NYTimes.com: A vacant lot in Manhattan’s meatpacking district is being transformed into New York’s latest theater spectacle, a sexy Russian supper club that will be the new home of “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812,” Dave Malloy’s acclaimed electropop opera that ran at Ars Nova last fall.
3 comments:
A Russian supper club? Sounds awesome! To transform an empty parking place into a beautiful, thriving theatre scene sounds like a wonderful idea to me. I love the way that theatre spreads in such odd and unlikely ways, who would have guessed that the meatpacking district would be a good place for dinner and a show? And yet it sounds perfect because it will appeal not only to regular theatre-goers, but also to people who don't usually attend such things but who will see it, out of place and yet inviting, and maybe be intrigued enough to give it a try.
Dinner theatre is back!! Actually it's not too surprising. It's not the genre's fault that it usually sucks. The most entertaining part of "Sleep No More" for me, perhaps not surprisingly, was the cabaret bar, especially when the band was playing. I kind of just wanted tot stay there, actually, and have another gin fizz or glass of champagne, but the $90 ticket (and my girlfriend) compelled me to venture forth from those cozy confines. So I'm totally with this, right up to the part about staging something like this in a traditional Broadway house. I can't imagine the point of that, unless it has something to do with a facility's equipment that can't be installed elsewhere, which I would have a hard time believing. Or maybe it's just easier to market any show if you can smell Times Square from the front door. I don't know. I think a lot of the potential and interest in site specific events drains away when you start trying to fit it into any kind of traditional framework. So I guess I hope the show is successful enough to make a good run at Kazino, and not successful enough to get re-staged on Broadway. But I don;t know why I should care. As long as there's decent vodka involved, I'm in.
I think this is an interesting concept but I have never been a fan of dinner theatre. It makes the whole atmosphere to casual. Somewhat like a family sitting down to watch the television. It makes theatre seem like a simple thing. I think dinner theatre limits design elements as well. How much freedom does a scenic designer really have in this environment?
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