ABROAD/WAY BULLETPOINTS FOR JUNE 25, 2024
A new PAC for Saudi Arabia, a gleefully woke exit for two Zurich artistic directors, a Broadway world record for El Mago Pop, and more
Annyeonghaseyo from Seoul, where I’ve just wrapped up my time with a group of theater makers from around the world at the KAMS K-Musical Market. I’ll be writing about my experiences here and everything I learned along the way in next week’s edition, but in the meantime: Here’s the latest ABROAD/WAY BULLETPOINTS, my regular round-up of international theater headlines. New to Jaques? Check out this handy explainer to learn more, or catch up on my most recent SPOTLIGHT STORY, about the itinerant life of an actor on an international tour, over here.
Not too long after Riyadh hosted a production of The Phantom of the Opera in a new venue there, a Saudi investment company has announced plans to build an elaborate performing arts center in Qiddiya City. The new complex will have a total of 3,000 seats across three theaters, and each “will offer a 360-degree experience merging physical and digital elements,” writes Rashid Hasan in Arab News. With a calendar planned to encompass 260 indoor and outdoor performances a year and attract 800,000 visitors annually, the PAC, backed by Qiddiya Investment Company, “will serve as an incubator for young Saudis, providing educational opportunities and resources to nurture the next generation of writers, producers, and actors.” No opening date was announced, nor do we know how much capital Qiddiya Investment Company is ponying up for the PAC.
Two outgoing artistic directors at a Zurich theater thumbed their nose at the conservative press campaign that got them ousted with a gala finale to their tenure called House of Wokeness. Benjamin von Blomberg and Nicolas Stemann joined Zurich’s Schauspielhaus in 2019 and “took an avant-garde and conceptually expansive approach to traditional theatre repertoire, and increased gender and racial diversity in the productions and management,” writes Kabir Jhala in The Art Newspaper. “Such issues were central to a campaign against them propelled by the right-wing Swiss media, claiming ‘wokeness’ was driving away traditional audiences and to blame for a $1.5 million budget deficit.” The city of Zurich blocked the institution from receiving funding for its 2023-24 season, and last year it was announced that Von Blomberg and Stemann wouldn’t have their contracts renewed. Von Blomberg is quoted in the article as saying that the House of Wokeness event, which featured a performance by Canadian electroclash musician Peaches, “reclaims the term used against us.”
The Spanish magician El Mago Pop now holds the Guinness World Record for the top-grossing week at the Broadway box office for a solo show. The popular illusionist Antonio Diaz’s short Broadway engagement in 2023 pulled in $2,717,000 in its second and final week, beating out the recorded highs of runs by American mega-earners like Bruce Springsteen. The performer “surpassed the record of actor and singer Hugh Jackman at the Broadhurst [Theatre] on Broadway in 2012, when his show raised $2,57,354, according to the Shubert Organization, which owns that theater and 16 others on Broadway,” says a report in López-Dóriga Digital. (A notable asterisk: Weekly earnings weren’t reported for Springsteen’s second run on Broadway during the earliest days of post-lockdown performances.)
Two Tony-winning Korean-Americans and a Brazilian nominee got some global headlines thanks to the recent 2024 Tony Awards ceremony. Wins for Linda Cho, costume designer for the Korean-backed musical The Great Gatsby, and for Hana S. Kim, the projection designer of The Outsiders, prompted the Korea Times to position these achievements as “part of a longer history of Korean success on Broadway.” Mentioning Korean-American performers including Ruthie Ann Miles and Ashley Park, reporter Mee-yoo Kwon traces an “expanding circle of talents of Korean descent or origin who are transforming Broadway, signaling a shift toward greater inclusivity and diversity.” Fellow Korean-American Jiyoun Chang was nominated this year for lighting design for Stereophonic, while Brazilian Tatiana Kahvegian, nominated for her set design for The Outsiders, got some coverage in the Brazilian press.
Sustainability innovations at a Potsdam theater provide the hook for a story in the Guardian about the German federal ministry of culture’s €3 million push to make theaters across the nation more ecologically sound. According to writer Kate Connell, the Hans Otto Theater’s production of the new play Your Palaces Are Empty was declared climate-neutral under the federal program, which is called Zero. For the production the theater switched to LED bulbs, reused pre-existing props and costumes, and scheduled longer, less frequent rehearsals to reduce travel. “Even though 20% of its theatregoers already arrive by bike or on foot, travel remains the theatre’s single biggest polluting factor, contributing to about 50% of Hans Otto’s emissions,” the story notes. “In response, theatre tickets will double up as public transport passes in the three hours before and after the play.”
Green theater is a worldwide movement. Find out more in this story from April:
A Japanese theater company’s musical adaptation of hit K-drama Crash Landing on You has proven so popular it’s making return runs to Tokyo and Osaka later this year. Takarazuka Revue’s take on the Netflix show, which first played Tokyo in February, returns with stops at New National Theater (July 7-21) and Tatemono Bria Hall (Nov. 30-Dec. 13), both in Tokyo, and Osaka’s Umeda Art Theater (Dec. 22-28). Another musical adaptation of the show has already become a Korean stage hit that premiered in Seoul in 2022.
The global expansion of Dear Evan Hansen continues with a Brazilian non-replica production in Rio (June 13-July 7) and São Paolo (Aug. 2-30). Producers Somos Aqui Produções and Touché Entretenimento have teamed on the show after previously partnering on a local staging of Beetlejuice.
Reuters has a great photo essay about a performance of Antigone staged by inmates in a Greek maximum-security jail. The show was part of an ongoing theatre workshop at Korydallos Prison in Athens, explains reporters Stelios Misinas and Karolina Tagaris. “Around 250 inmates have taken part in the prison’s workshop since it launched in 2016, and more than 1,800 have watched the shows. One man came back to take part in the performance despite being recently released so as not to disappoint the other inmates.”