Blog Stage - Acting in Film, TV, Theatre - Backstage

Theater of War Helps Bring Peace to Veterans

The New York Times reported last week that officials at the Defense Department and the Pentagon have financed a new independent production company called Theater of War. The company is scheduled to visit 50 military sites and stage readings from two Sophocles plays, “Ajax” and “Philocetes.” The goal of the program is to explore the psychic impact of war through the use of theater. Performers have included David Strathairn and Jeffrey Wright, among others.

“These plays are part of a 2,500-year history of mental and emotional pain for soldiers that run up to the present day,” Strathairn told the Times.

Bryan Doerries, the writer and director who founded Theater of War, told the New York Times that Theater of War is a public health project to help service members and relatives overcome stigmas about psychological injuries by showing then that some of history’s bravest heroes suffered mentally from battle.

“Sophocles was himself a general, and Athens during his time was at war for decades,” Doerries said. “These two plays were seen by thousands of citizen-soldiers. By performing these scenes, we’re hoping that our modern-day soldiers will see their difficulties in a larger historical context, and perhaps feel less alone.”

Feinstein and Dame Edna to Co-Star

It was announced today that Michael Feinstein and Barry Humphries (aka Dame Edna Everage) would be starring together in a show after all. Back in July, Michael Reidel of the New York Post reported these two disaprate entertainers would be appearing together in a Broadway venture. Then each issued a statement denying the rumor and they would be doing separate solo shows with similar names. Feinstein's was to be labelled "All About Me" when Dame Edna's would be called "It's All About Me." Both were to open at a Shubert theatre sometime in the spring. It looked as if Reidel was wrong.

'Dreamgirls' Opens at Dream Home: The Apollo

The latest revival of the 1981 Broadway musical Dreamgirls will begin its national tour at the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem. The decision to open the tour at the Apollo (where the musical begins and ends) would seemingly make perfect sense.

Producer John Breglio, however, recalls the public’s initial reaction: “Everybody thought I was crazy.” But as Breglio commented, “I knew it was time to finally bring Dreamgirls to the Apollo. Throughout its history, the Apollo has been known as a proving ground where new talent has been discovered and nurtured and careers have been launched; and that is what Dreamgirls is all about.”

However, the Apollo, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, presents many logistical problems for a modern musical:

Former Casting Director Makes Her Broadway Stage Debut

This week, Variety shines the spotlight on Jane Alderman, who is making her Broadway debut in Superior Donuts in a featured role as Lady Boyle, "a dotty senior citizen." As Variety notes, Alderman has been an actress on and off for nearly 40 years, but most of her credits (including ER, Rudy, Backdraft, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and more) are actually for casting and hiring other actors.

Alderman began her career as a casting director 30 years ago, after struggling and failing to make it as an actress. "I was really an awful actor," Alderman says. "So the idiot in me said, 'Oh, I'll cast,' as if that's not as tenuous as acting." She became a prominent casting director in Chicago, casting ER and handling additional local casting for films including The Virgin Suicides, Natural Born Killers, Major League, and more.

She believes she continued to learn acting as she auditioned prominent Chicago actors including John Malkovich, Gary Sinise, and Laurie Metcalf. Alderman herself started auditioning again after performing in The Vagina Monologues in 2002. She has since retired from casting, but says that it was a little weird showing up to compete with a group of actors she knew from her time on the other side of the table. "I was aware that when I showed up at an audition, the actors who were my competition would freak out," she says.

Broadway All Partied Out?

In 1983, La Cage Aux Folles  producer Allan Carr spent more than $150,000 transforming the lobby of the Pan Am building into a replica of St.Tropez, complete with sand, parasols, venders, a revolving dance floor, and a 25-piece orchestra for the show’s opening night party. Now, as Variety reports, the days of the traditionally glamorous opening night party are slowly slipping away.

Andre Bishop, artistic director of Lincoln Center Theater, tells Variety, “The opening-night party is just a tradition. We theater folk love our traditions and are scared to give them up. It may be true that most people just want to go home to bed. I don’t know.”

Theater Community Divided on Broadway Turning the Volume Up

With touring stage productions now playing venues that seat as many as 4,000, more and more shows are becoming reliant upon mini mics and high tech sound systems, some of which not only project the performances to the furthest reach of the theater, but can also make the performers’ voices sound better than they would without these sophisticated sound systems. But the Wall Street Journal reports that the theater community is currently divided on whether these new technologies are a benefit to the performance or, as Broadway producer Manny Azenberg says, whether they cause viewers to “lose quality, lose intimacy, and lose the reality of the theater.”

Many sound designers say these miking systems are a necessary measure, although there is a fair share of people who disagree, such as renowned playwright David Mamet, who still refuses to use any mics at all in his plays. Actor Pablo Schreiber (Desire Under the Elms) says he was initially opposed to using a mic, but later realized it helped involve the audience in ways an acoustic performance might not have in a large theater. He said that during his love scene with Carla Gugino, he was able to whisper to her and look her in the eyes, instead of projecting outwards.

Audiences are starting to expect the miking effects. Using mics allows the actors on stage to speak more realistically, in a style audiences are used to from movies and television. In fact, as the number of film stars coming to Broadway has increased in recent years, miking must be used to accommodate actors who have less experience projecting their lines. Sound designer Russell Goldsmith (Exit the King) says another benefit of the technology is that he was able to manipulate the mics to evoke the sound of voices in a room with a cathedral ceiling, since the drama takes place in the throne room of a decrepit king.

Webber's Phantom 'Never Dies' on Broadway

Love Never Dies, Andrew Lloyd Webber's sequel to his long-running Phantom of the Opera, is approaching a late 2010 Broadway opening after its upcoming London premiere in March. But Phantom of the Opera itself is still going strong at the Majestic Theatre. New York's Dan Kois looks back on the past 20 years of Phantom history, leading to a likely Phantom-centric double residency beginning next year (as Kois writes, "Assuming that, like its predecessor, Love Never Dies never dies").

After over a decade in development, we hope that Love Never Dies -- in which the Phantom, now successful 10 years later, runs a theater in Coney Island -- can compare to its predecessor. Visit NYMag.com for the full chronology, but just know that Love Never Dies has big shoes to fill: Phantom of the Opera won seven Tony awards as a new musical in 1988, and the cast album spent almost five years on the Billboard 200 chart. Phantom also became the longest running show in Broadway history -- in 2006.

A Peek at the 'Street Lights' Recording

"Stand Clear" from "Street Lights"

For those who have seen, have heard of, or want to hear of the New York Musical Theatre Festival's new musical "Street Lights," here's a song from the new recording, available online and at shows. The show is already slated for a professional staging at the Old Globe in San Diego this February and future possibilites hover on the horizon.

This number, "Stand Clear," performed by Krystal Brown, Desiree Rodriguez, Chad Carstarphen, and the Street Lights Singers, utilizes sounds recorded from the New York City subway to further the realistic, urban feeling of both the song and the show. Joe Drymala, who recorded the album and wrote the music, lyrics, and book, said, "I feel like the music is what has been selling this show. It sounds like normal radio pop music that can even stand on its own." Take a listen and see if you agree.

Join Back Stage at New York City's "Free Night of Theater"

Imagine being able to enjoy the exhilarating thrill of live theatre, absolutely free! Oct. 15 marks the start of Theatre Communication Group’s fifth annual "Free Night of Theater." The event features over 650 theatre companies in over 120 cities, offering more than 75,000 free tickets.

Tomorrow, Oct. 15 from noon to 6 p.m. at Union Square, help kick off New York City’s "Free Night of Theater." The day includes music, performances, appearances by celebrities and politicians, booths, costumes, and much more. Come watch Broadway’s best perform for free!

Featured at the event this year: Grammy nominee "Cabas" from the new musical Pantaleon y las visitadoras; a fashion show from the Theater Development Fund, which houses more than 75,000 Broadway and off-Broadway costumes; and appearances by Mark Russell (assoc. artistic director of The Public Theater), The NY Neo-Futurists, Michael McKean (Superior Donuts on Broadway), and many other prominent faces from the New York theater scene. Plus, don’t miss your chance to join Back Stage! We'll be there to share information about our upcoming Actorfest NY event.

'Priscilla' to Drive to Broadway

A musical version of "Priscilla Queen of the Desert" is headed for the American theatre's main drag, Broadway. According to an Equity casting notice, this tuner version of the 1994 Australian film will begin previewing in Toronto on Oct. 12, 2010 at the Prince of Wales Theatre. The Broadway opening night is now scheduled for March 6, 2011 at a theater to be announced. Telsey + Company will hold equity principal auditions on Oct. 16, 19 and 20 for the principal roles including dra queens Bernadette, Mitzi/Tick, and Felicia/Adam, as well as Bob, the mechanic who is attracted to Bernadette, and Benjamin, 8-11 years old, the son of Mitzi/Tick. Equity notices for chorus calls will be announced shortly.