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West Side Story
The National Theatre is home to a good-as-gold Golden Anniversary production of the Laurents-Bernstein-Sondheim-Robbins classic musical West Side Story. For those who missed the 1980s revival or were too young for the 1957 original, it’s hard to imagine a more visually stunning production. [Read more...]
How Theater Failed AmericaI have no idea how theater failed America. Neither does anyone else I know, including Mike Daisey. He does have a clear-eyed view of the scope of the problem: brilliant performers forced to sell office furniture to make ends meet; diminishing and increasingly geriatric audiences; huge schlocky productions featuring Actors Who Have Been on TV. The stabs he makes at identifying the problem’s source, however, fall short. [Read more...]
One of the more quoted critical quotes of the last century is Brooks Atkinson’s conclusion to his review of the original production the Rogers-Hart-O’Hara collaboration Pal Joey in 1940. The terminal sentence was: “Can you draw sweet water from a foul well?” Well, no, you can’t, but that’s just the point of the startling and effective revival brought to us by Roundabout at Studio 54. The authors never intended a “sweet water” musical. But in 1940 that was all that was allowed. [Read more...]
Click here to read our exclusive coverage of the all-day Lincoln Theatre star search event and hear Ms. Villanueva’s audition song, along with those of the other future stars who tried out last Saturday.
Jan 3, 2009 – Arena Stage’s open call Finding Yolanda Casting Search was a day long affair, but at the end of nearly 12 hours, we were close to learning which talented local actress/singer/dancer extraordinaire will join the cast of Crowns, having its fourth Arena Stage production at the Lincoln Theatre from March 27th to April 26th.
Let’s see if you can predict who the winner will be.
So, who is Yolanda? She is young and fierce, the rebel – tough and powerful, yet naive and vulnerable – and innocent. It will take a special performer to play this role. Yolanda opens the show with the rousing song, “Where I Belong.” She has to knock that song out of the church’s roof, and has to grab the audience’s hearts right away.
As I entered the Lincoln Theatre at 7:45 a.m., the lines were growing as young – and not so young – actresses were registering, picking up their numbers, and those who had already signed in, were nervously sitting on the steps of the Lincoln, waiting for their 90 second moment in the spotlight, when they would sing their audition song in front of the morning judges: Crowns director Kenneth Lee Roberson, Arena Stage’s casting director Daniel Pruksarnukul, Arena Stage’s Associate Artistic Director David Dower and musical director e’Marcus Harper.
After all the morning and early afternoon auditions were over, there were 21 callbacks, and I was given the opportunity to interview them all. So, sit back, listen and enjoy and see if you can pick out the future Yolanda.
In its 94th year, the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene, is alive and full of energy and ended 2008 with two productions. It was the last day of Chanukah and Joel Markowitz made sure to see them both on his recent swing through NYC. Here he interviews actor Adam Shapiro from the critically acclaimed Gimpel Tam, and artistic director Zalmen Mlotek and his daughter Sarah from the children’s production of Kids and Yiddish. [Read more...]
American Theatre Wing Interviews