offoffBway.com

If you’ve ever wondered about doing commercials and how much bank you can make, Show Business Weekly has some answers for you. One guy has done over 2800 commercials. That’s a lot of pretending you like some stupid product.

Off Broadway Belasco Ken Davenport has been named one of “40 under 40” by Crain’s NY Business. It’s nice to see someone from theater, much less off-Broadway theater, be included in a grouping like this. Congrats, dude!

OK, so we’re back to yell at you about theater and other entertainment crappola.
Part of the reason for the hiatus was the fact that we get an insane amount of comments that are spam. Such as this one:

Name: Anonymous | URI: http://google.com | IP: [deleted] | Date: February 18, 2007

Google…

Google is the best search engine…

Why the hell would Google be spamming our site? We’re not saying it is Google themselves, but there’s no other link in the spammy post. So again, we ask, what the hell?
Anyway, onwards and upwards.

(Image from here)
At least give the producer points for honesty:

The new musical, which began previews July 5, has closed. A press statement issued Aug. 13 reads, “Todd Ellis, the producer of Idol: The Musical, has chosen to close the show due to a lack of advance ticket sales, a lack of positive feedback from audience members and critics, and a lack of sustainable financial resources.”

Translation: NOBODY CARED, SO WE DECIDED TO STOP TORTURING OURSELVES AND THE CAST.

Source: Playbill.com

Mary Jane Wells in ‘Transit’
click for full-size image

‘Transit’
The Stage Left Studio, part of the Midtown International Theater Festival
review by Naneh Israelyan

‘Transit’, written and performed by Mary Jane Wells, most definitely moves at the speed of a train in motion—except that the train stops are entirely unconnected. The journey was almost as if I was transferring from one train to another so often that keeping track of the storyline (more…)

There’s others, but this one seems to be refreshingly opinionated. The title alone – ‘what’s good / what blows in new york theatre’ – is enough to keep us coming back for more.

whatblows.blogspot.com

‘Spitting in the Face of the Devil’
John Montgomery Theatre Company at The Kraine
review by Naneh Israelyan

click for full-size image

In a compelling performance, Bob Brader, or Little Bobby as referred to by his family, animates for the audience the story of his childhood through the upbringing of his abusive father. Bob Brader enters the stage to announce the death of his father and thereafter slips into a simple wooden chair centered in the middle of a simple wooden desk—and at this desk Brader draws the audience into his childhood through the magic of storytelling.
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This has to be a first – the show My First Time, where people tell stories about making the beast with two backs (and other positions, we imagine) for the, yes, first time, gave away tickets to virgins on opening night. Thinking of going and downplaying your sexual prowess in order to get a freebie? Well, they’ve got that covered with a psychic.

Here’s a tip to get in: we bet if you show up in a Darth Vader costume, they’ll believe that you’re still a virgin. (THANK YOU! TRY THE VEAL! TIP YOUR WAITRESS!)

This sounds very sketchy to us, but all in fun just the same. And probably the first time this has happened (not even David Merrick would have done this… OK, maybe he would have).

The cast and producer/creator Ken Davenport also rang the closing bell at Nasdaq the other day. Clearly this show is the most important thing in town. Anyone seen it? Any virgins get denied entry? Any non-virgins slip past the sniffer? Email us and let us know.

My First Time

The Eighth Annual Midtown International Theatre Festival (MITF for those who like acronyms) starts on July 16, which is, like, way too soon. Not for the festival, but July wasn’t supposed to happen until June was over. And June is… wait a minute, June ended already. Oh yeah, the fireworks. July 4th. Independence Day. Excessive heat. Stupid calendar.

Anyway, its festival time again. So come on people! Smile on your brother and sister and cousin and go see a show!

Full release with the full schedule for the FULL FREAKIN’ FESTIVAL (!) follows…

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Well, that’s what the title says. And we’re suckers for titles. This one isn’t an all time great but it definitely makes you think IMPORTANT, even if its ironic. You know what? We have no idea what the show is about, we haven’t seen it. BUT with a title like that… how can you not???

Read on…

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