Interview with the
playwright: Jeffrey Sweet
"Flyovers" by Jeffrey Sweet has been running at the 78th St.
Theatre Laboratory since Jan. 29 (it runs through Feb. 15). The 90-minute
play stars Richard Kind as a television film critic who has returned to
his Ohio hometown for a high school reunion, trying to make peace with
his past, but nothing turns out as expected. An interview with the author
by Glenda Frank.
Obituary: Stephen
Balint
Stephan Balint, an award-winning playwright, poet, actor and co-founder
of the seminal New York avant-garde theater group Squat Theater, died
on October 11 in Budapest, Hungary. He was 64 years old.
A Tribute to Mark
Weil
Bonnie Stein, Executive Director of Goh Productions, NYC, responds with
shock to the untimely death of Mark Weil, founding director of the Ilkhom
Theatre of Tashkent, Uzbekistan, who was murdered outside his residence
there on September 7, 2007.
August Bournonville: Napoli Act III in Copenhagen.
Updating Classics: When? Why? ''There come times when people staging classic works of theater
or dance feel an urge to update them, perhaps because they fear those
pieces are now so familiar that they should be seen afresh. So drastic
changes may be made in period and locale. The results are sometimes stimulating,
sometimes merely peculiar.'' Jack Anderson went to Copenhagen and came
back with some thoughts on new stagings.
Ella
Quinlan O'Neill, mother of Eugene O'Neill.
Mrs. O'Neill's Illness
A prominent biographer of Eugene O'Neill reconsidered the legacy of the
playwright's mother after reading the script of "Miles to Babylon"
by Ann Harson, which was presented in Off-off Broadway in October, 2006.
The play dramatizes the fight to overcome morphine addiction that was
waged by Ella O'Neill, the model for Mary Tyrone in "Long Day's Journey
into Night." This article is contributed by Stephen A. Black, author
of "Eugene O'Neill: Beyond Mourning and Tragedy," published
by Yale University Press.
Josh
Radin.
Joshua Radin: His
"Sundrenched World"
Columbia Records has a new star in the making in Joshua Radin.
Yes, watching this striking brunet rehearse at Joe's Pub for his set
later that night, you can only wish you were the guitar he was strumming.
Afterwards, interviewing him in the intimate Manhattan performance spot's
lobby, staring into his piercing brown eyes and watching those gentle
lips move, you can only wish to be with him or be him, depending on
your persuasion. By Brandon Judell.
Roland
Schimmelpfenning (photo by Justine del Corte.)
Schimmelpfennig
for your thoughts?
German playwright Roland Schimmelpfennig is one of the most prolific
and heralded young dramatists in Europe. At age 38, he has already written
16 plays that have been translated into 20 languages, yet he remains
relatively unknown in America. His 2004 drama Die Frau von Frueher (The
Woman Before) premiered in Vienna before being produced in Bern, Munich
and Stuttgart. Now it is getting its American premiere at HERE Arts
Center in a joint production with German Theater Abroad. By Robert Hicks.
Il Dottore Explains It To Us
All
Roving Classical Commedia University (RCCU), founded in 2001, is committed
to keeping Commedia Dell'Arte alive as close to its original
form as possible. Its co-founder, Stanley Allan Sherman, takes us
to the essence of Commedia Dell' Arte, describing its magic
in a modern context and even venturing some predictions on its future.
The
Arts since 9/11 Report of 2004 Write-In by Artists
of all Disciplines Testimonies
point to continued weakness in the Cultural Sector Whether
their field is theater, the visual arts, dance or music, many established
artists now resort to non-artistic work. Others have left or are
planning to leave the city to avoid economic hardship. By Jonathan
Slaff and Delphine Veaudor, in consultation with Carolyn Sévos.
What happened
to New York performing artists after 9/11? Silent victims of the
tragedy
Actors, directors, scenic artists--as well as visual, musical
and digital artists--were the hardest hit of all occupational
groups in New York, according to this long-awaited survey. Two
respected nonprofits and DowntownNYC!, a coalition of arts and
businesses, surveyed over 700 individual artists. They discovered
that overall earnings are down 46% since the attacks and 13% of
artists who rent are facing eviction. New York is Paris-on-Hudson
and its artists are the lifeblood of its economy. How could this
happen without widespread notice? Surprise!...about three-quarters
of working artists in the City are self employed, so they don't
register on unemployment statistics. This and more dirty little
secrets are revealed in a groundbreaking report.
CD reviews: from Broadway to Classical
Music by Glenn Loney
Musicals Old & New, Other Musical Entertainments, Opera, Choral,
Orchestral CD Albums, The Hänssler Treasure Chest.