We really don't care about theatre do we?

Maron interviews Annie Baker on WTF this coming Monday.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/30/theater/cheap-broadway-tickets-can-be-a-matter-of-luck-timing-and-apps.html?ribbon-ad-idx=6&rref=theater&module=Ribbon&version=context®ion=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Theater&pgtype=article

http://www.playwrightshorizons.org/shows/plays/hir-epilogue/
this was excellent and i have thoughts

http://pbs.twimg.com/media/CVf4Vl8U8AA2mj_.jpg

the hell

saw lazarus last night. what a strange, expensive looking bit of karaoke sausage.

I take this thread title as a personal indictment of my failure as a reader and a person generally. 2016 marks the 13th year that this thread has wagged its finger at me

i'd argue that separate NYC / London / etc theater threads are necessary but i guess we don't care about theater do we

maybe the problem is you can't really contribute unless you've seen the play...

not that that usually stops the kind of wankers who post here

maybe the problem is not enough people have seen the play to encourage those who haven't seen it to give us their opinion

inspired by ilxor caek doing same, i will be seeing Ivo van Hove's production of A View from the Bridge shortly.

friend saw the Bowie musical, thought it crap.

xp is anybody else gonna see the bowie play? Would love someone else's impressions to bounce off. Can't recommend it by any stretch but some of van Hove's decisions are good and the acting and singing are strong... there's just no play there.

i wouldn't argue with "crap" honestly but it held up for the first 45 minutes. that sad moment when you find yourself paying way too much attention to the architecture and light plot...

also i must go see Bill Irwin & David Shiner do their latest Old Hats duo-clowning off-Broadway, as i have since the late '80s... bcz guys in their 60s doing pratfalls adds suspense!

http://www.signaturetheatre.org/tickets/production.aspx?pid=4307

am going to nyc in a couple of months to see third rail's the grand paradise... it's sort of immersive theatre, dunno if that's the kind of phrase that draws ire around here, but i saw their play "then she fell" last time i was over and it was beautiful.

not solely going to see that i guess, but it's a big draw... think it just opened.

Under the Radar is up and running, need to pick out a few. $25 tickets all the way around
http://publictheater.org/Programs--Events/Under-the-Radar-Festival/

NYT just did a lengthy piece on immersives:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/08/theater/starring-me-a-surreal-dive-into-immersive-theater.html

i think there are prob like two/three companies who do immersive theatre well, besides the odd sporadic one-person show or installation-type show. and they are punchdrunk and third rail.

it is pretty exciting when done well but like any buzzword a lot of shit attaches itself to the name.

punchdrunk do the most amazing stuff, though last time i saw sleep no more in nyc i thought the set had got a bit shabby, i still loved it but it has been going on for ages. they did this weird experience over a few months in london earlier this year, where you played this kind of mahjong iphone app, and bit by bit it revealed a story, and then you started getting phonecalls and invites to little weird immersive experiences that'd flesh the story out further, like a "hairdressing appointment" in which they stole a lock of your hair. or like a call where they use data they've nabbed from the app and intertwine it with the story.

it all ended with this amazing finale in an underground carpark which i would describe but prob couldn't do it justice.

i like the play to be up there and me to be down here, and can't spend $115 to find out if i'm wrong.

prohibitive ticket pricing is the single biggest issue in NYC theater imo and anyone who doesn't think so probably isn't buying their own tickets / doesn't have money issues worth discussing / is a pathological theater nerd

in london even punchdrunk's show, over like 5 floors, was £40 maximum - lots of concession and cheaper tickets around.

if you were organised you could have seen that production of "a view from the bridge" for £10.

i prob wouldn't recommend sleep no more if you're dubious about immersive theatre, it can be hellish and it's too popular. i really would recommend then she fell though - it's quiet, intimate, very calm, good soundtrack. just a really cool experience.

did anyone see The Humans? Eazy?

would have liked to, seats are now $40 to $125

well i splurged on a mezz seat for The Humans, $54 all in

Late reply, Morbs, but missed The Humans. Heard nothing but great things about it, though.

The ad in the NY Times for it is full of raves.

Meanwhile (per an ilm posting of mine)-- I caught outside of DC a remake of the opera Carmen--but turned into an Afro-Cuban musical set in 1959 Cuba with music composed by Arturo O'Farrill, and choreography by Sergio Trujillo (who is a big deal on Broadway). Got tix half-price from Goldstar but still not cheap. Music and dancing was good, alas the main male lead was not, and the spoken and sung lines were not. Jose's switch from loyal Batista soldier to revolutionary and guy in love with Carmen was not believable. Broadway author/director Moisés Kaufman needs to rewrite script and find a better male lead if he wants to take this to the great white way.

for the few of you NYers who do care about theater, here's a bunch of free musicals, spoken word, plays, opera and circus for you this summer:

Theater, Cabaret, Opera and Spoken Word at SummerStage 2016: Chicago’s 20th Anniversary, The Metropolitan Opera Summer Recital Series, Roger Guenveur Smith’s ‘Rodney King’, The Classical Theater of Harlem’s ‘Macbeth’, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Nuyorican Poets Café, Liza Jessie Peterson and LuQuantumleap, Stephanie Batten Bland with Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber and more

Liza Jessie Peterson, LuQuantumleap
June 17 – Friday - 7:00pm – Red Hook Park, Brooklyn – FREE SHOW

Rich Medina, RAAA, Urban Word NYC and Hi-Arts: Journal to Journey, Ziearre
June 19 – Sunday - 4:00pm - Red Hook Park, Brooklyn – FREE SHOW

The Metropolitan Opera Summer Recital
Featuring Angel Blue, Ben Bliss, Alexey Lavrov and pianist Dan Saunders
June 22 – Wednesday - 7:00pm - Central Park, Manhattan – FREE SHOW
June 25 – Saturday - Brooklyn Bridge Park, Brooklyn – FREE SHOW

Nuyorican Poets Café featuring
Mahogany Browne’s Redbone and reg e gaines’ The Last Celebrity
June 24 – Friday - 7:00pm - Betsy Head Park, Brooklyn – FREE SHOW

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah: Stand-Up in the Park
Featuring Ronny Chieng, Jordan Klepper, Adam Lowitt, Desi Lydic,
Hasan Minhaj, Michelle Wolf and Roy Wood Jr.
June 26 – Sunday - 7:00pm - Central Park, Manhattan – FREE SHOW

Nuyorican Poets Café presents Craig muMs Grant’s A Sucker Emcee
July 8 – Friday – 7:00pm – Crotona Park, Bronx – FREE SHOW

The Classical Theatre of Harlem presents Macbeth
July 8 – Friday – 8:00pm – Marcus Garvey Park, Manhattan – FREE SHOW
July 9 – Saturday – 8:00pm – Marcus Garvey Park, Manhattan – FREE SHOW
July 10 – Sunday – 8:00pm – Marcus Garvey Park, Manhattan – FREE SHOW
July 12 – Tuesday – 8:00pm – Marcus Garvey Park, Manhattan – FREE SHOW
July 13 - Wednesday– 8:00pm – Marcus Garvey Park, Manhattan – FREE SHOW
July 14 - Thursday – 8:00pm – Marcus Garvey Park, Manhattan – FREE SHOW
July 15 - Friday – 8:00pm – Marcus Garvey Park, Manhattan – FREE SHOW
July 16 - Saturday – 8:00pm – Marcus Garvey Park, Manhattan – FREE SHOW
July 17 - Sunday – 8:00pm – Marcus Garvey Park, Manhattan – FREE SHOW
July 19 - Tuesday – 8:00pm – Marcus Garvey Park, Manhattan – FREE SHOW
July 20 - Wednesday – 8:00pm – Marcus Garvey Park, Manhattan – FREE SHOW
July 21 - Thursday – 8:00pm – Marcus Garvey Park, Manhattan – FREE SHOW
July 22 - Friday – 8:00pm – Marcus Garvey Park, Manhattan – FREE SHOW
July 23 - Saturday – 8:00pm – Marcus Garvey Park, Manhattan – FREE SHOW
July 24 - Sunday – 8:00pm – Marcus Garvey Park, Manhattan – FREE SHOW
July 26 - Tuesday – 8:00pm – Marcus Garvey Park, Manhattan – FREE SHOW
July 27 - Wednesday– 8:00pm – Marcus Garvey Park, Manhattan – FREE SHOW
July 28 - Thursday – 8:00pm – Marcus Garvey Park, Manhattan – FREE SHOW
July 29 - Friday – 8:00pm – Marcus Garvey Park, Manhattan – FREE SHOW
July 30 - Saturday – 8:00pm – Marcus Garvey Park, Manhattan – FREE SHOW

SummerStage Circus:
Acrobuffos, Rob and Miss Jane, Sxip’s Hour of Charm, It’s Showtime NYC
July 9 – Saturday - 7:00pm – Crotona Park, Bronx – FREE SHOW

The Metropolitan Opera Summer Recital
Featuring Michelle Bradley, Kang Wang and Yunpeng Wang
July 9 – Saturday – 7:00pm – Jackie Robinson Park, Manhattan – FREE SHOW
July 11 – Monday – 7:00pm – Socrates Sculpture Park, Queens – FREE SHOW
July 13 - Wednesday – 7:00pm – Crotona Park, Bronx – FREE SHOW

Flight of the Conchords sing Flight of the Conchords
July 24 – Sunday – 5:00pm – Central Park, Manhattan – PAID SHOW – SOLD OUT

Nuyorican Poets Café featuring
Paulo Javier and Maria Lisella Hosting a Night of Queens Poets
July 29 – Friday – 7:00pm – Queensbridge Park, Queens – FREE SHOW

Stefanie Batten Bland with Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber
Pre-Show Master Class with Karisma Jay
July 30 – Saturday – 7:00pm – Queensbridge Park, Queens – FREE SHOW

Roger Guenveur Smith’s “Rodney King”
August 12 – Friday – East River Park, Manhattan – FREE SHOW

SummerStage Circus:
Kalabanté Circus, Iron Skulls and Quim Moya, Sxip’s Hour of Charm
August 20 – Saturday – 7:00pm – Marcus Garvey Park, Manhattan – FREE SHOW

SummerStage Circus:
Kalabanté Circus, Iron Skulls and Quim Moya, Sxip’s Hour of Charm
August 21 – Sunday – 7:00pm – Marcus Garvey Park, Manhattan – FREE SHOW

Chicago The Broadway Musical: 20th Anniversary Concert
August 31 – Wednesday – 7:00pm – Central Park, Manhattan – FREE SHOW

i saw The Humans and it was... very good. I need more.

Seeing Kiki and Herb soon.

Dark stuff -- this story has been in the works for the past year and a half. The stories emerged around the time of the Ghomeshi scandal, and (instead of protesting or meme-ing the situation) everyone has been very patient waiting for either this media outlet or the police to do something.

http://m.chicagoreader.com/chicago/profiles-theatre-theater-abuse-investigation/Content?oid=22415861

that's a hell of an article, scary stuff.

...and closed:

http://www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2016/06/14/profiles-theatre-closes

damn, that's journalism!

read as much of that horrifying original piece as i could stomach (not much)

Neil LaBute gave them a bunch of U.S./world premiere productions of his scripts, and he's horrified too:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/news/ct-profiles-theatre-chicago-closes-20160615-story.html

Taylor Mac's 24 hour song cycle just went up at $400 a ticket and i really wanna but...

Michael Feingold on O'Neill, his family, Long Day's Journey

http://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/news/notes-on-oneills-ghosts_77359.html

http://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/news/notes-on-oneills-ghosts-part-ii_77413.html

saw faith healer at donmar warehouse last night - it was one of the best things i've seen in london. gina mckee in particular did a 30-minute monologue that was absolutely perfect.

it's sold out but if you call into donmar you can get returns p easily. or there's the barclays front row thing on mondays but i couldn't get anything from that.

i thought it was fantastic too and i did get the front row tickets. in fact i managed it on two consecutive weeks so it's highly possible if you log in before 10am.

did you realise that Frank was played by Stephen Dillane aka Stannis Baratheon? Mind Blown when i googled it afterwards. I thought everyone was fantastic in it. Ron Cook was amazing as Teddy and Gina was great but it was Dillane's mix of intensity and casual dismissal that stole the show for me. I would have liked to have seen a bit more done lighting-wise to differentiate the tone of the monologues but that was a v minor criticism.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/09/12/theater/bears-in-space-review-jack-gleeson.html

Oh look something you could go to see if you wanted

so uh what will be up in London, last week of November?

say, one West End and one smaller thing

or a classic and a gonzo brain-fryer

(pref to things i won't get in NY obviously)

Glenda Jackson as Lear, hmmmm

among the American comedy revivals opening soon in London: Kaufman & Hart's Once in a Lifetime and Murray Schisgal's Luv

I'm going to the king lear of glenda jackson and once in a lifetime in november - considering the children at the royal court which starts in november. have you looked at the national theatre? looking forward to seeing the red barn (david hare george simenon adap starring mark strong) next week which I think continues to the end of november but there may be other good things on then too

i got tickets for the 24 hour taylor after all. gonna be a thing.