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THEATRE

Just How Can You Make Theatre In Ukraine During a War?

They have brothers and fathers in the war; they have family members cut off from them in the occupied Donbas. At one rehearsal, an actress apologized for being late; she had just heard that a friend from drama school had been killed at the front. - The New York Times

Royal Shakespeare Co. Starts Major Staff Buyouts (With Layoffs To Follow)

“A spokesperson said the number eligible for voluntary redundancy was 420 of its (835) permanent employees, as part of a programme running until October 5, following which compulsory redundancies will begin.” - The Stage

Money Struggles And Retrenchment Plague Regional Theaters — But Not Milwaukee Rep

Chris Jones has a look at the company’s three-theater headquarters, which has just undergone an on-time, on-budget $80 million renovation, and at the programming and engagement strategies which help maintain Milwaukee Rep’s growing audience base and healthy finances. - Chicago Tribune (Yahoo!)

How A Small Theater Company In Brooklyn Keeps Going Following Funding Cuts

A reporter crunches some numbers and looks at the basic operation of The Brick, a 54-seat theater in a former auto-repair shop in the Williamsburg neighborhood. The Brick (which presents outside work rather than producing its own) hosts over 200 performances a year on an annual budget of $558,400. - The New York Times

TikTok Is Filled With Women Dressed As Alexander Hamilton Sneaking Out Of Windows And Dog Doors

Many of the TikToks “deliberately portray as a stereotypical bad boyfriend or spouse with wandering eyes. Some are more explicit, like one in which Hamilton appears to be taking a sexy selfie when interrupted by Eliza.” - The New York Times

The Surprising Numbers About Playwriting Equity In The United States

“The new-play results nationwide and in New York are very close to parity after all, while the all-play results, which include all the Shakespeares and Dickenses, are closer to the old 60/40 divide we were used to seeing about a decade ago.” - American Theatre

Many Philly Arts Orgs Have Regained Their Pre-Pandemic Audiences, But Theatre Lags Behind

The only truly good news from the report: Performing arts was “the sector with more increased attendance over the past year than libraries, community, and educational organizations.” - American Theatre

Supercool Film Studio A24 Has Moved Into Off-Broadway Theater

Two years ago A24 bought the Cherry Lane Theatre in Manhattan’s West Village for $10 million; following a thorough remodeling, the house has reopened this week. A24 plans to keep programming theatrical productions in the 166-seat theater, alongside music and a film series with talkbacks hosted by Sofia Coppola. - The Hollywood Reporter

East London To Get A Big New Two-Theatre Venue

Troubadour Theatres, which already has locations at Wembley Park and Canary Wharf (opening next month), is building the Troubadour Greenwich Peninsula Theatre, which will contain two 1,500-seat auditoriums and is expected to open next fall. - WhatsOnStage (UK)

Rufus Wainwright On Seeing His Musical Become A Notorious West End Flop

Opening Night (based on the John Cassavetes film) was directed by Ivo van Hove and starred Sheridan Smith — yet it tanked so badly that it became a theatre legend. Rufus says, “It was really devastating. … But there is something to be said for really going through the mill.” - TheaterMania

Britain’s National Theatre Is Growing Dye Plants For Its Costumes In A Roof Garden

“Chemical dyes are often toxic for the environment and bad for human health, so the costume designers at the theatre are experimenting with using flowers including indigo, dahlias, hollyhocks, chamomile and wild fennel to create the vivid colours used in their productions.” - The Guardian

Investor In Broadway’s “Cabaret” Sues Lead Producers

“Backers were ‘induced to invest cash into multi-layered structures designed to conceal revenues, divert payments, and facilitate self-dealing among insiders,’ Atlanta-based entertainment lawyer James Lorenzo Walker Jr. said in his Sept. 4 complaint in New York Supreme Court (against ATG Entertainment).” - Broadway Journal

With Billy Porter’s Sepsis Diagnosis, Cabaret Is Ending Its Broadway Run A Month Early

“The abrupt re-scheduled closing is a surprise finish for a staging that has been by all accounts a massive success in London's West End, where it continues to run in its fourth year. The Broadway iteration has struggled to sell the amount of tickets needed.” - Playbill

California Shakespeare’s Former Home May Soon Have A New Tenant Putting On Shows

The landlord of the Bruns Amphitheater, where Cal Shakes performed from 1991 until it closed last year, is negotiating a 15-year lease with a new organization called Siesta Valley Amphitheater, which plans a “far more robust” slate of programming with concerts and film screenings as well as theater. - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)

16-Hour Waits To See Shakespeare? Ah, It All Makes Sense…

Blame it on the excitement over the $85 million renovation of the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, or the yearlong hiatus that it prompted. Blame the star-studded “Twelfth Night” production, featuring Sandra Oh, Peter Dinklage and Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o. But whatever you do, get in line early. - The Wall Street Journal

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