Live Design: The scoop on Newsies

Extra! Extra! The new Disney musical isn't bad at all. In fact it's quite enjoyable. A surprise.

On the theater beat

Reviewed for Live Design magazine, Death of a Salesman with Philip Seymour Hoffman and the late, unmourned revisal of Carrie. And, for Theater News Online, a largely successful screen to stage adaptation (pictured). The cast album is gorgeous, by the way.

Henry Hewes winners announced

Here's the release. Pictured is the outstanding design for The Normal Heart.

"Six theater artists will be honored by the Henry Hewes Design Awards Committee during the presentation of its 47th Annual Awards in a luncheon ceremony this winter. Eighty-six theater artists were nominated for outstanding work in 61 productions presented during the 2010-2011 New York season.

These annual awards honor designers for work in venues on Broadway, Off Broadway and Off Off Broadway, recognizing not only the traditional categories of Scenic Design, Costume Design and Lighting Design, but also "Notable Effects," which encompass sound, music, video, puppetry and other creative elements. All nominated designs must have originated in United States productions. The Hewes Awards Committee considered more than 200 productions when making its nominations.

John Lee Beatty extends his record of honors with his seventh Hewes Award; William Ivey Long receives his fourth; Jeff Croiter, David Rockwell and Batwin+Robin each receive their first such honor. Beatty, Long, Rockwell, Ben Stanton, David Zinn and Catherine Zuber led all nominees with three nominations each. Eight other designers received two nominations for their work during the 2010-2011 season.

Theatre for a New Audience's production of Notes From Underground and Rattlestick Playwrights Theater's production of The Hallway Trilogy each received four distinct nominations to lead all other contenders. Broadway productions of Anything Goes, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo and Good People received three nominations each, as did the Signature Theatre Company's Angels in America, New York Theatre Workshop's Peter and the Starcatcher and Three Pianos, the Public Theater's The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism With a Key to the Scriptures and Manhattan Theatre Club's The Whipping Man. Another 10 productions on, Off and Off Off Broadway each received two nominations.

The HHDA Committee named honorees in four categories: Scenic Design, Costume Design, Lighting Design and Notable Effects. As of the 2011 awards, the Committee has bestowed 277 honors on 174 artists representing 191 productions.

Originally known as the Maharam Awards at their inception in 1965, the Hewes Awards were later known as the American Theatre Wing Design Awards in honor of the Wing’s generous sponsorship. They were renamed in 1999 for noted critic Henry Hewes, who created the awards and served as a board member of the American Theatre Wing until his death in 2006 at age 89.

2011 HENRY HEWES DESIGN AWARDS HONOREES
Scenic Design
John Lee Beatty
The Whipping Man (Manhattan Theatre Club)

Costume Design
William Ivey Long
The School for Lies (Classic Stage Company)

Lighting Design
Jeff Croiter
Peter and the Starcatcher (NY Theatre Workshop)

Notable Effects
(Scenery and Projections)
David Rockwell
The Normal Heart (Broadway)
Batwin+Robin
The Normal Heart (Broadway)"

New York Theater News: Last of the year

The first half of the 2011-2012 Broadway season has ended, and it's been blah. Adding a little zing: the family melodrama Stick Fly and the intriguing revisal of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, with Jessie Mueller and Harry Connick, Jr.

Live Design: New plays

I have been to The Mountaintop (pictured)--and a few other Broadway and Off Broadway shows besides as the year in theater ebbs. Kind of drab, I have to say, after an exciting spring; here's hoping 12 brings it up a notch.

Live Design: Man and Boy

Back to Broadway with Frank Langella, and a revival of Lemon Sky Off.

Popdose: Sondheim sounds off

"You can drive a person crazy..." So with the gang I look into what's driving the composer crazy about the revisal of Porgy and Bess that's coming our way this season.

The Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark microsite

Live Design magazine is spinning a web on the web, telling the tale of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark from the design team's perspective via a specially created microsite brimming with my (ahem) "ace reportage." Take the plunge and have a look.

"Animal Magnetism"

It'll be in the August issue of Live Design but you can read the first part of my article on the award-winning design of War Horse online.

Tonys time, V. 2010-2011

A chipper telecast almost disguised the fact that this was the most predictable crop of winners in recent years, with a few personal disappointments (Bobby Cannavale can console himself with his Drama Desk, and I don't get the Norbert Leo Butz love this time) but few surprises in the lot, not even in the design categories (which were shoehorned in more gracefully than usual), not that I'm complaining about my War Horse peeps. Congrats to Nikki M. James for shaking up her category with her supporting win but even that was part of a Book of Mormon tide (which, to be fair, did not carry away its lead actors). The 2011-2012 Broadway season begins on Tuesday with the opening of the most anticipated musical of last season, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark...and let me just say that if you enjoyed the ballad on tonight's telecast, those sweet and simple moments are few and far between.

Live Design: End of 10

The 2009-2010 Broadway season, that is, with six new shows, in ascending order of quality. (Pictured is The Normal Heart). The 2010-2011 seaon begins June 14 with the opening, at last, of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, which I see on Friday.

In other news I saw myself, sevreral times, at the Drama Desk Awards, which Ovation is televising in highly truncated but enjoyable form. Best times to watch for me: at the 46-minute mark, during the Newsical number about an hour in, and at the end under host Harvey Fierstein's credit. Closest I'll get to being a star.

Mormon converts Tony

Tony nominators are believers, too, with 14 nominations going to The Book of Mormon and another 12 to the long-shuttered Scottsboro Boys musical. But it looks like Daniel Radcliffe will be sticking close to us Drama Desk voters--he didn't make Tony's cut (nor, alas, did the wonderful but woefully overlooked Aaron Tveit, star of Catch Me If You Can). On the other hand, the equally bygone Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (pictured) got a set design nod for Donyale Werle...were the nominators reading Live Design?

New York Theater News: High

Whatever you do, don't spend Easter with Kathleen Turner at the godawful High, which Lord have mercy is closing today.

Live Design: The "It's Showtime!" edition

"Six shows running at once!"--Max Bialystock, The Producers. Including the four-star, four-letter-word filled smash The Book of Mormon, pictured.

Live Design: All aboard Priscilla

Down but not out from a bothersome sinus infection I rebound with Priscilla, Queen of the Desert as Ellen Lampert-Greaux reviews Arcadia.

Live Design: Broadway and Treasure Island

Shiver me timbers! A seaworthy play of Treasure Island here in Brooklyn, plus two new plays on Broadway. "Yo ho ho back to the theater we go..."

Live Design: The year ends

Not with a bang, but with a couple of whimpers, only one truly rewarding. Pictured are Jeffrey Wright and Mos in John Guare's A Free Man of Color.

Live Design: Play dates

More shows this week, but you'll have to act fast to see the flop Elling and the festival attraction Lingua Franca, which close today. Elf (pictured) hangs around through Jan. 2.

Live Design: Season rundown

Current Broadway and Off Broadway shows in review this week include the musical of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and Michael Shannon and his finned friend in the comedy Mistakes Were Made.

NY Theater News: The Pee-Wee Herman Show

I know you are, but what did I think about Pee-wee's Broadway debut? The secret word is on Theater News Online, website of the New York Theater News newsletter.