All stories by Douglas McLennan on BroadwayStars

Thursday, May 21, 2015

PJ Paparelli, 40-Year-Old Director Of Chicago’s American Theater Co. Dies On Vacation by Douglas McLennan

“Both Paparelli and his theater company — the two were inseparable — were at their creative peak. During Paparelli’s seven-year tenure, ATC produced a slew of highly regarded…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 11:55PM

Broadway About To Hit Record Box Office For 2014/15 Season by Douglas McLennan

“Thanks in part to the box-office drawing power of Hugh Jackman, Bradley Cooper, Helen Mirren, Larry David, Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick and other celebrated performers, Broadway’s…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 10:14PM

Protests Over Tony Awards’ Intent Not To Televise Some Awards by Douglas McLennan

“Creative Arts Awards, including Best Original Score, Best Book of a Musical and others such as Scenic Design, Lighting Design, Orchestrations and more, are typically handed out off th…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 03:49PM
Wednesday, May 20, 2015

These Are The Songs That Were Cut Out Of The Original “My Fair Lady” by Douglas McLennan

“The five songs that were cut before rehearsals include a tune called “Lady Liza,” sung by Higgins and his buddy Colonel Hugh Pickering; “Please Don’t Marry Me,…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 11:13PM

Handicapping This Year’s Tony Nominees For Best Actor by Douglas McLennan

While 20 have been nominated, only four will win. “Here, a look at who’s ahead, who can upset and who should just be happy to be there.”

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 09:57PM
Friday, May 15, 2015

Report: Musicals Account For 60 Percent Of UK Box Office by Douglas McLennan

Musical theatre accounts for more than half of all box office income despite comprising just 15% of all productions staged, a report has suggested.

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 01:25PM
Thursday, May 14, 2015

Software Startup Brings Big Data Analysis To Theatre by Douglas McLennan

“PatronLink360, offered on a software-as-a-service licensing model, aims to help theaters and producers boil down complex patron data into easily comprehensible nuggets of information,…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 12:12PM
Wednesday, May 13, 2015

UK Theatres And Unions Make Agreement On Higher Pay For Backstage Workers by Douglas McLennan

“With this framework, we have a real opportunity to transform pay and terms and conditions in the theatre industry.”

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 02:52PM

Plan To Get San Jose Repertory Theatre Back Up And Running Again by Douglas McLennan

“Built in 1997, the city-owned $31.6 million facility has been largely dormant, with the exception of pop-up retail ventures, since last June when the Rep announced it was filing for b…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 02:47PM
Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Supporters Of Theatre Building Object When Theater Uses Some of The Money To Pay Staff by Douglas McLennan

“I know from experience that the public are extremely generous in their financial support for what they think is to benefit the fabric of the building. With this £10,000 flying out of the…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 02:07PM
Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Report: Only 10% Of UK Actors Are Working Class by Douglas McLennan

“Even when someone from working class origins is in the profession we are finding that they are about £10,000 less well off than other people, in theory for doing the same jobs.”

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 11:46AM
Friday, May 1, 2015

Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre Gets A New Artistic Director by Douglas McLennan

Dominic Dromgoole, who took over from Mark Rylance as artistic director in 2006, called it an “excellent appointment in keeping with the Globe’s traditions of boldness and advent…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 01:12PM
Friday, April 24, 2015

Cleveland Playhouse Wins 2015 Regional Tony by Douglas McLennan

“Cleveland Playhouse prides itself on being a longtime champion for new work, having presented Tennesee Williams before “The Glass Menagerie” and, more recently, premiering titles …

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 06:40PM
Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Cirque du Soleil Is Such A Singular Enterprise. Can Itrs Creative Spark Survive A Sale Of The Company? by Douglas McLennan

“Cirque has already played to over 160 million people around the world and I firmly hope it will continue to dazzle us with sights and wonders. But you’ll have to prove to me that a …

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 12:20PM

LA Stage Actors Strongly Oppose Wage Increase by Douglas McLennan

“The new wage could quadruple what actors earn from a typical production. But opponents say a change could backfire on actors by shutting down the most economically fragile theaters an…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 11:58AM
Friday, April 17, 2015

Shock Move: London National Theatre Executive Director Suddenly Quits Six Months Into The Job by Douglas McLennan

Announcing her resignation, Tessa Ross said only one person should be in charge. “It has become clear to me that the new leadership structure, with a separate role of chief executive, …

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 02:25PM
Thursday, April 16, 2015

Unconventional: How A String Of Bad Publicity Helped Create An Audience For This Broadway Show by Douglas McLennan

As “Finding Neverland” has developed, so have conflicts that on any other show would likely have remained backstage. The spats, which ranged from battles with journalists to staff confli…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 01:39PM
Wednesday, April 15, 2015

That Newly-Attributed Shakespeare Play? Kinda Bad, But Interesting by Douglas McLennan

“In short, a mediocre play, at least by Shakespeare’s standards, and in this instance, mediocre is perfect: It’s hard to understand how good Shakespeare could be until you’ve see…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 12:40PM
Friday, April 10, 2015

Using New Language Analysis, Scholars Attribute Another Play To Shakespeare by Douglas McLennan

“We can tentatively add another play to the Shakespeare canon. Using a unique form of text analysis, in which they weigh the “psychological signatures” of three possible authors, p…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 05:43PM
Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Canada’s Shaw Festival Gets A New Leader On The Eve Of A Big Project by Douglas McLennan

Tim Jennings will lead the Shaw Festival. Originally from Georgetown, Ont., he “has had a long career in theatre management, having worked at the Canadian Opera Company and held the po…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 11:30AM
Tuesday, April 7, 2015

We’re In A New Golden Age Of Comedians by Douglas McLennan

“There has never been a better time to be a comedian: The talent pool is broad, deep, and more diverse than ever before; a new generation of passionate fans is supporting experimental …

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 11:00AM
Sunday, April 5, 2015

Why Is My Hotel Following Me? (Ah, It’s Big Data) by Douglas McLennan

The hotel I stayed at in San Diego last month has been following me around for weeks. Seriously, it’s getting annoying – a one-night-stand that refuses to recede gracefully into memo…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 04:26PM
Friday, April 3, 2015

Five Philadelphia Theatre Companies Find A New Home by Douglas McLennan

“After 18 years performing at the tiny but storied Adrienne Theater on Sansom Street, InterAct Theatre Company will be picking up its props and sets and leading a group of four other t…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 09:33AM
Thursday, April 2, 2015

Do We Still Need Theatre Critics? by Douglas McLennan

“The American Theatre Critics Association, ATCA, the only national organization of American theatre critics, has been struggling with their criteria for membership. Right now they admi…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 01:19PM

Playwright Wins Copyright Infringement Suit Over “Three’s Company” Parody by Douglas McLennan

“The play is a highly transformative parody of the television series that, although it appropriates a substantial amount of ‘Three’s Company,’ is a drastic departure …

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 12:40PM
Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Wondering If The Show You’re Seeing Uses Union Actors? Here’s How To Find Out by Douglas McLennan

Actors’ Equity has been aiming to educate the consumer and protect its members with an “Ask If It’s Equity” campaign that today expanded to Washington and eight other cities. (It tes…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 09:55AM
Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Canada’s Largest Non-Profit Theatre Balances Its Books As Audiences Shrink by Douglas McLennan

“The Stratford Festival ended its 2014 season in the black – but the latest news on the Ontario theatre festival’s attendance is less black and white.”

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 10:17AM
Friday, March 27, 2015

Carey Perloff: The Big Challenges For American Theatre by Douglas McLennan

She’s disturbed by the way “many large-scale institutional theaters today have become roadhouses to incubate commercial productions headed for Broadway,” alarmed at the …

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 05:57PM
Thursday, March 26, 2015

Cirque du Soleil To Be Sold? by Douglas McLennan

Renée-Claude Ménard, senior director of public relations for the circus, told CBC News the company is searching for a “strategic partner. This is a very long process and [founder and…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 01:25PM
Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Amazon.com To Be London’s Theatre Ticket-Seller by Douglas McLennan

A spokesman for Amazon said that, up until this week, the retailer’s theatre ticket offering had been based around “deals” and discounted tickets. “Although that will…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 03:52PM
Friday, March 20, 2015

Why Are European Theatres Broadcasting But American Theatres Aren’t? by Douglas McLennan

“Yeah, this is embarrassing. And the Broadway ego takes a shellacking every time a list like this gets published. How are we supposed to uphold our reputation as being the biggest and …

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 11:56AM

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