The 2011-2012 Broadway Across America-Boston Season is Announced!

I’ve noticed that I don’t blog about theatre all that much of late. ME, not blog about THEATRE. I know. Bizarre.

Anyhoo, Broadway Across America announced their 2011-2012 season today. 6 shows at the Boston Opera House, 2 at the Shubert Theatre (oddly…. what happened to the Colonial?). Take a gander:

South Pacific - Sept 27 - Oct 2, 2011 - Boston Opera House
La Cage Aux Folles - Dec 5-18, 2011 - Shubert Theatre
American Idiot - Jan 24-29, 2012 - Boston Opera House
The Addams Family - Feb 7-19, 2012 - Shubert Theatre
Les Miserables - Mar 13 - Apr 1, 2012 - Boston Opera House
Beauty & the Beast - May 29 - Jun 3, 2012 - Boston Opera House
Mamma Mia! - June 19-24, 2012 - Boston Opera House
Billy Elliot - Aug 1 - Sep 2, 2012 - Boston Opera House 

There was a time when Boston was a go-to road stop in the theatre community. Broadway-bound productions (Our Town, Follies, La Cage aux Folles, Seussical, High Fidelity, the Kathleen Turner Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolff and the Christina Applegate Sweet Charity to name a few, off the top of my head) tried out here, national tours either started here or made sure to hit the city early-on. Now? Not so much. I’m not sure who or what is to blame…. the producing company, the critics, the audience, the proximity to NY, economic factors…. but if you ask me, the producing company, Broadway Across America, really needs to step up. Let’s break it down.

This will be this South Pacific tour’s second appearance in Boston, playing the Wang Theatre in late 2009. The tour also played Providence earlier this winter. It’s a truly wonderful production of a phenominal show, yes…. but really? BAA was beaten to the punch not once but twice.

La Cage Aux Folles and The Addams Family…. these ones I’ll give BAA. Relevant shows (still in NY), early in their first touring season, in appropriate theaters… good stuff. Credit where credit is due. The same is mostly true for American Idiot, save for the theater. The show will be swallowed up by the Opera House… but such is life on the road. 

When I saw Les Mis in 2005 (or 2006?) in Boston, it was billed as the “final Boston engagement”, a billing I recall laughing at. Sure enough, here it is again. Aside from the fact that there is yet another Les Mis tour getting ready to hit the road, I actually don’t have a problem with this hitting Boston. It’s been a while, the show sells well… it’s an institution. I suppose the same is true about Beauty & the Beast…. 

Mamma Mia! is back! After the tour took a season off from Boston (going to Providence instead!), it’s back. I’m so happy! /sarcasm

My major problem is with Billy Elliot, coming in the summer of 2012. The first US production of Billy Elliot that wasn’t in NYC was in Chicago, in March 2010. That production moved to Toronto and later San Francisco, with a second national tour opening in October 2010. 21 months later, it hits Boston. I understand that a huge physical tour like Billy Elliot can’t criss cross the nation willy nilly, but a city with a rich theatrical history like Boston having to wait nearly 2 years for a major tour is just plain dumb. I am fully expecting PPAC’s season to be announced very shortly, with Billy Elliot playing the theater in spring/early summer 2012, just to be an extra kick to Boston’s balls. 

Oscars Review

Well, the Oscars telecast was certainly a mixed bag.

Hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco
I found Anne Hathaway to be a charming, cute host…. nothing game changing, but she certainly did the trick. James Franco, however? Aside from his foray into drag, every time he opened his mouth, the bit fell flat and the segment dragged. He almost seemed to be under the influence of… something. Safe to say that hosting a live event like this is not his strong point.

The show itself
I don’t think it’s any secret which awards make for interesting TV: The acting awards, Best Director, Screenplay, Score, Song and, of course, Picture. Obviously, all the other awards are important… but interesting? Not so much. I don’t know about you, but I don’t know what the different between sound mixing and sound editing is, nor do I really care. I’m not saying cut the boring awards from the show completely, no…. but certainly don’t put them all together, one after another. Snoozefest. It almost seemed like tonight’s telecast came in three acts: the first (opening through Best Supporting Actor) and last (Best Director through the end) were interesting, the middle coma-inducing. This seems like common sense to me…

The Awards Outcomes
This year’s awards lacked suspense, really, until the final award. The awards went more or less where I figured they would…. and where I was wrong, they went to my second choice. Yep, I’m patting myself on the back… it’s my blog. Good job, Timm. Thanks, Timm!

Anyhoo, a moderately entertaining Oscars tonight. Soorner or later they’ll put all the pieces together right and create a strong telecast, but until then…. let’s see what random host(s) they’ll get next year!

Aaaand…. this officially finishes Oscar Watch 2010!

Oscar Predictions!

It’s finally Oscar day, so I should probably make my final Oscar predictions, eh?

Oscar Watch 2010 = Complete

After 12 films and 22 hours, 39 minutes, the challenge I call “Oscar Watch 2010” is officially completed. As in 2008, I found this experience to be completely rewarding, an experience I hope to (and plan on!) doing again in 2011. 

On Sunday, before Hollywood’s biggest night, I will post my official recap with all my Oscar picks. Stay tuned!

My review of 127 HOURS

Great leading performance. Great direction. But I can’t get past the subject matter. Spoilers within.

My review of WINTER'S BONE

Great performance by a relative unknown…. but….

A 2nd Spider-Man Musical?

http://thespideyproject.blogspot.com/

This is kind of hilarious.

I’ve been defending the Julie Taymor/U2 SPIDER-MAN musical from the beginning, but even I’m getting annoyed by the delays and all the ridiculousness surrounding the production. 

Orange British Academy Film Awards artwork

Illustator Adam Simpson was commissioned to produce artwork for this year’s Orange British Academy Film Awards tickets and brochure covers…. from the BAFTA website

If only this artist did one of these featuring Marvel characters....

herochan:

Minimalist DC Superhero Poster - by Michael B. Myers Jr.

Website || Twitter || Facebook

LOVE this. Must find a Marvel version… 

2011's Early "MUST SEE" List

Now that 2010’s film book is nearly closed, save for WINTER’S BONE, 127 HOURS and the actual Academy Awards ceremony, it’s time to look ahead to 2011. Looking back at 2010’s list, a majority of the films on the list I likely hadn’t heard of or knew of in January of 2010. This is quite likely the case with 2011. Likewise, there were films on my 2010 “MUST SEE” list that came nowhere close to being included in my ‘Oscar Watch 2010’ series: Iron Man 2, Burlesque, Tron, Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter 7A (as I like to refer to it as), Shutter Island, Tangled, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Kick-Ass, and more. Hell, I didn’t even get around to seeing some of the movies on the list!

Anyhoo, I just scanned the list of movies coming out in 2011, and these are the titles that jump out at me. I’m going to proactively warn you, however, that most of the films on my list will make me look like an uber-dork. 

First Captain America Poster Unveiled

Time to get excited!

Marriage Equality FTW

 

This has been blogged and reblogged to death, but it deserves it.

 

Week of Theatre!

In the past week, I’ve seen three musicals - Jersey Boys in Boston and La Cage aux Folles & American Idiot in New York. I’m not going to write full length reviews of each, because, quite simply, I loved all three. Some brief thoughts, though…