AmericanTheaterWeb Top News

LATE DAY ADDITIONS

Playbill

* Pasquale Joins Starry Cast of Little Night Music Concert
* 2008-2009 Tony Management and Administration Committee Members Announced
* "Theater Talk" to Welcome Tony Winner Langella in November

TheaterMania

* Pasquale to Join Baranski, Benanti, Garber, Kudisch, Redgrave, Richardson for Roundabout's Night Music Gala
* Christopher Gattelli to Appear at First Sunday Salon with Valerie Smaldone

See all of the late day clippings

MID-AFTERNOON ADDITIONS

New York Magazine Vulture Blog

Utah Theater Chain Bans ‘Zack and Miri,’ Then Shows ‘Sex Drive’ to Unsuspecting Zac Efron Fans
[sorry I couldn't resist]

New York Times ArtsBeat

'West Side' Revival Meets Its Maria
The full cast has been announced for the forthcoming Broadway revival of "West Side Story."

CinStages Buzz Blog

Game On! Three Degrees now bipartisan -- connect Obama with Playhouse in the Park

Playbill

* Variety U.K. Presents Fiennes with Achievement in Film Honor
* Playbill Radio Will Offer Premiere of "Story So Far" Podcasts About Company, Follies, Sweeney and More
* Cavenaugh, Scaglione, Olivo, Green and Akram to Lead Cast of West Side Story Revival

TheaterMania

* Mike Nichols and David Mamet to Collaborate on High and Low
* Cavenaugh, Green, Olivo, Scaglione, et al. Set for West Side Story
* Director Milton Katselas Dies at 75
* Katigbak and Machado to Star in NAATCO Revival of Williams' Out Cry

The Globe and Mail - Theatre

Robert Lepage's Lipsynch is coming to Luminato in June
Not exactly a big surprise - we knew Lepage's nine-hour epic was co-commissioned by Toronto's "festival of arts and creativity" (as opposed to those other festivals of the uncreative arts) and would make it to town at some point; we were just waiting for the official announcement. Anyway, The Star confirms - Follow link to read full post

Parabasis

Shakespeare Moratorium?
Let me just say that I think a Shakespeare Moratorium is pretty stupid, although I do think that people should do Shakespeare when they're jazzed about it and not just for scuzz, as it's pretty hard to get right.

The Producer's Perspective

The economic climate puts a spotlight on the "non-profits."
Ooohhhh, it's getting nippy out there now. ... Skirmishes between the non-profit vs. profit producers started last year, as cries of "Not fair! Not fair!" were heard from many profiteers who raged that ...

The Rob Kozlowski Chicago Theater and Vintage Film Medicine Show

Scandal!
I've never seen Chris Jones so upset. He demands...DEMANDS to know...So who, or what, pulled the plug on Forbidden Broadway? Unfortunately, I've never seen Forbidden Broadway, but I've heard nothing ....

The Wicked Stage

The Talented Mr. Mills
There's no question that Peter Mills know how to put together the elements of a musical about as well as anyone working today. I just wish I liked the sum of those parts a bit more. ...

First To Zero
Time Out delivers its first zero-star theater review to...John Patrick Shanley and Henry Krieger's Romantic Poetry. Come on, Adam-- ....

The Guardian Performing Arts Blog

Dawn Walton: Stop trying to define black theatre
It's time to stop worrying about restrictive definitions. Black theatre, in all its forms, can challenge and excite any audience

London Theatre Guide

The Big Interview: Peter Polycarpou
With numerous successful musicals under his belt, actor Peter Polycarpou could be a good omen for new show Imagine This, writes Caroline Bishop, if only he remains in one piece.

See all of the mid-afternoon clippings

MID-MORNING ADDITIONS

Playbill

* Davis, Rhoads, Knoll and More Cast in 42nd Street Moon's Ben Franklin in Paris
* Tom Beckett to Play 30 Roles in Barrington's Holiday Offering This Wonderful Life

TheaterMania

* Rita Moreno to Bring Little Tributes to Rrazz Room

Broadway.com

Feature: Halloween Treat: A How-To Guide to Broadway-Themed Costumes

An Angry White Guy in Chicago

I Believe...
...that any artistic director who picks a script to produce based primarily for it's marketability should be forced to watch an endless stream of Legally Blonde: The Musical while having screaming thirteen year old girls jam American Girl Dolls and pictures of Zach Efron up his ass until he begs for mercy and tells where all the al Queda cells are and what the Colonel's Secret Recipe is (I think it's Lawry's Seasoning Salt).

The Clyde Fitch Report

Jack Zink, Theatre Critic, Dies at 61
I received this today from Chris Rawson of the American Theatre Critics Association. It was reported on back in August but I thought the recollections were especially poignant.

The Stage UK Blogs

Mark Shenton: Spotted at the theatre….
Of course it’s no surprise to see theatre critics at the theatre: it’s where you’ll find us most nights. And of course, thanks to the way the press night system works, we’re mostly there together on the same night...

The Guardian Performing Arts Blog

Charlotte Higgins: The case of the missing women playwrights
Female dramatists in New York are protesting against their low exposure in theatres. Should women in Britain be doing the same?

Whatsonstage.com

Maria Friedman Is Rearranged Again in West EndMaria Friedman will bring her latest acclaimed concert show Maria Friedman: Rearranged to the West End’s Trafalgar Studios for 25 per...

London Theatre Guide

Well-lit Bush catches Crabs
West London new writing theatre the Bush, back to normal following its brief interlude without lighting, will stage Joel Horwood’s I Caught Crabs In Walberswick from 11 November to 6 December (press night 13 November).

See all of the mid-morning clippings

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THE DAY'S FIRST TOP STORIES

AmericanTheaterWeb

Digest - Shanley, Krieger Musical Romantic Poetry opens - read the reviews
* Review - Searching for Love, As Always, Is Difficult

New York Post

Riedel: No 'Doubt' of success
Streep, Hoffman bring B'way drama to screen

Village Voice

Dixon Place's Long Road to a Fancy New Home by Sharyn Jackson

Bloomberg.com

West End Show Closures, Gloom Don't Mean Theatrical Doom: Warwick Thompson
In a skit about the end of the world, comedian Peter Cook reveals to Dudley Moore that Armageddon is due in 15 seconds. They duly count down. Silence.

USA Today

First look: Virtue, vice are both in Meryl Streep's 'Doubt'; video

Playbill

* Irena's Vow Extends Through Nov. 25
* Cerveris and Sparks Will Be the Men in Hedda's Broadway Life in 2009
* "Gilmore Girls" Star Graham Cast in Guys and Dolls Revival

TheaterMania

Peter Filichia's Diary: A Chat with Campbell Scott

* Cotton, Kraft, Walton, et al. Join Brad Oscar in Asolo Rep's Barnum

Broadway.com

Backstory: Where there's a will, there's Estate playwright Horton Foote

The Clyde Fitch Report

Irondale Ensemble to Participate in Abolitionist Project

Pollyanna Sings Showtunes While the Death of Arts Journalism Nears?

The Wicked Stage

Monitor This
The Christian Science Monitor, a venerable national daily, will move its operations exclusively online next April. I think it's only a matter of time before the rest of the newsprint-and-paper

Chicago Tribune Theater Loop Blog

So who, or what, pulled the plug on Forbidden Broadway?
So is Chicago's "Forbidden Broadway: Dances with the Stars" the first casualty of the recession? The show is closing on Sunday after a run of only about three weeks, even though it was slated to be here at least through...

Theatre in Chicago

Jeff Awards Exhibit Celebrates Four Decades of Chicago Theatre
As part of its 40th Anniversary Celebration, the Jeff Awards Committee is presenting an exhibition Celebrating Four Decades of Chicago Theatre...

Chicago Sun-Times

Steppenwolf series makes intriguing changes
The best way to see one of Steppenwolf Theatre's Young Adults productions is to arrive at 10 a.m. on a weekday morning and join one of the audiences packed with the high school classes for which the shows have been designed.

Minneapolis Star-Tribune

Fearful Minnesota arts groups hope for tax windfall
If the Legacy Amendment passes, it could triple the arts budget. But that's not how to do business, critics say.

CinStages Buzz Blog

Let's play: Three Degrees of Separation, John McCain to Playhouse in the Park

The Independent

Child prostitution: suitable material for a musical?

The Guardian

Miami Voice
Tarell Alvin McCraney has known heartache, so why are his plays so uplifiting? He talks to Maddy Costa

The Guardian Performing Arts Blog

Chris Wilkinson: Noises off: The politics of theatre
This week, stage blogs are debating the shortage of right-wing theatre in America and asking whether Egypt's experimental festival is truly free

See all of the day's clippings