NYTimes slideshow: The curtain comes down on RENT

Check it out here!

Don't forget that TBPAC will host RENT with original cast members Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal!

Obit: Tom Murphy, Irish actor, won Tony for 'Beauty Queen'

Tom Murphy, the Irish actor who won the Tony Award in 1998 for his portrayal of Ray Dooley in Martin McDonagh's The Beauty Queen of Leenane died Oct. 6 in Dublin from complications of Hodgkin's lymphoma. He was 39.

I played that part in Jobsite Theater's 2003 production of Beauty Queen. Jobsite also went on to produce Mr. McDonagh's The Pillowman in 2006.

The obit on the NYTimes site also references my favorite line in the show:

“Who wants to see Ireland on telly?” Mr. Murphy’s character asks. “All you have to do is look out your window and see Ireland. And it’s bored you’d be.” He mimes looking out a window. “There goes a calf."

Tom Murphy made quite a mark on stage and screen, above and beyond his Tony for Best Featured Actor in 1998 (where he shared the stage with current Broadway stalwart Brian O'Byrne), starring in Connor McPherson's Shining City as well as the acclaimed films Michael Collins and Adam and Paul.

A Yiddish guide to ‘Jewtopia’

A new book has arrived just in time to supplement the comedy in Jewtopia, now playing in TBPAC’s Jaeb Theater through Nov. 11.

Billed as a goy meets girl love story, Jewtopia traces the misadventures of two guys looking for love in all the wrong places.

The Tribune’s review today says you’ll laugh in spite of yourself (and it’s OK).

The book is “Just Say Nu,” by Michael Wex. The subtitle is “Yiddish for Every Occasion (When English Just Won’t Do).”

The New York Times review says “The book is packaged as a primer, with a mild pretense of being an instruction manual. … Most readers will skip over the grammar and syntax and head right to Mr. Wex’s comic explanation of Yiddish phrases, and how to get maximum impact out of a language strong on aggression, contempt and abuse.”

That much I could gather from the Jewtopia script, which offers sort of a Yiddish 101 for those not of the Tribe.

Plus, the helpful Jaeb folks put together a helpful vocabulary sheet passed out with the program.

Of course, you can get your M.A. in Yiddish with Wex’s book.

For example, when you hear someone spouting nonsense, like, say that there’s nothing to do downtown, you could say “Vays ikh voos,” which apparently means “I know what” in a literal translation, but so much more with the proper intonation.

The Times’ critic says, delivered properly, that it’s “not so much spoken as spat, or sneezed out. … It consists of equal parts disbelief, contempt and impatience – practically a Yiddish trifecta.”

– MichaelK

12th Night of the Living Dead

Check out this very interesting concept for an adaptation: William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night meets George Romero's Night of the Living Dead, using only Shakespeare's text (with a healthy doze of grunts and groans, natch.)

If you happen to be in New York between now and Nov. 10, this may be worth a trip to the Lower East Side.

The big biz of Broadway

Checking out the NYTimes today online, I found two stories almost back to back about the current state of how "big business" more or less is dictating the movements on the Great White Way.

It's unfortunate to me in a lot of ways that it's all become big business. "Legally Blonde will be the new Wicked!" "How do we get more shows up that appeal to tweens?", "Let's produce a new works festival as a gold-panning sifter to maybe find the new RENT!"

I suppose it's just an illustration of how when you actually do a decent job turning something into a successful business, you become even more dependent on selling a ticket.

Does quality suffer, or do we possibly slow actual artistic advancement by first deciding what's hot and what will appeal to the lowest common denominator? Is it somehow backwards to establish an audience to exploit over having a good idea?

The idea that tweens are driving any Broadway market is astonishing to me, considering the cost of a Broadway ticket. Where are these kids getting the money?

They do establish that a show can't appeal to tweens exclusively, because a show would never last in New York on that alone due to the sheet volume needed in ticket sales from not only locals but tourists.

In other words, by appealing not directly to the ticket buyers but to the people who exert major influence on them — their daughters — “Legally Blonde” brings adults into the theater. Ideally, they then have a good time and tell their adult friends. “If we go after the tweens, we’ll get the adults,” Mr. Luftig said.

For years, the knock was that Neil Simon, Edward Albee and Arthur Miller couldn't get produced on Broadway. Today I read that now Sondheim can't get a break as producers and audiences alike dig around for something more bubblegum.

The long and short of our current cycle?

The news would appear to be that the American (and English, and Australian) musical is still alive and kicking, often literally. You want great art? Get over it.

The Green Goblin wants Spiderman to go to the opera

Okay, maybe not exactly, but at the Metropolitan Opera’s opening night of the season, this guy was there:

And Mr. Dafoe was not the only celebrity to be cited, other guests included Jane Fonda, David Schwimmer, Anthony Minghella, John McEnroe, Bianca Jagger, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Walter Cronkite and the beautiful and stylish grandmother of Apple and Moses, Blythe Danner.

All of the schmoozing and fun can be found here.

Gaetano Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor” continues General Manager Peter Gelb’s vision of opening night showcasing an opulent opera. Once again simulcast to the adoring public, “Lucia di Lammermoor” was seen by over 8,000 opera lovers (or people wandering by the Lincoln Center). For full details on the performance read the NYT review.

Tonight the Met offers Gounod’s “Romeo and Juliet” with Placido Domingo conducting and the dead-sexy Anna Netrebko as Juliet. Standing room tickets are still available – just in case you were planning a last minute trip to NYC tonight.

-Kari G.

Drowsy Chaperone - highest rating on NYTimes.com

While checking the NYTimes today online, I noticed that The Drowsy Chaperone has the highest user rating of all shows currently running right now in New York. We're lucky enough to be getting the first national tour of the show right here at TBPAC in the 0708 season.