theater

Can We Laugh at Obama?

As the nation transitions from the erratic, divisive Bush-era into the historically momentous presidency of Obama the rhetoritician, some journalists are declaring crisis mode on a flourishing art form: the political satire.READ»

New Bookshelf Stereos From Sharp

Not to be shown up at the CEDIA conference, Sharp [OTC:SHCAY] revived the oft-forgotten bookshelf boombox sound system with two new models that might make you ditch you diminutive iPod-speaker-cum-alarm-clock. Called the -- get your ...READ»

New York's annual Fringe Festival Turns the Spotlight on Independent Theater

Off-Off Broadway is the perpetual underdog of New York's arts scene, but to a non-theater aficionado, exploring the wide-spanning thespian scene beyond Broadway can easily feel intimidating--like sitting away from the hipster kids' ...READ»

Meet The Real Craig Stevens

In early March, thousands of Youtube-surfing Broadway aficionados discovered Craig Stevens, a recent college graduate from Tennessee who, shortly after the new year, had followed his theatrical aspirations to New York. "I ...READ»

'Title of Show' Opens on Broadway

Almost three months ago I interviewed writer-singer-actor Jeff Bowen, whose musical about the making of a musical, Title of Show, was picked up for a Broadway run (see my post here.). Much of his and co-writer Hunter Bell's success, ...READ»

An Arts Foundation Gathers Statistics on Off-Off Broadway

Most residents living in the family-friendly New York of today are unlikely to miss the crime and grime that characterized the city during its previous decades, but a certain cultural sterilization is also stirring collective panic ...READ»

Writers Take the Spotlight at Emerging Artists Theatre

For an aspiring playwright in New York, the odds of turning one's work into a stage production can feel as daunting, even foolish, as pinning an 'American Idol' audition number onto one's shirt. For those whose aspirations surpass ...READ»

Fast Talk: The Business of Broadway

"I don't want to say, ‘I told you so,’ but the show came in under budget at $2.1 million, and tickets are selling out. Our audiences are 60% black and 40% white. Seeing all these people in the audience who are new to ...READ»

The Business of Broadway

How fresh ideas from finance, film, and TV are creating new opportunities for the theaterREAD»

• The Business of Broadway
• The State of Mobile Advertising

Clever Marketing Pushes a Musical to the Big Time

That the New York indie theater scene is drawing forced breaths and the gap between Broadway and off is more pronounced than ever is no news to arts-inclined locals. Sure, performers and writers are still everywhere, but Manhattan's ...READ»

'Fierce' Viewership

Over the past couple of years, Bravo network has accomplished a paradoxical feat by adding a highbrow-dimension to the reality television phenomenon. That I watch Rock of Love on VH1 every Sunday isn't likely to come up at an ...READ»

If you see one Broadway show this year...

Roundabout Theatre Company, New York's largest nonprofit theater initiative, is to be commended for keeping Disney-laden Broadway interesting in recent years. Although its latest revival, Sondheim's Sunday in the Park with George, ...READ»

New Documentaries Draw Attention to Autism

At their most thought-provoking, works of art can provide a welcome news hook for resurfacing otherwise overlooked societal issues . Such is the case with two recent autism-related documentaries that delve into thedaily lives of ...READ»

Behold the Power of the Elusive Critic

As more and more indie films enter production, less of them have a chance of being reviewed, writes Gregg Goldstein in today's Hollywood Reporter. There simply aren't enough critics to do the job. In ...READ»

Time to Skip Down the Yellow Brick Road

A recession might be inevitable, but for the gilded film industry, this slump in the nation's psyche might be good for business. Last week, Reuters and the AP connected a troubled economy with a well-fed box ...READ»