offoffBway.com

There’s nothing we like better than a funny show with a kickin’ theme song. (Well, OK, we’d like an enormous pile of money more than that.) The Riant Theatre’s new show WHO’S GOT GAME? has both. Funny improv, cash prizes for the performers AND the audience, and a theme song that’s way better than anything this guy ever came up with. Actually, it’s much better than that. Give it a listen, and check out the show. Big opening night this Sunday at 6pm, show continues on Sundays through December 17th. Press release after the jump.

The Riant Theatre
Presents a Dynamic New Improv Show
WHO’S GOT GAME?
At Times Square Arts Center, 300 West 43rd Street, Roy Arias Theatre, 5th Floor
Sundays at 6PM – Now through December 17th
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The Havel Festival rolls on. Apparently none other than Kathleen Turner herself did a reading, and Havel himself showed up to a performance of ‘The Memo’ (which we always thought was called The Memorandum, but perhaps not anymore). The fest rolls on, visit this site for a schedule.

A second opinion on Constantine Maroulis, the American Idol castoff who has now KILLED OUR FAVORITE BROADWAY MUSICAL! (We’re only kidding, dude, we don’t blame you. Show just ain’t selling tickets. Whatcha gonna do? Simon Cowell, that’s whose fault it is!)

judgejru.com // judge jru’s American Idol blog: judge jru hearts Angela Ashman

We’re kind of sad to see The Wedding Singer close (we’ve mentioned it before, y’know). While not exactly a great piece of theatrical art, it was fun and mindless entertainment with numerous 80’s references. Does this mean “Teen Wolf: The Musical” is now DOA? Gosh, we hope not. (We kid. At least, we’re hoping we kid.)
Details of the closing (it ends December 31) are below, along with the holiday schedule.
You can also read this this bizarre article in the Village Voice titled, This Is Constantine Maroulis. He Wishes You Knew That. –
In which an American Idol runner-up tops it all by blow-drying his chest. Well all righty then.

The Wedding Singer

TO CLOSE AT

BROADWAY’S AL HIRSCHFELD THEATRE

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 31

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Soho Rep has been around for way longer than most theater companies of its size, and former Artistic Director Daniel Aukin has moved on, leaving the job to Sarah Benson, who is, like Aukin, a Brit. Interesting. Bill O’Reilly, if he ever went to off-off Broadway theater, would probably be annoyed.

Englishwoman in New York: Sarah Benson takes center stage at Soho Rep (Village Voice)

And bring me a beer, wouldja? Sheeesh.
That show at HERE about Streetcar is having some talkbacks. If they were completely in the spirit of Stanley Kowalski (and also, you know, completely insane) they would call them “yellbacks” and encourage the audience to shout and pour beer on their heads. “Rain from heaven” indeed. Not that we want to give anyone any ideas.

Details on STANLEY at HERE
Talkback info:

Here Arts Center presents
Stanley (2006)
Talkbacks
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They were having trouble casting Mel Brooks’ latest money machine (or so they hope – The Producers isn’t doing the kind of business that it once was), and they ended up casting Bryan D’Arcy James (who’s a good actor, but *yawn*. Obviously Greg Kinnear, Jimmy Fallon and Brooks’ mailman all said no). As for the rest of the casting, Kristen Chenoweth, you’re ok, but I’ve seen Madeline Kahn, and you, madame, are no Madeline Kahn. Shuler Hensley as The Monster is great casting, although it won’t sell a lot of tickets.

What will sell tickets is Mr. Brooks’ name. Thing is, Mel Brooks writes music by, well, humming. That’s right folks, he just does a “dum dum de dum dum de dum dum” and then someone else makes that into notes that the orchestra can play. We love Mel (at least the early stuff, although ‘Spaceballs’ had its moments), but come on. Do we really expect him to be able to pen a second Broadway score when he can’t even read a note of music? Of course, Andrew Lloyd Webber is a musician, and it didn’t help him a lick when it came to those songs (OH NO HE DIDN’T!). Basically, there’s no accounting for taste in this business.

With both of these, we’d much rather see the movie. The ones with Gene Wilder in them. And Madeline Kahn.

PERFECT PITCH? – New York Post Online Edition

It’s not “Streetcar”, but it’s Streetcar-esque. A man believes he is Stanley Kowalski from Tennessee Williams’ classic play. Sounds like wish fulfillment to us. Photos and full press release after the jump.
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Photo by Robbie Renfrow

Not to knock anyone’s success – we’re thrilled when an off-off show moves to a larger theater – but it seems that our obsession with celebrities spans all mediums, even off-off Broadway theater. Case in point: Oblivious To Everyone, a show about none other than Paris Hilton. (We were going to say “celebutard” or some other trendy insult but it seems… unfair.) Not that we’re cynical (yesweare) but is this all it takes to move a show? Do it about the same moron that every celebrity weekly puts on their cover?
OK, to be fair, we haven’t seen it. Maybe it’s good. We just hope this doesn’t lead to every enterprising nitwitty young FringeFest wannabe putting out a show about Nicole Richie or Lindsay Lohan.
Again, though, we don’t begrudge anyone their success. Oblivious To Everyone – may it run ten years.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 13, 2006

A FAVORITE AT THIS YEAR’S FRINGE, PARIS HILTON WANNABE MOVES TO NYC’S
THEATRE ROW

ONE WOMAN SCHIZOPHRENIC COMEDY OBLIVIOUS TO EVERYONE RETURNS FOR LIMITED
ENGAGEMENT
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Vaclav Havel is cool. President of Czechoslovakia, and a playwright. And not some boring “blah blah blah, communism is better than capitalism” playwright. Sure, his work is sometimes political, but it’s also well written and interesting. It’s also rarely produced in New York, so the upcoming Havel Festival is a good chance to see a ton of his work.
Here’s a release for TEMPTATION, one of our favorite Havel plays. Go see it, you may not get another chance anytime soon.

The Havel Festival and Gemini CollisionWorks present
TEMPTATION

by Václav Havel

designed and directed by Ian W. Hill

at The Brick, 575 Metropolitan Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn

one block from the Lorimer stop of the L train / Metropolitan-Grand stop of the G train
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