Author Archives: Christopher Arnott
Stark Expression
This site’s still just days old, but Sanaa Lathan, estimable Yale School of Drama grad, has already been mentioned on it a couple of times. Now I see that she’s appearing in the Second Stage production of Lynn Nottage’s new play By the Way, Meet Vera Stark, which begins performances tonight. (2st.com for details). Other … Continue reading
The Yale Rep Season Announcment
This site is still brand new, so there’s some catching up to do. Back on March 10, the Yale Rep announced five-sixths of its 2011-2012 season: While it doesn’t exactly stream light into the room after so many dark, downbeat shows over the last couple of seasons, the slate promises much amusement—of the introspective, culture-satire … Continue reading
Memphis in print
The musical Memphis teems with Connecticut regional theater connections. While it did NOT have an out-of-town try-out or workshop at Goodspeed Musicals (main developer of Broadway-friendly song-and-dance shows in the state, from Man of La Mancha to Annie to All Shook Up), Memphis availed itself of the expertise of producer Sue Frost (who left her … Continue reading
Who’s in the Header Photo?
That would be me, on the right, in the ska-kid black & white checked jacket, next to jolly Frank Wildhorn, at the the Shubert Theater in New Haven around 15 years ago. I’m guessing it was during the pre-Broadway shakedown of his Jekyll & Hyde musical, but Wildhorn would resurface at the Shubert frequently —with … Continue reading
Water Cooler Theater #1
PAPER CUTS A script for the state workers in Wisconsin CHARACTERS A: The governor B: Anybody but the governor PROPS A whole lot of pieces of paper SCENE ONE B: What’s this? A: it’s a ballot. Vote for me. B: Well, I’ll vote for SOMEBODY. I believe in the will of the people. SCENE TWO … Continue reading
Offstage Voices
I’ve always wondered what it would be like to see a proper production of Noel Coward’ s cavalcade, his wartime play that takes an entire town to perform. I did see a Chinese village play once, as well as a postmodern variation on that form overseen by Peter Sellars at Harvard in the mid-1980s. And … Continue reading
On with the show
I’ve always wondered what it would be like to see a proper production of Noel Coward’ s cavalcade, his wartime play that takes an entire town to perform. I did see a Chinese village play once, as well as a postmodern variation on that form overseen by Peter Sellars at Harvard in the mid-1980s. And … Continue reading
Chautauqua! soldiers on
Chautauqua!, the National Theater of the United States of America’s postmodern recreation of oratory spectators of the late 1800s and early 1900s, continues to tear up the provinces after premiering in New York over a year ago. Touring the show would seem tricky, since entire tracts of it need to be rewritten in order to … Continue reading
Into the Woods
Westport Country Playhouse announced last week that it’s staging a new production of Sondheim’s Into the Woods in May of 2012. The WCP season follows the calendar year rather than the school- year model which so many other regional theaters prefer. The theater’s 2011 season is just about to begin, with Christopher Durang’s Beyond Therapy … Continue reading
The Viewing List
A dozen stage-savvy flicks among the “new arrivals” on Netflix’s Watch Instantly list: 1. Orson Welles & Me. It’s a self-conscious period piece self-consciously presenting a teen idol, Zac Efron, in his first “mature” role (though he’s still playing a teenager). Yet it strenuously avoids dumbing down its story. Names like John Gassner and Brooks … Continue reading