One of The Most Important Plays Ever Written

The Women is being remade. I saw the first commercial for it tonight. It took me a minute to recognize it, but it is indeed a remake of the 1936 play, which was first turned into a movie in 1939. The playwright was Clare Booth Luce, a fascinating woman. She was a New York society woman who also happened to be a successful writer and serve in Congress. You should read Rage for Fame.

Why is this play important? Because, when done correctly...don't see "The Opposite Sex", its cast is made up entirely of women. Sure, the majority of the plot revolves around men, but you never see or hear one man in the entire play/movie. For any Broadway show or Hollywood flick, that is incredible. And now, just as in 1939, the movie stars some top notch talent...except Eva Mendes. How the hell did she get this part? For this most recent iteration, every actor that gets billing in this movie is a woman. That's so cool to me.

This is not the most PC movie in the world, and I'm sure Diane English...the creator of "Murphy Brown"...will modernize it a lot, but when done correctly, it is witty and smart. I can't wait to see it.

NY Theatre is SO Racist!

I can't believe this article. God forbid older white female theatregoers go to any play that doesn't affirm their status on the pedestal of American society! It seems that any play that does not cater to these women has no business being on Broadway. And apparently it would mean Armageddon if a play that had an all-black cast drew a racially diverse audience. How can theatre still be so culturally backwards...especially theatre in New York?! It's infuriating!

What's Wrong with Me?

I really want to see The Little Mermaid on Broadway. I can't explain why. The way Ariel's tail is attached to the back of her costume looks ridiculous, but I still want to see the show. I think I dig how multiculti (to use a term from tuckergurl) it is.

Harvard is turning my brain to mush.

I May Be in the Wrong Business

My cynicism is palpable these days, especially as it relates to the state of American theatre. I still believe in its power that comes from its immediacy and its intimacy. But the elitism that comes from its restrictive prices and its lack of diversity turns my stomach.

So you know that it's bad when you're reading the Times and it's this performance that excites you. I actually want to find a kid and go see it!

Lloyd Richards...Rest In Peace

Lloyd Richards--the acclaimed theatre director and a big part of what made August Wilson August Wilson--died last week on his 87th birthday. I found out Saturday night during the First Saturdays at the Brooklyn Museum. The news hit me like a slap in the face.

I worked with him...I can't tell you how because that's blogsphere TMI. Interacting with him was so odd. He inspired this natural deference, like he held this aura that made you get stars in your eyes. But he was such a cute little man! With a warm smile that he gave to everyone. Though you could tell his energy level wasn't what it once was, his mind was still a sharp as a tack. When he had notes about a show, you had better listen.

I feel very sad that he is dead. Wilson and Richards created some of the most dynamic, compelling theatre in this country...ever. Of course, I haven't been alive for "ever," but I'm guessing that their collaborations are pretty up there on the list of Most Dynamic, Compelling Theatre Ever. Their deaths create a vacuum on the American stage. I feel lucky to have seen some of their plays and honored to have known the man.

The Silence is Deafening

Does no one else think this is a big deal? The Pulitzer Prizes were awarded yesterday...to everyone but a playwright. There was no award given in the Drama category. There were nominees, but no winner. There were jurors...interesting ones at that. One of them taught a class I took at Columbia and another was a Commencement speaker at Columbia. But, no award. What is that about, I wonder?

So I went to the New York Times to find out what it was about...but there is no article on it at all. There is an article about all the journalism prizes that were awarded and a general article about all the winners. However, in the Theatre Section, no one wrote about the fact that an award wasn't given. That's just weird.

There is a short piece on Playbill.com, which always reads to me as dinner table conversation trying to be journalism. How seriously can you report about the casting of The Wedding Singer, after all? They say that those in the know predicted that they wouldn't be a winner this year because there was no "natural choice." I have no idea what that means, but I guess I'm not in the know, because I think it's a blow to American theatre. That there would ever be a year in which the jurors couldn't find one produced play which to give that award is sad. And apparently it happened before...less than ten years ago.