(Charles Isherwood’s article appeared in The New York Times, 6/20.)
Death steals quietly into a Greenwich Village apartment, like morning sunlight gradually suffusing a darkened room, in “4000 Miles,” a funny, moving new play by Amy Herzog that opened on Monday night at the Duke on 42nd Street. Beneath the plain-wrap surface of this drama about a grandmother and grandson sharing a few weeks of casual cohabitation lies a quiet meditation on mortality. But it’s hardly a downer: Ms. Herzog’s altogether wonderful drama also illuminates how companionship can make life meaningful, moment by moment, in death’s discomforting shadow.
(Patrick Healy’s article appeared in The New York Times, 6/18.)
LOS ANGELES – In her first public comments about “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” since the opening of the $70 million Broadway musical, the director Julie Taymor on Saturday described the new show as “much simpler” than the version she created before being fired in March. Speaking to a conference of theater leaders here, she also tacitly criticized her former producers for drawing ideas from audience focus groups.
(Robert Hurwitt’s article appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, 6/18.)
Before Gregor Samsa wakes up as a bug, we know something's out of kilter with the family – and the world – in the creepy-comic version of Kafka's "Metamorphosis" that opened Thursday at Aurora Theatre.
(Michael Billington’s article appeared in the Guardian 6/17.)
Having rubbished Harold Pinter's Betrayal on its appearance in 1978, I seem to have spent much of my life discovering its complexities. Each production yields fresh insights. And, watching Ian Rickson's beautifully lucid and perceptive revival, I became aware how much the play deals with the shifting balance of power in triangular relationships, and with the pain of loss.
(Philip Boroff’s article appeared on Bloomberg, 6/16)
Hours after “The Book of Mormon” walked off with nine Tony Awards including best musical, Broadway’s biggest new hit set a record with a top ticket price of $487.25.
That’s what it will cost for a prime orchestra seat bought within 48 hours of a performance, including service charges, according to Telecharge.com, which handles the show’s ticket sales. That price tops the $480 premium ticket introduced by “The Producers” in 2001. (Factoring in inflation, that $480 ticket would cost $612 today.)
The $165.25 regular orchestra seat for “Mormon” is another Broadway record. If any show can command it, it’s this one. Since opening to largely rapturous reviews on March 24, “Mormon” has played to full houses.
Daniel Sullivan directs this free Shakespeare in the Park production of the comedy, which runs in repertory with “Measure for Measure.” Previews begin June 11. (Delacorte, Central Park. Enter at 81st St. at Central Park W. 212-539-8750.)
DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY
Doug Hughes directs a musical, with a book by Peter Stone and Thomas Meehan and music and lyrics by Maury Yeston, based on Alberto Casella’s play, in which Death walks among the living. Presented by Roundabout Theatre Company. Previews begin June 10. (Laura Pels, 111 W. 46th St. 212-719-1300.)
THE DEVIL’S MUSIC: THE LIFE AND BLUES OF BESSIE SMITH
Angelo Parra wrote this bio-musical about the blues singer; Joe Brancato conceived and directs. In previews. (St. Luke’s, 308 W. 46th St. 212-239-6200.)
EYES OF BABYLON
Jeff Key wrote and performs this one-man show, which recounts his experience as a gay man in the military. Yuval Hadadi directs, as part of “Americas Off Broadway.” Previews begin June 14. Opens June 21. (59E59, at 59 E. 59th St. 212-279-4200.)
4000 MILES
Daniel Aukin directs a new play by Amy Herzog, in which a grieving young man takes refuge with his elderly grandmother in New York. Mary Louise Wilson and Gabriel Ebert star in the LCT3 production. In previews. Opens June 20. (The Duke on 42nd Street, 229 W. 42nd St. 646-223-3010.)
MEASURE FOR MEASURE
A lecherous judge tries to bring the law between a betrothed couple, in Shakespeare’s hard-edged comedy. The free Shakespeare in the Park production, directed by David Esbjornson, runs in repertory with “All’s Well That Ends Well.” In previews. (Delacorte, Central Park. Enter at 81st St. at Central Park W. 212-539-8750.)
NO CHILD
Nilaja Sun returns to the Barrow Street Theatre with her one-woman show about the American education system. In previews. Opens June 19. (27 Barrow St. 212-868-4444.)
ONE ARM
Moisés Kaufman adapted and directs the Tennessee Williams screenplay, about a young boxer who becomes a hustler after losing an arm. A New Group and Tectonic Theatre Project co-production. In previews. Opens June 9. (Acorn, 410 W. 42nd St. 212-239-6200.)
OTHELLO
The Moose Hall Theatre Company stages Shakespeare’s play about love and betrayal, as part of the Inwood Shakespeare Festival. Opens June 8. (Inwood Hill Park Peninsula, enter at Indian Rd. at W. 218th St. 212-567-5255.)
PHILIPPE PETIT: WIRELESS!
The French high-wire artist tells stories from his life. June 16-18. (Abrons Arts Center, 466 Grand St. 212-352-3101.)
THE PLAY ABOUT MY DAD
CollaborationTown brings Boo Killebrew’s story of her father and a Mississippi hurricane, directed by Lee Sunday Evans, to “Americas Off Broadway.” Previews begin June 16. Opens June 21. (59E59, at 59 E. 59th St. 212-279-4200.)
SEX LIVES OF OUR PARENTS
Davis McCallum directs this play by Michael Mitnick, in which a woman who is about to get married must come to terms with her mother’s disturbing past. A Second Stage Uptown production. In previews. (McGinn/Cazale, 2162 Broadway, at 76th St. 212-246-4422.)
SIDE EFFECTS
David Auburn directs the première of Michael Weller’s play, about a wealthy Midwestern couple who put up a good front as their marriage falls apart. Joely Richardson and Cotter Smith star in the MCC production. In previews. Opens June 19. (Lucille Lortel, 121 Christopher St. 212-279-4200.)
SPIDER-MAN: TURN OFF THE DARK
The musical based on the Marvel Comics series, with a score by U2’s Bono and the Edge and a book by Julie Taymor, Glen Berger, and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, stars Reeve Carney, Jennifer Damiano, and Patrick Page. Taymor directs. In previews. Opens June 14. (Foxwoods, 213 W. 42nd St. 877-250-2929.)
UNNATURAL ACTS
Tony Speciale conceived and directs this play, set in 1920 and based on a true story, in which a Harvard student’s suicide leads to the dismissal of a group of homosexual students. Created by members of the Plastic Theatre. Previews begin June 14. (Classic Stage Company, 136 E. 13th St. 212-352-3101.)
(William Grimes’s article appeared in The New York Times, 6/13.)
Gunnar Fischer, a cinematographer whose use of stark lighting and sharp focus lent mood and psychological depth to a dozen of Ingmar Bergman’s early films, including “The Seventh Seal” and “Wild Strawberries,” died on Saturday in Stockholm. He was 100.
(Patrick Healy’s article appeared in The New York Times, 6/12.)
A fish-out-of-water tale of missionaries in war-torn Africa, “Mormon” brought an exuberant irreverence to Broadway that seemed to rub off on the Tonys as a whole. Sunday’s broadcast, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, featured a “did they really say that?” comic opener that was edgier than usually seen at the staid ceremony — a song-and-dance number arguing that Broadway, with its con artists, Mormons and nuns this season, is “not just for gays anymore.” And it ended with Chris Rock, a star of the nominated play “The ____________ With a Hat,” suggesting before presenting the best musical prize that a “Mormon” victory was a foregone conclusion.
Caryl Churchill's dramatic satire of the financial excesses and corporate venality that followed the 1986 Big Bang is the first of three plays in Radio 3's "Money Talks" season.
The City has changed since the Big Bang of 1986 and the sudden deregulation of the financial markets. The Square Mile has been invaded by white knights and corporate raiders. And ambitious young traders, like sister and brother Scilla and Jake Todd, are living the high life.
Hot-shot dealer Billy Corman is plotting to take over the unsuspecting company Albion, aided and abetted by this new breed of yuppie traders. But his plans go awry when trader Jake Todd is found dead and the Department of Trade and Industry is brought in to investigate. Could Jake's death be linked to his insider dealing?
Serious Money conveys the feverish, amoral addictiveness of speculation, and brings to life the swaggering, foul-mouthed cacophony of the Eighties' stockmarket.
It is followed in subsequent weeks in the "Money Talks"season by new productions of Edward Bulwer-Lytton's nineteenth century satire about inherited wealth, 'Money' and George Bernard Shaw's play "Widowers' Houses" about the moral contradictions of business. As part of "Money Talks", The Essay "It Talks" chronicles the rise of money in human civilisation from cattle wealth to flexible plastic and The Sunday Feature "Europe, the Art of Austerity" explores artistic response to hard times,
This new version of Serious Money is adapted for radio and directed by Emma Harding
CAST
Scilla Todd ….. Hattie Morahan Jake Todd ….. Bertie Carvel Zak Zackerman ….. Tobias Menzies Corman ….. David Horovitch Greville Todd ….. Brian Bowles Jacinta Condor ….. Melanie Bond Marylou Baines ….. Jane Whittenshaw Grimes/ Frosby ….. Daniel Rabin TK/ Nigel Ajibala ….. Nyasha Hatendi
All other parts played by members of the company.
With musical accompaniment from Colin Sell.
A major force in British theatre, Caryl Churchill is one of the most celebrated playwrights of her generation. Her plays include 'Cloud Nine', 'Top Girls' and 'A Number'. 'Serious Money' premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in 1987.