Mondays Are Dark - UPDATED

UPDATE: found two articles about Wonderland, the musical written by South Floridian Frank Wildhorn, and featuring South Floridian Janet Dacal. The first one is here, and the second one is here.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday! Here's something to read over your Turkey sandwich. (Best recipe: turkey, a thin layer of stuffing, tangy cole slaw, and cranberry sauce).

Key West Theatre Reaches 70
BroadwayWorld.com reports that the Waterfront Playhouse in Key West is opening its 70th season. In January, Rich Simone will be directing Lela Elam in No Child.... Elam recieved raves for her performance in the GableStage production last season.

Lost in Yonkers
Rosemary Prinz will be starring in the Neil Simon classic Lost in Yonkers. Ms. Prinz sat down with Leslie Gray Streeter of the Palm Beach Post, and also spoke with Carol Saunders of the TCPalm.com.

Not Reading
OK, so it's not technically reading, but here's an interview with Stephanie Ansin of The Playground Theatre on WFOR Channel 4 news.

Holiday Drag
Mario Betto, creator of the musical Combing through Life's Tangles and member of SouthFloridaTheatre.com, is the Fort Lauderdale Theatre Examiner. His first story: Christopher Peterson in Eyecons at Rising Action Theatre.

What's Worse than Presenting A Poor Picture?
Andrew Haydon of The Guardian hits the nail on the head:

Here's a question: when could you last tell what a theatre production actually looked like from its photograph alone?

Promotional photos put the face on your production, and too often all we get is a picture of actors. We should be able to see the entire show summarized in the one shot. Admittedly, that's no simple task. But hey, in our business, what is simple? The most effective photos I've seen are those taken during a dress rehearsal; the worst are those of the actors taken out of context.

I know I've worked productions where the producer insisted on getting promo shots within the first few days of production. While I certainly understand the need to get pictures in the press, the resulting images of actors who haven't yet created their characterizations posing in costumes that have barely been pinned together on some cobbled-together setting don't serve the production. They present an image of something poorly assembled.

Who says that you can only send out one batch of photos? The first week, send out shots of actors standing in front of the direct with books in hand. The second week, show an actor in a fitting. Finally, send out shots from a dress rehearsal. The press gets a stream of fresh and topical images, patrons get a sense of progress, the theatre has its best face on at all times.

Send them to the Scene: we'll put them up.

Painting a False Picture
As long as we're in the UK, the BBC reports that the Wyndam Theatre is being sued for false advertising for quoting a critic on their poster for their stage version of The Shawshank Redemption:

A Wyndhams Theatre poster said a critic called their show a "superbly gripping, genuinely uplifting prison drama".

But Daily Telegraph reviewer Charles Spencer said he had used those words to describe the film, which he suggested was superior to the theatre production.

There has been no ruling as yet, but it's a cautionary tale for any theatre promoting an adaptation. I've seen a few premiere productions with quotes attached; we all want to show that our work has merit. But we shouldn't give the impression that these comments are about our productions if they were made about someone else's.

Chase-ing dollars on Facebook
1st Draft reports that Chase Bank and Facebook have teamed up to help raise funds for select community organizations - including Florida Stage.