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Break a Leg - KDHXDeborah Sharn: You're listening to KDHX, St. Louis Community Radio, and this is Break a Leg - theatre in St. Louis and beyond. Hello this is Break a Leg - theatre in St. Louis and beyond. With your hosts Scott Miller and Deborah Sharn. Today Scott and I will be talking with Gerry Kowarsky, co-host with Bob Wilcox of the cable theatre review show "Two on the Aisle", and free lance reviewer with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for nearly thirty years. Gerry it's great to have you once again on the show. Gerry Kowarsky: Oh it's my pleasure. It's the third year in a row we've done the yearly wrap-up. It's almost beginning to be an annual event. Scott Miller: It's a ritual. Deborah Sharn: (sings) It's getting to be a habit with me. (others laugh) So we are going to talk about the yearly wrap-up. What in your opinion were the highlights, what's new, what didn't work, what you liked … Gerry Kowarsky: Well I think there are two things that are new and both highlights, so that's good that they are new and highlights. One of them are the Kline Awards. I'm sure you have talked about those a lot already, but I think it has at least begun to have the effect which the creators envisioned, which is creating a buzz about theatre. I hear people talking about the awards. I think that we've had a lot of new companies start this year. I see the poster all the time, and I just think that we're going to have a lot of talk about theatre that we might not have had before. They had a fundraiser that they sold out, they got 400 people to come, so I think they're on a roll … Deborah Sharn: I attended the fundraiser, it was very nice too. Gerry Kowarsky: … and I'm happy - I think I actually have seen every show covered but one - I think that we're going to be very happy with the way the voting went. I mean - I've talked to some people who are concerned that there will somehow be favoritism toward the big companies, and I don't think they understand the judging. That each show is judged by seven people. They're chosen more or less randomly, after people have said - I don't want to cover this one because I have an interest in it - and there's just no way of knowing who covered what. And even though everyone brings a different sensibility it's more or less random, so I don't think there's going to be any preference in any way that will show up. I fully expect to see a very interesting distribution. Scott Miller: Well, and it is a subjective thing right? Gerry Kowarsky: Absolutely. Scott Miller: I mean, why of course it's subjective. Gerry Kowarsky: But I think some people feel that there are going to be axes ground, and how people voted - that there's going to be a natural prejudice toward the big companies, or toward local people, or toward away people - and I just think the way the voting is done is going to prevent that. Scott Miller: I agree. Gerry Kowarsky: I mean really and truly the awards have already been selected in the sense that all the ballots are in, there's no cabal of people getting together after the fact to say - Well we'll give it to this person - it's all done mathematically based on the seven votes. Scott Miller: And the thing that you mentioned a second ago, which I think is maybe even more important than the actual awards, is that every show that's considered has a big poster in the lobby that lists all the other shows going on in town that are under consideration for the Kevin Kline Awards. And it is this incredible marketing - we all put ads in our programs with a list of all the shows going on - so I mean it's a wonderful marketing thing for all of them. Deborah Sharn: It's a unifying factor for all the theatre companies. Gerry Kowarsky: … and a unifying factor for all the companies whether they are equity or non-equity. I'm sure you recall the "professionality wars" of a couple of years ago. (laughs) That's all gone. I mean nobody's worried about that because everyone realized that it's better for everybody to work together. Scott Miller: Yeah. I agree. Deborah Sharn: What else did you like this past year? (show continues) To hear the entire show, go to the "Break a Leg" archive page: |
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