'Spider-Man' Beats 'Wicked' at Broadway Box Office

Backstage: "The Spider-Man musical has beaten the top-grossing show 'Wicked' at the Broadway box office - but by only $58.

Writers Guild Announces New Media Nominees

Backstage: "The Writers Guild of America, East and West, have announced nominations for the WGA New Media Writing Awards

'Once' musical to hit Broadway this fall

Variety: "The stage tuner version of movie musical 'Once' has targeted a fall 2011 berth on Broadway, tapping a creative team that includes scribe Enda Walsh, designer Bob Crowley, helmer John Tiffany and choreographer Stephen Hoggett.

Basic PTM - Organizational Charts

One student says:

I've been talking to some people in the class, and a few of them have said that the first part of the Theater Hierarchy Organizational Chart is supposed to be fancy and creative, but as far as I understand you basically wanted a clean looking version of what you wrote on the board.

David says:

Yes. Part one should just be a b-flat, normal depiction of the "prototypical regional" production department. You can spruce it up if you want I suppose, but the content and relationships should just be what was discussed and what was on the board.

'Mary Poppins' starts slow, flies high

Post Gazette: "Being 'Practically Perfect,' as Mary Poppins explains her credentials, is all well and good, but nothing beats a practically perfect foil to get the juices flowing. When Ellen Harvey's monstrous Miss Andrew is hired as a successor to Miss Poppins, well, hell hath no fury like a magical supernanny come to the rescue of her children charges.

Visual Effects Society Announces Nominations

The Hollywood Reporter: "With four nominations, Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures' Inception led the film categories as the Visual Effects Society announced its nominations for its ninth annual VES Awards on Monday, but HBO's Boardwalk Empire did Inception one better by dominating with five nominations in the TV categories.

"Grease" and Chess Songs Among Top-Selling Duets of All Time

Playbill.com: "Songs from the film version of the long-running Broadway musical Grease and the concept album for the ABBA-Tim Rice musical Chess are among the ten top-selling duet recordings of all time in the U.K., according to a list recently released by the Official Charts Company.

Carnaval Del Broadway: In the Heights Wows Audience at Final Performance

Playbill.com: "The heat of Broadway's In the Heights raged a little longer than usual the night of Jan. 9, when the company played a final performance that started a little after 7 PM and came down around 9:50 PM. The running time of the usually two-and-a-half-hour show was swelled by multiple standing ovations and a curtain-call rap by its writer-star Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day Back in ‘American Idiot’

NYTimes.com: "Rock star impersonators are not exactly rare creatures on Broadway today. An imitation Elvis and Jerry Lee and friends are stirring up trouble in “Million Dollar Quartet” at the Nederlander Theater. Flesh facsimiles of Paul, John, George and Ringo are running through the Beatles’ greatest hits nightly in “Rain” at the Neil Simon.

The Best New Lighting Product of 2010 Is…..

iSquint.net: "As nominated and voted by you as the best new lighting product of the year, Martin Professional takes home the title this year with the introduction and release of the M1 Lighting Desk.

Irish agency launches U.S. arts fest

Variety: "The Irish government has ponied up $5.2 million for a multi-discipline Irish arts festival that will run all year and include events around the U.S.
Called Imagine Ireland, the initiative comes from Irish government agency Culture Ireland. Film, legit, dance, literature, visual arts and music are encompassed in the fest.

AEA Safety Procedures Statement

Actors' Equity Association: "Actors' Equity is committed to making the theatrical work environment as safe as possible. We start to identify potential risks in new productions as early as possible, examining such potential risk elements as raked stages, smoke and haze, stunts, firearms, flying, and unusual or overly-demanding choreography.

Spider-Man and Equity

Actors' Equity Association: "I have been very disturbed and distraught by the serious injuries sustained by our member Chris Tierney at the December 20th performance of SPIDER-MAN: TURN OFF THE DARK. My thoughts and prayers have been with him for the past ten days, and I have been in touch with him by phone and e-mail. Chris is a study in toughness and grace. Hemingway defined guts as 'grace under pressure.' Guts is what Chris Tierney has consistently displayed both before and after his accident.

Think you can dance in heels? Here's how.

Post Gazette: "Now the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is jumping on the bandwagon with its new Club Dance Workout, part of a full-scale programming effort that was put in place in October 2009. The Trust Arts Education Center at 805/807 Liberty Ave., Downtown, is geared toward adults who 'want to learn something new, but can't sign up for a six-week course,' according to Janis Burley Wilson, vice president of education and community outreach.

Inside Aaron Sorkin's Writing Process

The Hollywood Reporter: "Despite the accolades earned since his play A Few Good Men was brought to the big screen in 1992, Sorkin admits: “Writing never comes easy. The difference between Page 2 and Page Nothing is the difference between life and death.”

Broadway's Rock of Ages Ends Run at the Atkinson Prior to Reopening at the Hayes

Playbill.com: "The Tony-nominated musical Rock of Ages plays its final performance at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre Jan. 9.
The production will reopen at the Helen Hayes Theatre, currently the home of the limited engagement of Colin Quinn: Long Story Short, in March.

Broadway's Little Night Music, with Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch, Ends Run Jan. 9

Playbill.com: "The Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's A Little Night Music, which currently boasts Tony, Grammy and Golden Globe Award winner Bernadette Peters and Tony and Emmy Award winner Elaine Stritch, plays its final performance at the Walter Kerr Theatre Jan. 9 at 3 PM.

Brian Bedford, Working-Class Boy to Lady Bracknell

NYTimes.com: "LADY BRACKNELL, that unbending arbiter of social correctness, would surely not approve of Brian Bedford, who portrays her in his new production of “The Importance of Being Earnest” at the American Airlines Theater.

Polaroid Booth at CES

(NOTCOT): "Polaroid’s booth had some lovely design details this year. Just to get it out of the way first, let’s acknowledge and move on from the whole Lady Gaga creative director and the grey label products press event. Ugh. Anyhow, what i liked over at their booth are the weird geometric mirrored tessellation growth protruding from within, their use of what looked like black painted raw wood which was a great contrast to the techy textures

Magic Display of Light in Milano: Butterflies by Chiara Lampugnani

freshome: "“Light Butterflies” by Chiara Lampugnani Design is an innovative project displayed in Paolo Sarpi Street and Canonica Street in Milan as part of the the Milan International Led Light Festival (held from 4 December 2010 until 10 January 2011).

'Mary Poppins' revs up before it soars

Post Gazette: "It's not until the nanny from nightmare central arrives at the beginning of the second act that 'Mary Poppins' takes off in a sprint to the high-flying finish.
Being 'Practically Perfect,' as Mary Poppins explains her credentials, is all well and good, but nothing beats a practically perfect foil to get the juices flowing. When Ellen Harvey's monstrous Miss Andrew is hired as a successor to Miss Poppins, well, hell hath no fury like a magical supernanny come to the rescue of her children charges.

Christopher Tierney Catches Spider-Man Performance and Boosts Morale of Cast

Playbill.com: "Sporting a back brace adorned with Spider-Man stickers, Christopher Tierney, the actor who plummeted 30 feet during the Dec. 20 performance of Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark, attended the Jan. 7 performance of that new musical at the Foxwoods Theatre, according to the Associated Press.

Public Advocate Says 'Spider-Man' May Violate Consumer Protection Laws

NYTimes.com: "You can add Bill de Blasio, the New York City public advocate, to the list of nemeses that Spider-Man will have to battle en route to his much-delayed Broadway opening. In a letter sent to the city’s Department of Consumer Affairs, Mr. de Blasio warned that the Broadway musical “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” may be violating consumer protection laws by not clearly distinguishing its preview period (when the show is still considered a work in progress) from its post-opening performances (when the show is a finished product), and could face fines.

Earl Dax, Promoter of Parties and the ’80s Spirit

NYTimes.com: "Welcome to The Party That Dare Not Speak Its Name, a queer cabaret series whose official title can’t be printed in these pages. Its mastermind, the independent performance curator and producer Earl Dax, came up with the name from epithets hurled at him by another promoter during an altercation.

Film commissioners in New Mexico and Ohio leave as new administrations take over

Los Angeles Times: "Film commissioners in New Mexico and Ohio have been forced to resign as power shifts across the country to new, more conservative-leaning administrations that may not be as friendly to subsidizing Hollywood productions.

Somebody Tell Ebert That Video Games Are Now Art

Gizmodo: "Roger Ebert may not think highly of video games as art, but MoMA does. The latest installation at their MoMA PS1 gallery is playable video game, which lets you run through a 16-bit Communist China landscape as a Red Army soldier.

Broadway's hits add up to billion-dollar year

Variety: "While one look at the Broadway B.O. for the 2010 calendar year proves that, typically, shows either got it, or they don't, it also suggests that if a show's got it, it's probably had it for a while now.

Pittsburgh ballet dancers see pas de deux with fiction and fact in 'Black Swan'

Post Gazette: "This Darren Aronofsky film isn't a snapshot of a day in the life of an average ballet dancer, said Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre principal dancers Alexandra Kochis and Christopher Budzynski, who had some time off to see the film this week at SouthSide Works Cinema after wrapping up the company's 'Nutcracker' run in late December.
'Unfortunately, I think ['Black Swan'] may leave a lot of people saying, 'Why would anyone want to do that because it seems really miserable,' ' said Ms. Kochis, who has danced with PBT for five seasons and Boston Ballet for 11. 'I don't think [ballet] is as bad as [the film] makes it seem. ... You probably could substitute in anything where someone really has to push themselves. It wouldn't necessarily have to be ballet.'
But this isn't stopping many dancers from wanting to see it.

Hits and errors in Reduced Shakespeare Company's sports skits

Post Gazette: "There's no Steelers game this weekend, so you might be feeling a little bereft and restless. Instead of tailgating in an empty Heinz Field parking lot to fill your day, you could get your sports fix at the Pittsburgh Public Theater.
It's presenting 'The Complete World of Sports (Abridged)' by the Reduced Shakespeare Company, a long-running skit comedy troupe that frequently stops in town. Hurry, though, because it wraps up Sunday after the Ravens beat the Chiefs.

2 CLO Academy students flourish in professional roles

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Michelle Mracna and Shannon Rowland knew someday their kids would leave home for professional acting careers.
They just didn't expect it to happen quite so soon.
When their moms took the two CLO Academy students to separate auditions in New York City, the intention was to let 11-year-old Logan Rowland of Wexford and 12-year-old Rachel Mracna of McCandless hone their audition skills.

Academy Announces Sci-Tech Oscar Recipients

The Hollywood Reporter: "On Friday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the individuals and companies that will be honored at its annual Scientific and Technical Awards Presentation Feb. 12.

Will Dracula Revival Vanish Off-Broadway Prematurely?

Playbill.com: "The Off-Broadway revival of the gothic stage classic Dracula, starring Italian actor Michel Altieri and Tony Award winner George Hearn, which was scheduled to run through March 13 at the Little Shubert Theatre, is now on sale only through Jan. 9, according to Telecharge.com.

Daniel Kitson Performs at St. Ann’s Warehouse

NYTimes.com: "WHEN Daniel Kitson was about 9, he told his teacher that he was thinking of killing himself. At some point over the next few decades, he forgot this had ever happened, until just over a week ago when his mother reminded him. Asked in an interview if he really was suicidal or if it was just a plea for attention, he said with a merry chuckle, “I have no idea.”

Blog U.: My Basecamp Failure

Inside Higher Ed: "Here was my plan. In my new gig, I was going to get the team off e-mail as a project management tool once and for all. Basecamp was to be used not only to manage our technology and course development projects, but to create a transparent environment for To Do lists and project schedules. From May of 2010 until yesterday I assiduously updated my Basecamp project sites. I shared my project To Do lists. I put in milestones. I copied project messages into the system.

10 Questions for a Broadway Pro: A Local 1 Stagehand talks Props.

PRODUCER’S PERSPECTIVE: "My office is right next to the Eugene O'Neill theater, home to the recently departed Fela!, home to the soon-to-arrive Book of Mormon, and the permanent home of Chris Beck, the Property Master or 'Head of Props'.
Props men and women have to do it all. Whenever there is ever a question about what department should handle a tricky technical situation, it's always seems to end up on the Prop guy's desk.

In The Wings - Lighting Supervisor - January, 2011

American Theatre Wing: "Lighting Supervisor Dan Montano facilitates the lighting designs created for productions at Two River Theater Company. Previously an actor, Montano took a 10-day job as a carpenter, then stayed to learn as much as possible about the equipment. He works with many of the same designers, executing lighting plots, and working long hours during the tech process. He takes pride in being constantly challenged by this job and successfully problem solving with creative ideas.

Quick Tutorial - Plotting Custom Paper Sizes in AutoCAD for Mac

Between the Lines: "I received a question in the past hour on Twitter from @JenniRene82 “Jennifer” asking how to plot a 30 x 42 paper size PDF using AutoCAD for Mac. Here is a quick Tutorial.

Top 5 Kick-Ass Power Tool Designs of 2010

ToolGuyd: "2010 was quite an eventful year choc-full of new power tools releases. Looking back through our new tool archives, first impressions raced back, reminding me of a few tools that made my eyes pop, jaw drop, and heart race with excitement and curiosity.

FREE Day At The August Wilson Center

Living Pittsburgh: "Free admission to the Auguest Wilson Center on MLK Jr. Day. Enjoy exhibition galleries, arts and crafts, movie screenings, a special performance from the August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble and more. Details can be found on the AWC website.

Circus act's smoking raises health and safety alarm (but the fire-eating is fine)

The Guardian: "Fire-eating is fine. As is walking barefoot up a ladder of swords and swallowing a revolving electric drill. And – while it may not be to everyone's taste – there should be no problems with a dwarf dragging a genitally attached vacuum cleaner round the stage.
But a contorted performer smoking a cigarette while firing a bow and arrow with her feet is causing something of a headache for a touring circus company.

Iraq’s education ministry bans theatre & music classes

alarabiya.net: "The Iraqi Ministry of Education has banned theatre and music classes in Baghdad's Fine Arts Institute, and ordered the removal of statues showcased at the entrance of the institute without explaining the move, but some of the students mull religious reasons as the real motive.

Subversion on stage: can theatre change the world?

guardian.co.uk: "In the past month, three rather serious things have happened to what could loosely be called 'the world's theatre community'. In Hungary – the country that has just assumed presidency of the EU, folks – a law has been drafted that, as well as enabling the government to censor newspapers, would give it the power to ban theatre performances, while the country's parliament looks set to sack the director of its national theatre on the grounds that his work is 'obscene, pornographic, anti-national, and anti-Hungarian'. In Belarus, Natalia Koliada, the artistic director of the country's only free theatre company, has, following the 're-election' of Alexander Lukashenko, been forced to go into hiding, threatened with rape and torture. Then, as reported in yesterday's Noises Off, the education minister of Iraq has banned the study of theatre altogether in Baghdad's institute of fine arts.

Glasgow pantomime dress broke Geneva Convention

BBC News: "A spokesman for the humanitarian organisation said: 'We have no desire to be the villains of the pantomime or to appear heavy handed, but we do have a very serious obligation to protect the Red Cross emblem.

MembershipFirst Leader Slams SAG TV-Theatrical Deal

Backstage: "Former Screen Actors Guild 1st vice president Anne-Marie Johnson has called for SAG members to vote against the recently finalized TV-theatrical contract. Johnson, a member of the union committee that negotiated tentative agreements with producers on SAG's TV-theatrical contract and AFTRA's scripted network prime-time contract late last year, criticized new rules within the deals pertaining to air travel and decried the SAG contract as 'by far the worst' in guild history.

Constantine Maroulis Defends 'Spider-Man' Musical

Backstage: "Critics have savaged the Broadway musical 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,' but one Tony-nominated actor who's seen the $65 million dollar budget production insists the show is pure art. 'It was the most poetic, provocative and beautiful piece of theater I've seen in a long f---ing time,' says 'Rock of Ages' star and American Idol alum Constantine Maroulis. 'I realize theater is not a contact sport but they're in a fight, making art, creating something that's bigger than anything.'

Actor Injured in 'Spider-Man' to See Friday's Show

Backstage: "Christopher Tierney, who was discharged Wednesday from The Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, hopes to attend Friday's performance, according to show spokesman Rick Miramontez. Tierney's appearance would come 18 days after he fell 35 feet in front of a shocked preview audience when his safety harness failed.

Obituary: Philip Chosky / Philanthropist supported theater programs throughout Pittsburgh

Post Gazette: "On the campus of Carnegie Mellon University, if you're going to a show, you're headed to the 'The Chosky.'

Expert says fewer folks use Pittsburghese? Git aht!

Post Gazette: "For the last decade, Carnegie Mellon University linguistics professor Barbara Johnstone has been studying our distinct local lingo, publishing so frequently and generating so many discoveries on it that she's generally acknowledged to be the leading expert on what is commonly known as Pittsburghese.

Broadway's A Little Night Music, with Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch, Recoups

Playbill.com: "The Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's A Little Night Music, which currently boasts Tony, Grammy and Golden Globe Award winner Bernadette Peters and Tony and Emmy Award winner Elaine Stritch, has recouped its initial investment, according to a show spokesperson.

Theater Talkback: Keeping the Faith in the Value of Previews

NYTimes.com: "To review or not to review?
Or rather, when to review? That is a question lately debated in reference to “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” the exhaustively discussed, exhaustingly delayed new musical that began previews in late November and has postponed its opening date three times. When the opening was pushed back from Jan. 11 to Feb. 7, a couple of critics decided to toss aside Broadway decorum and file reports after attending a preview performance.

The Broadway Index Fund - Profitable or Not?

PRODUCER’S PERSPECTIVE: "Broadway is a risky investment.
Duh.
But Broadway can also be 'wicked' profitable.
Double-duh.
But here's the question that I'd like to see answered . . . because if the answer is what I think it is, I believe it could:
1) legitimize the business model of the industry
2) bring a whole new crop of investors to our biz
The question is: is Broadway, as an overall asset class, profitable over the long term?

Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark: A Meta-Mess

- John's Blog Main Page -: "I've been following the saga of Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark for many years, and I have a lot of friends working on the show. I saw a preview last night, and I commend the producers and everyone involved for boldly taking a risk this large here in the heart of the theatre world. The price they have paid is being beseiged by snarky commenters who seem to be rooting for this show to bomb and become the next Moose Murders or Carrie. I am not a hater; in fact, I love big technological spectacles, and have written about many fine examples of this genre on this blog over the years. I want this show to succeed, but after seeing the preview last night, I'm afraid that it might be too late. I hope I'm wrong.

Techniques and Procedures for Developing Exhibits

Behind the Scenes at Taylor Studios, Inc ©: "Some of the techniques and procedures I have the students go through to develop their exhibit skills may be useful to others in the museum profession who find themselves having to develop an exhibition for the first time. Or maybe you have been appointed to serve on an exhibit team for the first time and aren’t quite sure how to proceed or know what is expected of you.

ATG retains top spot in Stage 100

The Stage: "Howard Panter and Rosemary Squire, the joint chief executives of the Ambassador Theatre Group, have retained their top spot in The Stage 100 - The Stage’s annual guide to the 100 most influential people in UK theatre.
In second equal are Dominic Cooke, Michael Grandage and Nicholas Hytner, artistic directors of the Royal Court, Donmar Warehouse and National Theatre respectively.
This has meant that Cameron Mackintosh and Andrew Lloyd Webber - the two most successful fugures in the history of The Stage 100 - have slipped down to fifth and sixth place.

Report: Entertainment/Leisure Sector Job Losses Double in 2010

Backstage: "Believe it or not, jobs in film, television and other media were relatively safe in 2010, but the same can't be said for jobs at movie theaters and theme parks.
Last year, media employers announced that 4,889 people were laid off, a 78% improvement over the year earlier when those companies eliminated 22,346 jobs.
But in the entertainment/leisure category, which includes hotel and travel along with theme parks and movie theaters, 23,390 people were let go. That's 53% more than the 15,280 jobs lost in 2009.

How Britain's 'Batman Live' Will Differ from 'Spider-Man'

Backstage: "An ambitious, special effects-filled theater production based on a popular comic book character is set to debut in the coming months.
No, it's not Broadway's problem-plagued 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,' but Britain's 'Batman Live.'
While both productions will be filled with acrobatics, villains, stuntmen and special effects, 'Batman Live' aims to be different in several ways.

Opera's populist gamble pays off

Variety: "Metropolitan Opera general director Peter Gelb doesn't gloat. But if he did, no one could begrudge him an 'I told you so.' The Met topper has been the driving force behind his 130-year-old company's decision to transmit live opera into movie theaters via satellite. The effort -- which was initially greeted skeptically by many opera and exhibition-business insiders -- is now in its fifth season, and the numbers speak for themselves.

Theatrical performers of the year

Post Gazette: "It could have been either one. But no rule says the Post-Gazette's theatrical Performer of the Year can't be dual. So for 2010, the honor's 27th year, it recognizes both Simon Bradbury and Derdriu Ring.

Evolve's new production is a way forward for dancers

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "The most difficult step in a serious dancer's life may be the one from student to professional.
'There's got to be a better outlet than dance competitions,' says Sarah Parker, who trained as a dancer and has extensive performing experience. She formed Evolve Productions in 2008 to provide a platform for emerging dancers and choreographers. It provides dance classes and presents public performances.

The Reduced Shakespeare Company tackles sports — all of them

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Those kings of condensation and comedy, The Reduced Shakespeare Company, are back in residence as guests of The Pittsburgh Public Theater.
On their many past visits they’ve wrangled big sweeping subjects — the works of William Shakespeare, The Bible, American and world history among them — into fast-paced and very funny 90-minute performances.
This time around their task is no less monumental.

'Four Injured Performers Isn't That Strange,' Recovering 'Spider-Man' Dancer Says

NYTimes.com: "“Julie’s not a safe person creatively, she doesn’t go for artistically safe choices, and I’m a person who loves being — for lack of a better word — a tool for these artists because I don’t take things safe. I never have. That goes for things artistically as well as physically. I don’t really think in terms of boundaries. One of my talents as a dancer and as a mover is I fall really well. I’ve never been worried that I’ll hurt myself,” Mr. Tierney said.

On-location filming in L.A. jumps 37% in December

Los Angeles Times: "Overall production activity for on-location filming in the L.A. area rose 37% in December, compared with the same month a year earlier, according to data from FilmL.A. Inc., the nonprofit film group that coordinates film permits.

A Label of Love

Props: "Once you stop laughing, you should realize it’s not actually funny. It’s serious: deadly serious. A container without a proper label can potentially contain any number or combination of hazardous chemicals, and should be treated as such. If you are just a hobbyist or sole proprietor of a shop, you should follow the proper labeling of chemicals for the reasons I give in the last two paragraphs of this article. If you work in a company with more than ten employees in the United States of America, then you are legally obligated to follow the OSHA regulations on Hazard Communication, which have strict and well-defined rules for labeling of products.

Batman Live, the theatrical spectacle of 2011

Telegraph: "Hollywood screenwriting guidebooks routinely repeat the idea that to have any chance of getting your blockbuster greenlit, you need to be able to distil it to a one-line 'elevator pitch’: a short sentence that cites a couple of past box office hits and perhaps an inventive location, by way of encapsulating the essence of your new story.

Belarus Free Theater Makes It to Under the Radar Festival

NYTimes.com: "For most performers invited to this year’s Under the Radar festival of international alternative theater, which begins Wednesday, getting to New York is simply a matter of boarding a plane. But for the Belarus Free Theater, a politically engaged troupe used to living and working on the edge in an authoritarian state, the long trip from Minsk was a little more complicated.

Broadway Shows Scramble to Stay Open in the Winter

NYTimes.com: "In the face of daunting odds — odds that led nine Broadway shows to close on Sunday — stands “Lombardi,” the play about the legendary Green Bay Packers coach that is the only brand-new drama to survive the fall season. The producers of “Lombardi” made the bullish announcement on Tuesday that they would extend ticket sales through June 19, even though the winter is traditionally a graveyard for plays like this one, which lack audience-drawing stars.

CBS 2 Exclusive: The Fall Of 'Spider-Man'

CBS New York: "It was a 30-foot fall that could have ended in death.
Spider-Man’s heart-stopping plunge to the stage last month stunned a Broadway audience and left the actor critically injured.
For the first time, Spider-Man is speaking about that terrifying stage turn. He recently granted CBS 2’s Dana Tyler an exclusive interview.

Review: 'Burn the Floor' is slickly presented, high-spirited entertainment

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Whether you're a regular follower of 'Dancing with the Stars,' a fan of contemporary dance or someone looking to inject a little personal style into her foxtrot, 'Burn the Floor' should put a spring in your step.
A presentation of PNC Broadway Across America Pittsburgh that plays through Sunday at Heinz Hall, Downtown, 'Burn the Floor' is a slickly presented, high-spirited entertainment that showcases the moves and styles of ballroom dancers.

To play or not to play sports: Actors answer ancient riddle

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "After limbering up with literature, history and the Bible, the Reduced Shakespeare Company is finally ready to take on a really big and serious subject -- sports.
Popularly known as 'the bad boys of abridgement,' the Reduced Shakespeare Company has made frequent pilgrimages to Pittsburgh Public Theater's home at the O'Reilly Theater, Downtown.

Stan Lee Encouraged by Spider-Man; New Projects on the Horizon

Playbill.com: "The Yin and Yang Battle of Tao is a live-action musical adventure, which could premiere in China. Lee is finishing the script for the project, which is expected to be more extravagant than the Cirque du Soleil spectacles.

Under the Radar: Five Questions About 'Gob Squad's Kitchen'

NYTimes.com: "The early films of Andy Warhol are having a moment in New York. An exhibition of his “Screen Tests” — silent, black-and-white short films of Edie Sedgwick, Lou Reed, Susan Sontag and other mid-60s personalities — is now on view at the Museum of Modern Art. The one-face, one-camera perspective resonates culturally to this day, from contemporary music to the big screen.

SDCF Masters of the Stage - 2002 Symposium: Assembling The Team - June, 2002

American Theatre Wing: "At its 3-day Musical Theatre Symposium in June of 2002, SDCF hosted a panel on assembling creative teams moderated by Arthur Bartow. Speakers included producers Marty Bell (Ragtime) and Sally Campbell Morse (Urinetown), choreographers Larry Fuller (Evita) and Daniel Pelzig (33 Variations), Roundabout Artistic Director Todd Haimes, directors Christopher Ashley (Memphis) and David Warren (Summer and Smoke), and composer Lucy Simon (The Secret Garden). These speakers provide case histories of collaborations that they put together that were either successful or dire failures, and include tales of Ragtime, the 1998 Revival of Cabaret, Urinetown and the original collaboration on the Maltby/Shire musical Take Flight, which had a successful run at the McCarter Theatre Center in April of 2010 with a different creative team.

Overlay 2D AutoCAD DWG on Google Maps with AutoCAD WS

Between the Lines: "One of the not well known features in AutoCAD WS is to place your AutoCAD drawing on top of Google Maps. First for those not familiar with AutoCAD WS we need to bring you up to speed on this free collaboration tool used by hundreds of thousands of people since it's launch beginning of October 2010.

‘Spider-Man’ Musical Makes Casting Changes, Injured Actor Speaks Out

MTV.com: "'Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark' actress Natalie Mendoza has left the production in the wake of an on-stage injury she suffered in November, leaving the musical without a performer occupying the pivotal role of Arachne.

The importance of not being late to the theatre

guardian.co.uk: "I don't mind so much when it's unavoidable, when I'm rushing from work, or the Victoria line descends into one of its weekend-long funks, or I've heroically fought through snow and Eurostar queues to catch the latest at Bouffes du Nord – if there's a good reason, then I can rationalise it.

Peter Brook bids farewell to Paris theatre after 36 years

The Observer: "For lovers of Parisian theatre, the first days of 2011 have a slightly melancholy edge. On New Year's Eve the hugely influential English director Peter Brook finally ended his 36-year tenure at the experimental Bouffes du Nord theatre in the French capital.

'Fela!' Eyeing a Flight to Africa

WSJ.com: "Producers for the Tony-winning show, which closed to an enthusiastic audience Sunday at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, are in talks for a two-year international tour that would stop in the Nigerian capital of Lagos and include the summer festival circuit in Europe. The musical, which explores the life of Afrobeat pioneer and activist Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, is set in 1970s Lagos, home of Mr. Kuti, the hottest musician in Africa at the time. He became an international music star in the 1980s, releasing nearly 70 albums before his death in 1997.

8 years in, 'Wicked' breaks its box-office record

Boston.com: "The musical took in a record $2.2 million during its eight performances last week, the third time in six weeks the show has grossed more than $2 million over eight shows.

Record-Breaking Week on Broadway

WSJ.com: "Broadway enjoyed what was likely the highest-grossing week in its history this holiday season, with at least three shows—'Wicked, 'Phantom of the Opera' and 'The Lion King'—reporting the highest one-week dollar figures in their respective runs on the Great White Way.

Injured 'Spider-Man' Actor Cannot Wait to Fly Again

Backstage: "The actor badly hurt after plunging more than 30 feet in front of a shocked audience watching the Broadway musical 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark' says he's itching to heal and slip back into the web-slinger's costume.

Reinvented 'Mary Poppins' to take flight on Benedum stage

Post Gazette: "Lyricist Andrew Drewe felt like he was 'tampering' when he and composer George Stiles first endeavored to rework 'Mary Poppins' for the stage. Then they befriended brothers Robert and Richard Sherman, songwriters for the beloved Disney film, and a theatrical event took flight.

Reduced Shakespeare Company explores ... sports

Post Gazette: "The Reduced Shakespeare Company's latest show, 'The Complete World of Sports (abridged),' makes its Pittsburgh debut Tuesday through Sunday. It's the seventh original stage show for the California-based company, now entering its 30th year and continuing a tradition of bringing each staged sprint to the Pittsburgh Public Theater.

Disney concocts a sweet treat for ‘Mary Poppins’ audiences

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "As a veteran scenic and costume designer, Bob Crowley knows that 90 percent of his ideas never make it into the production the audience sees.
'You present one (idea) to the director, and if he doesn't like it, you show up with another and another and another,' says Crowley, who created the costume and set designs for the London and Broadway productions of 'Mary Poppins.'

Opera's NYE celebration runs the musical gamut

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Memories not forgotten will fill Pittsburgh Opera's New Year's Eve celebration on Friday, which is a sequel to last year's 'Auld Lang Syne' concert. It is a gala that also includes a dinner and post-concert party. Less expensive tickets are available for the concert alone, or for the concert and party.

Disney Tests Broadway Ticket Flexibility

NYTimes.com: "Beginning with performances this week the Broadway productions of “The Lion King” and “Mary Poppins” will allow ticket holders to exchange seats for other dates through March 10 for any reason, without penalty, as many times as needed. Disney Theatrical Productions announced its “worry-free winter 2011” exchange policy for the two musicals as an experiment to allow greater flexibility at the box office.

Rajiv Joseph’s ‘Gruesome Playground Injuries,’ Second Stage

NYTimes.com: "WHEN Rajiv Joseph was 13, he was voted Most Likely to Become a Priest by the other eighth graders at Gesu Catholic School in Cleveland. He wasn’t especially pious, he said — just quiet, private, observant. Little did his classmates know that their designation was apt. An altar boy, he had for years imagined becoming a priest. He loved the theatricality of Bible stories, like the big reveal of the risen Jesus on the road to Emmaus. He loved the rituals of the Roman Catholic Mass, like the blessing of the Eucharist as the body of Christ. Most of all, matters of morality and faith tumbled around in his mind. Eventually Mr. Joseph’s interest in girls made celibacy a nonstarter, but his interest in good and evil, in sin and redemption, found powerful expression in his calling as a playwright.

Berserker Residents Are Latest to Put Sci-Fi Onstage

NYTimes.com: "ON Friday a time machine will land on the stage of the Abrons Arts Center. The crew — an astronaut, a squishy space alien and a cyborg with a mustache — will try to transport audience members to the future, saving them from “an event so potent it turned this entire planet into a grave.” Unfortunately this future features endless copulation and meals salvaged from one’s own bodily waste. To get there, spectators will first have to survive goofy costumes, low-tech special effects, alien mucus sacs and at least one appalling dance number.

How Do I Get a Job When I Have No Relevant Experience?

Lifehacker: "Dear Lifehacker,
I have no relevant experience in the field in which I want to work and am having a hard time constructing a coherent plan applying for jobs. How can I convince an employer to hire me?
Sincerely,
No Experience, No Job

An Awful Lot of Plays & Musicals About Theatre

americantheatrewing: "Lest you think me an opportunist, I would like to declare that I had this blog on my mind since I first wrote the paired blogs “37 Flicks Theatre Lovers Should Know” and “13 Docs That Theatre Lovers Should Know” in late November. However, the overwhelming response to that effort did inform how I’ve gone about this new one.

Injured 'Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark' Actors Speak Out

MTV: "After several weeks of intense press coverage, two of the injured stars of 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark' have spoken out.
Christopher Tierney, who was injured on December 20 after he fell a reported 30 feet, was released from the intensive care unit of Bellevue Hospital Tuesday and has been staying in a rehab facility since. CBS 2 News was the first to interview the dancer and stunt double in a package set to air Monday night (January 3).

My Family’s Flop

NYTimes.com: "THE show was called “Via Galactica.” In 1972, as this science fiction musical was being prepared for its Broadway opening, some members of the creative team feared that no one would be able to say its name. And in any case, what did it mean? According to the show’s publicity material it meant, “road to the stars.”

Lion King to become seventh longest running Broadway show

The Stage: "On January 2, 2011, the New York production of Disney musical The Lion King will play its 5,462th performance, making it the seventh longest-running show in Broadway history.

Shakespeare's Prospero becomes Prospera

latimes.com: "There is nothing worse than novelty for the sake of novelty, but this transformation is not a gimmick: It says something about Shakespeare, and it says something about who we have become. It's a quick slip of the pen, changing that 'o' to an 'a', but it represents centuries of preparation.

What came after “the year of the woman?”

InContention: "This time last year, we were still in the thick of a long-running “year of the woman” narrative, as female filmmakers enjoyed critical, festival and box-office success, plus an unprecedentedly high profile in the awards season –culminating in that history-making Best Director win for Kathryn Bigelow (as well as a Best Picture nod for Lone Scherfig’s “An Education”).
Once the dust had settled on Bigelow’s Oscar, however, the narrative tailed off a bit; with that particular blip on their conscience eased, the industry at large could go back to business as usual. Right?

What Could Have Been Entering the Public Domain on January 1, 2011?

Center for the Study of the Public Domain: "Current US law extends copyright protections for 70 years from the date of the author’s death. (Corporate “works-for-hire” are copyrighted for 95 years.) But prior to the 1976 Copyright Act (which became effective in 1978), the maximum copyright term was 56 years (an initial term of 28 years, renewable for another 28 years). Under those laws, works published in 1954 would be passing into the public domain on January 1, 2011.

2010: The year in theater, music, dance and culture

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "2010: The year in theater, music, dance and culture

Reinvented 'Mary Poppins' to take flight on Benedum stage

post-gazette.com: "The national tour of 'Mary Poppins' comes to the Benedum Center for a long stay, Wednesday through Jan. 23.

Equity President Calls 'Spider-Man' Injuries 'Infuriating'

backstage.com: "Actors' Equity President Nick Wyman says he was 'disturbed and distraught' by the stage accident on Dec. 20 which left actor Chris Tierney seriously injured.

To play or not to play sports: Actors answer ancient riddle

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "After limbering up with literature, history and the Bible, the Reduced Shakespeare Company is finally ready to take on a really big and serious subject -- sports.

WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH BROADWAY

MoreIntelligentLife.com: "January has long been the month for Broadway to bring out its dead. Having wrung the final drops of revenue from New York City’s holiday tourism boom, productions with limited runs or falling sales wisely close up shop, making room for the onslaught of spring productions in the process. This season, however, has revealed a body count higher than any in recent memory.