Midweek links

Have at ‘em:

• From Sunday's NYT, a trend story on projection design on Broadway. That story in Chicago could be told in two words: Mike Tutaj.
• Rob Kendt has a terrific interview with Rondi Reed at his blog. I love when Rondi does interviews because she's so blunt and so honest. I hope she wins the Tony just for the fact it'll put her in front of a microphone on live national television—the possibilities are endless.
• Those of you lucky enough to have tickets to the remaining performances of Our Town, do yourselves a favor and don't read this Tribune piece on David Cromer until after you've seen the show. Sid Smith gives away two of my favorite unexpected moments in Cromer's production—don't ruin the surprise for yourself.
• A reminder about the other two shows I can't stop talking about this month: As Told by the Vivian Girls closes this weekend, and Speech and Debate has just two weekends left. Not only that, but S&D is available on Hot Tix, and the Wednesday and Thursday performances of Vivian Girls are pay what you can. You have no excuses if you haven't seen these two shows.
• Wicked's closing. Aw, sadface. (In a shocking development, the Trib had it first.)
• I'm experimenting with the Google Ads in the right rail—TypePad's not expensive, but it's not free either, and it'd be nice if the site could pay for itself. If you find them obnoxious or have any other feedback, let me know.
• And finally, annoyed by nimrods who let their phones ring in the audience, or worse yet, who answer them? Hey, it could be worse—it could be the actors. (The Monkeys have been rocking their new blog—much like their shows, it's filled with hilarity and joy.)

Comments

[Paul Rekk]

I'm taking in the entirety of the Vire Triple Threat - Our Town, Vivian Girls, and Speech and Debate - this weekend.

When my mind explodes, I'm coming to you for my rehab, Kris.

[Ed]

I have a pathological fear of my cell phone going off during a performance while I'm in the audience, precisely because I *am* an actor- some tourist who usually goes to the movies and doesn't know any better might make that mistake, but I have no excuse. I check and double check (and sometimes for good measure triple check) before the show starts. So far I've been lucky about mid-performance phone calls- if that ever happens, I'm planning on committing ritual suicide or something; the shame would be too great.

Other sepukku-requiring mishaps include bringing a beverage in that spills all over the place, and falling asleep and snoring (Not due to boredom or disrespect, but there have been a couple of times where staying awake was a real issue because in retrospect I was way too ill to go and should have stayed home).

The most embarassing 'bad audience behavior' moment I was reponsible for happened several years ago. In college I was watching the runthrough of our senior showcase (i.e. most of my class and all of our professors were there), when I crossed my legs in exactly the wrong way, and every piece of change I had on me ran out of my pockets and onto the raked, concrete floor of the house (i.e., not just loud, but it all started rolling down the rake towards the stage). It was like a bit out of Mr. Bean or something- just when I thought it was over, I shifted my legs to get out of the position, and a few more pieces of change fell out. Looking back, I envy my accidental comic timing. At the time, I wanted the earth to swallow me. And why the hell was I carrying the equivalent of a piggy bank in my pants that day? I can't remember.

[Ed]

And I too was peeved when I saw that Sid Smith had spilled the beans in his David Cromer interview. Web Behrens also gives it away in his Chicago Free Press review. Everyone else I've read is managing to be circumspect about it.

This really bugs me because I don't know that certain moments would have worked as well for me if I'd known they were coming. What made the moments both so viscerally affecting and nifty was that I was taken completely and utterly by surprise. They knocked me flat on my ass, and forced me to reconsider certain basic assumptions I'd made about the production in the first ten minutes or so. How often does that happen on stage anymore?

[Lacy]

So glad you like (and read!) the Monkey blog! Thanks for the mention, yo!

[MBS]

Um, what do producers expect artists to do when put on "creative hiatus" - hit the beach for the summer?!?

I hope Rondi Reed wins too - thankfully, Featured Actress is early in the evening, before the malaise sets in.