Rap/Hip-Hop/Salsa Musical Leads Tony Nominations And "to no one's surprise, Tracy Letts's ambitious prizefight of a family drama, August: Osage County, was the leader among the new plays, with seven nominations (a robust haul for a play), picking up three acting nods and one for its director Anna D. Shapiro." The New York Times 05/13/08

email this story | Posted 05/13/08@07:45AM

Livent Fraud Trial: Contractor Says He Was Told To Inflate Ticket Sales A witness tells the court that Livent officials ordered the men to charge "what has been claimed as up to $1.7 million on their personal credit cards to purchase tickets for the Los Angeles run of Ragtime. This was done, the Crown Attorney claimed, not only to paint an exaggerated portrait of the show's success, but also to increase the amount of fixed assets on the Livent balance sheet." Variety 05/12/08

email this story | Posted 05/13/08@07:17AM

Next Jukebox Show: The BeeGees "Robin Gibb said the project was already in the pipeline and could be on stage in the next 12-16 months." BBC 05/10/08

email this story | Posted 05/12/08@07:00PM

Outer Circle Critics Honor Broadway Shows Lincoln Center's revival of the Rogers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific and Tracy Letts' August: Osage County topped the list of honorees at the Outer Critics Circle Awards Sunday night. Backstage 05/12/08

email this story | Posted 05/12/08@06:57PM

Broadway Mermaid Actor Breaks Both Wrists In Stage Fall Adrian Bailey, 51, was taken from the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre shortly before 2 p.m. Saturday, the Fire Department said. The Broadway veteran was being treated at Bellevue Hospital Center. Yahoo! (AP) 05/12/08

email this story | Posted 05/12/08@05:38PM

Andrew Lloyd Webber Warns About The Viability Of West End Theatres "The difficulty for commercial theatre owners is that such expenditure yields no economic benefit in terms of the operational viability of their buildings. Not one more seat becomes available for sale as a result. Indeed, improving the audience experience whilst retaining the architectural qualities of the building normally means losing seats, which commercial theatres can ill afford to do." The Stage 05/08/08

email this story | Posted 05/08/08@07:30PM

Whoopi Goldberg To Host Tonys She's hosted the Oscars four times. "The 62nd annual Tonys, which honor the best of the 2007-08 Broadway season, will be broadcast live 8-11 p.m. EDT on CBS." Yahoo! (AP) 05/08/08

email this story | Posted 05/08/08@07:22PM

Song Banned From Pre-Tony Telecast CBS' flagship affiliate in New York has "nixed a musical number from Broadway tuner "Passing Strange" from its pre-Tony special after the net's standards and practices department declared the song We Just Had Sex inappropriate for broadcast." Variety 05/06/08

email this story | Posted 05/08/08@07:08PM

Chicago's About Face Snags Prominent Director "About Face Theatre is expected to announce Thursday that Bonnie Metzgar will be the new artistic director of the company. And the Chicago theater scene will have snagged another new recruit of national stature, especially in the field of new plays." Chicago Tribune 05/07/08

email this story | Posted 05/08/08@06:48AM

When The Sponsor Becomes The Subject You've probably seen the Dove soap company's "Campaign for Real Beauty," featuring everyday women posed like models. But would you recognize it as a play? A Toronto playwright has accepted a commission from the company, and insists that the resulting stage work has nothing to do with selling soap. The Globe & Mail (Canada) 05/08/08

email this story | Posted 05/08/08@06:40AM

One Toronto Theatre Giant Sues Another Giant "Claiming conspiracy, fraud, a breach of the Competition Act and irreparable harm, Toronto theatre impresario Aubrey Dan is seeking an injunction to block the sale of the Canon and Panasonic Theatres to his downtown rival, David Mirvish." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 05/07/08

email this story | Posted 05/07/08@06:16PM

Cuts In Theatre Training Threatens Scottish Theatre "The theatre, TV and film industries would dwindle away without a steady flow of versatile young recruits - but that's the likely effect of the cutbacks troubling Scotland's two leading drama schools. It's a damning reflection of how the education system has become preoccupied with economics instead of learning." The Guardian (UK) 05/07/08

email this story | Posted 05/07/08@05:16PM

Show Closes After Just One Performance Glory Days has closed after just one performance on Broadway. "Sadly, given the overnight reviews and our low advance sales, we believe it is prudent to close the show on Broadway immediately.'' The show had received promising, if not adulatory, reviews during its debut earlier this season at the Arlington, Virginia- based Signature Theatre. Bloomberg 05/07/08

email this story | Posted 05/07/08@05:09PM

Stephen King/John Mellencamp Musical Postponed Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, "with music by Mellencamp and book by King, was pushed back to allow creatives more time to complete work on the project, according the Atlanta's Alliance Theater." Variety 05/06/08

email this story | Posted 05/06/08@03:20PM

Where Is Britain's Muslim Theatre? "New British drama, in the years ahead, will increasingly come from minority groups; by giving a platform to these fledgling writers, the Court Theatre is spreading information and light. We all need urgently to learn about the multicultural society in which we live." The Guardian (UK) 05/06/08

email this story | Posted 05/06/08@02:55PM

Stars Of Pacific Playwrights Orange County's "South Coast Rep has been flying a big, bright flag for art for more than four decades. The theater has long been one of the most steadfast and prolific producers of new American plays. More than 50 works first presented in some form at the 10 previous Pacific Playwrights Festivals were subsequently seen elsewhere." The New York Times 05/06/08

email this story | Posted 05/06/08@06:00AM

Livent Impressarios' Fraud Trial Begins Theatre impresario Garth Drabinsky and his business partner Myron Gottlieb falsified the books and bilked investors and creditors out of half a billion dollars when they were at the helm of theatre producer Livent Inc. and its predecessor companies, a court was told today. Toronto Star 05/05/08

email this story | Posted 05/05/08@10:17PM

Phantom Closes In London For Better Sound The show has been running 22 years and the theatre's sound system needs an overhaul. "Phantom had ground-breaking sound when it opened in 1986 and Andrew and I have wanted for some time to give our sound system a complete update so that our audiences could enjoy the most exciting theatrical sound in London." theStage 05/04/08

email this story | Posted 05/05/08@06:24PM