From Now On, I'll Just Sit On My HandsVery illuminating story on what may be the ultimate in theatre etiquette in this morning's issue of
The New York Times by Zachary Pincus-Roth. I'm guilty as charged.
To all those performers whose entrances I've been thrilled to see to the point when I applauded you, I'm sorry. I'm very, very sorry.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Theatre, Theatre Discussions, Theatre Etiquette
SOB's Best & Worst Of 2006-07 Theatre SeasonWhile Broadway's 2006-07 theatre season technically ended last week with the opening of
110 In The Shade, tomorrow's much-anticipated Tony Award nominations ostensibly keep the season alive. And the stunning June 10 climax of who'll take home the
American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards medallions -- named for actress, director and producer
Antoinette Perry -- really provides the appropriate capper for an equally stunning year in theatre.
As
I noted a year ago Saturday, shortly after beginning Steve On Broadway (SOB), I’ve never known exactly why theatre seasons throughout the United States typically end in late spring/early summer, although it may have something to do with the American propensity for finally getting outside to enjoy the warmer summer months than be cooped up in some theatre.
But whatever the reason, as this current season winds down and major productions for the upcoming year are being announced, it gives writers like me the opportunity to talk about the past year in review. And just as I offered my
SOB's Best & Worst of 2005-06, today marks the day that I'm launching my annual rundown of the shows and performances I enjoyed the most -- not just on Broadway, but throughout my travels stretching from Sydney to London.
During the 2006-07 Theatrical Season, I’ve had an opportunity to see 77 productions. Not only did I see plays and musicals on Broadway, as well as in the aforementioned Sydney and London, but there were stops along the way in such places as Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, San Diego, Washington DC and Westport CT.
Since my theatregoing ways have more to do with selecting shows that I think I'll actually like than simply seeing everything, I'm pleased to note that I enjoyed most of what I saw. And even if there were some that I notoriously panned, I always tried to find at least something positive to say about them.
In the run-up to the 2007 Tony Awards, I’ll be writing about my choices for the best and worst of the season, not just from New York, but from wherever my travels took me. Whether or not you agree, I cordially invite you to offer your feedback on each selection and tell me why you wholeheartedly agree or think I'm all wet.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories: Labels: Broadway, London, Musical, Play, SOB's Best of 2005-06, SOB's Best of 2006-07, Theatre, Theatre Discussions, Tony Awards, Tony Nominations
A Great Game Of Simon SaysIn celebrating its first season in its new home, Minneapolis'
Guthrie Theater is conducting an engaging series of conversations with renowned playwrights, kicking off with the prolific
Neil Simon yesterday.
Simon's award-winning
Lost In Yonkers is currently performing at the Guthrie. During yesterday's "Conversation with Neil Simon," the great playwright told Guthrie Artistic Director
Joe Dowling that he had enjoyed a performance on Saturday and praised the ensemble.
Simon said that he still uses a good old-fashioned typewriter to bring his stories to life after writing first drafts longhand. Much of what he writes is based in part on his own experiences or of those he knows (
The Odd Couple was based in part on his brother and his roommate). He had high praise for venerable director
Mike Nichols, saying he himself never had any desire to direct. And while he still sees virtually every show that plays on Broadway, today's writers seem to write from a different place ("a place of anger") than what he has. But the 79 year old writer also revealed that he's busy working on a new script for a play called, "Where's My Papa," based on a sojourn to Long Island during his youth when he was taken to watch for his own father coming out of a home where he had supposedly been having a tryst.
The packed house was highly appreciative of every nugget Simon offered. After all, he is arguably America's greatest living playwright with an amazing career spanning more than fifty years, starting in the early 50s with television's "
Your Show Of Shows."
Simon's Broadway entrée came 51 years ago with a musical revue show called
Catch A Star for which he and his brother Danny wrote the sketches. After writing a sketch called "Madame Interpreter" for
New Faces Of 1956, it was another five years before Simon struck real gold on the Great White Way. But what a gilded treat it was in
Come Blow Your Horn, which played 677 performances at the
Brooks Atkinson Theatre.
Since 1961, Simon has written 24 more Broadway plays along with the libretto for five musicals. Along the way, he has earned 17 Tony nominations, winning 3 times -- for The Odd Couple
(1965),
Biloxi Blues (1985) and
Lost In Yonkers (1991), for which he also won the Pulitzer Prize.
This coming Sunday, Simon's enormous contributions to the
American conversation will earn him the ninth annual
Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center. It will mark the second time for the estimable playwright to be honored there -- he also was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors in 1995. In announcing Simon's selection, Kennedy Center Chairman Steven A. Schwarzman said, "Neil Simon, like Mark Twain, has a unique way of exposing the American spirit by drawing on experiences in his own life and creating insightful and touching portraits of the world around him."
With an opportunity to celebrate the gift of word that Simon has given American audiences, I was thrilled to be in his presence yesterday. Congratulations on your latest, well-deserved honor, Mr. Simon!
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for Lost In Yonkers tickets.Click here for Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize tickets.Related Stories:Lost In Yonkers (The SOB Review) - Wurtele Thrust Stage, Guthrie, Minneapolis, MN (October 5, 2006)
Guthrie's Lost In Yonkers Opens Tonight (September 29, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Guthrie, Lost In Yonkers, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Neil Simon, Theatre Discussions
Zimbalist Insults Her Audience
Immediately after the performance of
Tea At Five I saw last evening, playwright Matthew Lombardo and actress
Stephanie Zimbalist participated in what was billed as a post-show “talk back” session hosted by Minneapolis
Star Tribune theatre critic Rohan Preston. It’s safe to say that nearly one third of the audience in the smallish McKnight Theatre stayed for their opportunity to talk about the show. Preston and Lombardo amiably discussed the thoughtful evolution of the play while Zimbalist herself was evolving back to that
lovable actress we all
know and
adore. Right!
Once Zimbalist came back to the stage, she announced that hers was not the only role in the show -- that the audience is the other player. She proceeded to berate the audience saying they were an “oil painting” -- essentially an object that wouldn’t or couldn’t respond to her thespian craft. She then went into a rather boring stemwinder on how she never bothered to see a Katharine Hepburn movie until rather recently, but learned in past weeks that she was related to the great actress.
I’m sorry, Ms. Zimbalist, but you should have realized that with such a sizable portion of your audience remaining for a Q&A that it meant that they did appreciate your wonderful portrayal of this great actress. And you should have allowed for more of them to ask you questions. Yet you chose to insult and demean them to their face. Even more so, you demeaned Katharine Hepburn and yourself. As outstanding as your overall portrayal of this iconic actress may have been, Ms. Zimbalist, perhaps now we know why you’ll never be as great as Katharine Hepburn.
If I were rating this supposed talk-back session, it would have merited no more than one star (despite the best efforts of Preston and Lombardo). Thanks for ruining a perfectly nice evening, Ms. Zimbalist.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.
Labels: Minneapolis/St. Paul, Play, Stephanie Zimbalist, Tea At Five, Theatre Discussions
Critics: Sharpen Your Pencils!Starting a new blog -- my very first -- is more than a little daunting. But I'm relying on old friends, and complete strangers, to keep me honest in my assessments. I'm looking for real dialogue with those of you who enjoy the entire theatrical experience as much as I do. So regardless of what you think of this site, I invite you to post your comments.
While I'm known to be a bit of an SOB (thus
Steve On Broadway), this site has a few simple ground rules. First, we don't need to be vulgar to make our points. Instead, we'll engage in polite discourse on a topic -- theatre -- on which we're unmistakably passionate. We may not like a particular actor, actress, playwright, composer or director, but we'll not take the low road with our comments. Instead, we'll engage in true critical analysis that aims to be thought-provoking and stimulating.
So go ahead, post your comments and let the critical analysis begin!
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Broadway, Critics' Capsule, Musical, Play, Steve On Broadway, Theatre Discussions
