Off Broadway Videos

Guest host Ted Chapin, chairman of the board of the American Theatre Wing, talks with director Robert Longbottom about his current Broadway production of "Bye Bye Birdie" at The Roundabout, including the challenge of auditioning 1400 teenagers, as well as his new revival of "Dreamgirls", which like the story itself. starts its national climb to fame at New York's Apollo Theater, but only after a truly out of town tryout in South Korea. Longbottom also talks about how he managed to get his Equity card at age 10, despite being raised in Maine; his years as a dancer in Broadway ensembles and national tours; developing the piece that ultimately became "Pageant" while on tour with "42nd Street"; the joy of both workshopping and rehearsing "Side Show" directly on Broadway stages, as opposed to rehearsal rooms; his work on plays including "Hay Fever" and "Mr. Roberts" (asking when first approached about the latter, "Who wrote music for it?"); and why he thinks the "revisal" of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Flower Drum Song" was such a success in Los Angeles but didn't work as well in New York. Original air date - November 23, 2009.

The role of Regional Theatre in supporting and presenting new works to their communities was among the topics discussed by our panel: Christopher Ashley, Artistic Director of La Jolla Playhouse, Gordon Edelstein, Artistic Director of Long Wharf Theatre, Sara Garonzik, Producing Artistic Director of the Philadelphia Theatre Company, and Eric Rosen, Artistic Director of Kansas City Repertory Theatre. They also explored how they share works and resources; the kind of show they feel best serves their audiences; their interaction with the local community; how they deal with competition within the theatrical community in their cities; what they learn from visiting Directors to their theatres; and the effect it has on their theatres when one of their shows moves to Broadway.

"Bye Bye Birdie"'s domineering mom, Jayne Houdyshell, talks about finding the good in meddling Mae Peterson, who she calls "Archie Bunker in a mink coat" and whether she'd ever appeared in "Birdie" previously during her career, which has spanned some 300 shows (though only 15 in New York). She also describes growing up as a child on a Kansas farm; her first stage appearance as the mother in "Enter Laughing" (at age 14); finding her way to a conservatory in Detroit staffed largely by English acting teachers; starting her career by moving to Iowa where she was part of literally building the Old Creamery Theatre; her move to New York -- which precipitated a 20 year career working in regional theatres across the country, despite having no agent or manager; her sudden discovery by the New York theatre community in Lisa Kron's "Well"; how her appearance in "Hello Dolly" in the early 80s led to her appearance as Madame Morrible in "Wicked" on Broadway, what she thought when director Leigh Silverman asked her to play a child in "Coraline", and why she'd like to sing more on stage -- but we shouldn't be looking for her cabaret act anytime soon. Original air date - November 16, 2009.

The panel of performers - Joan Copeland ("Another Time"), Jeff Daniels ("Redwood Curtain"), Christopher Durang (Sondheim's "Putting It Together"), Robert Foxworth ("Candida"), Robert Klein ("The Sisters Rosenszweig"), Mary McCann (David Mamet's "Oleanna"), Steven Rea ("Someone Who'll Watch Over Me"), Martin Short ("The Goodbye Girl"), and Mary Steenburgen ("Candida") - compare the different styles of their current productions, their performing backgrounds, discipline and stamina, actors who write, and returning to the stage after working in television and film.

"The Royal Family"'s own theatre royalty Rosemary Harris talks about her current role as Fanny Cavendish at Manhattan Theatre Club and her 1975 performance as Julie Cavendish with such costars as Sam Levene and Eva Le Gallienne (including what she's stolen from "Miss Le G"). She also takes us back to her childhood role as "The Queen" in a play written and staged by her older sister; her discovery by Moss Hart and her Broadway debut in an unsuccessful show that he both wrote and directed; her illustrious directors and leading men, including Laurence Olivier (who personally demonstrated how she was to play Ophelia's mad scene), John Gielgud (who fired her at one point), Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole, among many others; whether she agrees with the generality that she plays English roles in America and American roles in England; her participation in the founding of such influential theatre companies as the APA (later the APA-Phoenix), the Chichester Festival and the Royal National Theatre, and why she feels the disappearance of the company structure is such a loss for actors today. Original air date - November 9, 2009.

The panelists - theatrical agent Joanne Nici, playwright Frank Pugliese ("Aven'U Boys"), director/writer Geraldine Fitzgerald ("Sharon"), choreographer Wayne Cilento ("Tommy"), and producer Frederick Zollo ("Aven'U Boys") - discuss the expanse of their careers and their backgrounds, the role of an agent, and developing plays from the page through casting and rehearsals to production.

"Superior Donuts" and "August: Osage County" playwright Tracy Letts. talks about writing "Donuts" as his first "Chicago" play in homage to his adopted home city. He also discusses his childhood with his mother and father, college professors who would forge second careers as novelist and actor respectively; his own dual career as actor and playwright and why he won't appear in one of his own plays; the impact of joining Chicago's famed Steppenwolf Company; how his early plays "Killer Joe" and "Bug", and their reception in England, included him in part of a mini-movement that included Mark Ravenhill and Sarah Kane; what he thinks of the film version of "Bug"; how much of "August: Osage County" is based on his family's own history; why he creates characters who have difficulty articulating their thoughts and feelings -- including the hyper-articulate ones; and whether after the avalanche of publicity in the wake of "August"'s international success, he thinks he has anything left to say. Original air date - November 2, 2009.

Our four Tony Award winning Leading Ladies -- Laura Benanti, Beth Leavel, Bebe Neuwirth and Alice Ripley - discuss performances they've seen that have made a lasting impact on them; the moment when they realized that a life in the theatre was what they wanted; what it's like originating a role, playing a character in a revival and replacing someone in a show; the roles they never seem to get cast in; their relationship with the audience during a show and after at the stage door; and their thoughts on the audition process.

Director Anne Bogart discusses the formation of her SITI Company and why, after 16 years of existence, they're only now staging their first New York season at Dance Theatre Workshop. She also talks about her family's heritage in the Navy and how theatre played a role in her life as she moved from school to school (including two years in Japan), and why theatre and the Navy are alike; her "All About Eve"-like assumption of the direction of her first show, while in high school in Rhode Island; the profound effect of seeing "Macbeth" at Trinity Rep; her journey through four colleges over five years on her way to a degree; her early work in New York, including sit-specific theatre on a shoestring; her time running the Experimental Theatre Wing at NYU, including her acclaimed production of "South Pacific" set in a veterans' mental institution; her "great and horrible" year as artistic director of Trinity Rep; how the SITI Company married the teachings of Tadashi Suzuki and the "Viewpoints" system of performance; and why she sees Violence, Terror, and Eroticism as central to the task of directing. Original air date - October 26, 2009.

The "Fool Moon" production team - producers Jeffrey Ash, Dori Berinstein, and James Freydberg, actor/creator Bill Irwin, press representative Jackie Green, general manager Robert Kamlot, company manager Daniel Kearns, and actor/creator David Shiner - discuss bringing the two-man mime revue to Broadway, the responsibilities of each production member, the strategic marketing and publicity plans, ticket and production costs, and the wildly varied responses from audiences of all ages.

Scott H. Biram playing at Off Broadway in St. Louis. Scott H. Biram is known as the dirty old one man band from Austin Texas. If you ve never see him live you re in for a treat. He plays a blend of country-fied broken blues and is a real crowd pleaser. He s got a kick ass trucker web site you can check out to get more info about his music and where he ll be appearing next. Download this video.

This my favorite song from the handbag-produced staged reading of Eating Raoul. In this scene, Mary must choose between her lover, Raoul, and her husband, Paul. CLICK HERE TO WATCH ON YOUR DEVICE NOW

A teaser for the Handbag Productions midwest premiere of Haywire! by Tim Wilkins Kevin Remington Songs and Special Musical Material by Fred Barton Directed by Cheryl Snodgrass Where: The Bailiwick Arts Center Studio Space, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. When: Previews Oct. 9, 10, 11, Opens Monday, Oct. 13 Runs Thurs.- Sat. , 8pm and Sundays at 3:30pm Cost: $10 Previews, [...]

EIght is NEVER Enough presents this original opera improv at the Laugh Factory

In the end of the summer of 2006, Eight is NEVER Enough prepares for a show at the Laugh Factory