There's an art to turning a leaden moment into a sparkling one -- to taking a line that doesn't work, and turning it into one that does. Script doctors, who do these things with flair, are a well-known aspect of moviemaking, with some, like Joss Whedon or Carrie Fisher, achieving fame for their writing achievements in their own rights. This year, as Patrick Healy points out, they're also an increasingly common phenomenon on Broadway. Recent shows undergoing a little surgical revision have included Sister Act, Catch Me If You Can, Wonderland, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, and the embattled Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark, just to name a few.

It's an interesting look at a touchy subject, and those featured certainly navigate the minefield with flair and elegance. It can't be fun to receive the news that your work is going to be rewritten or overhauled, much less to be called upon to speak dipomatically on the subject, but the article's subjects, including Sister Act's Cheri Steinkellner, do so with grace. While some shows have famously benefited from a little doctoring, like Neil Simon's comedic touches to A Chorus Line long ago, for the most part, the article is a reminder that doctoring can also be a facile solution, lessening or diluting the work's original intent. While the realization that a show's just not working is certainly a common one, I can't help but feel that a fix by the original creative team is still the most ideal scenario, and the one that will result in the best overall work. But what do you think? Sound off in the comments or forums!

A Chorus Line Photo, © Paul Kolnik

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Think opera can't be done on a smaller scale? Anne Midgette of The Washington Post has a great rebuttal, and takes an entertaining look at the Wolf Trap Opera, which is succeeding against all odds with small bona-fide barn-staged productions on a shoestring budget. Led by Kim Pensinger Witman, the group's opera director, the Wolf Trap has thus far garnered a Grammy nomination and staged two world premieres.

The company is currently showing The Inspector, a new comic opera commissioned by Wolf Trap from John Musto and Mark Campbell. It's a refreshing reminder that anything is possible in the performing arts, and that you don't have to be big, to think big! (Meanwhile, if you're staging small operas, let's hear about them -- what are your secrets for success?)

Image courtesy of The Wolf Trap Opera Company.

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There's a noteworthy piece by Tom Service in his always-excellent On Classical blog that really spotlights the dangers of overreliance on private donations in the arts versus crowdfunding. Specifically, the ways in which those high-level private donations that can be so transformative for the organizations that receive them, can also be a double-edged sword (as with the recent case of an £82 million donation to the Lucerne Festival that was recently withdrawn unexpectedly upon the death of the donor).

High-level arts patrons are angels in every sense of the word, but as Service emphasizes, an overreliance on this kind of patronage can really sink an organization just as quickly as it helps them to soar. Especially in uncertain economic times, big-ticket donations become not only rarer, but also more precarious, with more terms and conditions set upon the donation, for instance. In other words, more strings attached.

I know it's easier said than done, but the more organizations can spread out those donations, through crowd-funding and micro-donation, instead, the healthier the organization (and its productions, and the quality of the work, itself) will be. And as Service aptly points out, it's a way to ensure that your organization stays communal, and that your audiences feel like a part of what you're creating.

Image courtesy of Flickr user nytvf

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The nominees for the 2011 Drama League Awards were announced this morning, and nominees include Frances McDormand, Daniel Radcliffe, Robin Williams, John Leguizamo, Al Pacino, Edie Falco, Bobby Cannavale and Mark Rylance. The official announcement was made earlier today from the SD26 restaurant on Madison Square, in New York City, by former Drama League Award recipients Norbert Leo Butz (Catch Me If You Can) and Kathleen Chalfant (Wit). Meanwhile, the Drama League Nominees for Distinguished Production of a Play include Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo and The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (both Pulitzer nominees this year as well), along with Other Desert Cities, The Motherfu***er with the Hat, and Good People. Nominees for Distinguished Production of a Musical include The Book of Mormon, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, and Primary Stages' In Transit . Special awards will also be given out this year to Liza Minnelli, Susan Stroman, and Whoopi Goldberg for their unique contributions to the stage -- for a complete list of nominees, check out the Drama League website. The awards themselves will be given out on May 20, 2011.

Image courtesy of Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo

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