Cara Joy David - Page 7

It was around 3pm on November 1, 2018. The members of the company of BAT OUT OF HELL, which was in the midst of an engagement at Toronto's Mirvish Theatre, received a text saying there would be a company meeting at 7pm. Nothing good ever comes of those; veterans knew there was something up. Once gathered, the Company Manager told them the bad news: the tour was ending where it began, in Toronto. The final performance there was to take place, as scheduled, two days later. The rest of the stops had been cancelled. Their futures were now uncertain. The night they were told that news, one actor broke his hand during the performance, another his foot.

The Tony Awards policy has always been that in order to vote in a certain category, you needed to have seen all the shows nominated in that category. If, for example, you missed one show that was nominated in eight categories, those eight categories were off limits to you. Makes sense and seems a simple enough rule to remember. Except folks have constantly complained that people violate the policy and just vote regardless.

Theater folks are not necessarily the first to embrace change or technology. So it's not surprising when you walk into a rehearsal room and see creatives sitting with giant binders of paper. But certain companies are trying to change that.

We are still fairly early in the Broadway season, but it is never too early to start thinking of the Tony race. And what do people seem to be focused on? Whether the Roundabout Theatre Company revival of KISS ME, KATE, which is currently the only announced musical revival, will simply be handed a Tony.

In the last few decades, theater has become much bigger business than it used to be. However, in that same period of time, the coverage of it in mainstream media outlets has dwindled. Many of us may not remember a time that off-Broadway openings were covered on Entertainment Tonight, but it happened. In recent years, even in America's theater epicenter, theater is losing ground in major publications. Neither The New York Post or The New York Daily News has a critic on staff any longer. It is hard to even tally the amount of veteran theater writers from around the country that have lost their jobs in the last decade.

If you have kids, or just a love of children's theater, you may have noticed that TheaterWorksUSA-and, yes, after a rebranding, that is how to write it-is not presenting its free summer theater in New York this year. The program has happened almost every year since 1989, but not this one.

What do HAMILTON, THE HUMANS, DOUBT, SIDE MAN, THE WOLVES and AMERICAN IDIOT all have in common? They all started with New York Stage and Film (NYSAF). Since 1985, the non-profit's summer program, set at Vassar College, has presented a variety of readings, workshops and productions of in-development works.

We've all had it happen--we're sitting in the theater, we're enjoying a scene and half a row in front of us gets up because of the arrival of a latecomer. You think: 'Can no one stop these people?'

When FringeNYC announced in fall 2016 that it would take a year off, some wondered if it would come back. After all, since the festival began in 1997, many others have sprung up around the city. Was there really a need for it? FringeNYC producer The Present Company believes there is.

As we enter into this, the most industry of all industry times, there are some Tony related questions that many believe need answering.

Very rarely do you hear of new ways to invest in, or contribute to, the theater. Something surprised me recently however--on the website for the off-Broadway commercial production of THE STONE WITCH, you can make a tax deductible donation to the Berkshire Theatre Group (BTG) and have the money go to THE STONE WITCH. According to producers Laura Janik Cronin and Darlene Kaplan, the money goes not to increase BTG's share of the profits, but rather to keep the show afloat.

When you think Broadway, a lot of things come to mind. For me one of them is unions because I've had to cover many a threatened strike in my day. Except Actors' Equity, the union that represents actors and stage managers, doesn't have a hold on every Broadway show. It has a contract with the Broadway League for 'First Class Performances,' as defined by the Dramatists Guild. That generally means what we think of as Broadway plays or musicals, though the actual definition is way more confusing: 'live stage productions of [a] play on the speaking stage. . . under Producer's own management, in a regular evening bill in a first class theatre in a first class manner, with a first class cast and a first class director.' The trouble hits for Equity when shows come that aren't what we traditionally think of as a play or a musical with people we traditionally call actors. In those cases, if the producer is a member of The Broadway League, which has a production contract with Actors' Equity, that producer has an obligation to at least try to negotiate with Equity, at least according to an Equity spokesperson Brandon Lorenz. If a producer is not a member of the League, and is bringing in a show that is not a 'First Class Performance,' there is no obligation for that producer to even speak to Equity. Except Equity wants all producers to speak with them and they are willing to put pressure on producers to do just that. The latest example is the current situation with ROCKTOPIA.

A couple of weeks ago when five-time Tony nominee Jan Maxwell died, I assumed the marquees of Broadway theaters would be dimmed. I emailed the Broadway League--the association of theatre owners and producers who issues press releases on such things--to ask 'when' it would happen. I don't know why I automatically assumed it would.

In fall 2016, when it was announced that THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG was coming to Broadway in the spring, I don't think many in the community thought it was the best idea ever. It was a play with no stars, announced for an open-ended run at The Lyceum Theatre (not exactly a house of hits). It was a success in London, but decidedly British seeming. Mischief Theatre, the company that created it, was an unknown quantity in the United States. The one 'name' it had was television and film producer/director/writer J.J. Abrams, who signed on as a producer after seeing it in the West End. And even his involvement was perplexing-known for his eye for action fare, the early ads humorously stated he 'must have lost a bet.' Yet the show is still running, making it Broadway's longest running play.

It is hard to be the first person to report someone's harassment. Even in this day and age, with the TimesUp and MeToo movements, most individuals are afraid to be labelled forevermore as the person who came out against X person. What happens if no one else chimes in? Will you look like a liar? And--even if you did want to come forward--how would you do it? Going straight to the media is not the right call for everyone, and the media also doesn't care about every harasser.

A couple of weeks ago, the Tony Awards Administration Committee made news when it declared 1984 ineligible to receive a Tony Award. The decision covered not only the play itself, but everyone who worked on it. What happened?

About ten-and-a-half years ago, Paper Mill Playhouse was in such financial trouble it was on the verge of closing. This season the 2016 Regional Theatre Tony-winning theater is hosting two world premiere musicals and two east coast premieres. How did the turnaround happen?

It's been five-and-a-half years since Broadway 4D was announced and many barely remember it. Those that do however frequently ask me about it. Will that ever happen? What even was it? What was recorded for it?

In summer 2010, something described in a Variety article as a 'melding of a Broadway show and a Gray Line bus tour' was announced and I was very confused. And maybe appalled. In late fall of that year, when the giant buses labelled THE RIDE hit the streets, none of these feelings subsided. Now, seven years later, THE RIDE is a hard-to-describe but well-known fixture on New York City streets, even being parodied on THE SIMPSONS and, more recently, DIFFICULT PEOPLE. Yet, despite the long lines to board, it still has yet to make money.