Posts from — November 2010

Designing costumes for Broadway’s The Pee-wee Herman Show

One night back in 1977, Paul Reubens, a wiry sketch comic at the Los Angeles improv company the Groundlings, came up with the character of a hapless, unfunny standup comic called Pee-wee Herman. To complete Pee-wee’s awkward look, he borrowed an ill-fitting glen plaid suit from Groundlings founder Gary Austin.

Thirty-three years later, a row of identical glen plaid suits hangs backstage at the Stephen Sondheim Theater, where Reubens’ now-iconic creation is having a triumphant Broadway moment in The Pee-wee Herman Show.

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Welcome to Part 1 of our two-part look at how Broadway is currently staging history. Today, we ask audience members for their reactions to seeing history on stage, and next week, we ask Broadway artists how they balance art and history in their work.

Like so many productions before them, the current Broadway musicals Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and The Scottsboro Boys ask audiences to make an ethical choice.

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Last night, as part of the New York Times‘ ongoing Times Talk series, Frank Rich interviewed Stephen Sondheim about his life and career. Rich, who is a mentor in TDF’s Open Doors program, has a long friendship with Sondheim, and their chat was warm and inviting.

You can find highlights of their conversation here.

Why “The Language Archive” needs an abstract, metaphorical set

For a show that’s so much about the power of words, the Roundabout’s production of The Language Archive is certainly bursting with objects.

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Plays, musicals, and dance to put you in the holiday spirit
When it comes to the holidays, are you more “traditional tree” or “sassy Santa?” Either way, New York has got a show that’s right from you. From rousing family musicals to naughty underground plays, there’s a wide range of holiday fare coming to the stage this season.

Here are some holiday musicals, plays, and dance to look forward to.

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