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June 2007 |
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June 10th was "Tony" Sunday in NYC. Tony Soprano may have knocked out Antoinette Perry in the TV ratings but Broadway will be here next year and the "goombas" won't! Broadway was famously called "the fabulous invalid" by playwright George S. Kaufman. Every year dire predictions are made that the musical is dead; the glory days are over or "it ain't what it used to be." For the past few years attendance and grosses have sky rocketed and the invalid is buzzing around in a "jazzy". Yes there are "Broadway" shows in Las Vegas but they do not carry the excitement of running down the street to catch a curtain, seeing a show in a historic theatre, stepping out onto the neon lights of Times Square and supping at a swank Manhattan restaurant. As Angela Lansbury said on Sunday night, "Come to NYC and see a Broadway Show"! Read Tony's Blog.
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Spring Awakening took eight awards including Best Musical. It is well deserved but it's not for the faint of heart who are expecting the dopiness of a Legally Blonde. It is a serious look at the joy and pain of sexual adolescence. The famous German play subtitled the "tragedy of childhood" was a shocker back in 1889 (it was quite surprising on the award ceremony that no one thanked the playwright, Frank Wedekind). What makes this show unique is the juxtaposition of 19th century morality and language with a modern day rock score and lyrics. The angularity of rock is perfect for expressing the rebelliousness of the teenagers in no matter what the era. Two other rebels (albeit in their dotage) in the musical, Gray Gardens, should not be missed. Both of these actresses won the female musical actor award - Christine Ebersole and Mary Louis Wilson.
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There is more to Broadway than that little island of "theatreland" surrounding Times Square. Off-Broadway is defined by its seating capacity of 100 to 499 seats and union contracts. This is where the real artistic action is - a crucible of ideas, creativity, and innovation where you may catch the next big Broadway hit. A Chorus Line stepped onto Broadway from the Joe Papp's Greenwich Village, NY Shakespeare Festival; Rent was developed by the NY Theatre Workshop eleven years ago in the East Village and this year's best musical, Spring Awakening came from the Atlantic Theatre Company down in Chelsea. Off -Broadway is a NYC state of mind unmindful of where and how small the theatre is.
Off-Broadway Theaters
New
York Theatre Workshop
Manhattan
Theatre Company
Second
Stage Theatre Company
The
Public Theatre / NYSF
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In Central Park this summer, it's "free love" in both senses of the phrase. The Public Theatre is presenting Shakespeare's very romantic drama Romeo & Juliet at the open-air Delacorte Theatre. Performances are free. All you have to do is wait on line sometimes up to 8 hours to get your ticket. But it is a a glorious wait as you picnic on the Great Lawn in the shadow of the Belvedere Castle. You watch the boys of summer play softball on the green fields and hear the birdwatchers from the Ramble. When the play begins, as the sun sets and the moon rises in the east over Manhattan you can imagine the magic of Romeo saying:
But soft! What light
through yonder window breaks?
It is the East, and Juliet is the sun!
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon
Briggs, Inc. - 1501 Broadway
- New York, NY 10036 - 212-354-9440
Email:
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