Mondays are Dark, June 1, 2009

It may be the end of the official theatre season, but it's the first day of hurricane season! Hopefully, we'll get this one without any problems.


Poll Results

First, results of The Poll; 56% decided that Christine Dolen's passing mention of Havana Bourgeois and The Dumb Show can't be counted as a review, versus 39% who thought she deserved credit for mentioning them. Only one respondent thought that the Herald unequivocally covered those shows.

So I'll be posting the May review tallies later today, and it will reflect that the Herald did not cover the shows in question.

Alternative Reviews

This week, I present a couple of reviews from sources that I do not feel qualify for the review summaries for the shows in question, but are still worthy of consideration. Over time, as I become more familiar with their work, that may change. But for now, they're here.

Onelia Collaza Mendive of the Miami Theater Examiner is the first reviewer to bring the Cuban-American perspective on the Actors' Playhouse production of Havana Bourgeois to press:

My attendance at Havana Bourgeois mirrored some of those in the audience. Many looked old enough to have lived through the 1959 takeover and rush to flee the island before Castro’s grip took over all properties, and worse yet, the Cuban youth. My experiences were from a different generation, those who came to the US during the Mariel Boatlift in 1980 and weren’t exactly greeted by open arms by the Miami community.

...with so much first-hand experience of the Cuban Revolution’s impact on those who did not agree with its ideologies, I headed to see Havana Bouregois with a sense of skepticism, not knowing whether a play could successfully present such a raw topic to many in our community.

It was a surprise then that Havana Bourgeois managed to capture the feelings and historical context of the Cuban Revolution without resorting to melodrama or whitewashing the facts. This success is due in part due to the capable cast.

John Lariviere also reviewed Havana Bourgeois.

Alexis Scheer is a 17 year old arts student who won tickets to see City Theatre's Summer Shorts after reading about the contest here on the Theatre Scene! She reviews the results on The Playground:

I want to comment on how awkward it is to walk into a theatre and be the youngest one there. My good friend Natalia accompanied me to the theatre last night, and us being 17 made it easy for people to stare at us. And people did stare at us, a lot. Undershorts is City Theatre's rated R version on Summer Shorts, a program of bawdy and risque pieces.

She gives concise reviews of each piece presented, and it's definitely worth the read. Great job, Alexis!

Opening Night Pix

The Alliance Theatre posted some pictures from its opening of Strange Snow on their weblog.

It's Bent

Broadway World reports that Rising Action will be opening Bent this week. It's a bold choice for a small theater company.




Texas Dodges Its Own Bullet

In a story that I am not making up, the state legislature of Texas outlawed lighting design in the Lone Star state. The Playgoer postulates on the reasons for the law:

...all I've been able to find out some websurfing (barely any published stories so far) and asking around is that this comically inept legislation seems to have begun as some kind of "consumer protection" measure primarily meant to serve property owners with elaborate lighting fixtures in their houses, businesses and estates. Some say the bill meant to protect them from improper installation subject not just to natural disasters but--you guessed it--con-man lighting designers! One privately circulated email I read reported on a conversation with a state senator's office where the staffer argued for the need to allow legal redress against the menace of "crooks passing themselves off as lighting designers." Who knew? I'm sure many Broadway producers feel the same way...

Overwhelming criticism from the arts and entertainment industry has led the state Senate to revoke the bill so that theatrical and architectural lighting will be added to the protected categories in the bill..

Birds and Bees

Paul Russel of AnswersForActors gives us a primer on gettin' jiggy with your castmates and fellow crewmembers;

Some producers, particularly among the non-union theaters, have an unspoken “morality meter” they mentally mind for their employees. They prefer that the people in their hire not utilize the work provided as a supermarket for sex. Keep your intimate relations far from producers. At least until a wedding or commitment ceremony; then hit them with your registry list. Producers tend to have more money than you and your actor friends.

Wise words, indeed.

Now on Facebook

The South Florida Theatre Scene now has a Facebook Group. Join now! Post your story ideas!