Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Review of reviewers

I came across this article yesterday: "New service aims to offer arts tickets at lower prices."

While I am excited that you can get price-gouged for slightly less now, I find it odd that they couldn't get the website up-and-running on time. They only have ONE merchant, after all. A super-secret inside source reveals that they switched banking services at the last minute with complete disregard as to how that would affect their website's capability. Thus it came as a total shock to them that they weren't able to take orders. I digress.

Speaking of Doug Mason, who is reviewing in this town anymore?

Is Doug? I saw in the knoxnews archives that he did put up quickie reviews of Henry V and Taming of the Shrew, so I guess he's still at it.

Paige Travis? No longer with the Metropulse, apparently Paige has hung up her reviewing hat for awhile.

The Metropulse? Loot got a certain Knoxville biographer to review the show under pseudonym, and Leslie Wylie just came off of a Theatre Knoxville review as well as two previews for ETSS and the Co-op.

Anyone I'm forgetting? Does the Sentinel have anyone else that reviews? It seems like the Metropulse has had random people write reviews over the past year. Can anyone help fill this picture out?

6 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Looks like this site is the only place to get reviews, not overviews, of shows in Knoxville (for now J) Anyway, I just spoke to Knoxtix and their site should be functional sometime tomorrow.

6:59 AM  
Blogger Green said...

p.s. on the article up there.

You can't reserve tickets by calling the Actor's Co-op anymore by my accounts. I tried to do that for last Thursday and they said they didn't do that anymore and to order the tickets through KnoxTix. That's fine and understandable, I suppose. I think. Yes, it is. Right?

9:03 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey there Joe! Found your theater blog and love it! The reviews we get here in Crossville are mostly "program reviews" where the reviewer mentions every single person in the show and all the main technical artists, and is mostly free publicity. Even so, it is really nice to see my name in print in a positive light every once in a while. Can't wait to see Hedwig on Saturday!

10:15 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

If your theatre seats more than 500-600, a review in Knoxville can definately kill a show. Friends and family CANNOT sell that many tix night after night.

Only serious TV star power is reviewer proof in this town.

of note:
http://www.tn-theatre.com/tta-about.html
scroll down to awards, 1996. wow.

4:48 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

BTW did anyone notice the long winded review of Mama Mia? why do we need a local reviewer to put in their 2 cents about a national tour? I think the paper should spend time supporting local ventures, thank you very much. but I guess I'm just off my rocker.

and did we really need Mr. Duckett to inform us that Mama Mia was silly, frivolous, and short on plot? Can this be NEWS to anyone?

10:52 PM  
Blogger the badge said...

My friend Spencer who played Curly in last year's tour of Oklahoma got more press in the Sentinel the week of his Knoxville run than just about any local show in recent memory. It's just another glorified advertisement...does Broadway Knoxville need that kind of press to break even? I'm so disenchanted with the Sentinel's theatre section that I never check to see what they're writing about. A Momma Mia review? There are so many things wrong with that.

5:12 AM  

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Sunday, July 23, 2006

Polls of the Week

Boy am I now obsessed with blogging. I've decided to debut Fun Theatre Polls every Sunday, house right of the center aisle. I may never sleep again...

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Stupid thing is broken, my vote is for the BBT

2:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hands down the Actors Co-op at the Black Box Theatre

1:37 PM  

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Friday, July 21, 2006

the power of the blog

Guess who just updated its website...

4 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow, who knew that you could shame them into doing it!

9:18 AM  
Blogger glasshole said...

I realize this has nothing whatsoever to do with the topic of your blog, but since you seem to wield such motivational power, could you maybe do an entry on Interstate 40 Construction?

1:37 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank God somebody is writing what we're all thinking. People are always bad mouthing Knoxville theatre, but you know what? Suck it. Seeing shows in Knoxville is fun because there is always someone to root for in every production you see. Whether it's a friend, a family member, or one of those goddamn talented Greers, Knoxville theatre is fun, exciting, and beats the hell outta standing in line at the Pinnacle waiting for Pirates of the Carribean 2 to disappoint you.

11:31 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yay! The site is updated! And only 2 months late!!

MJ

10:15 AM  

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Thursday, July 20, 2006

[insert theatre company]'s website blows

The News-Sentinel ran this piece yesterday about the Carpetbag Theatre:

Theater question to council again

I realized when reading it that I know absolutely nothing about the Carpetbag Theatre. Have they been on break recently? Their website advertises a new piece (one assumedly celebrating the Carpetbag's 30+ years), but it doesn't say when or where the show is being put on. I also realized that I would like to rank the Knoxville Theatre Websites, from best to last.


1. Oak Ridge Playhouse

Theatre interest generated: ****
Professionalism: ****
Up-to-date-ness: ***

Sometimes I think the website is more polished than the choreography onstage. My only complaint is that the Archives section is always under construction, and I want to look at all the pretty pictures, dammit.


2. Clarence Brown Theatre

Theatre interest generated: *
Professionalism: ****
Up-to-date-ness: ****

The Clarence Brown ONLY comes in at number two due to the rest of the competition sucking so hard. The site used to be more interesting, but about three years ago it got sucked into the mainframe of the UT system's website, and thereby lost its individuality. Now it looks just as likely to be a Bursar Office page as it does a Theatre Department page. The excitement about theatre generated by the CBT's website is low. Very low.


3. Morristown Theatre Guild


Theatre interest generated: **
Professionalism: **
Up-to-date-ness: ***

While not the most complicated of sites, the Guild's page is updated regularly and can be counted on when looking for show and ticket information.


4. The Carpetbag Theatre

Theatre interest generated: **
Professionalism: ***
Up-to-date-ness: *

While generally not badly done, the site doesn't ever mention when any shows are. Do they even do anything in town?


5. Tennessee Stage Company

Theatre interest generated: **
Professionalism: **
Up-to-date-ness: **

Not exactly an HTML smorgasbord, at least the site kinda mentions what's generally going on with the Company.


6. The Actors Co-op

Theatre interest generated: **
Professional-ness: ***
Up-to-date-ness: *

Their ranking would dramatically rise if they would update the site into the new season! The Co-op redeems itself, however, through their use of myspace.

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

First of all, the $100,000 for the Carpet Bag Theatre should be diverted to the Actor’s Co-Op. The Co-Op could obviously put it to much better use than buying an old house. Next, why is it so hard for local theatres to have great websites. We live in a world where people goof off at work and decide what they are doing on the weekend through the internet. Please, Theatres of Knoxville, UPDATE, REORGANIZE, and IMPROVE YOUR WEBSITES……………

3:28 PM  

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Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Thank you, Jesus

Here's a little pet peeve of mine that I think deserves some conversation: Thanking God in theatre bios. If you are unfamiliar with this Southern trend, let me give you a few examples:

From a Morristown Theatre Guild program:

"...[Actor] would like to thank God for saving him and giving him the opportunity to do what he enjoys..."

From an Oak Ridge Playhouse program:

"...Thank you to Terri, Naomi, Cami, Natasha, Jack, Reggie, Samantha, his brother/stage manager Lucas, and Jesus."

"...[Actor] thanks his parents for their never-ending support, Rachel for her friendship, and Jesus for his undying love."

It's not just community theatre players that love giving a shout out to the Big Guy; I have seen a program at the Clarence Brown where Jesus was thanked more than once for his saving properties.

I'm glad that Jesus is represented and all, but isn't it a tad tacky? And if God is reading your bio, wouldn't he be ticked off that he got mentioned last? When I look at a bio, all I want to know is what shows the actors have been in, where they went to school, and, if they're under the age of 6, whether or not they like dogs or candy.

Furthermore, all you community theatre thespians out there, a bio is not the place to list your future wikipedia entry. A recent MTG program ended with, I kid you not, "[Actress] also adores senior citizens, horses, cats, painting and the outdoors." (This came from a grown woman who (self-purportedly) did professional work in New York.) Really? You think it's important that I know that you adore old people? And does your heart start bursting only once they get their AARP cards?

Congrats to the Tennessee Stage Company for a Shakespeare on the Square program largely absent of anything annoying.

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think this is brilliant--I'm sure Jesus would, too!

1:11 PM  

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Monday, July 17, 2006

Henrietta I

When one doesn't work for while, one gets quite used to the notion of not working. So when I made it back to my day job for the first time in about a week, I couldn't fathom actually working my entire shift. So I didn't. Instead, I headed down to the newly-r(enov)aided Market Square for some beer and Shakespeare.

And then I realized I was a dumbass. Henry V started at seven, not eight, and I was already running 5 minutes late. So I didn't watch it. Starting to watch a play half-way through is like watching Season 3 of 24 without having seen Kim Bauer almost eaten by a wildcat twenty minutes outside of L.A. Actually it's not like that at all. It's just not any fun to have missed the first half. So instead I went up to a party over the Oodles building and watched the stage pictures down below. While I watched, I got philosophical.

Why in the world does Tennessee Stage Company have so much money? Okay, here's my take on TSC's reputation in town: They are very well-funded, but put on a LOT of stinkers (Girl in the Boat, anyone?). I can't say I've seen many TSC shows, but I can't say I've ever really wanted to. (On a side note, TSC almost gave me my first paying job back in the summer of '01, playing Lenox in Macbeth. Instead, World's Fair Park got renovated, Macbeth got the axe (hee), and I directed Bent instead.)

Does anyone really, really like Shakespeare enough to endure 90-degree-plus heat to watch a production in Knoxville? The answer is obviously yes, as I myself was planning to watch it. But I'll be honest, Shakespeare in such a setting feels like more of theatrical duty than a pleasure. I really had more interest in supporting friends like Leigh Monet (formerly Hruby) and Jess Milewicz (anyone see Oliver! at the CBT?). For me, Shakespeare has to be engaging in a novel way for me to will my brain to work through the dialogue. Maybe I was spoiled during my time in Stratford-upon-Avon when I got to see several productions by the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. Okay, I was spoiled.

Are Leigh Monet and Betsy Greer going to kiss? Yes.

Is Knoxville theatre irreparably splintered in this town or is that in my imagination? That conversation is a blog entry waiting to happen.

Without critiquing the show as a whole, because I did not see it, I will make this comment: with as much money as the actors are getting paid (which is awesome for a non-CBT Knoxville theatre to afford to do), there shouldn't be one soul up there who speaks poorly. And there was. It's Shakespeare. To sell an audience on a Globe-like, minimalist production of one of the Bard's shows, there better not be an actor it can't understand. Or else, in my case, my brain will start focusing on the trees or the homeless or the fact that Earth to Old City isn't open.

Again, my goal is not to bitch, but to get a constructive dialogue going about the state of theatre in this town.

4 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

A quick comment/tangent:

I find it fascinating that the East Tennessee Shakespeare in the Park/Box/Square has survived for so long. I blame the playwrite! Shakespeare companies are successful where others might fail: in Alabama, Oregon, Utah, Texas, Florida-- it seems like every state has at least one big Shakespeare festival. People freakin' crave Big Willy Shakes and I'm glad they do! Thank you Shake-heads for keeping so many of us employed!!

Unfortunately, it seems that Knoxville isn't big enough for 2 Shakespeare theatres since the Smoky Mountain Shakespeare Festival only lasted 4 summers (well, let's be honest: 3 summers). It's sad too because I thought the quality of work was promising. If Pellissippi State Community College had stood behind them like Southern Utah University has stood behind the Utah Shakespearean Festival for 45 years we would have Shakespeare in Knoxville that we could really be proud of. Oh well. C'est la vie.

10:43 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ah, I remember my summers at Smoky Mountain Shakespeare, Shakespeare in the Park (and box), and let's not forget UT's summer Appalachian Shakespeare Project tour. I survived all of them and found things to like about each experience. Some were definitely more professional that others, some paid better (although, I don't remember any of them paying a decent living wage... I always had other jobs to pay the bills- w/ the exception of the UT tour when I was living off of a credit card and having the time of my life...but that's another story altogether...). My memory of ETSP was that there was never a lot of focus on the text, but more on conveying the meaning as well as possible... which was almost IMpossible in that World's Fair Amphitheatre that echoed every word and swallowed the rest (not to mention the early days of the box w/ no curtains/blacks to help the sound and having to battle the air conditioner to be heard). Smoky Mtn. folks often assumed you already knew all about the text and considered it a hassle to have to go over techniques of speaking Shakespeare's language. The UT tour was the only one that brought all the actors together for language workshops. It was great (thanks to Blake) for all involved to finally be on the same page. Interesting that ETSP is the only one that has lasted this long... could it possibly have something to do with the ticket price? It used to be 5 dollars, but is free these days. Anyway, that's enough of memory lane for now...damn blogger for not having spellcheck...

6:11 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I think your impression that TN Stage is rolling in dough is unfounded. Or was your nimble tongue planted firmly in your cheek w/ that observation? I mean, come on, Kate didn't even have a WEDDING DRESS for Shrew, let alone an identical copy wedding dress distressed w/ tears and mud for the 2nd act. No one in the show changed clothes. Not an indication of huge budget in my reckoning.

11:40 AM  
Blogger the badge said...

My impression of the TSC as having money was founded in the fact that the actors are getting paid well. I didn't pay much attention to the costumes when I saw Henry...I noticed that they were "period" and my brain shut down. (For some reason, I hate seeing shows with typical Shakespeare tunics, especially when paired with modern haircuts and glasses.)

5:21 AM  

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A very Hedwig weekend



It is early Monday afternoon, and I'm just now coming down from the high I got from a weekend full of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. While it's no secret that I have a certain attachment to this one, and while I'm certainly prone to self-promotion, I do think this show is something special. For two years I've wanted this production to happen. For it to have finally come to fruition is mind-boggling.

Preview night was Thursday, the 13th. The crowd, which included friends of mine in the screamo band sadville, as well as Scott and Bernadette West (go figure), was electric. Everything --the songs, monologues, costumes-- culminated into something much greater than its parts.

Opening night came with a weird case of opening-night-specific jitters. Perhaps it was seeing old theatre friends like Tony Cedeno (anyone see Bent?) and Brandy Eleazor (anyone see Clue?) in the audience, or die-hard Hed-heads like Sarah Campbell, but something made me start out a little tentative. I think I settled down once the show got rolling. Anyway, if my neighbors from the bookeddy blabbed about it, and if Carl from Carl's Salon says he loved it, it must have been just as good as preview night.

Saturday night was the show that blew me away. The chemistry between the audience and me was crackling. And so many weird things happened...the house lights coming on when some lady in the bathroom hit the wrong switch, the lady who had to pee during (essentially) Act 3, the goddamned bra...but each potential hiccup worked its way beautifully into the script. And I'm pretty sure I saw some celebrities from UT in the audience. Exciting times.

4 Comments:

Blogger glasshole said...

Our hero fails to give himself the proper credit.
Those hiccups did not work themselves in, and had the potential, in lesser hands, to be outright disaster. To ignore them would have been a feat in and of itself, to make them work was nothing short of brilliance.

Absolutely.

7:22 PM  
Blogger Tennessee Values Authority said...

I just found out about your blog (through Knoxville520) and wanted to offer my congratulations to you and everyone associated with the current production of Hedwig at the BBT. Eleanor and I had the pleasure of seeing the show this past Friday evening and had a wonderful time. Having seen the movie previously, we were curious about how the show works on stage. It was a great night of theatre. The ad-lib about Jake Butcher, by the way, was genius.

5:50 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I haven't been this excited about a production in a LONG time! Great job Joe! Also to Jodie and the band. Everything was so much fun! I went Thursday night, and returned Friday and Saturday as well! I even lied to my friends about where I was because they already think I'm treading in the deep end of the pool as it is. I'll probably be there again (well, no probably about it). Just don't tell!

8:49 AM  
Blogger Green said...

People use awesome much too frequently for it to be of any real value anymore. But, to revive its original meaning, the show and the performance and every aspect of it was something of awe.

I, and my two friends who were there the night of the 27th, are going to get a fourth party and head over on the 5th as well. I wish I'd had enough chutzpah Thursday to tell you after the show how fabulous your performance was. Maybe I'll wrangle up the nerve on the 5th. And, if not, I've left this bloated comment enough for any rambling I might have done.

10:47 PM  

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Saturday, July 08, 2006

Hello, Costumes!

I went to see Hello, Dolly! at the Oak Ridge Playhouse tonight. My friend was the driver, and having not been to Oak Ridge any other way, took the only route he knew: the winding highway that runs parallel to the Clinch River. The Clinch, flat and picturesque, is a mecca for local rowing enthusiasts (and Chinese food enthusiasts, strangely enough). I was ashamed I'd come this way not once in the five hundred times I've driven to Oak Ridge, but glad I now knew yet another local scenic diversion.

Speaking of scenic diversions (and segues), the ORP's Hello, Dolly! is one of the best costumed shows I've seen in quite some time. DeWayne Kirchner, the resident designer and costume shop manager, has a very impressive professional resume -- hell, he costumed the real Dolly --under his belt, enough that one wonders why we're lucky enough to have his talents here in the Knoxville area. From the opening curtain to the bow, this production was a visual orgasm. Dolly's signature evening gown at the top of Act 2 almost brought the house down (and almost touched the roof).

Costumes aside, the show wa.... No, there's no such things as costumes aside when it comes to Hello, Dolly! Were the actors as big as the hats they had to fill? Some were, some weren't. Local favorite Dan Owenby was reliably funny as Horace Vandergelder and Dana Wham had the pipes for Dolly, but a lot of clumsy blocking and set changes (can someone please oil the casters?) got in the way of much chemistry. Many of the ensemble were new --brand new-- to the stage, so the audience got to enjoy more than its fair share of deer-in-headlight expressions. However, it's the burgeoning talent in young high school kids like Jodi Freeman and Max Souza that makes community theatre such a joy to watch. I only wish Knoxville had good institutes to train young thespians and paying jobs to keep them performing.

All in all, a trip to the Playhouse is just as much of a trip to see old friends as it is a trip to see a show. The audience there is warm and appreciative, and can forgive missed notes, missed lines, and hazardous set pieces. They are there to laugh and applaud and see their friends up on the stage. And in this production, their friends look pretty dang good.

1 Comments:

Blogger glasshole said...

Being a native of Oak Ridge, I can attest to the fact one should only enter the city by that particular route.

Preferably in the fall at dusk.

It would also be preferable if Oak Ridge High School would wise up and add a drama department to give some direction and credit to that burgeoning talent.
I'm just saying.

9:52 PM  

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Sunday, July 02, 2006

Top Ten Lists Are Fun

Because I'm slightly obsessed with reading other people's categorizations of movies, especially come Oscar time, I feel it's only appropriate for me to create a top ten list of my own.

Top Ten Most Anticipated Shows of Summer '06!


10. Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love (The Actors Co-op)

This risky venture marks the Co-op's first foray into live gay sex. Kidding. Kinda. Knoxville theatre hasn't been this gay since the News Sentinel had ACT's Corpus Christi on the front page above fold back in '03.

9. The Guys (Oak Ridge Playhouse)

Timely, passionate theatre is always more interesting that non-timely, dispassionate theatre, so this production has the potential to be great. It is my hope that patriotic flag waving won't get in the way of portraying the real strength and grief of the boys of the NYFD in this production that commemorates the WTC attack.


8. Henry V (Tennessee Stage Company)

The only reason I want to see this is to watch Leigh Hruby as the titular character. If she can pull it off, someone get her a ticket to Broadway. If you saw her brilliance in Proof in the CBT lab, that may be all the proof you need...

7. Momma Mia (Broadway in Knoxville)

So, okay, this isn't exactly local theatre; it's the non-Equity tour that's rolling in to the Knoxville Civic Auditorium. But hey, I'd still like to see why the hell people love this show so goddamned much.

6. Hello Dolly! (Oak Ridge Playhouse)

Dana Wham is one of my favorite musical singers to sit and listen to. Dammit, I only have a couple more days to see it...

5. Born Yesterday (Clarence Brown Theatre)

Okay, so I'm not really looking forward to this. But pickings are slim when you're trying to name 10 Knoxville theatre productions in one literal season that you want to see. In fairness, CBT shows are always pretty, even if they are sometimes badly acted (for a prof. company), badly directed (for a prof. company), and completely pandering to the blue hairs with all the money. With new artistic director Calvin MacLean at the helm, it'll be interesting to see if the CBT returns to its liberal Nazi-play glory days of the recent past or if we get yet more Always, Patsy Clines.

4. West Side Story (Morristown Theatre Guild)

Micah-Shane Brewer is one of the most talented theatre treasures we have working in the Knoxville area, and he's not really even in the Knoxville area. Setting up camp in Morristown, Micah-Shane runs The Theatre Guild, one of those small-town troupes that has been around since the crack of dawn. This production makes the list (even though it closes tomorrow afternoon) because it was so suprisingly good. Yes, it's community theatre. I mean, c'mon, it's Morristown. But Micah-Shane has a knack for making you forget where you are and for making sure that you thoroughly enjoy yourself.

3. Urinetown: The Musical (Morristown Theatre Guild)

Why is it that all the cool shows are way out in Morristown? Micah-Shane Brewer. Last year it was Bat Boy, this year it's the show about pee. And next year? It wouldn't surprise me if Spamalot ended up on the playbill.

2. The Miracle (The Miracle Theatre)

You've seen the giant billboards on your way to Asheville. Maybe even on your way to Dollywood. I can't think of a potentially better night than to go to Gatlinburg, throw a few back, and crawl on into the Miracle Theatre and see the spectacular Spectacular about the Greatest Showman of All, Jesus.

1. Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Actors Co-op)

I friggin' love Hedwig. Here's hoping the music rocks!

1 Comments:

Blogger glasshole said...

The Music. Rocks.

I'll see your Miracle and raise you dinner at the Dixie Stampede.

10:28 PM  

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opening statement

I love to talk about local theatre. I love to talk about plays, bitch about bad actors, dish the latest gossip about who's directing what, where, when, and why. I can't get enough of it. But other people who have less specific addictions, like movies or porn, have places, many places, to while away their time on the internet. I do share a passion for film with many others out there, and I thank the film gods that I have imdb.com, rottentomatoes, boxofficemojo, and thefilmexperience to study and memorize and talk about and obsess over, respectively.

But where do I go to talk about local theatre? Hell, where do I even go to obsess about theatre in general? I'm sure there must be some site I'm missing, but the various theatre IMDB-knockoffs, theatrehistory, and American Theatre Web just don't cut it. Perhaps it's just hard to get into gossiping over productions that one hasn't seen. But I have seen shows in this town, and I want a place to talk about them. Mayhaps Knox theatre people will Google themselves, find that they are referenced here, and participate in this crazy forum that is blogging. One can only hope...

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I pleased to have found this website. I really can't remember exactly how I got here, but it was because of Hedwig and looking to find out more about Joe. :)
Anyway... would there be any interest in starting a theater discussion club that meets every month or so? Sort of like a book club. I would absolutely love to gab about productions locally and hear from others about things I may or may not have seen. I go to NYC 2-3 times a year and try to see as much as possible there, and would welcome discussion on that level as well. By the way... Hedwig rocked!!!!!

4:28 PM  

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