The Public Theater at 50Last Thursday, The Public Theater in New York announced exciting details of its 2006-07 season that includes its original touchstone -- Shakespeare -- along with new works by some of the most exciting playwrights of our time, including Neil LaBute, Suzan-Lori Parks and my personal favorite, Craig Lucas. With superb acting talent featuring Kevin Kline, Brian Dennehy, Ed Harris and the previously announced Philip Seymour Hoffman (LABrynth's
Jack Goes Boating), it's clear that The Public is kicking off its 51st year in style.
Currently home to the acclaimed production
Stuff Happens, The Public Theater was founded 50 years ago as the Shakespeare Workshop by Joseph Papp, who also started the renowned New York Shakespeare Festival in 1954. Thanks to his magnificent vision, New Yorkers from all walks of life have been able to enjoy free stagings of Shakespeare in Central Park -- a tradition that continues to this day. As a lasting legacy to Papp, today's The Public Theater "continues to be dedicated to achieving artistic excellence and developing an American theatre that is accessible and relevant to all people."
Productions from The Public Theater have collectively won 38 Tony Awards, 135 Obies, 37 Drama Desk Awards, 18 Lucille Lortel Awards and 4 Pulitzer Prizes. The Public was the launching pad for 49 Broadway shows including such critically-acclaimed hits as
That Championship Season,
A Chorus Line,
The Pirates of Penzance,
Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk,
Topdog/Underdog,
Elaine Stritch at Liberty,
Take Me Out and
Caroline, Or Change.
First up this fall will be Kevin Kline in a yet-to-be-announced Shakepeare play directed by the venerable James Lapine. There is already much speculation over which of The Bard's classics will be mined by Kline and Lapine (Kline has previously appeared at The Public in such productions as
Richard III,
Much Ado About Nothing,
Henry V, and two version of
Hamlet).
Liev Schreiber and Meryl Streep each will perform this summer as part of The Public's Shakespeare in the Park productions, while Brian Dennehy will make his debut next summer in the revered program.
Among the other offerings:
- Wrecks by Neil LaBute with Ed Harris (U.S. premiere) in October, 2006
- Durango by Julia Cho (World premiere) in November, 2006
- Emergence-SEE! by Daniel Beaty (New York premiere) in November, 2006
- Passing Strange by Stew in collaboration with Heidi Rodewald (World premiere) in January, 2007
- The Singing Forest by Craig Lucas (New York premiere) in Spring, 2007
- 365 Days / 365 Plays by Suzan-Lori Parks (New York premiere)
This would be an exceptional year to venture Off-Broadway and downtown -- or to Central Park -- for The Public Theater's offerings.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for ticket information.
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Casting Call (Week Ending May 21, 2006) (May 21, 2006)
Labels: Anniversary, Craig Lucas, Liev Schreiber, Meryl Streep, Off-Broadway, Public Theater, Stuff Happens
Were Tony's Greatest Would-Be Contenders Off-Broadway?In a thoughtful, yet provocative story in this morning's
The New York Times,
Ben Brantley and Charles Isherwood opine that some of the best of New York's theatre during the 2005-06 season were found Off-Broadway -- firmly out of the technical grasp of the Tony Awards. Together, they cite such productions as Horton Foote's
The Trip to Bountiful and the musical
Grey Gardens (which
will see a Broadway mounting during the next year) as prime examples of shows that would have merited multiple Tony nods if only the American Theatre Wing's rules allowed for theatres with smaller capacities to be included for consideration.
Brantley and Isherwood also sang the praises of such outstanding plays as
Abigail's Party,
All's Well That Ends Well,
Defiance,
In The Continuum,
Landscape of the Body,
Private Fears In Public Places,
Red Light Winter,
Stuff Happens,
The Little Dog Laughed and
Third; while taking note of the musical
"[title of show]". Naturally, many of the shows simply don't transfer to the larger Broadway stage because of the almighty dollar and fears over lack of wider commercial success. Sadly, these productions often have some of the best talent, both on-stage and off.
Frankly, I agree with their assessment. This was a less than satisfying Broadway season. All but one of my 10 "SOB Best of 2005-06 Theatrical Season" selections were produced outside the confines of Broadway (
Sweeney Todd was my only Broadway choice to make my top ten)
. Eight of my picks were outside of New York altogether.
Will the tide turn? It's not likely anytime soon, and that's why I usually try to balance my trips to Broadway with sidetrips Off-Broadways. Hopefully, if you love good theatre, so do you.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for Tony Awards tickets.
Related Stories:The Tonys: If I Could Vote....for Best Revival of a Play (June 5, 2006)
The Tonys: If I Could Vote....for Best Revival of a Musical (June 4, 2006)
The Tonys: If I Could Vote....for Best Play (June 3, 2006)
The Tonys: If I Could Vote...for Best Musical (May 31, 2006)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #1 - Theater Of The New Ear (Royce Hall, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA) (May 30, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #2 – Guys And Dolls (Piccadilly Theatre, London, UK) (May 26, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #3 – Hedda Gabler (Brooklyn Academy of Music – Harvey Theatre, New York, NY) (May 25, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #4 – A Blameless Life (Steppenwolf Garage, Chicago, IL) (May 24, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #5 – Reeling (The Children’s Theatre Company, Minneapolis, MN) (May 23, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #6 – “MASTER HAROLD”…And The Boys (Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago, IL) (May 21, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #7 – Love Song (Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago, IL) (May 19, 2006)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #8 - Billy Elliot The Musical (Victoria Palace Theatre, London, UK) (May 18, 2006)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #9 - The Well-Appointed Room (Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago, IL) (May 17, 2006)
Tony Award Nominations Announced (May 16, 2006)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #10 - Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Eugene O'Neill Theatre, New York, NY) (May 15, 2006)
The SOB Five "Worst" of 2005-06 (May 12, 2006)
SOB's Best and Worst of 2005-06 Theatre Season (May 12, 2006)
Labels: [title of show], Ben Brantley, Broadway, Charles Isherwood, Grey Gardens, Off-Broadway, Stuff Happens, Sweeney Todd, The Little Dog Laughed, The Trip To Bountiful, Tony Nominations
Encore: Spotlight Week Ending April 30While I’ve spent considerable time – perhaps too much -- this past week focusing on the two Broadway musicals that received mixed to negative reviews, my underreported story of the past week is the rousing success enjoyed by British import
The History Boys. In fact, I didn’t report on it at all, but really should have.
Alan Bennett’s hit is the likely front-runner for this year’s Best Play Tony. For me, the show would be worth the price of admission just to see the talented Frances de la Tour perform live; de la Tour is primarily known to American audiences for her role as Madame Olympe Maxime in the latest big screen incarnation of Harry Potter. Personally, I loved her fine understated performance in “Love Actually,” which was completely edited out (fortunately, it still lives on DVD among the deleted scene selections).
The History Boys also marks yet another milestone along the already shining track record for director Nicholas Hytner, who helmed everything from
Miss Saigon in the 80s to
Jumpers two years ago.
Rent celebrated its tenth anniversary on Broadway this past week with a star-studded concert that featured its original cast. Among them was Idina Menzel, who will be returning to her Tony Award-winning green roots to once again play Elphaba as
Wicked shoots for a September opening on London’s West End. Also heading to London will be
Spamalot’s Christopher Sieber, who will reprise his role as Sir Galahad (and others) along with Tim Curry, who will once again play King Arthur.
Off Broadway, the critically-acclaimed
Stuff Happens – which had previously sold out at the Public Theater – has extended again, this time to June 25. The historical drama centers on the Bush Administration’s decision to go to war in Iraq.
Perhaps the most exciting news of the past week is that four-time Tony winner Angela Lansbury may be ready to tread the boards once again on Broadway. When contemplation turns to reality, you can bet that I’ll be reporting on it.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:Flashback: Best of 2003-04 (May 25, 2006)
Approaching One Year, Chicago's Wicked Continues to Captivate (May 23, 2006)
Wicked's West End Witches Update (May 17, 2006)
Tony Award Nominations Announced (May 16, 2006)
Broadway Season Nears Finale (April 30, 2006)
Labels: Angela Lansbury, Broadway, Play, Rent, Stuff Happens, The History Boys, Wicked
