OCTOBER 2000 ----------------------------In this issue------------------------------------------ Voices in Contemporary Theatre: Mary Lathrop looks at Life on the Fringe The Play's the Thing: Caprice Woosley is back and she's brought a friend. Life in the Theatre: Willis Whyte: "Payback is a Bitch" Letter from London: Laurence Gibson looks in on London's hype-monster Notre-Dame de Paris Rubin's Corner: Robert Rubin reports on Broadway's coming attractions and visits last season's hit Contact! CyberTheatre Monthly: From Tom Stoppard to Hamlet, this Month's links from Barnes & Noble speak for themselves. Enter Laughing: A really healthy way to take rejection ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ VOICES IN CONTEMPORARY THEATRE On the Fringe It's five o'clock in the AM on a rainy September morning. Local playwright Dickey Nesenger is standing in line on the corner of Third and Union in downtown Seattle, waiting for the Seattle Fringe Festival office to open in another four hours. Even though she's within spitting distance, she's not actually at the head of the line. In front of her are a couple of theatre diehard/hopefuls who've been waiting here since 3:30. A homeless guy carrying a bedroll yells at them from across the street, wanting to know what everybody's standing in line for: day labor or free food? Dickey yells back that they're waiting for the Seattle Fringe Festival office to open so they can turn in their applications for the 2001 Fringe Festival next March. The homeless guy wants to know how much the Fringe Festival pays. "No," Dickey hollers back cheerfully, "we have to pay them!" The homeless guy moves on, but by 9 a.m., the line is a block and a half long. Welcome to the Fringe. Whether you're a playwright, a director, an actor, or your own unique hybrid of performance-based tropical birdcall stylist and all around Ed Sullivan impersonator, now you get to be a producer, too. Unlike many of the other fringe festivals around the world, the Seattle Fringe is an unjuried affair. Instead, it's a first-come-first-served egalitarian free for all, so having the stamina to get up extra-early (or stay up all night) for Application Day matters more than that your latest work of art is, say, an all-haiku stage adaptation of Newton's Theory of Universal Gravitation. Oh, and don't forget the $225 to $725 you need for application fees. Once your spot is confirmed, the Seattle Fringe Festival will present four to seven performances of your piece in one of several theatre spaces that they rent for the eleven day event. They give you a front-of-house manager, a board operator, a single light plot that must be used by all eight shows sharing your venue, one 3-hour tech rehearsal, a blurb about your piece in the Festival Program Guide, and some regional publicity. You provide the script, the actors, the director, the designers, the set, the props, the costumes, and the crew... You arrange and pay for any production rights and artists' fees... You take publicity photos, write PR copy and design your program... You probably buy a quarter-page ad in the Festival Program Guide to help your show stand out from the other eighty shows in the festival, all of whom are probably buying quarter-page ads in the Festival Program Guide... You convince the visual artist who lives in your building to design your poster in return for which you agree to babysit her cat when she goes to Europe for three months next summer... You send postcards to your mailing list and promote your piece endlessly to friends, co-workers and assorted ex-lovers... You pass out handbills on street corners... You make a costume and a sandwich board for your brother-in-law Tony to wear to Fringe-sponsored media events... You promise in writing that the health and safety of your artists, the Festival staff, volunteers and audiences will not be endangered in any way by your show. Once March rolls around and the festival opens, the Seattle Fringe Festival sells the tickets and collects the money. You shlep your costumes, set pieces and props in and out of your car before and after every performance because you don't get any storage space. You hang out at the Elysian Brew Pub's Fringe Club, a big noisy place in which you keep circulating, talking up your show to everyone you meet. You hope like hell that you're ultimately voted either Audience Favorite or Artistic Pick, because if you are you get an encore run of three performances at the Seattle Rep. When the dust finally settles in April, your cut will be $5 to $6 for every ticket that was sold to your show for $12 (general admission), $8 (average per show price for multiple show passes) or $6 (seniors, students and Fringe participants). The good news is that this represents an increase by 10% over what the Seattle Fringe Festival paid back to artists last year. Let's review. The artists' initial admission fees more than cover the rent on the theatre spaces they're sharing. The artists pay all the costs of putting up their shows. The artists do almost all of their own publicity. The Seattle Fringe Festival keeps more than 50% of general admission sales, something less from the folks who buy multiple show passes, students, seniors, and the participants themselves. A chump scam worthy of Charles "oy-do-I-have-a-deal-for-you" Ponzi? Not for Dickey. A professional playwright with productions in New York and Los Angeles to her credit, Dickey is thrilled to be doing the Seattle Fringe Festival. Her bare-bones production of a new work entitled "Kiss" will be the workshop that fine-tunes the piece before she starts sending the script around to theatres. "There's no other way than putting it in front of an audience to find out if a new play is ready," says Dickey. "As a writer, I get so tired of sitting there with the words. I want to see them fly." For Dickey, it isn't about the money. It's about doing her work the way she thinks it ought to be done. "Unless you're well-known or you're best friends with an artistic director, it can be tough to hook up with an opportunity to workshop a new play," says Dickey. "Then half the time the theatre has an agenda of their own." In a world where if you don't do it, it may never get done-at least not the way you think it ought to-what's a playwright (or a director or an actor or a tropical bird call stylist) to do? Hello, Mr. Ponzi. Mary Lathrop is a playwright who lives in Seattle. Her plays include HELL ON WHEELS, A BRIS IS STILL A BRIS, THE URN OF DREW, TABLE STAKES; NO LIMIT and THE VISIBLE HORSE, which was presented at the 1996 National Playwrights Conference (the O'Neill). Recent productions include DREAMS OF BABY at the Equity Library Theatre in Chicago, ONE MAGIC MOMENT at the HAGACTS ''00 One Act Festival in Denver, and THE SIX BASIC RULES at Union Garage in Seattle. The Playwrights Studio Theatre's 1999 production of MENSTRUATING WAITRESS FROM HELL was picked one of the ""gems"" of their 10 minute play festival by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. THE EIGHTEENTH MITZVAH was awarded the 1999 Richard Hugo House New Play Prize. She is currently working on TALES FROM THE SALTMINES, a commission by A Contemporary Theatre in Seattle. You can visit her website at http://home.sprynet.com/~lathrop From the Mailbag: "My partner even took a bit of wisdom from (eyebrow raised) Jim Carrey who wrote himself a check for a million dollars and kept it in his wallet until he could cash it. We have opening night tickets for the show in our wallets." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE PLAY'S THE THING And They Say You Can't Go Home Again... Is it possible? Is it really true? Has Caprice resurfaced after a two year sabbatical that enabled her to finish her undergraduate degree? Is she working now? And is the rumor really true that she actually worked on a (hushed silence falls in the room) MUSICAL during her absence? Hello TRE readers! Yes it is true. I'm back at TRE trying on the old column to see if it fits. At the moment it is one of the few things that does fit since I started a new live-it (I hate the word diet...it says die in it, haha) and have lost close to 55 pounds since December of last year. Well, you know we can't all stay young and since I have now passed my 44th year on planet Earth, I have to play the "Extend my Life" game and though I am not living on bean sprouts, I have become healthy...and thinner, which in itself is the best reason to shop for new clothes! But I am sure that you are all chomping at the bit to get to the answer to the musical question and to discover what has gone on for the last couple of years. Hmm, where to start? Well, I will jump around a bit and give you readers the highlights. I graduated Cum Laude in May, and finally got that piece of paper that says I should know a little something about Theatre. But did I stop there? Of course I didn't. I headed right to graduate school. I am emphasizing directing and dramaturgy as my program. I am also thinking about thesis material. At the moment Luigi Pirandello has captured all my attention and I would love to couple directing a Pirandello play and writing a thesis based on the experience. I directed Come Back to the 5 and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean last April. It was a wonderful production and I had such a terrific cast. The play opened with Peter Johnson, a selfless actor who refused credit for his cameo part (but I am giving credit to across the www world), dressed as James Dean walking through the dimly lit 5 and Dime. Bette Midler's song Come Back Jimmy Dean (a fortunate find by one of my actors - THANK YOU Kelli Ruttle...my mini Sissy!) played as our "James Dean" examined all the Dean memorabilia on the walls. When he reached the door he turned downstage and stuck the classic Dean pose, lit his Zippo lighter, which remains flickering while the lights faded to black. The flame lingered for a second or two and then he closed the lighter. It was how we symbolized the death of James Dean...his light was extinguished. Rebecca Johannsen, who I will introduce later on, was in the cast playing Joanne. And just so none of my girls feel left out, let me give a big thank you to Lark Holden (best performance as a Bible thumper), Sasha Harris (she's just the cat's ass people!), Therese Schneck (our Mona mini me!), Kira Walz (you should see her in her blonde Dolly Parton wig), Krista Escalambre (the "Orange Crush" girl), and Ellen Woods (we still crack up thinking about her in high heels shoes). But of course I could never leave out Zach Diestler, the most patient man around a cast of mostly women (and yes Zach, grandma would be proud!). And a huge thanks goes out to Brett, Theresa, John, Elena and all those that worked on the show. Ok, ok, I will admit it here before the TRE readers and the entire Internet community...Yes; I worked on a musical while I was away. My friends in the Internet theatre community know what a curmudgeon I am when it comes to musicals. But you can all thank Dr. Rick Simas at San Diego State University for showing me that not all musicals are alike, especially Triumph of Love. Yes, I liked the show. It was an incredible experience learning to appreciate musical theatre. During my absence from TRE I also had the privilege to meet Elizabeth Bennett, the Literary Manager at the La Jolla Playhouse. She taught a theatre history class that I was in and opened up several new doors in my life. The first was rekindling my interest in Dramaturgy. Second was making me read Luigi Pirandello, a playwright who captured all my attention and refused to let me walk away empty-handed from the experience. But it was behind door number three that she hid the prize. Elizabeth was instrumental in providing me with my first professional theatre job. She told me about an assistant director's position that was available and helped me secure the job. I was able to work on Lee Blessing's play Going to St. Ives, which is just concluding its run at the Playhouse. Thank you a thousand times Elizabeth, and special thanks to a wonderful director, Maria Mileaf, who made me feel so much a part of the show during my time at the Playhouse. Well that pretty well wraps up my time away from TRE. The adventure as a undergraduate was full of fun, but the continuing adventure of my life as a grad student is still to be discovered. The nice part is that I am back at TRE and can share all those adventures with the readers. Look for some exciting stuff up the road. And speaking of exciting stuff, I have the pleasure of introducing Rebecca Johannsen to you. We have worked together in the Marketing and Publicity office at San Diego State, and, as I mentioned before, I have also been her director. We are also roommates. I asked her to write a bit about her self so that the TRE readers will know who she is whenever she steps in to cover the column for me during those times that Grad school is overwhelming and I waited until the night before to finish a project...nah, procrastination is not my middle name. She also plans to submit her own articles to TRE. And before I turn the rest of the column over to Rebecca, I just wanted to thank Marie Mersinger for inviting me back to my old theatre stomping grounds. I feel just like Dorothy...there is no place like home! Caprice Woosley recently received her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Performance at San Diego State University. She is currently pursuing her Master of Arts at San Diego State with an emphasis in Directing and Dramaturgy. Caprice can usually be found in a rehearsal room directing anything she can get her hands on or hunting the internet for some new dramaturgical site to add to her secret bookmark stash. Introducing Rebecca... Hello everyone! As Caprice has already told you I am going to be taking over the column for her when she gets too busy with her graduate work. Being a former graduate student at San Diego State University I can anticipate this happening quite often, so I thought I would introduce myself. I graduated last spring from San Diego State University with my Master of Arts degree in Theatre Arts (the same program Caprice is going through right now). My special area of emphasis was Shakespeare, and I wrote my Master's thesis on the character of Lady Macbeth, based on my performance of the role at the university. Prior to SDSU, I attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Pasadena, where I became thoroughly discouraged about becoming an actor. I transferred to the University of California Santa Cruz and received my B.A. in anthropology, emphasis in archaeology, after developing a love of history. I stayed away from theatre for three years while going to school in Santa Cruz. When I finally couldn't stand being away any longer I went back to school to get my Master's in theatre. In my time at SDSU I was a teaching assistant in theatre history with Professor Elizabeth Bennett, who is the Literary Manager at La Jolla Playhouse. Since graduation I have been working at La Jolla Playhouse as a marketing assistant. Well, that's all the boring information about my school career. My interest in anthropology served me well as an actor. I learned the value of research and the impact theatre can have on society. I love Shakespeare and am interested in how classics can have relevance in modern society. That may be the topic of a future article written by Caprice and I. I also have an interest in new plays that find a way to impact an audience in ways that other media, such as film and television, cannot. If theatre is going to continue to be an important artistic form in our society it has to adapt. That will be the focus of a lot of work you will see from me, and I hope to offer some critique on what is happening in theatre today on the West Coast. I look forward to writing about all of these areas of theatre in the future. Caprice and I think alike, spend a lot of time together, and live in the same house, so I'm sure you will see a lot of her influence in my writing and vice versa in the future. Rebecca Johannsen is a recent graduate of the Master of Arts program in Theatre Arts from San Diego State University with an emphasis in Shakespeare. She is currently working at La Jolla Playhouse while she awaits her application period for her Master of Fine Arts in acting program. She can be reached at . ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ LIFE IN THE THEATRE Payback is a Bitch - Whether On or Off-Off Broadway! My payback took place on 54th street between 8th and 9th avenues in Manhattan -- The American Theatre of Actors space -- specifically, the Chernuchin Theatre on the 2nd floor -- anyone out there familiar with that space? Well for those who are not, it's actually one of the better theatre spaces Off-Off Broadway and it ain't all that grand! I'm a native New Yorker -- born and raised in Manhattan -- I've seen it all, done most of it myself, but never this! This was truly payback time! As an actor I have always placed the emphasis on the development of the character -- screw the lines, they would come eventually, and if they didn't -- well I could always paraphrase and get the idea across! As a director, my focus was on creating an environment, a shape, a form, a sound, a color, a fluid structure to which audiences could relate. Something that was ever changing but completely supported by what the playwright had written. This was, of course, based on the dialogue and the over-all concept/vision of the play (as I saw it)! Screw the lines, the actors would get them eventually and if they didn't, as long as they didn't kill each other in getting the idea across, there was always tomorrow! Now I was the Playwright -- I sat through rehearsals, cringing each time an actor missed even one syllable, sliding under the seat when words were skipped and stopping the final dress rehearsal when the lead jumped several pages of dialogue, leaving the other actors no place to go to save the performance (no matter how talented they were!) It was a nightmare! What was an author to do? The director was ready to walk out, the producer was talking about canceling the show and I took to crying myself to sleep! Time for a conference? You bet it was! We all knew the lead was the weak link -- she had an enormous role, on stage the entire time, exposition without which nothing made any sense nor could it move the action forward. The actress in question couldn't remember where in the hell she was (on or off the stage!) The director worked with her individually, to no avail! The cast came in early to run lines with her, to no avail! She simply wasn't up to such a challenging role! There was no time to replace her -- what to do, what to do? I was beginning to feel a little like Alice's White Rabbit looking for a rabbit hole to pop down. Thank god, for the director who finally came up with an idea that seemed like it would work! We would put together an old photo album -- photos on the side the audience might see, her lines on the other! A sure (albeit unprofessional) solution -- the cast was relieved and so was I. I typed out the lines and cut and pasted them into the album. It was the answer -- we all breathed a sigh of relief! Opening night arrived and the show went better that it ever had! Ran just over the allotted ninety minute time frame -- we had a good house and the post-performance discussion (after all this was a Workshop) was extremely positive and encouraging. We all went home feeling really good about what had happened. The second night everyone arrived at the theatre elated. Cast, crew, director and author -- once again we had a good house -- the introduction music began and all hell broke loose! Not only were cues dropped, lines lost, props unavailable, but the lead was not even on the same page (most of the time) as the rest of the cast -- it was disastrous! Hardly any of the audience members stayed for the discussion and those that did were not happy campers! I cried all the way back to the hotel, in the cab! I thought seriously about getting on the train and going home -- I now live in Providence, RI! But I didn't! The one thing that kept me from leaving the Big Apple that night was this -- it was a Workshop Production -- it was never meant to be perfect! This thought helped some, but would it be enough to get me through two more nights and the producers conference scheduled for the day after we closed? I hoped so! It was Wednesday -- day three of this madness -- good house, biggest so far, mostly industry people and friends of the actors -- all I could think was god help us if this was a repeat of Tuesday night! Up to this point I had managed to get myself to the theatre by six-thirty every evening -- not tonight! I waited as long as I could and arrived at seven fifty-five only to be told that one of the actors wasn't there yet -- this wasn't going to be a repeat of Tuesday, it was going to be worse -- we were going to have to cancel -- I went to the ladies room and "lost my lunch!" I returned to the theatre to hear the strains of the warm-up music -- and was told we had been saved by the late arriving actor -- he had been caught in the subway with no way to contact any of us! I took my seat in the back row and prayed! The show music began -- a mournful spiritual called Follow the Drinking Gourd -- my heart stopped and did not resume beating again until the third curtain call! That's right three curtain calls and a standing ovation when the cast finally began to leave the stage! The post-performance discussion was great -- every one (well almost) stayed! It was encouraging to hear all of the comments, whether positive or negative! The audience was responding to my words -- words it had taken me two and a half years to find and only ninety minutes to watch flash by on the stage! Ninety minutes that would forever change my life! Closing night was a repeat of the previous night -- the cast and crew are to be commended for their work, their commitment and patience was outstanding! The producer/director should be awarded the Purple Heart of Theatre for faith, compassion, tolerance, bravery under fire -- not to mention talent and creativity! Me? Well, I'm just thrilled to think I no longer need to payback! I have a new respect for the playwrights words and best of all, I survived to revise (again, and again, and again) and polish the script for the fully staged production of "In The Footsteps of Moses; The Story of Harriet Tubman" in February and March, 2001 -- just in time to celebrate both Black and Women's History Months, Off-Off Broadway! Award winning Director, writer and actress, Willis-Whyte has performed Off-Broadway, in films and, on television. Named to Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities and Who's Who in American Advertising, Willis has published two books of poetry and is also the author of three one-act plays based on the lives of Susan B. Anthony, Clara Harlowe Barton and Anne Frances Kelly; a member of an all girl Confederate cavalry unit. Her latest book, Images of Nineteenth Century American Women, which integrates staged readings of historical biographies, original poetry, and art, is scheduled for publication later this year. A past member of AFTRA, Actor's Equity, and SAG, Willis (who is) a native New Yorker, now makes Providence RI her home. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ LETTER FROM LONDON Notre-Dame de Paris. Dominion Theatre, London. If you believe the bumph that accompanies the programme for this show, you are about to witness "one of the finest scores...ever," or hear "great music" in "a musical extravaganza." But don't be fooled. In fact, I saw this show a whole four days ago, and already have forgotten most of what happened. Maybe I blocked it from my memory because it was so awful. Who knows. Nevertheless, this show has had a mysteriously long run on the West-End. Having opened in May in the UK and broken box-office records in France, Canada, Belgium and Switzerland, this "musical spectacular" has so far attracted over 2 million spectators. The soundtrack and cast albums, too, have sold nearly 8 million copies. What's more, at the end of the show the audience had loved it. They were even on their feet clapping, shouting and screaming for an encore. So I guess the show has got something right. To its credit, the performance was certainly energetic. It was all very visual and endlessly acrobatic. Just a glance through the programme illustrates how many dancers, acrobats, swings and - unusually -breakdancers were in the cast. Also, everyone in the cast had a strong voice, but this does little to disguise the fact that the songs are simply dreadful. A couple of nice melodies are flowing along nicely then, like the textbook says, are wrenched up a single tone, then up again, and up again. It becomes so predictable. Predictable, too, were the lyrics. Written by Luc Plamondon, who is an 'international institution' (although I have never heard of him) and apparently studied literature, art history and languages. So why, in that case, could he not come up with better rhymes than "Quasimodo is sad, Quasimodo is going mad?" Finally, the most shocking aspect of this performance is that the score is NOT performed by live musicians. On arrival at the auditorium you are greeted by a group of five musicians playing the main themes from the show in the foyer, but as soon as the show begins it becomes clear that the pit is empty. Really, if you cannot hear live music when going to see a West-End show, then where can you? For more information on this show please visit the website: www.notredameonline.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ RUBIN'S CORNER Look What's Coming to Broadway I have not had a chance to outline the new shows that will be opening in the next year on Broadway. The season has just begun, but is off to a very slow start. Here's the listing of the plays and musicals scheduled to open during the new Broadway season. It's not too early to place you order for the listed shows. THE RHYTHM CLUB is set in the world of the swing music clubs of the late 30's in Hamburg. This musical tells the story of two young musicians, one Jewish, one Christian, and the female singer they hire to lead their band. They hope the band will provide their escape from Nazi Germany to a better life in New York. The production starts Jeremy Kushnier of Footloose and opens at the Virginia Theatre on January 26. 2001 THE PRODUCERS is the 1968 hysterical Mel Brooks film which starred Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder. Who can forget the Broadway producer and his accountant who can have a financial success only if their show is a flop. Nathan Lane starts in this production, which is due at the St. James Theatre in March 2001. FOLLIES arrive via the Roundabout Theatre Company. They have engaged Matthew Warchus who directed Art to direct this production. Kathleen Marshall provides the choreography to this Stephen Sondheim revival. The production transports the audience to the Weissman Theatre, where on the eve of its demolition, ghosts from its glorious past return and showgirls from decades ago reunite one last time. The show plays a 12-week engagement at the Belasco Theatre beginning in March 2001. HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN will be based on the Hollywood musical classic movie. The film stared Banny Kaye and the score includes such Frank Loesser hits as "Thumbelina", "The Ugly Duckling", "Wonderful Copenhagen", and "No, Tow People". Danny Glover as Hans Christian Anderson will come to a Nederlander Theatre in March 2001. TULLULAH will arrive at a Nederlander Theatre on March 16, 20001. The sensational stage and screen star Kathleen Turner returns to Broadway as the flamboyant actress and personality Tallulah Bankhead. It's 1947 and Ms. Bankhead is hosting a und raising party for President Harry S. Truman. As she prepare for the party she slowly becomes increasingly intoxicated and shares the secrets, the passions and the regrets of her life. THE ADVENTURES OF TOY SAYER will come to a Nederlander Theatre in April. Ken Ludwig is adapting this Mark Twain classic for the stage. He has asked veteran director Scott Ellis to direct the production and composer Don Schlitz to give musical life to life on the Mississippi. MAMMA MIA is set on a Greek Island. It is the story of an English women and her soon-to-be-married daughter. It has 22 songs by the Swedish group ABBA. While the daughter plans her future, her mother is confronted by three men, one of whom may be her daughter's father. I have seen this show twice and high recommend it. It was a runaway hit in London, Toronto, and San Francisco. It will open at the Winter Garden Theatre on September 27, 2001 THE FULL MONTY is now in previews at the Eugene O'Neil Theatre. The Oscar nominated movie is about to strut its stuff on Broadway. When hard time hit Buffalo, six working class heroes come up with a daring way to meet ends meet. The script is by Terrence McNally and the music by songwriter David Yazbek. THE DINNER PARTY will star Henry Winkler, john Ritter, Len Cariou and Penny Fuller. Neil Simon's latest comedy has already garnered rave reviews out of town. It takes place in the private dining room of a post Parisian restaurant where six strangers have been mysteriously summoned to dinner. THE TALE OF THE ALLERGIST'S WIFE received unanimous rave reviews off-Broadway. The plot concerns an Upper West Side maven and her distracted allergist husband. The production starts Linda Lavin, Tony Roberts and Michele Lee. Opens Oct 10 at the Music Box Theatre. PROFF starts Mary Louise Parker. She plays a young college dropout whose father has just died. This compelling drama revolves around her and her manipulative sister, their father and a mysterious suitor. It will open on October 10, 2001 SEUSSICAL THE MUSICAL is going to open on October 18. It will be delayed as a result of some problems. From the pages of Dr. Seuss and the creators of Ragtime, this show could be a family hit. THE ROCY HORROR SHOW and JANE EYRE will also make their debut in November. Look Up In the Sky! ... Is It A Bird? ...Is It A Plane? No It's Contact. I have never had a chance to comment about the musical, Contact, which is presently playing at the Lincoln Center Theater at The Vivian Beaumont. This is the musical that won the Tony award in June. However, many people who have seen this production have trouble classifying it as a musical. A recent trip with some out-of-town friends allowed me to once again see the show. It brought back all the memories of my first trip to the production. The musical is made up of three parts. The first half of act one or the first dance number, which is called The Swing, is based on a 1768 painting by Jean-Honore Fragonard. For twenty minutes, three people, a servant, an Aristocrat, and a girl, spent their time doing a Cirque du Soleil turn. Yes by the end, there is a twist, but by then I had lost interest. The second act called, "Don't Move", is about the thoughts of a woman when her husband says to her, "Don't move". The cast, which is headed by Karen Ziemba, as the abused wife, tries to show us what it would be like to run away from this terrible marriage. The dancing seems to be more running around the stage then dancing. The third act called, "Contact" saves the night. This one-hour dance number involves an Advertising Executive, a Bartender, and a Girl in a Yellow Dress. They actually, unlike the first act, do some dance numbers. The entire show is danced to popular songs, which have been recorded, on digital tape. It is an inexpensive way to skip hiring an orchestra and just put on a tape or CD. It also shortens the payout period for the show. There is something missing when a Broadway show uses recorded music. However, the second act actually saves the evening. The dance numbers are clever. We actually follow a story that is created with very few words, but a lot of movement. Boyd Gaines, who last stared in Company and Cabaret, has the starting role in this short musical. Debra Yates is stunning as the Girl in the yellow dress. The production was directed and choreographed by the very busy Susan Stroman. She has at least created a conservation piece. William Ivoy Long created the costumes, especially that yellow dress. Thomas Lynch created the three pieces of furniture that appear on the stage at certain times. Peter Kaczorowski did the lighting. I must admit that Ms. Stroman has created a different piece of theater. It is a sure bet that those leaving the show will turn to each other and say, "Did you Like It?" About half will say yes and half will say it is the worst thing they ever seen. The truth is that this piece is so far from traditional theater, that it annoys a large percentage of the audience. It is an important production in the history of the Broadway. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CYBERTHEATRE MONTHLY No reviews this month, these links from Barnes & Noble speak for themselves... Tom Stoppard Real Audio Interview Listen to Tom Stoppard take audience questions http://www.barnesandnoble.com/community/ra/rams/stoppard_full.ram?userid=1ZD0D2SBQV&mscssid=0A3BVFF39N5N9HWNXSS52SDNQ0D09UV7&bnit=H&bnrefer=1-25015-25427-26861&nhsid=3135168-544661715 Hamlet Prince of Denmark "Book Video" from BNTV 28k+ http://www.barnesandnoble.com/community/bntv/bookvideos/hamlet/player/player_sm.asp?userid=1ZD0D2SBQV&mscssid=0A3BVFF39N5N9HWNXSS52SDNQ0D09UV7&bnit=H&bnrefer=1-25015-25427-26861&nhsid=3135168-544661715 Simple line drawings, primitive animation techniques, and a slapstick sense of humor characterize Sarah Chodoff's take on Hamlet's famous soliloquy. Picture one of the most obvious "natural shocks that flesh is heir to" and you'll know what to expect -- a version of Shakespeare's tragedy that's heavy on the comedy. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ENTER LAUGHING Rejection Letter Revenge Dear Mr. Buster: Thank you for your letter of April 17. After careful consideration I regret to inform you that I am unable to accept your refusal to produce my play at your theatre. This year I have been particularly fortunate in receiving and unusually large number of rejection letters. With such a varied and promising field of playwrights, it is impossible for me to accept all refusals. Despite your theatre's outstanding qualifications and previous experience in rejecting play submissions, I find that your rejection does not meet with my needs at this time. Therefore, I am returning my manuscript to you with this letter. Best of luck in rejecting future submissions. Sincerely, [your name here] This fantastic turnabout on the classic rejection letter is brought to you by Aerily who says: "I like my rejections face to face, where I can look 'em in the eye, and make them doubt their sanity... heh" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 2000, Mersinger Theatrical Services