Dominic Cavendish strips bare the usually closely guarded finances of a West End hit
May 30, 2007
The [London] Daily Telegraph

A week on Saturday, Daniel Radcliffe will take his final curtain-call in Equus, hop back on his broomstick and fly off to shoot the next Harry Potter film, his reputation as an actor transformed.

By general consensus, he more than made the grade as anguished Alan Strang, the horse-crazed teen hero of Peter Shaffer's 1973 play.

Displaying a confidence beyond his tender years, he has put his child-star beginnings into eclipse with a blaze of pure talent.

The two men who saw to it that his professional stage debut went with an alchemical bang - producers David Pugh and Dafydd Rogers - will be left to count their takings and pat themselves on the back before moving on to stake out the terrain for a Broadway transfer.

In the 10 years since they teamed up, they've displayed a rare gift for putting together West End shows that stand out from the common commercial herd in a market that gets tougher all the time.

Their biggest hitters have been Yasmina Reza's Art, which the pair turned into a long-runner like no other by refreshing the cast on a 12-week basis, and The Play What I Wrote, the Right Size's ingenious tribute to Morecambe and Wise which, thanks to Pugh's and Roger's behind-the-scenes graft, boasted the nightly thrill of a celebrity cameo appearance.

The pair haven't been laughing all the way to the bank. Their biggest flop was the shortlived follow-up to The Play What I Wrote, Duckastic, a bird-brained comedy about Las Vegas illusionists Siegfried and Roy, which made no splash whatsoever at the box-office and lost £1.1million, almost bankrupting them.

But, all told, the 86 investors to whom they turn with each project can take heart from their portfolio: Art generated a colossal 636 per cent return; The Play What I Wrote a 150 per cent return; a tour of Rebecca, starring Nigel Havers, which got them back on their feet after Ducktastic, yielded a 79 per cent return, grossing £5.5million.

In themselves, these are fairly unusual figures to read: the industry practice is for producers to hold information about their takings, or lack of them, close to their chests.

"Everyone is so secretive," Pugh exclaims, cheerily chain-smoking away in their chic attic office at the top of Wyndham's Theatre, "and we don't understand why. We've always been open. Believe it or not, we're not in this for the money; we're in it because we enjoy doing it so much."

In the case of Equus - aptly enough given their young star's willingness to bare all - they're prepared to be especially candid about the financial workings of the production. "What we can't yet give is a figure for profits because it's not over," says Pugh, "but it's doing terrifically well."

Equus, they maintain, is the most expensive production of a straight play yet to hit the West End, costing £700,000 to bring to the Gielgud - twice the capitalisation cost of The Play What I Wrote.

A lot of factors piled on the pounds: the cast size (there are 14 in the company), a six-week rehearsal period, the high-spec onstage seating for the audience, and also the need to cement the pre-opening publicity with a fresh advertising campaign capitalising on the glowing reviews for Radcliffe in the starring role opposite Richard Griffiths as psychiatrist Dysart.

"There was a misconception that we sold out in advance," says Rogers, 38, who is as quietly unassuming as Pugh, 48, is camply extrovert. "But there really wasn't a safety net of 'If he can't do it, never mind'. We needed the rave reviews. It was never going to be a success unless he could do it. That opening night was nerve-racking."

With an almost universal critical thumbs-up, the recoupment came nine weeks into the 16-week run.

Surely some of the bums on seats could be put down to the opportunities for ogling celebrity flesh? Perhaps, they concede.

"But what I'm really proud of," says Pugh, "is that there hasn't been a night when we've had a giggle or a wolf-whistle. We've brought people into the theatre, some who've never been before, and we've held their attention. That's the achievement."

The last revelation, as they enter the final furlong of Equus's time in London, is not a financial one but a personal one.

While their dealings with Peter Shaffer, in their bid to secure the rights to revive the play, go back eight years and their passion for the work itself, in both cases, goes to their youth, Pugh's association with Daniel Radcliffe goes right back to the teen star's birth.

"Daniel's mum [Marcia Gresham] was my assistant when I had offices on Shaftesbury Avenue," Pugh explains. "So I was there for his birth at Charing Cross hospital, and, when she came back after three weeks, she brought him with her. Daniel spent the first nine months of his life in my office in a moses basket!"

There's a twist of fate so neat you'd swear the West End worked according to laws laid down by the great J K Rowling herself. DC

Where the Equus money went

Set-up costs
£100,000 - rehearsals
£300,000 - physical production costs (set-design, costumes etc)
£150,000 - marketing/advertising
£150,000 - fees to creative team
Subtotal: £700,000

Operational costs during the run
£90,000 per week (rising post-recoupment in excess of £100,000)
Of which:
£20,000 - theatre "contra" deal (staff costs, theatre running costs)
£10,000 - rent
£60,000 - company costs

Equus recoups after nine weeks
£300,000 - max gross figure of takings for capacity house per week
From gross box-office takings: sundry royalties to creative team
Then, once operational costs have been deducted, net profit divided 60 per cent to the investors, 40 per cent to the producers

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I saw the second preview of the 5th Avenue Theatre's production of WEST SIDE STORY, which opens on May 31. Even though I've seen the 1961 film version about a thousand times, I'd never seen a professional production of WEST SIDE STORY.

My first exposure to the brilliance of the score was in junior high English class. For some reason we had to act out a scene from a play or musical, and my group ended up doing a fabulous rendition of "Officer Krupke", complete with staging and dance moves. I, needless to say, was brilliant. But enough about me...

WEST SIDE STORY was based on a concept by Jerome Robbins, and its book was written by Arthur Laurents, its music by Leonard Bernstein and its lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Of course the entire original production was famously directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins.

David Armstrong, the Producing Artistic Director of 5th Avenue Theatre writes in the program:

When WEST SIDE STORY opened on Broadway in 1957 it was a shockingly new approach to musical theater. This modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet was set in a world of gang violence that was "ripped from the headlines" of the day. The anxious music, the dynamic staging and the intense subject matter were initially off-putting to many theatergoers. 50 to 100 people walked out on each performance throughout the original Broadway run. It was not until the release of the film version in 1961 that the show found a broad audience and came to be seen as a classic.

Today WEST SIDE STORY isone of the most popular and beloved of all musicals, but it has lost none of its punch and power. Its themes of racial conflict, immigration, and "at risk" youth are as vital today as when the show was first written. And its story, music, lyrics and choreography are just as engaging, moving, and thrilling.

I totally loved the 5th Avenue Theatre production! It really is amazing how fresh and compelling the show is, especially when you think you know it well and have heard the music again and again throughout the years. And the choreography is so iconic, yet doesn't feel dated at all. Directed by Bill Berry, musical directed and conducted by Ian Eisendrath, with original choreography recreated by Bob Richard, The 5th Avenue Theatre produced the show in association with Spectrum Dance Theater.

This was a great idea -- the dancing in the show was breathtaking. It's such an integral part of the whole storytelling of WEST SIDE STORY, I imagine that the show would suffer greatly without terrific dancing. Lara Seefeldt, from Spectrum, played Anybodys and was really great and endearing in what I've always considered sort of a tough role.

The whole cast was amazing and featured Louis Hobson as Tony, Maegan McConnell as Maria, Michael D. Jablonski as Riff, Manoly Farrell as Anita and Miguel A. Romero as Bernardo. I particularly liked Anita and my favorite number was "America". Sean G. Griffin who played Doc was also a standout for his intensity and emotion. As an audience member you feel what Doc is feeling -- why do they have to act like this? Why does it have to end so badly? Also, I was surprised at how effective "I Feel Pretty" is at the top of the second act. It's kind of a fluffy song, but coming after the death of Berbardo and Riff, your stomach is clenched at Maria's happiness because you know it will end in moments. So, fluffy works! (it doesn't work as well in the movie where they moved it up-front, so it's fluff without tension)

Everything about this production works -- great set, great costumes, lighting, and a fabola orchestra. I was lucky enough to see the wanderprobe the previous Friday night (like a sitzprobe, but the actors do the blocking and dancing in addition to singing) and got to hear the orchestra. Hearing those melodies played by this 25 piece orchestra really was something. I got chills during "Maria"!

WEST SIDE STORY is playing at The 5th Avenue Theatre until June 17. Next season's line up looks pretty hot as well, with LONE STAR LOVE, INTO THE WOODS (w00h00!), WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND, JERSEY BOYS (w00h00!), MAME, and CABARET.

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By Joseph P. Kahn, Boston Globe
May 21, 2007

If invited to play with the Boston Pops, Paul Simon would be wise to avoid his hit song "The Boxer," and go with "The Sound of Silence" instead. Otherwise, audiences at Symphony Hall, site of a fistfight during a recent Pops concert, might take Simon's lyrics too literally . Assuming they're paying attention at all, that is.

The so-called Brawl at the Hall may be an extreme example of audience misbehavior -- it was reportedly touched off by one concertgoer's refusal to quit yammering while the band played on -- yet by no means is it an isolated incident. While few rise (or fall) to the level of balcony fisticuffs, other disruptions, from the rustle of candy wrappers to conversations better suited for the lobby, can be more than minor irritants. They can effectively ruin a show for patrons and performers alike.

Factor in triple-digit ticket prices, and Netflix and take out pizza suddenly look way more attractive.

Consider the plight of Uta Renz , a Boston Symphony Orchestra subscriber of seven years' standing, who's rethinking her options in light of what she calls "my worst experience ever" at a BSO concert last February. In a letter to BSO managing director Mark Volpe two months ago, Renz described what happened.

"To our left sat a blond woman who . . . continued whispering and tapping people after the music began," Renz wrote. "At one point, she opened her cellphone and waved it around . . . as if taking a photograph of the orchestra."

Rebuked by the woman after asking her to put away the cellphone, Renz complained to an usher. The woman was escorted out of the hall, Renz went on, but returned later and continued bothering others until the concert was nearly over.

Last week Volpe responded with a letter to Renz calling such situations "challenging" and admitting his staff "should have handled the matter more effectively." Renz was also offered two free tickets to a Tanglewood concert. However, she's still debating whether to scale back her BSO subscription or drop it altogether.

"At these ticket prices," Renz says, "if they don't take the decline of civility more seriously, I'm voting with my feet."

Symphony Hall isn't the only arts venue pondering rules of etiquette and how to enforce them. New Repertory Theatre artistic director Rick Lombardo says it's a hot topic among theater managers.

"One problem we're starting to see a lot is BlackBerries," says Lombardo, referring to the portable wireless devices everyone seems to be carrying these days. "People will start text-messaging in the middle of a show, thinking they're being quiet and not disturbing anybody. But anyone sitting behind them can see the screen glowing, and so can the actors onstage. It's incredibly distracting."

At one Manhattan play he recently attended, Lombardo says, two audience members nearly came to blows over a more prosaic problem: a bag of potato chips one was crunching within earshot of the other.

"I really think things are getting worse," Lombardo says. "In the old days, people would be chagrined if someone told them to be quiet. Now there's this feeling of, I can do whatever I need to do whenever I want to do it."

Avid Boston theatergoer and WGBH trustee Peggy Charren agrees that this sense of entitlement is having a negative effect on how audience members conduct themselves. Charren, who attends scores of plays every year, says it's not that more people are talking during shows these days. It's that those who do talk get more belligerent when asked to be quiet.

"They have this idea that if they want to make noise sitting in the fourth row, they can," she says. "When someone taps them on the shoulder, they seem genuinely shocked. That's why I wasn't surprised by what happened at the Pops."

Entitlement cuts both ways, both Lombardo and Charren point out. People paying top dollar to see a play don't want any distractions, either. "There's a divide on both sides," Lombardo concedes.

According to Boston Lyric Opera director Janice Del Sesto , opera fans are a different breed. Because the action onstage is so intense, she says, audiences tend to transfer their emotions to what's happening there, not upon one another.

"The most aggressive behavior happens when someone gets carried away by a familiar aria and starts singing along -- and gets tapped on the shoulder by a neighbor," says Del Sesto. "Mostly we have a pretty calm and happy audience, though."

Whether the Pops fight, footage of which popped up all over the place, signals a growing problem is unclear. What seems more certain is that as arts organizations strive to become more audience-friendly, rules of conduct get trickier to enforce. Ten years ago, when cellphones and pagers started becoming a problem for theater managers, Stagebill published a list of rules governing theater etiquette. Among them: Do not wear too much perfume or cologne; mind small children; turn off all electronic devices; unwrap candies before the curtain goes up; and do not talk, hum, sing along, or "beat time with a body part."

In her latest version of "Emily Post's Etiquette" guide, manners guru Peggy Post added a chapter titled "Performances and Public Places." One topic covered is what to do when someone sitting near you in the theater won't shut up. (Basic advice: Assess situation, politely remind offender to be more mindful of others, get help if other tactics fail.)

"People have always been rude," Post says, speaking from her home office in Florida. "I doubt it's any worse these days, except maybe they're more frustrated. Are there more incidents? There seem to be , but maybe they're just in the media more."

As for Lombardo, he says his organization is inching toward the "gentle reminder stage" of educating audiences on the rules of decorum.

"If that doesn't work," he adds, "threats are possible."

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My daughter had to write an essay for her string music class, and she chose to write it about the fabulous film Amadeus which tells the story of Salieri and Mozart. So, being the good mother that I am, I thought it would be a good idea if she saw the play as well. We were lucky enough to catch the closing-night performance of the Stage Centre Productions' presentation of AMADEUS at the Fairview Library Theatre.

The play AMADEUS was written by Peter Shaffer in 1979 and was inspired by the short play Mozart and Salieri, written by Aleksandr Pushkin. In 1980, it premiered on Broadway, featuring Ian McKellan and Tim Curry in the lead roles. It was revived again in 2000, and both productions were nominated for several Tony awards. In 1984, the film version starring F. Murray Abraham as Salieri and Tom Hulce as Mozart won 8 Oscars. Christine Ebersole was also in the film, and she is now starring on Broadway in GREY GARDENS, and Tom Hulce is one of the many producers of SPRING AWAKENING. I also remember seeing a production of the play in Toronto at the Hummingbird (O'Keefe) Centre when it first toured.

The Stage Centre Productions production of AMADEUS was designed and directed by L.Garth Allen, music directed by James Pinhorn and starred Roger Kell as the Antonio Salieri and Brad Emes at Mozart.

From the program:

This provocative play revolves around a confrontation between mediocrity and genius. Antonio Salieri is the established court composer in the court of Austrian Emperor Joseph II. Enter younge Mozart, perhaps the greatest musical genius of all time. The greatest tragedy lies in Salieri's realization that there is no connection between virtue and talent.

Actually, although his laugh was slightly irritating in both the film and the play, Mozart didn't seem to be all that bad a guy to me. Everyone else in the court seemed so fake and pretentious, and I'm sure they behaved just as badly (or worse) in private!

The girls and I really enjoyed the play. It was well acted with great production values (the costumes were awesome!) and it was nice to see the (approximately) 230 seats sold out. At $25 a ticket ($15 for students) community theatre is so wonderfully accessible. And it is always great to be reminded that yes, people really do like to go and see live theatre. And it made me want to go and play and listen to some Mozart!

So, what is a Nipple of Venus actually made of?

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Better polish up those apples kids!

This is one class you want to be on time for and do all your homework! I certainly wouldn't want to get on this teacher's bad side and get a phone call home...

Oh, and I may be wrong, but I don't think Alec Baldwin stars on Ugly Betty. I thought he was on 30 Rock...fact check anyone?

According to this article on Broadwayworld:

Alec Baldwin will again teach an acting class this summer at East Hampton's Ross School Summer Program. Baldwin will guide a select group of 20-22 actors with professional aspirations through an intensive one week professional acting class from August 6 - 10.

Prior to his four previous summer workshops at LIU/Southampton College and Ross School, Baldwin received numerous applications for this 30-hour workshop from across the country. The applicants, selected through an audition process, helped form an intimate and eclectic class which received the personal attention and advice of both Baldwin and his teaching partner, Michael Disher.

Baldwin, a Long Island native and resident of Amagansett, continues his passion for teaching by annually dedicating one week to the development and educational training of professionally motivated actors.

The workshop includes monologue and scene work, and in-depth script and character analysis. Thus far, 75 students have had this opportunity. All applications are personally reviewed by Mr. Baldwin with an eye toward those with a serious commitment to theatre.

Baldwin, who currently appears on the hit sitcom "Ugly Betty," recently appeared Off-Broadway in Entertaining Mr. Sloane. He received a Tony Award nomination for his work in the 1992 revival of A Streetcar Named Desire, and has also appeared on New York stages in Twentieth Century, Prelude to a Kiss, Loot and Serious Money. His many film credits include The Hunt for Red October, Glengarry Glen Ross, Pearl Harbor, The Aviator and The Cooler, for which he received an Oscar nod.

The deadline for completed applications is June 8, 2007. For applications and additional information, call Ross School at (631) 907-5117 or e-mail dsilverblank@ross.org

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I got an e-mail from my friend and director Jamibeth Margolis (she directed PLANE CRAZY at NYMF 2005) about a reading of a new musical. This looks really cool! The music is by Artie Singer who wrote "At The Hop"!

And none other than Derek Keeling (of "Grease You're The One That I Want") is in the reading! Break a leg Jamibeth!

Here's the info from the e-mail:

DREAMWEAVERS
A New Musical

Proudly presented by Good Show Productions, Inc.

Music by Artie Singer (writer/producer of the 1950s Classic "At the Hop")
Book by Lisa Russo Gressen & Sherry Love Gressen
Lyrics by Marjorie Baderack & Artie Singer
Additional Lyrics by Lisa Russo Gressen & Sherry Love Gressen

Musical Direction/Arrangement by Michael Thomas Murray
Directed by Jamibeth Margolis

Starring:
Joan Barber, Nicole Bocchi, Linda Cameron, Kristy Cates, Briana Davis, John Dewar, Eric Gunhus, Kristin Huffman, Brian Hutchinson, Michael Jacobs, Derek Keeling, Brent Kuenning, Daniel Langhoff, Steve Luker, Susan Molloy, Devynn Pedell, Marci Reid, Lorraine Serabian, Jill Melanie Wirth, Michael Yeshion, and Emma Zaks

Monday, May 21st at 7pm and Tuesday, May 22nd at 2pm

The Dramatists Guild of America, Inc.
Frederick Loewe Room
1501 Broadway, Suite 710 (Between 43rd & 44th Streets)
New York City

RSVP: dreamweaversrsvp@yahoo.com or (212) 330-8608

Connect with the magic...

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Tony, Tony, Tony...

It's that time of year! This morning the Tony nominations were announced. It's interesting to note that LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL is up for best book and best score but not for best musical. I also think that SPRING AWAKENING should get a special Tony for the most producers.

According this article in Playbill:

The 2006-2007 Tony Award nominations were announced May 15 by Tony Award winner Jane Krakowski and former Rent star Taye Diggs at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

Spring Awakening, the new musical that was a hit Off-Broadway before opening on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, garnered 11 Tony nominations, the most of any show of the season. Both the Tom Stoppard trilogy, The Coast of Utopia, and the new musical Grey Gardens, received 10 nominations.

Nominees for the 61st Annual Antoinette Perry "Tony" Awards follow:

Best Play
The Coast of Utopia
Frost/Nixon
The Little Dog Laughed
Radio Golf

Best Musical
Curtains
Grey Gardens
Mary Poppins
Spring Awakening

Best Book of a Musical
Curtains, Rupert Holmes & Peter Stone
Grey Gardens, Doug Wright
Legally Blonde The Musical, Heather Hach
Spring Awakening, Steven Sater

Best Original Score
Curtains
Music: John Kander
Lyrics: Fred Ebb, John Kander & Rupert Holmes

Grey Gardens
Music: Scott Frankel
Lyrics: Michael Korie

Legally Blonde The Musical
Music & Lyrics: Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin

Spring Awakening
Music: Duncan Sheik
Lyrics: Steven Sater

Best Revival of a Play
Inherit the Wind
Journey's End
Talk radio
Translations

Best Revival of a Musical
The Apple Tree
A Chorus Line
Company
110 in the Shade

Best Special Theatrical Event
Jay Johnson: The Two and Only
Kiki & Herb Alive on Broadway

Best Performance By a Leading Actor in a Play
Boyd Gaines Journey's End
Frank Langella Frost/Nixon
Brían F. O’Byrne The Coast of Utopia
Christopher Plummer Inherit the Wind
Liev Schreiber Talk Radio

Best Performance By a Leading Actress in a Play
Eve Best, A Moon for the Misbegotten
Swoozie Kurtz Heartbreak House
Angela Lansbury Deuce
Vanessa Redgrave The Year of Magical Thinking
Julie White The Little Dog Laughed

Best Performance By a Leading Actor in a Musical
Michael Cerveris LoveMusik
Raul Esparza Company
Jonathan Groff Spring Awakening
Gavin Lee Mary Poppins
David Hyde Pierce Curtains

Best Performance By a Leading Actress in a Musical
Laura Bell Bundy Legally Blonde The Musical
Christine Ebersole Grey Gardens
Audra McDonald 110 in the Shade
Debra Monk Curtains
Donna Murphy LoveMusik

Best Performance By a Featured Actor in a Play
Anthony Chisholm Radio Golf
Billy Crudup The Coast of Utopia
Ethan Hawke The Coast of Utopia
John Earl Jelks Radio Golf
Stark Sands Journey's End

Best Performance By a Featured Actress in a Play
Jennifer Ehle The Coast of Utopia
Xanthe Elbrick Coram Boy
Dana Ivey Butley
Jan Maxwell Coram Boy
Martha Plimpton The Coast of Utopia

Best Performance By a Featured Actor in a Musical
Brooks Ashmanskas Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me
Christian Borle Legally Blonde The Musical
John Cullum 110 in the Shade
John Gallagher, Jr. Spring Awakening
David Pittu LoveMusik

Best Performance By a Featured Actress in a Musical
Charlotte d'Amboise A Chorus Line
Rebecca Luker Mary Poppins
Orfeh Legally Blonde The Musical
Mary Louise Wilson Grey Gardens
Karen Ziemba Curtains

Best Direction of a Play
Michael Grandage Frost/Nixon
David Grindley Journey's End
Jack O'Brien The Coast of Utopia
Melly Still Coram Boy

Best Direction of a Musical
John Doyle Company
Scott Ellis Curtains
Michael Greif Grey Gardens
Michael Mayer Spring Awakening

Best Choreography
Rob Ashford Curtains
Matthew Bourne and Stephen Mear Mary Poppins
Bill T. Jones Spring Awakening
Jerry Mitchell Legally Blonde The Musical

Best Orchestrations
Bruce Coughlin Grey Gardens
Duncan Sheik Spring Awakening
Jonathan Tunick LoveMusik
Jonathan Tunick 110 in the Shade

Best Scenic Design of a Play
Bob Crowley & Scott Pask The Coast of Utopia
Jonathan Fensom Journey's End
David Gallo Radio Golf
Ti Green and Melly Still Coram Boy

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Bob Crowley Mary Poppins
Christine Jones Spring Awakening
Anna Louizos High Fidelity
Allen Moyer Grey Gardens

Best Costume Design of a Play
Ti Green and Melly Still Coram Boy
Jane Greenwood Heartbreak House
Santo Loquasto Inherit the Wind
Catherine Zuber The Coast of Utopia

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Gregg Barnes Legally Blonde The Musical
Bob Crowley Mary Poppins
Susan Hilferty Spring Awakening
William Ivey Long Grey Gardens

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Paule Constable Coram Boy
Brian MacDevitt Inherit the Wind
Brian MacDevitt, Kenneth Posner, and Natasha Katz The Coast of Utopia
Jason Taylor Journey's End

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Kevin Adams Spring Awakening
Christopher Akerlind 110 in the Shade
Howard Harrison Mary Poppins
Peter Kaczorowski Grey Gardens

Regional Theatre Tony Award
Alliance Theatre, Atlanta, GA

The 61st Annual Antoinette Perry "Tony" Awards -- saluting the best of the Broadway theatre season -- will be presented June 10 at Radio City Music Hall. A host has yet to be named.

The Tony Awards are presented by Tony Award Productions, a joint venture of the League of American Theatres and Producers and the American Theatre Wing.

Visit www.tonyawards.com for more information.

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I was looking at the photos from the Drama League Awards presented on May 11 at the Marquis Hotel in New York, and it dawned on me that these photos look like I took them at some family function. These are some of the most beautiful faces and in-shape bodies you'll ever see, and most of these photos are tres unflattering! I mean, lighting? Hello? In some ways it is nice because it makes the theatre industry feel very accessible, unlike Hollywood, where everybody always looks perfectly amazing in photos taken at a gala function. Looking at the photos it also dawned on me that the incredibly familiar looking actress who plays (or played) Ellis Grey on Grey's Anatomy is Kate Burton. Duh, I know I’m probably the only one just making that connection now, but hey, she actually looks good in her photos!

According to this article on Broadwayworld.com:

The 2006-07 Drama League Awards were presented at the 73rd Annual Drama League Awards Ceremony and Luncheon on Friday, May 11, 2007 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square. Bernadette Peters, Chita Rivera, Christine Ebersole, Tony Kushner, Liev Schreiber, Audra McDonald, Ashley Brown and Jonathan Groff were among the presenters; Gary Beach hosted.

The awards were as follow: Distinguished Performance Award - Liev Schreiber; Distinguished Production of a Musical - Spring Awakening; Distinguished Production of a Play - The Coast of Utopia; Distinguished Revival of a Musical - Company; and Distinguished Revival of a Play - Journey's End.

The Broadway transfers of Grey Gardens and The Little Dog Laughed were previously nominated for Drama League Awards during their earlier Off-Broadway runs in 2006, and are thus ineligible this season. The production of Deuce removed itself from consideration for this year's awards, and will be considered next season. The cut-off date for this season's Drama League Awards was Sunday, April 22. At Friday's ceremony, the Drama League also presented its three previously-announced annual specialty awards: John Kander and Fred Ebb (posthumously) received the Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre Award, Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening) received the Julia Hansen Award for Excellence in Directing, and the not-for-profit charity organization Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS received the Unique Contribution to the Theatre Award.

For more information on the Drama League, visit www.DramaLeague.org. Visit this link for a complete list of nominees, as well as a list of the 78 performers who were nominated for the Distinguished Performance Award.

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Elaine, Oprah...Oprah, Elaine

A good friend of mine, and vocal coach extraordinaire, Elaine Overholt, will be coaching the cast of HAIRSPRAY the movie for their appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. As you know, Elaine has vocal coached the cast from the beginning so this is very exciting! The entire show will be about HAIRSPRAY and they tape next Wednesday. The whole gang will be there -- Travolta, Pfeiffer, Latifah, Walken, Nikki Blonsky (the new young star), Zac Efron, and Elijah Kelley.

Elaine won't be "on" the show, but will be there to coach Nikki Blonsky and Zac Efron for their live performances! However, once Oprah meets Elaine I'm sure she'll insist on having her "on" the show! Congrats Elaine!

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See y'all in the Beer Tent!

I received the following e-mail from Deanna at The Toronto Fringe Festival asking for me to post it. I had such a great time last year with THE TALE OF PIGLING BLAND that I thought, hey, what the heck?

Here's the info from the e-mail:

The Toronto Fringe Theatre Festival is the city’s largest festival and one of its most exciting summer events. Now in its 19th year, the 2007 Fringe will take place from July 4-15 and will feature over 130 productions at 25 venues in and around the Annex. There’s something for every taste: comedy, drama, dance, children's shows and more. The festival also hosts a beer tent, two outdoor patios and a free nightly Cabaret. For more information, please visit our website at www.fringetoronto.com.

KIDSVENUE
Now in its 8th year, the KidsVenue at The Toronto Fringe Festival has entertained and educated children from 4-15 years of age. Held at The Palmerston Library, the KidsVenue has something for everyone: puppetry, dance, musicals, fairy-tales and more! Tickets are $5 for children 15 and under and $8 for adults. For more information, please visit our website at www.fringetoronto.com.

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Edmontonian among victims of 'brazen' thief
By David Staples, The Edmonton Journal
Sunday, May 06, 2007

Playwrights and theatrical agents are outraged and astonished that an American theatre producer from Kent, Ohio, engaged in the serial plagiarism of a number of well-known Canadian plays.

Since 1999, Jack L. Herman has been acquiring the scripts of Canadian plays, putting his own name on them, claiming copyright over them, and sometimes staging his own productions at his amateur theatre company, as well as authorizing productions of the stolen plays by other companies. "He is a thief, a fraud, a plagiarist," says one of his victims, Edmonton playwright David Belke. "The whole situation has been shocking in its intent and almost comedic in its brazenness."

"It's annoying," says another victim, playwright Kim Selody of St. Catharines, Ont., adding that if writers don't get their deserved royalties it harms their ability to keep working. "It's a disrespect for the primary creator."

Prominent New York literary agent Beth Blickers has never heard of another plagiarist in the theatre world such as Herman. "My writers have certainly caught errant productions over the years thanks to the Internet, but never found their play with someone else's name on it. That's really ballsy and pathetic to an astonishing degree. And, in the day and age of the Internet, it's downright stupid."

The plagiarized plays include at least three prominent plays: Suddenly Shakespeare written in 1988 by Selody, The Reluctant Resurrection of Sherlock Holmes written in 1992 by Belke, and I'll Be Back Before Midnight by Peter Colley.

Colley's play has been called the most popular stage play in Canadian history by the Globe and Mail and was made into a Showtime movie starring Heather Locklear and Ned Beatty.

Herman's versions of the plays had similar or even identical titles: Suddenly Shakespeare, The Unexpected Return of Sherlock Holmes, and Before Midnight! The scripts are almost word-for-word the same as the original plays.

"Maybe he has some kind of dreams of being a playwright and doesn't want to go through the effort of actually being one," Colley says.

Buying the rights to his play would only have cost a few hundred dollars, so Colley wonders why Herman bothered to steal it. "Why would you put your neck on the line for such a trivial amount?"

Herman was only caught in September when a Sherlock Holmes fan noticed the similarities between Belke's play and the plot description of Herman's Unexpected Return, which was being performed by a Los Angeles theatre company.

The Holmes fan, Peter Blau of Bethesda, Md., contacted Belke, who then worked with his agent, Dale Harney, to uncover Herman's plagiarism by comparing scripts from the two plays.

Herman almost immediately admitted to plagiarizing Belke's play and paid a $2,500 out-of-court settlement.

He only plagiarized, he says, to help his small Ohio theatre company survive. "I am ashamed of what I did. I have done what I can to try to make restitution financially to Mr. Belke. I have personally apologized to him and I would like to see the matter put to an end at this time."

Herman insists he plagiarized only Belke's play and no others. When confronted with evidence that he had, in fact, plagiarized Colley and Selody's plays as well, he said, "My attorney has advised me not to talk to you anymore, thank you."

= = =

Case of the Purloined Play
When acclaimed local writer David Belke learned that a play shockingly similar to his own was being staged in Los Angeles, he and his agent were hot on the trail of the perpetrator
By David Staples, The Edmonton Journal
Sunday, May 06, 2007

David Belke's hit play The Reluctant Resurrection of Sherlock Holmes is known for its clever plot, but it has nothing on the twists in the true-life tale that unfolded after Belke discovered the play had been plagiarized.

In recent months, Belke and his agent, Dale Harney, have used their own detective skills to track down and nail the culprit, Jack L. Herman of Kent, Ohio, a serial plagiarist of the theatre world and a man who carries around a terrible secret.

Belke's investigation into Herman started last fall -- at 12:55 p.m. on Sept. 25, 2006, to be precise -- when Belke got an e-mail from one Peter E. Blau of Bethesda, Md., who wrote: "The Unexpected Return of Sherlock Holmes, a comedy by Jack L. Herman, is being performed at the Sierra Stage in West Hollywood, and it appears to be a slightly revised version of your The Reluctant Resurrection of Sherlock Holmes (1992) ... Please tell me more ..."

Belke had never heard of Peter E. Blau, who turned out to be an avid Holmes fan. Belke didn't know what to make of Blau's curious e-mail. "I was really quite puzzled by it. What he was saying was so weird."

Belke's 1992 play had been a runaway hit at Edmonton's Fringe Theatre Festival and elsewhere. A month-long run at Edmonton's Mayfield Theatre in 2005 had earned Belke $40,000, the biggest payday of his long and acclaimed career as a playwright. The play has been staged in several other cities by other theatre companies, who paid Belke the standard fee, 10 per cent of the house for professional companies, about five per cent for amateur companies, which amounted to paydays of a few hundreds dollars to a few thousand dollars for the playwright.

The play itself revolves around a haunted country manor, Baffleur Grange. Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the famed Sherlock Holmes books, is called in to solve the mystery of the haunting, only to find himself haunted by the character of Holmes, whom he had grown tired of and had stopped writing about a few years earlier.

On the Internet, Belke could only find a few descriptions of this new Holmes play in the What's On section of the Los Angeles Times. The descriptions provided little information, but one blurb did say that Unexpected Return was set at Baffleur Manor, which seemed odd to Belke. It was possible, he realized, that another playwright could have come up with the same idea as he had for a play about Doyle and Holmes, but the similarity of the names of the settings in the two plays, Baffleur Manor and Baffleur Grange, made him wonder if something more was afoot.

At once, Belke called Harney, who for the past 18 months had been trying to sell Reluctant Resurrection as a movie-of-the-week franchise in Hollywood. Harney offered to use his L.A. contacts to find out more about Unexpected Return and its producers, Coconut Productions.

Harney found a website for Coconut that listed the characters in Unexpected Return: Holmes, Doyle, Desmond, Abigail and Rose Westhaven, Robert Scrimshaw and others. Only one name was different than the names of the characters in Belke's play, that of Tomas Markoveitch, who had been rechristened with a French first name, Dumas Markoveitch.

Harney tracked down Coconut's producer, Bill Wolski, a used-car buyer and aspiring actor and writer, who had moved to Hollywood from Ohio in 2002 to pursue a theatrical career.

Wolski didn't know what to make of Harney's story. Coconut was a small theatre company, he told Harney, just a bunch of budding actors who had chosen a play they loved, one that had been written by Wolski's good friend, Jack L. Herman, who still lived in Ohio. Herman had staged the play with amateur companies in Ohio several times, Wolski said, first in 1999, then in 2000, 2002 and 2005.

This had to be a misunderstanding, Wolski thought to himself. He was sure Herman had written the play because when Herman was at work on the script back in 1999, he had approached Wolski and told him he was writing in one particular character, Dumas, with Wolski in mind for the part.

Wolski also knew that Herman was quite vigilant about protecting copyright of his plays and had stapled to the front page of every script a note that said, "Copyright, 1999 Herman Plays & Publications. Caution: Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that The Unexpected Return of Sherlock Holmes is subject to royalty. It is fully protected under copyright laws."

Wolski called Herman to sort out the matter. As soon as Wolski described Harney's allegations, Herman sounded sad, and a bit angry.

"Well, I guess I should have seen this coming," he told Wolski. "You being out in L.A. and producing my play and giving it as much publicity as you can, someone was bound to try and ride my coattails.

"I guess I should have gotten myself a lawyer before this happened, knowing it very well could happen. Someone is obviously trying to lay claim to my intellectual property."

That evening of Sept. 25, Wolski again talked to Harney, and the two went over the scripts of the two plays, Harney reading lines from Belke's version, Wolski checking them with Herman's version. The two plays started differently, but only because Herman had axed Belke's short opening scene. After that, the two plays ran almost word for word the same. Harney would read one line, only to have Wolski finish it.

"Oh my God, this can't be," Wolski said at last. "I can't believe this."

But, a moment later, the reality sunk in. "This is definitely a case of plagiarism. There is no doubt about it."

The next morning, Wolski called Herman and told him: "These scripts are very, very similar."

Herman didn't deny it, but had an explanation. He had been working with others on the script over the Internet, sending them copies to get their feedback and input. Someone in Canada must have seen his script and decided to put their own copyright on it, he said, essentially alleging that Belke was the thief, not him.

Wolski told Herman he had better call Harney and Belke to sort out this mess.

While Harney was dealing with Wolski and Herman, David Belke was doing his own sleuthing.

Hearing that Herman had first staged the play in 1999, Belke immediately wondered how the Ohio man had ever gotten his hands on the script. Belke had written his play on a typewriter. There were no electronic copies of it.

The most likely source, Belke decided, was the Playwrights Union of Canada, which sells copies of Canadian plays around the world. He contacted the union, and soon received a faxed copy of an invoice for six plays, including Reluctant Resurrection, sold to Jack Herman of Kent, Ohio, in 1999.

Harney was armed with this invoice when Herman called him on Sept. 26. At once, Herman launched into a rambling story about how he had been writing a play and collaborating with other people on the Internet, and that one of them must have stolen much of Belke's play without telling him, so that explained the similarities between the two works.

"Jack," Harney said, trying to stop Herman's babbling.

"Jack," he repeated, but still Herman continued his rapid-fire explanation.

"JACK!"

At last Herman shut up.

"Jack. I am holding the invoices from the Canadian playwrights union as we speak. The Reluctant Resurrection of Sherlock Holmes is right there."

There was a long pause.

At last, Herman spoke. "I'm sorry. I lied. I plagiarized it."

A short time later, Herman called Belke to apologize. Belke asked him why he had stolen the play.

"We were a small community theatre company and we couldn't afford the rights to your play," Herman said. "So we just did it without your permission."

"So that's why you performed my play," Belke said. "But why did you put your name on my play?"

"Well, I put my name on the play because I thought the community would be more likely to get behind the work of a local playwright."

By then, Belke realized he wasn't dealing with a professional theatre artist. "Obviously, you're in amateur theatre," he told Herman. "Jack, just what do you do for a living?"

Again, there was a long pause and silence.

And that's when Herman revealed his terrible secret.

"I know this is going to sound bad," he said. "I'm a police officer. A detective."

Belke could feel the synapses in his brain misfiring for a moment. "You're kidding!" he roared.

"No, no," Herman said quietly.

Belke had one other thing to ask: why had Herman changed the first name of the Polish character Tomas Markoveitch? "You didn't change a word, but why in God's name did you change the name of that character to Dumas?" he said, giving the name a French pronunciation.

"I just thought the character was such a dumb ass," Herman replied, "so I changed his name to dumb ass."

Now, to understand Belke's reaction, you have to understand the proud and prickly artistic temperament. Belke loved his Tomas Markoveitch character and now this plagiarist, this philistine, had literally changed him into a dumb ass.

"I must admit that at that single moment I had never hated a man more in my life," Belke says.

Next, Herman called Wolski to apologize, but Wolski refused to answer the phone. Instead, Herman e-mailed him a note riddled with misspellings: "I am guilty of plagurizing Mr. Belke's work. I never meant to hurt anyone. ... But I am sorry Bill.

"... I have brought shame on myself, my family and my friends. I may loose my job, my home ... everything. But one of the things that I regret the most though is compemising your trust in me as a friend. I want you to know that it has never been easy knowing that I didn't write this work."

Herman repeated his claim he only plagiarized to help his struggling theatre company, but

Wolski didn't buy it. He clearly recalls Herman being proud of his Holmes play and promoting the play to various theatre companies.

Wolski and his own L.A. company decided to cancel their run of the play, refund the ticket money, and send out a press release outlining Herman's plagiarism. To this day, Wolski refuses to accept Herman's apology.

"I haven't spoken to him since. I absolutely refuse to. I think he's a liar. I think of him as a bad person."

Having uncovered Herman's plagiarism, Harney and Belke were determined to make him pay. "It's less about the money," Belke says. "It's more he kidnapped my child and tried to pass it off as his own. It was a theft of something I hold dear to my heart.

"On the one hand, you've got to admire the man's chutzpah, the sheer idiotic courage that he felt he could get away with it. But the fact of the matter is, he did get away with it for seven years. Probably what he was thinking is: who in Canada is going to notice?"

Belke also knew that in 1999 Herman had purchased five other plays, and several of them had the exact same names as other plays that Herman was now claiming as his own. If Belke didn't make a point with Herman, perhaps he would plagiarize many other works.

In the end, Herman agreed to pay Belke $2,500 in an out-of-court settlement.

Today, Jack Herman is at work at his policing job of 18 years at the Portage County Sheriff's Department, where he is in charge of concealed weapons permits.

In a phone interview, he repeats he only plagiarized Belke's play to help a failing amateur theatre company. "I'm not a bad person, I just did a bad (thing)," Herman says. "... It didn't seem like it was going to affect or hurt anybody. Of course, looking back now, I realize it was completely the wrong thing to do. I wouldn't appreciate it if someone had done it to me."

Herman says he was "a little shocked" the matter was still being talked about after he had settled with Belke. "Obviously, with my professional career, I don't want to have this kind of problem."

Herman says he has, in fact, written several plays. But did he plagiarize any others?

"No, no, that was the only play that I had that I needed to."

But in 1999, he bought five other plays besides Belke's, including Suddenly Shakespeare, the 1988 play by Kim Selody of St. Catharines, Ont. Herman's theatre company produced a play with the same name in 2000, with Herman claiming authorship.

Did he plagiarize that one?

"No, I did not plagiarize that one, no."

After talking with Herman, The Journal obtained copies of scripts from both Herman's version of Suddenly Shakespeare and Selody's version.

The two plays are almost exactly the same, word for word.

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I raced out to buy the new Michael Buble CD (yes I still buy CDs) "Call Me Irresponsible". Actually I was in the store buying the awesome 3-disc DREAMGIRLS DVD anyways (more on that later) so I thought, why not? I always like the mix of songs he covers -- lots of classic Frank Sinatra tunes, pop tunes, original stuff, and musical theatre songs that have been artfully rearranged by David Foster.

I love the new CD! I think my favorite track is "It Had Better Be Tonight", the Henry Mancini song that I first heard in THE PINK PANTHER movie.

From this post on the always dependable Wikipedia:

Meglio Stasera (known in English as It Had Better Be Tonight), is a 1964 song with music by Henry Mancini, Italian lyrics by Franco Migliacci, (songwriter) and English lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was composed for the original installment of the film series The Pink Panther.

It showcases a young actress named Fran Jeffries, who sings the song while slowly dancing around a fireplace at a ski lodge where all the principal players of the film are gathered.

But what is with his touring schedule? Why no Toronto dates? For that matter, why no Canadian dates? Has he forgotten us that quickly? And quite frankly, from the list on his website (michaelbuble.com) most of his dates are in Europe. First Barbra, now Michael. Sheesh.

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Something about this product sort of struck my fancy...

From this post on Boing Boing:

Attua Aparicio Torinos designed a line of funny white coffee mugs with cartoon animal parts on the bottom. Also available in pig and rabbit for £10.00 from Thorsten Van Elten.

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Forget Vienna, I wanna go to Vegas!

I've been a huge fan of Bette Midler since I first tapped along to her rendition of "In The Mood" at the old Roland and Romaine Dance Studio on Bloor Street.

I've seen her in concert only once in Toronto and she was amazing. I've got the albums, the sheet music, and of course who can forget her poignant send-off to Johnny Carson? And I vividly remember sitting on the end of the bed in some hotel room in San Diego, watching her sing "Stay With Me Baby" on TV (it was one of her older concerts) and by the end of the number I was blubbering like a baby. Oh, and I was also one of the seven people who loved her short-lived TV sitcom "Bette".

According to this article in Playbill:

Star of stage, screen and song, Bette Midler, has signed a two-year deal as the new resident artist at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

Midler, who will succeed Grammy winner Celine Dion, will begin performances Feb. 20, 2008. Her new show -- which promises "plenty of girls, gags and guffaws, her incomparable humor, the best song catalogue in American music and her fabulous 'Kiss My Brass' section" -- will play five nights a week at 7:30 PM. Dark nights are Mondays and Thursdays.

In a statement the award-winning Midler said, "Get ready Vegas 'cause here I come! Caesars Palace will never be the same and to all those critics who have accused me of being 'tacky,' 'too much' and 'over the top' I say, you ain't seen nuthin' yet!"

Caesars Palace president Gary Selesner added, "Caesars Palace has set the standard for entertainment in Las Vegas by continually booking the biggest and best acts the city has ever seen including Celine Dion and Elton John. Adding the inimitable Bette Midler to The Colosseum's family of entertainers adds yet another jewel to our crown."

Tickets, priced $95, $140, $175 and $250, are now on sale by calling 1-877-7BETTEM (723-8836) or by visiting www.ticketmaster.com.

Bette Midler made her Broadway debut as Tzeitel in the original Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof. She returned to the Great White Way in several concerts: Bette Midler, Bette Midler's Clams on the Half Shell Revue and Bette! Divine Madness. She was awarded a Special Tony Award in 1974 for "adding luster to the Broadway season."

Midler's screen credits are extensive and include Oscar nominations for her performances in "For the Boys" and "The Rose." She is also the recipient of Grammy Awards for Record of the Year ("Wind Beneath My Wings, 1989), Best Pop Vocal Performance Female ("The Rose," 1980) and Best New Artist (1973).

For more information visit www.bette.aeglive.com.

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How do I hitch a ride to Vienna?

Actually, I'm really saving my strudel for Michael Arden, (not Barbra!) one of the four Broadway leading men who will join her Diva-ness on her European tour. I was so sorry I missed Arden in THE TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGIN'. I saw him perform "Blowin' in The Wind" at Broadway on Broadway and loved him! (see my previous post).

Hmmm, let's see, who would I pick as "my boys" to back me up on my tour? How 'bout: Michael Arden, John Lloyd Young, Daniel Reichard, and Hugh Jackman...

According to this article in Playbill:

American audiences may have been treated to the sounds of Il Divo during Barbra Streisand's recent U.S. concert tour, but international audiences will hear a Broadway sound.

Playbill.com has learned that four of Broadway's leading men -- Michael Arden, Peter Lockyer, Sean McDermott and Hugh Panaro -- will join the Academy Award-winning actress during her forthcoming European tour.

As previously announced, the concert -- co-directed by Streisand and Richard Jay-Alexander -- will play London, Austria, France and Ireland with additional tour dates to be announced shortly. The award-winning performer will be backed by a 58-piece orchestra, and concertgoers can expect to hear such tunes as "Evergreen," "People," "The Way We Were" and "Don't Rain on My Parade."

Designated proceeds from the tour will support Streisand's philanthropic initiatives and will be distributed through The Streisand Foundation.

The current tour itinerary follows:

June 21 in Vienna at the Schloss Schonbrun
June 26 in Paris at the Bercy
July 10 in Nice at the Nikaia Stadium
July 14 in Dublin at the Castletown House
July 18 in London at the O2 Dome

Michael Arden was most recently on the Broadway stage in Twyla Tharp's The Times They Are A'Changin'. The young actor made his Broadway debut as Tom Sawyer in the revival of Big River, and his other New York stage credits include Bare: A Pop Opera, The Vampire Lestat, It's Only Life and Harold & Maude. Arden's regional credits include Ace; God of Vengeance; Falsettoland; Art, Song Dance; West Side Story; Songs for a New World; The Common Pursuit and A Winter's Tale. A graduate of the Juilliard School, Arden's compositions include Easter Rising and As You Like It.

Peter Lockyer has been seen on Broadway in La Boheme, Cyrano -- The Musical, Miss Saigon, The Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables. He portrayed Marius in the tour of Les Miz and Chris in the tour of Miss Saigon. Lockyer was also seen in the TV version of Gypsy as Yonkers.

Sean McDermott's Broadway credits include Grease, Falsettos, Miss Saigon and Starlight Express. He was seen Off-Broadway in Boys in the Band and in the national tours of South Pacific and Starlight Express as well as the international tour of West Side Story.

Hugh Panaro's Main Stem credits include The Phantom of the Opera, Lestat, Side Show, Show Boat, The Red Shoes and Les Miserables.

For more information visit www.barbrastreisand.com or www.cpitour.com.

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It is particularly popular with the well-educated and current college-age students
BY: Director Lee Rainie and Bill Tancer, General Manager of Global Research at www.Hitwise.com
April 2007

More than a third of American adult internet users (36%) consult the citizen-generated online encyclopedia Wikipedia, according to a new nationwide survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. And on a typical day in the winter of 2007, 8% of online Americans consulted Wikipedia.

There has been ongoing controversy about the reliability of articles on Wikipedia. Still, the Pew Internet Project survey shows that Wikipedia is far more popular among the well-educated than it is among those with lower levels of education. For instance, 50% of those with at least a college degree consult the site, compared with 22% of those with a high school diploma. And 46% of those age 18 and older who are current full- or part-time students have used Wikipedia, compared with 36% of the overall internet population.

In addition, young adults and broadband users have been among those who are earlier adopters of Wikipedia. While 44% of those ages 18-29 use Wikipedia to look for information, just 29% of users age 50 and older consult the site. In a similar split, 42% of home broadband users look for information on Wikipedia, while just 26% of home dial-up users do so.

All told, the use of Wikipedia is more popular on a typical day than some of the more prominent activities tracked by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, including online purchasing, visiting dating websites, making travel reservations, using chat rooms, and participating in online auctions.

The popularity of Wikipedia
Several Web traffic measuring firms say that Wikipedia is one of the most heavily visited sites on the internet. comScore Media Metrix, the Web traffic measuring firm, regularly says that monthly traffic to the cluster of Wikipedia sites positions them in the top 10 global sites.

Likewise, data from Hitwise consistently registers Wikipedia in the top 10 most popular sites on the entire Web. Moreover, in the cluster of sites that are focused on educational and reference material, Wikipedia is by far the most popular site, drawing nearly six times more traffic than the next-closest site.

Why is Wikipedia so popular?
Hitwise data suggest several reasons for the popularity of Wikipedia: First, there is the sheer amount of material on the site, covering everything from ancient history to current events and popular culture. Because authors can create and edit entries at any time and in any location, new entries about emerging tech terms, celebrities or political scandals can be published or updated within a matter of minutes. In total, Wikipedia claims over 5.3 million entries, 1.6 million of them in English.

Second, Wikipedia's dramatic growth is strongly correlated with Americans' affection for search engines. Over 70% of the visits to Wikipedia in the week ending March 17 came from search engines, according to Hitwise data.

Wikipedia’s article structure helps explain this. Many of the pieces in the encyclopedia are full of links to other Wikipedia articles and other material on the Web. One of the prime factors in Google's search results algorithm is the number of links connected to a given webpage. Thus, Wikipedia's culture of encouraging internal and external links gives Wikipedia material a shot at very high Google rankings on many keyword queries. In fact, Wikipedia has become the #1 external site visited after Google's search page, receiving over half of its traffic from the search engine.

Convenience is likely a big factor, too
In addition to having some logistical advantages in drawing traffic, Wikipedia is probably popular for other reasons as well. Research on other subjects by the Pew Internet Project has shown that the convenience of using sites makes a difference. In our "Science Online" report, we found that science knowledge-seeking online is driven a lot by convenience -- more so than a sense that science information online is more accurate than other sources. Convenience mattered to 71% of those seeking science information, compared with 13% of those who said using the internet gave them more accurate information. In addition, our research about seekers of science information showed that users do a lot of checking using other offline and online sources of science information beyond the sites they find easily through search engines.

This finding also mirrors work we have done about the way people get health information and get political information online. The ease of using the internet to find information quickly seems a constant for many kinds of data hunts online.

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