Sara Krulwich/The New York Times Matthew Broderick, center, in the Broadway musical “Nice Work if You Can Get It.â€Below are answers to selected reader questions about the theater world from Ben Brantley, the chief theater critic of The New York Times. Check back for more answers tomorrow.
I'm wondering whether the really old days where people knew a score before going in was a good thing. - Fred Landau, N ew York City
Though Broadway musicals â€" at least new musicals - are less likely to be filled with songs that have hit the top 40, the way they were 50 years ago, I'd say that in many cases, audiences are still familiar with the scores of the shows they're seeing. That's because so many Broadway productions these days recycle old scores (as in “Nice Work if You Can Get Itâ€) and songbooks (“Rock of Ages,†“Jersey Boysâ€). People seem to want to hear what they already know. But I see your point: it's exciting to be engaged and even startled by a fresh set of songs you've never he ard before. Sadly, that rarely happens on Broadway anymore.
Do you feel, as I do, that theater is becoming an ever more unpopulist medium? I see so few shows that treat the stage as simply another way to tell a story and so many that are about a subset of theater culture pandering to itself. - Maddi Chapin, Livingston, N.J.
There are a lot of forms of theater out there, especially in New York, and I think it's always possible to find a production to match your tastes, though sometimes it requires more investigation and research than you may feel is worth it. Off-Broadway companies like Playwrights Horizons and the Mint Theater specialize in conventional, narrative-driven plays â€" new works in the case of Playwrights and old (and often rare) dramas from the past a t the Mint.
If theater is less populist, I think it's as much a matter of economics as anything. Broadway shows, in particular, have priced themselves out of the reach of all but the most dedicated middle-class theatergoer, except as an occasional thing. And the pressure to justify the prices often leads producers to, as you put it, “pander†with star vehicles and showstopper-packed musicals.
But the narrative drive that you love about the theater is still in existence, and there are writers who still dedicate themselves to perpetuating it. Broadway probably isn't the first place to look for satisfying theater, though.
What do you hope for when you see a new work, or work by a new playwright? - Beth Derochea, Weymouth, Mass.
I hope to hear a voice that is true to itself and to the logic it sets up within the play. This happens far less often than you might expect.
Sara Krulwich/The New York Times William Dudley in front of his projections for “The Woman in White.â€What role do you believe media/projections currently play in New York theater? - Bryce C. Cutler, Pittsburgh
Projections play a huge role in the theater these days. This is equally true of a big musical like, say, “The Woman in White†â€" a short-lived Andrew Lloyd Webber costume musical (seen in New York in 2005) that was most notable for its substitution of elaborate two-dimensional video projections (by William Dudley) for three-dimensional scenery â€" and an off-Broadway production like the political bio-drama “Checkers,†currently at the Vineyard Theater, in which the designer Darrel Maloney draws changes of scenery into existence (via projection) as we watch. Wendall K. Harrington, whose video and digital work has enlivened many a major production in recent years, is probably the reigning master of this art.
Like all forms of design in theater, mixed media effects have been used effectively and ineffectively, sometimes enhanci ng the live human presence at the production's center and sometimes eclipsing it. But they're definitely here to stay. It's worth noting that when “Sunday in the Park With George†- the Stephen Sondehim-James Lapine musical about the artist George Seurat - was revived four years ago, projections had largely taken the place of more traditional cut-out scenery in making Seurat's art come to life. (The digital designs were by Timothy Bird and the Knifedge Creative Network.) And for me, the gorgeous act one finale (in which Seurat's masterpiece portraying the Ile de la Grande Jatte is summoned into being before our eyes) was every bit as magical in this latter-day incarnation as it was in the original.
My husband and I will spend one night in New York City on Jan. 5. We won't be back before many months. What s how should we, 27-year-old theater enthusiasts, go see? - Hélène Steiner, Minneapolis
Sara Krulwich/The New York Times Steve Kazee and Cristin Milioti in the Broadway musical “Once.â€I don't know your specific tastes, of course, or what you've seen in the past. But given your ages, I'm thinking you might enjoy “Once,†which won the Tony for Best Musical this year, and is certainly the most original musical to open on Broadway in many months. It's a love story (aren't they all?) but one told via a gentle indie-rock-pop score and extremely inventive dance sequences.
“Peter and the Starcatcher,†which is closing soon, might sound like kid-stuff, since it tells the back story of the boy who became Peter Pan. But it is purely and wonderfully theatrical in the way that it tells its story, without elaborate props or scenery, but more imagination and innovation than you'll find in a host of Hollywood spectacles.
Is there a single theater on Broadway that has even halfway acceptable (re: size, cleanliness) bathrooms? - Chris Jehle, San Francisco
I'd have to do more research to provide a satisfactory answer. My mind is usually so full of what's been happening on stage that I'm rarely aware of my surroundings at intermission, even in the men's room. I haven't noticed any exceptionally squalid environments, but then I'm not a white gloves kind of guy.
