Get ’em While you Can
It took a few weeks but the post-Tony summer depression is very much in play now, with a number of Broadway shows posting closing notices. Add to that the number of shows who, though successful, have just hit the end of their run and you’ve got a lot of turnover happening in the next few months.
Here’s a schedule of what’s closing when.
JULY 21st, 2019
The Secret Life of Bees (Off-Broadway)
JULY 28th, 2019
Frankie and Johnny in the Clare de Lune
A Strange Loop (Off-Broadway)
AUGUST 11th, 2019
The Prom
Be More Chill
AUGUST 18th, 2019
King Kong
Cher Show
Pretty Woman
Puffs: Or 7 Increasingly Eventful Years at a School of Magic and Magic (Off-Broadway)
AUGUST 24th, 2019
What the Constitution Means to Me
OCTOBER 27th, 2019
Beautiful
JANUARY 5th, 2020
Waitress
JANUARY 19th, 2020
Oklahoma!
The Sonnet Man and me
I took a few great workshops while speaking at the International Thespian Festival last month. One was with The Sonnet Man Devon Glover called Shakespeare x Hip Hop. I loved it. The musical poetry of Shakespeare with a beat. What could go wrong? (Hmm…)
One of the things we did was write our own sonnet. We could choose between modernizing one of Shakespeare’s iconic sonnets (My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun..) or write our own. We had about 10-15 minutes.
The following is what I wrote. Now I realize the scansion is probably off and it’s more a series of couplets but a) I had 10 minutes! and b) there was a beat playing in the background that made the rhyme scheme impossible to ignore.
Enough Apologies!
I give you Theater Zen “Sonnet” #1.
Oh My God! I have to write a sonnet
I want to impress them, make it pretty as a bonnet
I think it’s working out. Look, I’ve already started!
But I’m scared that when I share it, it’ll sound more like I farted.
Hold Up! Stop that, Mer, focus on your yoga
Breathe in, breathe out. Take a moment for a coda.
And just like that, the ideas, they start flowing
Be it good or bad, my artist’s soul is glowing.
The proof it seems might not be in the pudding.
Both the problem and the answer live largely in the doing.
And there you have it. (Man, that Shakespeare had some chops.)
#BlametheSonnetMan
A tale of two (fair) ladies
New York theatergoers have a rare chance to see two distinct versions of a time-honored tale with Lincoln Center’s My Fair Lady running concurrently with Bedlam’s Pygmalion. (Fair warning: Pygmalion only runs through April 22nd while My Fair Lady is in previews until the 19th but has an open-ended run.)
Having caught a glimpse of Bedlam’s production at an invited dress rehearsal, I was struck by how relevant the story still is today. I could go into great detail about what I saw in that production, and how it surprised me and what I think makes it so poignantly relevant today. I was also intrigued by how differently the story plays compared to the musical I remembered. But I’d rather wait until you see it and see what you found in them as well.
Seeing both gives oneself a rare glimpse into the choices Lerner & Loewe made to turn the story into a palatable (if not delicious!) musical as well as get a great look at George Bernard Shaw’s underlying story still so powerful on it’s own.
See both! And tell me what you think.
NYC Producing Workshop – April 21-22
Learn how to create a business plan for your own show with Tony Award-winning producer Meredith Lucio (Bedlam’s Hamlet & Saint Joan, The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess). The class will help you determine your show’s mission, marketing plan, operational plan, management and organization, revenue streams, start up and capitalization and financial planning. Register at http://bit.ly/Produce2018
What people are saying:
“Lucio’s Producing Workshop provides an in-depth survey of the theatrical producing process. Her extensive professional experience and winning personality make the sessions both informative and enjoyable. She is creating a community of aspiring producers and continues to provide resources for her alumni even after the workshop. I don’t think there’s a better option for someone who is interested in producing theater for the first time.”
– Kimberly Pau Boston, Managing Director, Bedlam
Schedule
Saturday, April 21
10AM – 1PM Morning Session
1PM – 2PM Lunch Break
2PM – 5PM Afternoon Session
Sunday, April 22
10AM – 1PM Morning Session
1PM – 2PM Lunch Break
2PM – 5PM Afternoon Session
$375 (Workshop Fee)
$335 (Early Bird Pricing thru 4/18/18)
About the Producer
Meredith Lucio made her Broadway producing debut with the TONY award-winning Best Revival of 2012, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess starring Audra McDonald, and Norm Lewis. Other productions include the critically acclaimed Bedlam productions of Hamlet and Saint Joan (Best Revival, OBA), The 39 Steps (New World Stages) and Rooms: a rock romance. She was a member of the producing team of From Broadway with Love: a benefit for Sandy Hook. Most recently she capitalized the New Broadway Cast Recording of Hello Dolly! starring Bette Midler. She’s currently developing new work for Broadway and Off-Broadway including Brendan Hunt’s Absolutely Filthy, and D. Tucker Smith’s Roof of the World.
Meredith currently tours the country as a speaker and teacher of Produce your Art Like it’s Your Business; a producing workshop she created specifically for artists and students (both young and old). She has served as a Program Director for the TRU’s Producer Development and Mentorship program, is an adjunct professor at Scottsdale Community College and has spoken at the Commercial Theatre Institute, the International Thespian Festival and The Educational Theatre Association National Conference about the business of producing.
For more information contact Meredith at WildBirdPro (at) Gmail.com.
Fighting amongst ourselves.
Metropolitan Opera in dispute with unions.
I’ve lived in New York City for 14 years and I have never been to the Met. It’s not that I’ve not wanted to go exactly. It’s just that when I think of spending my entertainment dollar I prefer to spend it elsewhere (perhaps a few blocks south?). Call me a luddite if you will. Maybe I am.
But in this article it comes out that both the GM and the highest paid union workers are paid well into six figures (the GM makes about 1.3million and the highest paid union worker makes 450K). Knowing how much money these people already have and that they continue to fight about not having more leaves a pretty bitter taste in my mouth, especially when I think of all the smaller struggling non-profits overshadowed by these monolithic beacons.
I say let them fight it out until reason ensues and both sides have to reevaluate “what they deserve”. But I warn them all, the longer you fight amongst yourselves, the longer you avoid the real issue of keeping your art alive and relevant. It’s an uphill battle folks. For all of art.
Tonys 2014
9:30pm: No surprise here. Bryan Cranston wins Best Actor in a Play. #Tonys2014. Go LBJ!#TexashasaTonyinit.
9:29pm: Of course Audra is the biggest winner of the night. She’s got a Tony and @thewillswenson#Tonys2014
9:24pm: Audra McDonald gets a standing O and makes history!
@AudraEqualityMc wins #6!!!! Congrats to my Bess and this year’s Lady Day! #Tony2014.
9:23pm: ooh. All the other noms are gonna be jealous! Hugh Jackman sings the nominees for Supporting Actress in a Play… #Tonys2014
9:22pm: Picking the right tune for #Tonys2014 is crucial and not easy at all. How do you sizzle your show in about 2 1/2 minutes? It’s the one time a year that these shows get a national audience.
Other awards given at the commercial:
Jason Robert Brown wins Best Score for Bridges of Madison County.
Linda Cho wins Best Costume Design in a Musical for Gentleman’s Guide.
Jenny Tiramani wins for Best Costume Design of a Play, Twelfth Night.
In other news, I still love Bobby Cannavale’s work. He was fantastic in Motherf&cker with the Hat.
9:13pm: Jefferson Mays shows us how it’s done. Gentleman’s Guide performs.
9:10pm: Sophie Okonedo wins Best Supporting Actress in A Raisin in the Sun despite being one of two actresses from that show.
Other awards given at the commercial:
Warren Carlyle wins Best Choreographer for After Midnight.
9:03pm: un Cabaret, un cabaret un cabaret. Ahhh, Alan Cumming=theatrical oxygen.
8:59pm: Best featured actor in a Musical goest to James Monroe Iglehart in Aladdin.
Haven’t seen Aladdin yet but he looked good in the musical number. I was pullin’ for Nick Cordero
8:53pm: Rocky the Musical performs. They were awesome…but it’s the best part of the show.
8:52pm: My mom reminded me I might be related to @ROCKYMUSICAL‘s Andy Karl. Great. Now I’m crushin on my cousin. #familydinner #eyeofthetiger
Other awards given at the commercial:
Robert L. Freedman (A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder), Best Book of a Musical
8:48pm: Kenny Leon wins Best Director for a Play for Raisin in the Sun.
He gives a lovely shout out to Holler if ya hear me.
***In other news, I’m seeing this next week!!! (I’ll see you soon Denzel!)
8:46pm: Why do they ask Clint Eastwood to read things onstage?? Didn’t the GOP teach us anything???
8:45pm:
Darko Tresnjak wins Best Director for Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.
8:40pm: Adele Dazeem rocks it. (aka Idina Menzel, aka original Elphaba).
Other awards given at the commercial:
Christopher Barreca, Rocky) wins Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Beowulf Boritt (Act One) wins Best Scenic Design of a Play
Jason Robert Brown (The Bridges of Madison County) wins Best Orchestrations
Steve Canyon Kennedy (Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and GrillBest) wins Sound Design of a Play
Brian Ronan (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) wins Best Sound Design of a Musical
8:30pm: Aladdin is peforming like they need to sell tickets. (TheyDon’t.) #100percentsold. What lamp do I need to rub to get a ticket? #tonys2014.
*In other news Bobby Canavale is being kind of an ass about the Tonys on twitter. Seriously dude. Turn it off and do something else if you’re not feelin’ it.
8:19pm: Les Miz!!
8:03: #hughjackman makes a bid to revive Harvey in the Opening Number. #hoppin‘ #Tony2014.
There’s a Sting sighting and was that Clint Easwood? in the Opening Number. But I only have eyes for @RockyBroadway’s Andy Karl.
8:01pm: It’s Tony night yall!
I’ll be live tweeting @TheaterZen on twitter but you can check this blog for the recap.
I hope yours dance.
by grebenru from
Daily Dream Designs
If you can’t get rid of the skeleton in your closet, you’d best teach it to dance.
George Bernard Shaw
Happy Halloween!
Amuse Bouche #3
Thirst Quencher
In producing, one must passionately love the Kool-aid while concurrently refusing to drink it. #staythirsty #thehardpart #thirstywork
But my hands have a 10-pack.
Photo courtesy of Morguefile
Producing is a busy, time-consuming job. I’ve got at least half a dozen things going at once. At one point today I thought to myself. I said, “Self, you are working your a** off!”
Then I realized, most of my work is sitting in a chair typing, or reading, or researching or typing some more. So then I responded (to myself): “Uh, no. More like I’m working my a** ON.”
I need to take a walk.
#keepingitreal
Overheard at Sardi’s
Sardi’s, where the magic happens.
Trying to recoup on Broadway is like reaching the Emerald City. Dorothy had a well-paved road to get there but she never would have made it without the tornado and a dead witch.
Theater Zen 