Foxwoods and Broadway

I was surprised yesterday to find out that Broadway's Hilton Theatre is now the Foxwoods Theatre, after Live Nation sold the naming rights to the Connecticut casino in a multiyear deal.

I'm sure Live Nation could use the money. The Hilton has been dark for more than a year in preparation for the much-delayed Spider-Man musical.

And it gives Foxwoods a major presence in Times Square, as well as a connection to the musical that marketing officer Robert Victoria calls "the most anticipated Broadway production of all time." Yes, of all time.

(As an aside, I highly recommend the book Without Reservation, by Jeff Benedict, about the Mashantucket Pequot tribe that built Foxwoods.)

Personally, I'd love it if theatres were named for people who have some connection with Broadway. But beyond that, I have a bigger concern - Does this mean the casino is dipping its toe further into the musical stream?

A full-length production of Hairspray played Foxwoods in December. As the Hartford Courant's Frank Rizzo reported, it was the first time a Connecticut casino had presented a traditional Broadway musical.

He questioned the impact on venues like New Haven's Shubert or Hartford's Bushnell if Foxwoods competes for musical theatre patrons. (Not to mention the impact on restaurants and other businesses that help keep urban downtown areas vibrant.)

At the time Bruce Flax, director of marketing for MGM/Foxwoods, said that Hairspray would be a test case and if successful, could pave the way for other Broadway-type productions."It's a big commitment for us," he said.

There's no indication the naming deal is anything more than that. But it makes me nervous. Look at where bands and musicians go now.

Over the next month Counting Crows, Stevie Nicks, Donna Summer and John Fogerty will perform at the 4,000-seat MGM Grand at Foxwoods. There was a time when they would have made tour stops in cities like Boston, Providence or Hartford.

Foxwoods is in the middle of nowhere - 2 1/2 hours from Boston, an hour from Providence or Hartford. You can take an infrequent bus or drive. It's not an easy place to reach compared with any of those cities.

I'd hate to see touring productions of Broadway shows migrate there, too.

What's in a theatre name?

One of the byproducts of becoming a theatre fan is that I've developed a keen interest in - you might even say a fascination with - the names of theatre companies. The quirkier and funnier the better. I especially love references to forgotten places or obscure literary characters.

So whenever I come across a name that I like, I think about assembling a list and blogging about them. Then, I forget about it. But the Fourth of July weekend is here, theatre news is light and the blogging is easy.

Now, I haven't gone searching for these - I've just come across them in everyday Google-ing or reading up on theatre-related news. I'm sure there are others I've come across and forgotten about. But these are some of my favorites:

Tricycle: Based in London, I first heard of this theatre as a producer of The 39 Steps. It just seems so fitting that a very funny Hitchcock homage would be connected with a word that also makes me smile. Tricycle "aims to be a successful and accessible theatre, cinema and art gallery providing an artistic programme of the highest quality that attracts and reflects the culturally diverse local community."

Menier Chocolate Factory: The idea of seeing a show in a converted London chocolate factory circa 1870 sounds incredibly scrumptious. I wonder if they sell Menier chocolate at the concession stand? If they don't, they should! And from the description, the building sounds awesome - it still has its original exposed wooden beams, cast-iron columns and brick interior.

Single Carrot: This one's in Baltimore and I found it on the blogroll of Katie Ganem, who writes Theatreisms. The name comes from something the French painter Paul Cezanne once said: "The day is coming when a single carrot, freshly observed, will set off a revolution." I'm not sure what he meant, but I like it. Single Carrot's goal is to "infuse theatre with new life while entertaining and educating our community with socially significant productions."

Hypocrites: Most people would not take being called a hypocrite as a compliment so I thought it was interesting that this Chicago theatre company would take the word as its name. Their mission is to "make a Theater of Honesty," which actually seems the opposite of hypocrisy. I'm really looking forward to seeing the Hypocrites' acclaimed production of Our Town in New York next month.

Remy Bumppo: Chicago has a lot of great theatre names. Steppenwolf, of course, I knew because I've read the novel. But this one escaped me. Turns out, it comes from two of the founders' pets: a dog named Natty Bumppo (from The Last of the Mohicans) and a cat named Remy, (after Remy Martin cognac.) The company "strives to delight and engage audiences with the emotional and ethical complexities of society through the provocative power of great theatrical language."

Pig Iron: This Philadelphia-based theatre company is "dedicated to the creation of new and exuberant performance works that defy easy categorization" using dance, drama, clowning, puppetry, music and text. I don't know where the name comes from, maybe the state's steelmaking heritage? I first heard of Pig Iron last fall when I read about one of its productions, the bizarrely titled Chekhov Lizardbrain. Just from the name alone, I wish I'd been able to see it.

August company

This appeals to the theater geek and history buff in me.

I was so excited when I saw LoveMusik at the Biltmore Theatre last spring and realized I would be sitting in the very same place where Hair opened on Broadway in April 1968. I was listening to "Surabaya Johnny," but every once in awhile thinking about the dawning of the age of Aquarius.

Since then, from time to time I've browsed the Internet Broadway Database to see which actors trod the boards at theaters where I've been, and what shows opened there. The Imperial Theatre, currently home to August: Osage County, has in the past been home to Dreamgirls, Fiddler on the Roof, Cabaret and Gypsy.

One thing I didn't realize is that shows sometimes switch theaters, or at least they did in the past. Fiddler's 3,242 performances, between 1964 and 1972, were split among the Imperial, the Majestic and the Broadway theaters.

In 1944, 20-year-old Marlon Brando made his Broadway debut at The Music Box, playing Nels in I Remember Mama. It was the same stage where I saw Deuce with Angela Lansbury and Marian Seldes, and The Farnsworth Invention.

Kevin Spacey won his Tony award in 1991, for Best Featured Actor in a Play, as Uncle Louie in Neil Simon's Lost in Yonkers, at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. It's the same place where I saw Kevin Kline in Cyrano in November.

And Spacey made his Broadway debut at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre in 1982, playing Liv Ullmann's son in Ghosts. Twenty-five years later, I sat in the second row at the same theater to see Spacey and Eve Best in A Moon for the Misbegotten - my first Broadway show.