The Goodman Theater is the oldest nonprofit organization located within Chicago central business district. This building was errected in 1925 to honor playwriter, Kenneth Sawyer Goodman, who died in 1918 from the flu. His legacy was carried on by his plays performed opening day at his theater on October 20th, 1925. Actors performed three of Goodman's plays, Back of the Yards, The Game of Chess, and The Green Scarf.
At a cost of $250,000 from William and Erna Goodman via Art Institute of Chicago the Goodman Theater was constructed in 1922. Thomas Woods Stevens became the first artistic director at Goodman’s. Stevens’s first play here was The Forest by John Galsworthy. Stevens is also noted for establishing the “first theater degree-granting program in America at Carnegie Mellon University. “ After five years time Steven retires due to an argument about the about of debt that Goodman Theater had achieved over the years.
Maurice Gnesin took Stevens place in 1930. Gnesin had full control over the school for 27 years with her assistant David Itkin, Russian actor. From Gnesin great theater actors grew,” Karl Malden, Sam Vanamaker, Geraldine Page, Shelley Berman, Havey Koman, jose Quintero, Linda Hunt, and Joe Mantegna.” Goodman’s Theater was all about giving kids there first experience to theater. Thousands of young Chicago kids were taken to see a week end Matinee of so some theater at Goodman’s. The year 1957 came around and Gnesin died along with Itkin retiring Goodman’s is in need of new leadership.
This was filled conditionally by John Reich, director that trained with Max Reinhardt. The condition was that the theater had to start a new professional acting company. Forty years of having no professional company at their theater, Goodman’s produced a fully professional cast that led to bigger plays and audiences. This also led to a higher debt since they were not able to pay all the actors. Reich had his reign for 15 years where he was forced to retire. Ken Myers was brought in for a year to try to see where the financial problem was within the company.
1973 William Woodman is the new director. They separate themselves in 1976 from the Artistic Institute. They then join Chicago theatre Group, Inc. This gave the theater opportunities to do their own fundraising along with the development of Stage 2, a testing ground from amateur actors, directors, and writers. A few more theater directors came in and out of the theater until they ended up with 24+ good years with Robert Falls. He is known for his off-loop theater boom in the 1970’s. 1990 Falls appointed Mary Zimmerman, Chuck Smith, Henry Godinez, and Regina Taylor to the Goodman’s theater staff. Falls and staff produced Galileo, Death of a Salesman, and Long Day’s journey into Night.
Chicago was changing the path of center loops throughout the city. This gave Goodman owners the chills. 1980 they started to look for new places since there shake behind the art institute would not suffice. So they built a new one which opened in 2000. The opening act was King Hedley by August Wilson.
“Other notable productions in the Goodman's recent history include Artistic Director Robert Falls' stagings of The Iceman Cometh starring Brian Dennehy, The Night of the Iguana with Cherry Jones and William Petersen, and The Young Man from Atlanta starring Rip Torn and Shirley Knight; Frank Galati's world premiere of John Kander and Fred Ebb's musical The Visit, featuring a book by Terrence McNally and starring Chita Rivera; David Petrarca's world premiere productions of Marvin's Room and the musical The House of Martin Guerre; Chuck Smith's acclaimed revivals of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, A Raisin in the Sun and The Amen Corner; Mary Zimmerman's premiere productions of The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, Journey to the West, The Odyssey and the Philip Glass opera Galileo Galilei; the world premieres of Regina Taylor's Drowning Crow and Oo-Bla-Dee; the Chicago premiere of Zoot Suit, staged by Henry Godinez; nine of ten works in August Wilson's cycle of plays exploring the African American experience in the 20th century including the premiere productions of Seven Guitars, King Hedley II and Gem of the Ocean; plus several premieres of David Mamet's plays, including American Buffalo and A Life in the Theatre, and of Rebecca Gilman's plays Spinning into Butter, Boy Gets Girl, Blue Surge and Dollhouse.”( http://www.goodmantheatre.org/About/History/Index.aspx)
Goodman Theater likes to keep close that they are the oldest and largest not-for Profit Theater. They also feel strongly about the quality that is produced there along with diversity, artistic leadership, and its well built educational systematic theater system. Goodman rules of three guiding principles: Quality, Diversity, and Community. They want to be a mixing pot of cultures in the Chicago area.
Robert Falls, Artistic Director, and Roche Schulfer, Executive Director, run the show at Goodman Theater. They strive to produce classic and contemporary style production and allowing a lot of free expression with artists, actors, plays, and thoughts. This has been shown throughout history with this wonderful theater
Friday, May 7, 2010
Director
Born as a baby boomer in 1942 Martin C. Scorsese is a very talented
actor, director, and screen write. His background in gangster films (
Gangs of New York, the Departed, and the all famous Good Fellas) were
some of his top movies. Other popular films were The Aviator, Shutter
Island and Casino. Growing up in New York City i feel gave Martin a way
to connect with the movies he made based in new york. That is why they
are so good and you can watch them over and over again and still catch
something that you might have missed in the first time you watch it. His
attention to detail in his films is impeccable. His background with
Italian history is amazing. If you have ever seen Good Fellas you might
have thought he was in the mob at some point during his career. He
portrays thug life at its best throughout history. From Gangs of New
York in 1860's (setting) to Good Fellas in 1990's. He captures the good
the bad and the ugly from each one of these gang films. I think no other
director would have been able to do that.
Martin Scorsese was also a historian film director. This means he grabs
the attention by historically accurate facts or to me it seems accurate.
If we take a look at the Aviator everything about Howard Hughes is right
on the money. The way Martin directed a movie about a legendary director
like Hughes you know he must have been a visionary director and must
have a talented gifted mind. Scorsese was also chosen to direct "fear
and loathing in Vegas" but failed since Hunter S. Thompson didn't like
the way it was coming out. He chose Terry Gilliam to take over the film after the main roles were considered. Some of these roles were considered for Jack Nicholson and Marlon Brando. John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd were also considered but Belushi passed away. The film was finally made in 1998 with Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro playing the man roles of “Raoul Duke” and “Dr. Gonzo”. This film took one of Martin C. Scorsese’s fails to a new level of adventure and recreational drug use in the land of gambling, sex, drugs and money. I am talking about the great Las Vegas in the middle of the Silver State, Nevada.
Martin has many trademarks that he follows with most of his films and playwrites be it setting, filming styles, leading ladies, or corrupted authority figures. Scorsese’s filming styles use slow motion aka freeze frames in films such as Goodfellas and The King of Comedy. He also makes his lead roles sociopathic or outcasts attempting to be a part of their own society but cast aside because they are thugs or outright assholes. The leading lady roles are usually blonde having angel features; they are also always dressed is some type of white clothing be it a beautiful dress or a white bikini. Scorsese “often uses long tracking shots” meaning the camera is on some type of moving vehicle, even a dolly. This allows for chase scenes and a more depth perceived vision of the film. Action scenes are shown in a third person view putting you in the movie. He also uses MOS sequences that are used for voice overs and music that involve rapid camera movement or editing to make the film seem more intense. These MOS sequences are used in many of his films where he narrates via voice-over. This allows him to feel more attached to the actors and the script since he is a part of it now not just directing. Common settings for Martin’s films include New York City in (Gangs of New York, Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, The Age of Innocence, and New York New York). With his newer films come more common features showing important authority figures throughout history being shown as corrupted. The Departed, Gangs of New York, The Aviator, Shutter Island all show this with police men, politicians, or an ironic prisoner who believes he is a US Marshall. I believe this shows how he is starting to really feel about the government and the current political trends and leaders.
I love how he repeatedly uses Leonardo DiCaprio, Joe Pesci, and Robert De Niro in many of his films. Critics love to say that Robert De Niro’s best performance was as the middleweight boxer Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull. Martin Scorsese is still young in the director/screen write chair as you will see over the next 15 years some of his most controversial films will hit the big screen and make people start thinking of the stuff that actually happens on this earth.
actor, director, and screen write. His background in gangster films (
Gangs of New York, the Departed, and the all famous Good Fellas) were
some of his top movies. Other popular films were The Aviator, Shutter
Island and Casino. Growing up in New York City i feel gave Martin a way
to connect with the movies he made based in new york. That is why they
are so good and you can watch them over and over again and still catch
something that you might have missed in the first time you watch it. His
attention to detail in his films is impeccable. His background with
Italian history is amazing. If you have ever seen Good Fellas you might
have thought he was in the mob at some point during his career. He
portrays thug life at its best throughout history. From Gangs of New
York in 1860's (setting) to Good Fellas in 1990's. He captures the good
the bad and the ugly from each one of these gang films. I think no other
director would have been able to do that.
Martin Scorsese was also a historian film director. This means he grabs
the attention by historically accurate facts or to me it seems accurate.
If we take a look at the Aviator everything about Howard Hughes is right
on the money. The way Martin directed a movie about a legendary director
like Hughes you know he must have been a visionary director and must
have a talented gifted mind. Scorsese was also chosen to direct "fear
and loathing in Vegas" but failed since Hunter S. Thompson didn't like
the way it was coming out. He chose Terry Gilliam to take over the film after the main roles were considered. Some of these roles were considered for Jack Nicholson and Marlon Brando. John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd were also considered but Belushi passed away. The film was finally made in 1998 with Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro playing the man roles of “Raoul Duke” and “Dr. Gonzo”. This film took one of Martin C. Scorsese’s fails to a new level of adventure and recreational drug use in the land of gambling, sex, drugs and money. I am talking about the great Las Vegas in the middle of the Silver State, Nevada.
Martin has many trademarks that he follows with most of his films and playwrites be it setting, filming styles, leading ladies, or corrupted authority figures. Scorsese’s filming styles use slow motion aka freeze frames in films such as Goodfellas and The King of Comedy. He also makes his lead roles sociopathic or outcasts attempting to be a part of their own society but cast aside because they are thugs or outright assholes. The leading lady roles are usually blonde having angel features; they are also always dressed is some type of white clothing be it a beautiful dress or a white bikini. Scorsese “often uses long tracking shots” meaning the camera is on some type of moving vehicle, even a dolly. This allows for chase scenes and a more depth perceived vision of the film. Action scenes are shown in a third person view putting you in the movie. He also uses MOS sequences that are used for voice overs and music that involve rapid camera movement or editing to make the film seem more intense. These MOS sequences are used in many of his films where he narrates via voice-over. This allows him to feel more attached to the actors and the script since he is a part of it now not just directing. Common settings for Martin’s films include New York City in (Gangs of New York, Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, The Age of Innocence, and New York New York). With his newer films come more common features showing important authority figures throughout history being shown as corrupted. The Departed, Gangs of New York, The Aviator, Shutter Island all show this with police men, politicians, or an ironic prisoner who believes he is a US Marshall. I believe this shows how he is starting to really feel about the government and the current political trends and leaders.
I love how he repeatedly uses Leonardo DiCaprio, Joe Pesci, and Robert De Niro in many of his films. Critics love to say that Robert De Niro’s best performance was as the middleweight boxer Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull. Martin Scorsese is still young in the director/screen write chair as you will see over the next 15 years some of his most controversial films will hit the big screen and make people start thinking of the stuff that actually happens on this earth.
Broadway Shows
Current shows that are playing are Wicked(evil side of wizard of OZ) The Addams Family, Chicago, Memphis, Promises Promises, Million Dollar Quartet, Come Fly Away, Everyday Rapture, Avenue Q, Blue Man Group, The phantom of the Opera and A Little Night Music.
I will be talking about Wicked. I have found information on show times from broadway.com. Prices for this show start at $76.25 and up. Along with ticket pricing the different show times are also posted on this website. The shows are everyday usually starting around 2pm 7 pm or 8pm. This broad way production is being showed at Gershwin Theatre at 222 west 51st Street, New York, NY. This is in the Paramount Plaza Building in Manhattan.
The Gershwin theatre, use to be called Uris Theater until 1983 where it was renamed during the tony awards to honor the composer George Gershwin, was opened in 1972. This theater became from the first largest Broadway Theater since the completion in 1931 of the Earl Carroll Theater. This theater holds 1,933 people and houses the Theater Hall of Fame. The Architect was Ralph Alswang erected this building for a mere $12.5 million upon the old site of the Capitol Theatre.
Some other milestones of Broadway would have to be the longest-running shows. Some of these would be 1. The Phantom of the Opera which opened on January 26, 1988. They have done more than 9259 performances of this play. This musical play has won seven Tony Awards and Best Musical back in 1988. 2. Cats which opened October 7th, 1982 and finally closed on September 10th, 2000. In those eighteen years of production they have achieved 7,485 shows. All of those performances amounted to several Tony Awards, one being Best Musical in 1988. They also received a Grammy Award for Best Cast Show Album.3. Les Miserables This production opened March 12th, 1987 and closed May 18th, 2003. They had a grand total of six thousand six hundred eighty shows. They also received 8 Tony Awards just like the top 2 longest shows (The Phantom of the Opera& Cats) including Best Musical. Also in 1988 they won Outstanding Musical Grammy Award for Best Musical Cast Show Album. They also have five more Drama Desk Awards. All of these longest Broadway productions have also been the highest grossing Broadway shows all of time.
The Phantom of the Opera has the highest gross profit at $766,547,321 with an average ticket price of $39.22. That means they have sold over 13,734,084 seats. In close second come The Lion King preformed at New Amsterdam Theater is in the heart of Time Square. The Lion King has sold 8,850,662 seats for an outstanding gross profit of $694,886,136. With $79.13 being the average seat price that is a lot of performances. Wicked comes in third at $462,158,458 gross, average ticket $94.98, 4.8 million seats sold during 2,694 regularly performed shows. Andrew Lloyd Webber, Showman, made $56 million with his longest running show Phantom of the Opera. Second Elton John, Musician, is said to have made $34 million with his compositions in The Lion King and Aida. Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane, both actors, make $9 million each and are original stars of The Producers. They have the largest paid leads on Broadway. This is just not for entertainment; this is a business trying to make an easy style living for everyone who wants to work for it.
Some of Broadway theaters are haunted. Radio City Music Hall is said to have S.L. “Roxy” Rothafel, contractor in charge of building the music hall and a beautiful female that always seem to get tickets on opening nights. I see that as good luck. Other famous ghosts were David Belasco who haunts the Belasco Theatre, in midtown-Manhattan. His ghost is given the alias “The Monk”. The Monk would appear in the crowd and sometime communicate with the actors letting them know that he enjoyed the performance. He would also smoke a cigar in the theatre during a production. There is always the superstitions about breaking legs and Macbeth that still haunt the less weak of minds with in Broadway.
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