Thanks to six seasons on the sitcom “3rd Rock From the Sun,” French Stewart is bona fide star, yet he still loves performing in tiny theatres, where he’ll never get a large paycheck and may have to smoke in an alley. Recently, he wrote an essay for the L.A. Stage Times explaining why. We’re pleased to republish that essay in TDF Stages: It’s a great testament to why the theatre will always be exciting. [Note: The play that Stewart refers to at the end of the story closed earlier this month.]

—

By FRENCH STEWART

About 25 years ago I did my first play in L.A., in a stinky dump called Galaxy Stage near Western and Santa Monica. We were required to clean toilets, mop the floor, and not ask questions about money. At night they used our set to film porn, and on your way out of the theatre, a certain “pant-less gentleman” might pee at you. Yes. At you!

It’s pretty common in the world of small theatre. It’s what you’d call “local color.” With no centralized drama district to speak of, our theatres float in weird neighborhoods like weird little pirate ships. Over the years, just outside some of L.A.’s small theatres, I’ve been lucky enough to witness (and this is true)—an angry Honduran man whipping a crackhead with jumper cables, a shirtless octogenarian “looking for a date”, and a raccoon who walked upright to intimidate people.

[Read more →]

An Update from The City of Angels

There are some fascinating things happening in L.A. theatre—shows that make you wish you had a dozen free nights and unlimited airline miles.

For those who can’t wing it to California and see these productions in person, there’s always LA STAGE Times, the magazine of the L.A. Stage Alliance, where features, reviews, and news items offer a vivid look at the city’s live performances. Beginning this week, LA STAGE Times and TDF Stages will periodically share content, allowing our readers deeper access to what’s happening on both coasts.

[Read more →]

How two Jewish New Yorkers went to the Middle East and came back with two musicals

For most people, e-mails from foreign countries written in broken English are an instant signal to hit delete. Not so for lyricist Stephen Cole and composer David Krane. In 2005, they each received an e-mail asking them to write the first American musical to premiere in the Middle East, and they accepted the assignment.

The musical they wrote was called Aspire, and the process of creating it was so bizarre that they wrote a second musical about writing the first. The new show, The Road To Qatar, is now playing at the York Theatre. It tells the story of how two “Jewish boys from New York” bonded in Qatar’s theatre district.

[Read more →]

Your guide to theatre in the Mini-Apple

Sure, winter is rough in Minneapolis, but that’s no excuse to hide out in the Mall of America. The city offers an extensive selection of theatre that gives you plenty of reasons to get out of the snow.

Here’s what you need to know about the Minneapolis theatre scene, along with some productions to look forward to in the next few months:

[Read more →]

Thirty years ago this summer, a wooden hut appeared in Leicester Square and changed the London theatre forever.

That tiny building, which officially opened on August 10, 1980, was London’s first half-price ticket booth, and it’s gone on to sell almost 11 million tickets to more than 1,200 shows.

[Read more →]