Performing arts groups rethink marketing subscriptions
The decline in season ticket sales has forced marketing managers to promote each show individually, which is trickier and more costly.
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Lilly Endowment gift aimed at Walker Theatre renovation
Lilly Endowment’s $500,000 gift will help fund needed maintenance to the historic building on Indiana Avenue. Center directors say the theater needs a new HVAC system, in addition to electrical wiring, lighting and sound equipment.
LOU’S VIEWS: Chicago second to none as theater town
I love New York. But, frankly, there are more exciting offerings in the alleged "Second City"—including Lookingglass Theatre’s world-premiere “Eastland.”
Butler University arts dean aims to link campus, city
Ronald Caltabiano says the Butler arts festival would feature talent from the university, affiliated organizations like Dance Kaleidoscope and Indianapolis Opera, and “extraordinary” guest artists.
LOU’S VIEWS: No great Shakes
It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that, with limited resources, IUPUI’s Hoosier Bard Productions doesn’t make a masterpiece out of the most obscure of Shakespeare’s plays—one that may not even be Shakespeare’s play at all. To be sure, “The History of Cardenio” is an oddity.
Carmel arts center makes room for more sponsors
The Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel expects the 2012-13 concert season, announced this week, to bring a healthy bump in sponsor revenue.
LOU’S VIEWS: Broadway beyond musicals
Thoughts on ‘One Man, Two Guvnors,’ ‘Other Desert Cities,’ ‘Peter and the Starcatcher’ and more.
LOU’S VIEWS: Live on Broadway it’s … Larry Bird?
Often stilted, often hokey, and just as often charming, “Magic/Bird” is a Broadway oddball—a biographical drama without romance and without family conflict, but with an ample supply of game clips and a very mobile backboard.
Review: Broadway’s ‘Magic/Bird’ charms without soaring
The new play examines the evolving rivalry and friendship between Magic Johnson and Indiana hoops icon Larry Bird (now head honcho of the Pacers). The French Lick scene is a winner, but the on-court highlights are often a blur.
Building rentals help school district make ends meet
Franklin is planning to raise $120,000 by renting the performing arts center and middle school auditorium this year — six times what the district made in rental fees four years ago.
LOU’S VIEWS: Cycling through the Eiteljorg a delightful experience
The Eiteljorg’s “Steel Ponies” is a rare museum show that feels both surprisingly original and perfectly in line with its mission. Plus thoughts on Dan Barden’s new novel and a must-see Sondheim revival in Cincy.
LOU’S VIEWS: Parents behave badly in ‘God of Carnage’
Politics aren’t discussed much in Yasmina Reza’s “God of Carnage” (at the IRT through March 24). But after watching a performance, you might find yourself wondering how global superpowers—let alone political parties or religious groups—can possibly get along when the play’s two seemingly civilized couples can’t even have an 85-minute discussion without leaving emotional shrapnel everywhere.
LOU’S VIEWS: ‘Osage,’ you must see
Phoenix Theater offers Indiana premiere of "August: Osage County," a sprawling, brutally intimate epic both intensely personal and apocalyptic.
LOU’S VIEWS: City stages home to a trio of theatrical winners
Indiana Repertory Theatre's "Radio Golf," the Phoenix's “Current Economic Conditions,” and Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra rely on character-driven shows.
LOU’S VIEWS: Very different stages at Theatre on the Square
Where else but TOTS can you choose between a porn musical and a hostage drama? Reviews of “Debbie Does Dallas” and Acting Up’s “Two Rooms.”
Carmel’s Center for Performing Arts trims staff
The Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel eliminated five positions this week as interim CEO Frank Basile tries to rein in costs at the financially challenged organization that oversees the Palladium.
LOU’S VIEWS: Blood, spoof and fears
Indiana Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Indiana and newcomer Acting Up mix it up.
LOU’S VIEWS: It takes a circus
A team of collegiate collaborators turns Cathy Day’s acclaimed book into a stage musical
LOU’S VIEWS: Productions, written 100 years apart, explore teen sex
Thoughts on the Phoenix Theatre’s “Spring Awakening” and Indianapolis Opera’s “Madama Butterfly.”
Civic debuts to new but eager audience in Carmel
The not-for-profit musical theater company has grown its subscriber base and raised $2.6 million toward a $10 million goal, Executive Director Cheri Dick said.