Ringplay Productions

This link to an article by Terry Teachout, drama critic for the Wall Street Journal, addresses the tendency — even in the US — to regard all good theatre as emanating from New York City.

That myth is not true at all, as Teachout makes clear:

most of the best live drama in America is to be found in what Variety still insists on calling “the stix.” The vast majority of large and medium-size American cities can boast of at least one high-quality repertory company, and many have more than that. On any given night you can see about as many plays in Chicago or Washington as you can in New York, and Minneapolis-St. Paul isn’t far behind. More than a few of the hottest shows on Broadway, among them “The Drowsy Chaperone” and “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” are regional-theater imports.

The success of these shows points to another part of the problem, which is that too many people think of regional theater as a place where promising plays are tried out, the worthiest of which eventually find their way to New York. Sometimes that’s true — but not often. Broadway, after all, only has room for a certain number of new productions each season, and the fearsomely high cost of presenting a show in New York means that most producers are inclined to play it safe. If you want to keep up with the latest and best in regional theater, you’ve got to go where the action is, not wait for it to come to you.

Guess what? Ringplay has a dream — that one of these days The Bahamas will be  regularly producing theatre of the same standard again — and that one of these days tourists will come to The Bahamas not only for sun, sand, and sea, but also for our theatre.

Far-fetched? Come see Horse to know why it’s not!

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