‘Bob Fosse’s Dancin’ to end Broadway run
The Broadway revival of the dance revue “Bob Fosse’s Dancin’,” which did not receive any Tony Award nominations last week, will play its final performance on Sunday, May 14. In a statement, the producers noted that news about the future of “Dancin'” (perhaps a national tour) will be announced soon. The original 1978 Broadway production of “Dancin'” ran 1,774 performances. In my review, I wrote the revival, as directed by original cast member Wayne Cilento, lacked Fosse’s inimitable style, allure, and precision and generally lacked purpose.
‘Hamilton’ merges with ‘Sweeney Todd’ in concert performance
On Friday, LIn-Manuel Miranda and the casts of “Hamilton” and “Sweeney Todd” (two shows directed by Thomas Kail) revived the Ham4Ham concert series (in which short, no frills concerts were performed outside the Richard Rodgers Theatre in conjunction with the daily lottery for discounted “Hamilton” tickets) by performing a mash-up of the opening numbers of “Hamilton” and “Sweeney Todd” (with lyrics in which the serial murderer from Stephen Sondheim’s famous musical replaced Alexander Hamilton). The performers also mixed together “Wait” from “Sweeney Todd” and “Wait for It” from “Hamilton.” The complete Ham4Ham performance is available for viewing on YouTube.
Drama Critics Circle and Lucille Lortel Awards give out honors
Even though the Tony Awards are still a month away, theater awards season is in full gear, with other well-known organizations already in the process of giving out their awards.
On Sunday, Hansol Jung’s parenting drama “Wolf Play” and the parody musical “Titanique” received five awards and three awards, respectively, at the Lucille Lortel Awards, which recognizes Off-Broadway productions.
On Monday, the New York Drama Critics’ Circle (of which I am a voting member) named Bruce Norris’ “Downstate” (produced Off-Broadway this season by Playwrights Horizon) as Best Play and Tom Stoppard’s “Leopoldstadt” (which is currently running on Broadway) as Best Foreign Play. The organization declined to give an award for Best Musical and gave special citations to LaMaMa Experimental Theatre Club, playwright Adrienne Kennedy, and the Broadway revival of “Parade.”
Ivo van Hove tackles ‘Don Giovanni’ at the Met
During my early days as a theater critic for amNewYork (nearly two decades ago at this point), I attended performances at the Metropolitan Opera on a regular basis. Although I have never been as passionate about opera as I am about musical theater, the production values and quality of music at the Met are not easily replicated elsewhere.
On Friday, I attended the Met for the first time this season for the premiere performance of a new staging of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” directed by Ivo van Hove (whose many Broadway credits include “A View from the Bridge,” “Network,” and “West Side Story”). Given van Hove’s past work, I had expected the production to incorporate live video feeds of the cast both onstage and offstage and perhaps some shocking visuals. Instead, the production turned out to be a dark but straightforward staging that was distinguished mainly by strong performances – so much so that it represented the best production of the work I have encountered to date.
I look forward to returning to the Met before the current season ends to check out their new production of Mozart’s “Die Zauberflöte” (better known as “The Magic Flute”) directed by actor Simon McBurney.
