THEATRE

Adjusted For Inflation, Ticket Prices In London’s West End Have Actually Fallen Since Pandemic

“In the West End, average ticket prices rose by a nominal 0.92 per cent over the last year. When measured against the annual UK inflation rate of 3.4 per cent, this represents a real-terms price drop of 2.5% for consumers. Compared to 2019, this real-term drop extends to 8.9%.” - WhatsOnStage (UK)

Was The Off-Broadway Production Of “Titanique” Defrauded By Its Own General Manager?

That’s the allegation in a lawsuit filed by the production company (called Iceberg Ahead LLC) in Virginia against former general manager Carl Flanigan. In March the company won a $4.3 million default judgment against Flanigan, who never responded to the suit. - Broadway Journal

The Tony Effect: Broadway Shows That Are Thriving After The Noms

Death of a Salesman, which received nine Tony nominations, hit $1.7 million, its highest gross yet, last week playing to 100 percent capacity at the Winter Garden Theatre. Ragtime has similarly been drawing increased interest since the Tony nominations, bringing in $1.2 million last week. - The Hollywood Reporter

Much-Anticipated “Beaches” To Close On Broadway After Tony Shutout

The show began previews at the Majestic Theatre March 27, ahead of an April 22 opening date, but has failed to catch on with audiences and with critics, who delivered mixed to negative reviews.  - The Hollywood Reporter

Pittsburgh’s Theater Scene Faces Loss Of Its Resident Talent

With the merger of the city’s two largest stage companies and the programming of inexpensive-to-produce small-cast shows, Pittsburgh's gig market for theater artists is shrinking. There may not be fewer shows, but the bigger ones are tours or imports. So there’s a real fear that talented theatermakers will move away. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“Death Becomes Her” Sets Broadway Closing Date, North American Tour

The musical, which garnered good reviews and 10 Tony nominations but only one actual Tony, will close June 28 after a 20-month run which didn’t recoup its initial investment. A multi-year tour will begin in September in Cleveland. - Variety

Twin Cities’ Midsize Theater Companies Are Genuinely Worried About Surviving

“Here, midsize theater companies help anchor the scene and bridge the gap between big playhouses such as the Guthrie and Children’s theaters and smaller companies. But as corporate, civic and private funding has dried up or shifted to other areas, they are feeling the heat.” - The Minnesota Star Tribune (MSN)

Why Schmigadoon’s Music Sounds At Once Fresh And So Very Familiar

“Every number is a homage to at least one classic musical, and often two or three. Here, the hills are alive with the sound of pastiche; the plains and the valleys too.” - The New York Times

What Will Win At The Tonys, And What Should Win

At least, according to The New York Times’s Helen Shaw. For instance: “When I think about the sheer old-fashioned ebullience of Cinco Paul’s Schmigadoon! — its compositional invention and depth of talent — I find myself hoping the voters will give it the laurel.” - The New York Times

Taking Broadway On The Road, But In Baseball

This Tony-nominated actor is finding more theatrical work - and, let’s face it, likely better pay - as a member of the Savannah Bananas, playing a relief pitcher who comes on dressed as, and singing, the Phantom of the Opera. - The New York Times

A Playwright Turns Movie Director

Aleshea Harris: "It felt natural and inevitable because I am a very particular playwright. … I already have strong ideas and impulses about not just writing the thing, but helping people to understand.”  - The New York Times

How Some Of Broadway’s Biggest Stars This Season Get Themselves Into Character

Daniel Radcliffe, Every Brilliant Thing: “My ideal version is that the play starts without you noticing.” Ana Gasteyer, Schmigadoon!: “People from my particular background, which is Saturday Night Live, which is sketch, work very quickly. There is no process.” - The New York Times

Have A Look Inside The New Home Of Chicago’s TimeLine Theatre

“It’s a $46 million project built within the shell of a historic storage warehouse that was built by the W.C. Reebie and Brother Company in the 1910s, and the big vertical sign is easily visible to anyone traveling past.” - Chicago Tribune (Yahoo!)

A New Raft Of Plays With Invented Dialogue Depicting Real People And Events

“Drama has historically been considered a form of fiction or poetry. Yet as recent plays approach the feeling of reportage, what’s surprising isn’t that so many fail to convince but that several succeed, in the process inventing a new style befitting our time.” - T — The New York Times Style Magazine

Chicago’s Theater Awards, The Jeffs, “Pause” Consideration Of All Non-Equity Shows

The Joseph Jefferson Awards present two sets of honors, one for Equity productions and another for non-union shows at the area’s storefront theaters. The Jeff Committee is suspending consideration of non-Equity shows opening after June 1 due to backlash over an award in March to a director accused of abuse. - WBEZ (Chicago)

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