Wednesday, March 01, 2006
LEIGH SILVERMAN FOR PRESIDENT
And while we're on the subject of the obscenely male dominated state of directing on Broadway (we totally were though, weren't we?), I wanna give a shout out to Leigh Silverman, who according to the Times is the ONLY woman directing a play on Broadway this season. And on top of that, at 31, she's one of the youngest women to EVER direct a Broadway show. I think its absurd that there have only been about 7 female directors who've directed straight plays on Broadway. Ab-surd! A big WTF? goes out to the Broadway community, and a huge congratulations to Leigh for being awesome. She was profiled in this past Sunday's NY Times Arts section as one of 9 People To Watch. And I totally agree. Leigh is incredibly talented, and a great woman to work with.
The play she's directing is WELL, which ran at the Public Theatre in 2004 to great acclaim, and was on many critics top 10 lists for that season. If you saw it, you know how great it is. If you missed it, you should really check it out at the Longacre Theatre this spring. I'm pretty shocked that its being produced at this level with no stars (or even actors who've ever been on broadway), but I'm excited and impressed that they've made it happen. The producers are taking a huge risk and I think the show is going to rely on good word of mouth, which it will surely get if they can bring in an initial audience.
And one final note. It seems unfair not to mention Lisa Kron, who wrote and stars in WELL, and who's been paying her dues in this city for ages, creating her own work that tests people ideas of what theatre is and has the potential to be. Her work with the Five Lesbian Brothers has brought lesbian issues to the wider theatregoing public. But more importantly, her solo work, which generally presents Lisa as a gay woman, but is not about her being a gay, has opened doors and minds not just in New York, but everywhere around the country where she has performed it.
"Can you hear me?" is one of my favorite lines ever.
check out WELL's website ¶ 1:21 PM
And while we're on the subject of the obscenely male dominated state of directing on Broadway (we totally were though, weren't we?), I wanna give a shout out to Leigh Silverman, who according to the Times is the ONLY woman directing a play on Broadway this season. And on top of that, at 31, she's one of the youngest women to EVER direct a Broadway show. I think its absurd that there have only been about 7 female directors who've directed straight plays on Broadway. Ab-surd! A big WTF? goes out to the Broadway community, and a huge congratulations to Leigh for being awesome. She was profiled in this past Sunday's NY Times Arts section as one of 9 People To Watch. And I totally agree. Leigh is incredibly talented, and a great woman to work with.The play she's directing is WELL, which ran at the Public Theatre in 2004 to great acclaim, and was on many critics top 10 lists for that season. If you saw it, you know how great it is. If you missed it, you should really check it out at the Longacre Theatre this spring. I'm pretty shocked that its being produced at this level with no stars (or even actors who've ever been on broadway), but I'm excited and impressed that they've made it happen. The producers are taking a huge risk and I think the show is going to rely on good word of mouth, which it will surely get if they can bring in an initial audience.And one final note. It seems unfair not to mention Lisa Kron, who wrote and stars in WELL, and who's been paying her dues in this city for ages, creating her own work that tests people ideas of what theatre is and has the potential to be. Her work with the Five Lesbian Brothers has brought lesbian issues to the wider theatregoing public. But more importantly, her solo work, which generally presents Lisa as a gay woman, but is not about her being a gay, has opened doors and minds not just in New York, but everywhere around the country where she has performed it."Can you hear me?" is one of my favorite lines ever.
check out WELL's website ¶ 1:21 PM
