New 3-D film asks, "Is it dance?  Is it theater?  Or is it just... life?"

PINA is a feature-length dance film in 3D with the ensemble of the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, featuring the unique and inspiring art of the great German choreographer, who died in the summer of 2009.  PINA is a film for Pina Bausch by Wim Wenders. He takes the audience on a sensual, visually stunning journey of discovery into a new dimension: straight onto the stage with the legendary ensemble and follows the dancers out of the theatre into the city and the surrounding areas of Wuppertal - the place, which for 35 years was the home [and center of Pina Bausch's creative life].

Lord of the Dance jumps onto the silver screen, in 3-D

New York Daily News, 3/16/11

After more than a decade tapping his feet to a lightning-fast cadence -- 28 taps per second -- Michael Flatley is jumping onto the silver screen with "Lord of the Dance in 3-D."  And, of course, it opens on St. Patrick's Day.  "It's a dream come true," Flatley says. "For years now, I've been approached many times to do something on film, but I was always apprehensive. I was never actually tempted, because I was afraid that the live show atmosphere and energy wouldn't translate to film properly.  But with the new advances in 3-D technology, I finally found a vehicle that I think works. It's the closest thing to life."  The performance movie was shot over a four-day period with live audiences in Dublin, London and Berlin.  "They wanted to shoot it at a sound stage," he says. "But I said no, I want the honest reaction of the dancers on stage, of the crowd. If we make mistakes, we make mistakes, but those are honest mistakes."

World-class performances coming to a cinema near you

McClatchy Newspapers, 3/10/11

Ever wanted to visit London and see their world-class theater? Well, you might be able to without even climbing on an airplane.  For the last two years the National Theatre in London has been broadcasting high-definition performances to over 300 theaters as NT Live. Performances are filmed in high-definition and broadcast via satellite to theaters worldwide.  In a rare event, a new play, Frankenstein by Nick Dear and based on the Mary Shelly classic novel, will be filmed twice on March 17 with the main actors swapping roles.  [And] this year for the first time, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, in a deal with NCM Fathom, will broadcast its concerts to over 450 theaters in the U.S. and Canada. 

Lights, camera, epigram!  Broadway's Earnest to be screened at world cinemas

Playbill.com, 3/11/11

Lady Bracknell is ready for her close-up. Roundabout Theatre Company's extended Broadway production of The Importance of Being Earnest [was] filmed over three performances [last week].  Before a live audience on Friday and Saturday, the staging [was] captured live with seven high-definition cameras. The edited result will be screened in movie theatres and performing arts centers across the U.S. and internationally on varying dates [in] June.  Roundabout Theatre Company, L.A. Theatre Works and BY Experience are collaborating on this theatrical project for movie audiences in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Europe, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, "to be able to experience the best of Broadway." 

Commentary: The theater is ephemeral... You don't need a definitive record

Hartford Courant Behind the Curtain blog, 3/15/11

Arthur Laurents says [a new] film version [of Gypsy] is not going to happen "for a really fascinating reason, much bigger than Gypsy."  He recently spoke with the musical's lyricist, Stephen Sondheim, who asked Laurents why he wanted to allow the film project to happen. "He said, 'What is the point of it?' And I said, 'They have this terrible version with Rosalind Russell wearing those black and white shoes.' And then Sondheim told me something that he got from the British -- and it's wonderful. He said, 'You want a record because the theater is ephemeral. But that's wrong. The theater's greatest essence is that it is ephemeral. You don't need a record. The fact that it's ephemeral means you can have different productions, different Roses on into infinity.'  So I don't want it now. I don't want a definitive record. I want it to stay alive."