McNulty Blames Jason Alexander for Reprise’s Woes

Chuck is on a freakin’ roll! No, seriously, the man deserves some props for laying down some recent honest albeit uncomfortable truths.

First there is this article over at the LA Times on the crumbling of the Regional Theatre model. Now he’s calling out Jason Alexander for his lack of leadership and how it has led directly to Reprise Theatre Company’s present artistic and economic woes and subsequent suspension of their upcoming season. Wow.

Check this:

These are tough economic times, to be sure. But they’re only made harder by a leadership vision completely at odds with the theater’s limited resources. And if box office is off, it’s not simply because musical theater aficionados are drastically cutting back. “Once bitten, twice shy” pertains as much to bad romance as to bad Sondheim. 

Ouch. But Chuck does not stop. There’s this:

But more often than not the results have been what you might expect given the abbreviated rehearsal schedules and tight budgets of Reprise productions — second-rate retreads of shows that already live vividly in our imaginations and aren’t in any danger of falling out of the repertoire anytime soon. (“Kiss Me, Kate” might just be my all-time favorite musical, but even I could have waited a little longer for a better revival to come along than last year’s flat-soda version.)

Double ouch. And then there’s this:

Perhaps it’s time for Alexander to find a new hobby for his post-“Seinfeld” years. What about becoming the chairman of the Reprise board of directors? That way, his fundraising and networking skills would still be a boon to the company. He has certainly worked his Rolodex magic in getting top-flight talent to perform at special events. And his heart is undoubtedly in the right place — the man’s not in it for the money.

But if Reprise wants another act, it’s going to have to once again rethink its artistic identity. And that means finding an artistic director who won’t be driven by his own musical theater nostalgia and sentimentality.

Damn, Chuck. You wanna start writing for the Lemon? Seems like you’re finally ready for the big, er, small time. Heh.

In my opinion, this is good news for LA Theatre, when its supposedly foremost theatre critic starts telling it like it is. And this may be a bit painful for Alexander to swallow, initially, but the man’s a professional and the fact of the matter is, McNulty is right and Alexander can still do some good for the company. And he’s still a very talented performer.

Who knew that the Chuckster could actually play the part of LA Theatre Watchdog?

Now if he can just make a little more effort to get that snarling snout of his down into the dirt with the smaller Los Angeles theatre world he might actually be on to something.