Category: Hedy Weiss
David Cromer’s "Our Town" coming to NYC
As reported on Playbill.com and the Chicago Tribune’s blog “The Theater Loop” by Chris Jones, David Cromer’s acclaimed Chicago production of Our Town, by Thorton Wilder, will make a reappearance in Spring 2009 at an Off-Broadway theatre. This is becoming something of a trend for David Cromer, as his production of The Adding Machine recently finished an award-winning run at Off-Broadway’s Minetta Lane Theatre.
Other info:
- Auditions are currently under way
- Ont The Town will be produced by Scott Morfee (who also financially-backed Adding Machine)
- Begins in February at the Barrow Street Theatre in Greenwich Village.
- The cast is expected to be a mix of Chicago and New York actors.
- Cromer directed and played the Stage Manager in the Windy City run, but it is not yet known whether Cromer will reprise the Stage Manager role.
- In regards to the set, the Barrow Street stage will be stripped bare to echo Cromer’s earlier concept.
As for The Adding Machine, which premiered at Evanston’s Next Theatre (see my review here), Playbill relays:
Cromer’s intensely visual staging of the musical Adding Machine was one of the best-reviewed productions of the 2007-08 season in New York City. The musical by composer and co-librettist Josh Schmidt and co-librettist Jason Loewith played the Minetta Lane Theatre Feb. 8-July 20.
For its New York run Adding Machine was awarded two Outer Critics Circle Awards (Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical, Outstanding New Score), four Lucille Lortel Awards (Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Director, Outstanding Lead Actor, Outstanding Lighting Design) and four Obie Awards as well as nominations from the Drama Desk and Drama League awards.
More links of interest:
- Informative interview with David Cromer by the podcast of TheatreinChicago.com.
- TimeOut Chicago’s article on this move to Off-Broadway
- Other reviews of “Our Town“, produced and performed by Hypocrites Theatre, including that of Hedy Weiss of the Chicago Sun-Times
- New York Times full-page profile of David Cromer.
Goodman Theatre’s top-notch recruitments
In the world of professional sports (and college sports for that matter), recruitment is everything. Entire sportscasts are dedicated to the subject of which team has recruited which top sports talent. Additionally, successful recruitment is often accredited to successful seasons.
Though the arts are often caricatured as the antithesis of sports, ironically, recruitment of artistic talent can be just as important to successful theatre seasons as they are in sports..
For their upcoming season, the Goodman Theatre has snatched up (i.e. recruited) a number of creative stars:
- Anna Shapiro – fresh from her Tony Award for August: Osage County, will direct the world premiere of Regina Taylor’s new play, Magnolia, a contemporary take on Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard. (production dates: March 14-April 19, 2009)
- Jeff Daniels, known for his roles in Terms of Endearment” and “The Purple Rose of Cairo”, has been signed on to star in the world premiere musical-fantasy Turn of the Century, by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. (Production dates: September 19-October 26, 2008 )
- Broadway legend Tommy Tune (9-time Tony Award winner) has been recruited to direct Turn of the Century. Broadway veteran Rachel York has been cast as the play’s female lead.
I have great confidence that Goodman’s top-notch recruiting will secure a very successful season, both artistically and financially.
h/t Hedy Weiss
A Red Orchid Theatre’s new Artistic Director: Kirsten Fitzgerald
Kirsten Fitzgerald has been a veteran ensemble member for A Red Orchid Theatre (based in Old Town) for many years. She now can add another title to her acting bio – that of artistic director. Kirsten Fitzgerald will replace Guy Van Swearingen, who has been the AD since the theatre’s founding in 1993. In an interview with Sun-Times’ theatre critic Hedy Weiss, Fitzgerald explained:
“We’ve been discussing a transition for a while…..It has been by sheer force of will, energy and devotion on the part of Guy and the ensemble that we’ve flourished all these years, and we want to keep that spirit going.”
And, regarding Guy Van Swearingen’s replacement by someone from within the theatre ensemble, Chris Jones, in his Trib blog “The Theater Loop“, adds:
“It’s unsurprising that A Red Orchid picked one its own. The long-standing company is known for its fiercely loyal company members, a group that includes the stage-and-screen actors Michael Shannon and Danny McCarthy.”
Congratulations Kirsten!!
Live Bait Theater putting theater space up for sale
Hedy Weiss reports that Wrigleyville-based Live Bait Theater (3914 N. Clark – map) has recently put their performance space up for sale. Husband-and-wife owner-operators Sharon Evans and John Ragir will be reconfiguring their organization, with future partnerships being discussed. With the slow-down in the realty market, the sale might take awhile, so events are still scheduled for the performance space through late spring. Read more here.
