nothing like New York City’s Broadway for a theatre lover. Tourists and locals are spoilt for choice each day, with dozens of glitzy musicals and star-studded plays to be found bathed under the blinding lights of Times Square. But even 40 theatres in the Broadway district alone aren’t enough. The New York Times reports [...]
READ MORE
