“Immoral, Anti-Family, and Inappropriate”

A musical based on letting go of social misconceptions by spreading love, while being educated about the real risks related to sex and drugs, RENT defined an era on Broadway and beyond. After closing on Broadway the producers of RENT allowed a high school version of the show to be released. In the high school version of the show language has been toned down along with same sex interaction.

The Responsibility Project reports that RENT is having some trouble in schools around the United States. Local school officials feel that RENT may be too graphic for high school aged audiences. One principal said he did not like the gay characters (which was later denied).

In Rowlett, Texas some locals call RENT “immoral, anti-family, and inappropriate.”  Funny how in New York some would say those in Rowlett are immoral for having inappropriate [closed minded] families. Nevertheless, it just goes to shows the division in the arts, giving another definition to red states and blue states.

From the Red Carpet & After Party

Another Broadway opening last night. Broadway Magazine and Broadway.tv were there to interview the stars on the red carpet and the cast at the after party. Who was the person stars on the red carpet were looking forward most to seeing? How did Tovah Feldshuh who stars in the play get involved with the production? Click here to watch the interviews and find out.

Do Critics Have Faith In Irena’s Vow?

Last night Irea’sVow opened on Broadway. Starring Tovah Feldshuh who plays Irena But Opdyke who stowed 12 Jewish workers during the Holocaust. Today, critics voice their opinions of Irea’s Vow. Critics seemed to all agree that Tovah Feldshuh’s performance was high level, but her talent was underused. Click here to read the full list of reviews from critics.

  Great Designers For The Stage Celebrated

BROADWAY MAGAZINE – Marc Chagall did it. The MOMA respects it. You should visit it! In the sea of things to see in New York City, we hope that you will take a few hours to stop by The Museum of Modern Art and catch the drawing exhibit Stage Pictures: Drawing For Performance. With a combination of works from Fernand Léger, Edmond Jones, Robert Wilson, David Hockney, Marc Chagall, Jim Dine, Diego Rivera, Lincoln Kristein and many more, it is a must-see. The exhibition is on the third floor. Though it may not be grand in scale, it is significant. We’ve long felt that designers for the theatre deserve a greater place in the archives of the world’s museums. As the MOMA catalogue state “These works demonstrate how artists have used drawing strategies to, as one critic put it, “anticipate an event”: interpreting texts to create dramatic mises-en-scène, imagining bodies in space and motion, and manipulating illumination and shadow.”

If you want to catch the work of an innovative designer in action check out the mix of charming whimsy and meticulous detail in the Rock N Roll Oz design of Beowulf Boritt’s set for Broadway’s Rock Of Ages. For those who can’t make it to MOMA, check out the video and images from this interesting on-line exhibit of great designers. Image is Raoul Pène Du Bois set for Wonderful Town in 1953 from the Ohio Channel exhibit not from the MOMA exhibit.

Rock N Roll Circus With Spider-Man

BROADWAY MAGAZINE – As is to be expected, Michael Reidel of the New York Post has uncovered more details about the upcoming mega-musical Spider-Man with music by Bono and The Edge of U2, and direction by Julie Taymor. Mr. Riedel attended a sneak preview of the show intended for ticket brokers and others in the tickets business. In an article entitled “SPIDEY SENSES TINGLING,” Riedel reveals bits and pieces that will feed the curious with a desire to know more about what this production will ultimately look like.

Describing the show as a “$40 million theatrical extravaganza that features gigantic, perspective-skewing sets, 3-D projections, more aerial acrobatics than Cirque du Soleil, a cast of heroes and villains from Marvel comic books,” Riedel says that Julie Taymor “warned” theater insiders to avoid using the word “musical” to describe the show,preferring instead that it be described as a “circus rock-n-roll drama.”

Circus rock-n-roll drama…like the Bob Dylan and Twyla Tharp Broadway circus rock-n-roll drama The Times They Are A-Changin’.

Included in the new production of Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark is a character called Swiss Miss, who has an arsenal of imaginative weaponry including a costume with “consists of rotating knives and swirling corkscrews,” according to the article. It is still unclear if Swiss Miss has the power to spray Spider-Man with hot chocolate.

For the final product, Broadway, U2, and comic book fans will have to wait until January when the show opens at the Hilton Theatre. Ms. Taymor has always had the capacity to achieve the impossible, but if she is able to get the world to call the new Spider-Man musical a Circus Rock-N-Roll Drama, that would be amazing. For those looking for Taymor fix before January. Check out The Lion King again. Photo by Joan Marcus.

Hit BroadwayMusical In 3 Dimensions?

BROADWAY MAGAZINE –As we mentioned last year, we fully expect that the new WICKED musical should be in 3-D, bringing a Wizard of Oz wholeness to this kid-from-Kansas story. Remember the film version of Wizard of Oz ushering in the glories of Technicolor? Well, the quest for a 3-D Wicked musical just got more steam as recent industry leaders like Shrek and DreamWorks visionary Jeffrey Katzenberg and Titanic’s James Cameron adopting the state-of-the-art technology in a full on embrace. Does this mean a 3-D Wicked is a lock? Of course not, but we continue to hope. Of course, you call always see it live on Broadway, and we actually prefer that to 3-D…though 3-D is something to love.

Remember, Catherine Zeta-Jones is doing a 3-D rock musical of Cleopatra…so Wicked may not be the first big musical in 3-D, but it still would make a mark. After all, the Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus have already paved the way. Perhaps producers of the 3-D musical of WICKED will even cast American Idol favorite Adam Lambert, after all he knows the live version of the show already. Oh wait, Adam Lambert is going to star in Broadway’s Spider-Man Musical, right?

Hmmm. There are only two people who can solve this Broadway Musical American Idol dilemma: Clay Aiken and Taylor Hicks. Come on men, your Broadway needs you!

Dissenting Critic For Revival

BROADWAY MAGAZINE – The new revival of West Side Story has been riding a wave of mostly positive reviews and completely positive box-office results to become a favorite for the Broadway award season. However, TIME theatre critic Richard Zoglin could be the first critic to suggest that this emperor has no clothes…or at least this incarnation of the revival.

In an article entitled “Is West Side Story Overrated?” Zoglin articulates in detail his specific problems with the current revival, writing that ” the story is what seems least compelling. Partly this is due to the competent but bland cast… a cast of gang members who didn’t look like they stepped out of a Chorus Line audition might help… I do want a love story with at least a hint of conviction, plausibility or sexual heat. The attraction of Maria and Tony is barely motivated to begin with; with two charisma-deficient stars in the roles, it left me cold.”

Zoglin has high praise for Karen Olivio and the dancing in the production. Also, at the end of his critique of the revival, he concludes that it is still worth seeing, but notes that “unlike some other recent Broadway comebacks (the revival of Hair, for example), I didn’t come away feeling that a great show had had its place in Broadway history triumphantly renewed. I left the theater with the gnawing sense that a revered Broadway classic may have seen better days.”

Raising Sprits

BROADWAY MAGAZINE – With the success of Exit The King and Blithe Spirit (our review here), it interesting to note that one of the current themes emerging from the always eclectic Broadway landscape is our capacity to laugh at death. Dark comedy is not to be taken lightly, pun contritely intended. The extreme artistry involved in raising the dead and dying to a humorous height is gift rarely pulled off. While Broadway’s hummocky comedy God of Carnage attempt to mine Tragedy for Comedy, it feels a bit heavy on the T and light on the C in performance. Even Beckett’s upcoming existential gem Waiting For Godot never directly gets to final moments of life, though Vladimir does caution that “we give birth astride a grave.” Dying, but not dead, Mr. Beckett.

No, that undiscovered country of Death is mined for comic gold by the hands of Noel Coward and Eugene Ionesco. Their success in allowing us the courage to laugh in the face of the inevitable is a collective achievement of each of their respective Broadway production’s cast, crew, and director. It is difficult to name many plays that so directly confront death with a grin. Arsenic and Old Lace, of course. Surely some others, but not many. That two are playing together on Broadway is coincidence. That both shows are playing limited runs is divine irony.

Red Carpet and After Party Interviews

We were on the red carpet and at the after party for Exit the King which opened on Broadway last night with great reviews. Speaking with Geoffrey Rush and Susan Sarandon was very existing. This is Rush’s Broadway debut and Sarandon’s return to Broadway after over 30 years. Click here to read more and to watch the opening night interviews.

 The Perfect Title For A Mamet Play?

BROADWAY MAGAZINE—News this week that David Mamet will direct his show RACE on Broadway next season. RACE. Could there be a more ideal David Mamet title? It is short, direct, layered with meaning, and provocative. While we’ll have to wait until November to meet the play, we’d like to congratulate David Mamet on a perfect title. No wonder he wants to direct it. Rehearsals start October 26. According to the release, the play will open on Thursday, December 10th at a Shubert theater to be announced. We guess it will be one of the theatres with seats. Photo from the revival of Speed-The-Plow.