"The MP3 Experiment is the world’s first live theatrical performance that audiences will experience exclusively through headphones. There are no actors. There is no host. Audience members will download an mp3 track from the show’s website in advance, load it onto their portable players, and bring it with them to the show. The lights go down, a video projection cues the audience to press play on their mp3 players simultaneously, and the show begins. The mp3 track is an intricate mix of music and instructions from an unknown voice." Produced by Improv Everywhere, also mentioned here.
posted by turbodog on Nov 30, 2004 - 29 comments

After a three-year absence and $108 million in renovations, Europe's premier grand dame of opera houses, Milan's Teatro alla Scala, will reopen on December 7, 2004. The honor of the opening night opera has been delegated to Antonio Salieri through his obscure opera-ballet Europa Riconosciuta, which is the very same opera that inaugurated La Scala's first season in 1778, and has not been performed in 226 years.
posted by naxosaxur on Nov 30, 2004 - 17 comments

The Palace of Hana & Yugen: History and Theory of Noh Theater. [more]
posted by hama7 on Apr 21, 2004 - 5 comments

Strange performances, communication, odd colors and hooligan monkeys. It is the year of the monkey
posted by hypnorich on Jan 29, 2004 - 6 comments

The Exonerated
Want to see some great theater and learn a bit about our great system of justice and capital punishment? Then The Exonerated may be the show for you.

The other night I went to see The Exonerated, which has been playing Off Broadway since last fall and is also appearing in theaters around the country this year. Composed wholly from court records and interviews by playwrights Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, this documentary drama recounts true tales of horror from the American criminal-justice system. The actors sit downstage and read their parts as the stories of six innocent citizens condemned to death row unfold. If this sounds like a worthy endeavor, it is; if it sounds dull or didactic, it isn’t.
posted by nofundy on Jul 3, 2003 - 2 comments

That Show-Stopper: The Bloody Audience! Interrupting a performance of Hamlet, John Barrymore once threw a large fish at a group of coughing members of the audience, shouting: "Busy yourselves with that, you damned walruses!" Stephen Pollard, in The Independent, suggests people now behave in public as they do at home, oblivious of their fellow concert or theatre-goers. Art-house audiences are equally annoying. Perhaps show rage will become the road rage of the 21st Century? [The main link, addressing rock audiences, comes in very small type but is worth reading all the same. The third link is an amusing mini-play about audience harrassment.]
posted by MiguelCardoso on Dec 5, 2002 - 65 comments

"A play? In Gaza? About feminism? With Palestinian actresses? Unbelievable!"
posted by talos on Oct 23, 2002 - 5 comments

Digital projection coming to a theater near you. "Lucas says the new format is cheaper and easier on viewers' eyes because it eliminates the pops and scratches from film wear and tear. He accuses the industry of resisting change the same way it snubbed talking pictures until "The Jazz Singer" signaled the end of the silent era." Any other mefites planning on seeing Episode II at a DLP theater? [DLP theater list]
posted by skallas on May 14, 2002 - 29 comments

Ouch, it hurts to watch! Going to NYC? Wanna take in a Broadway show but aren't interested in the normal fare? This might raise your spirits. Or not.
posted by Taken Outtacontext on Jan 14, 2002 - 7 comments

Scooby Doo stage play debuts in Toronto and former Kids In The Hall alumni are implicated in its production. Deconstructed French farce, post-modernism run amuck, or yet another sign of the impending teevee apocalyse? (via BoingBoing)
posted by MrBaliHai on Dec 5, 2001 - 1 comment

Maybe people will finally see "Glitter" after all. More than 200 movie theatre companies will donate all ticket sales and concession revenues to the United Way and the Red Cross for all films shown Tuesday. After two weeks of dreadful box-office grosses and sour moods, maybe this will prime the pump.
posted by tsarfan on Sep 24, 2001 - 9 comments

The Roundabout Theater postpones its Assassins revival. This was probably the right decision, though for those who know the show--and that might not be many--it happens to address better than most things all the issues our country is currently facing. Check out Sondheim.com where they've changed the page to simple text featuring perfectly fitting lyrics for the moment we're in.
posted by adrober on Sep 16, 2001 - 8 comments

the web becomes theatre about face youth theatre is a group for gay/lesbian/transgender kids. every year, they create a stage show - from scratch - based on their own experiences. this year, they're writing the script from stories gathered on this website. rock on!
posted by patricking on Feb 23, 2001 - 2 comments