AFM Local 802 announced that a deal with the Broadway League at 4:30 Thursday morning, saying in a statement that “this three-year agreement provides meaningful wage and health benefit increases.” - The Hollywood Reporter
“We unfortunately are operating with a little bit of fear, as we continue to be the prominent immigrant community theater company in Chicago, let alone in our neighborhood." - WBEZ
AFM Local 802 and the Broadway League (representing producers) go into mediation on Wednesday, and Local 802 is prepared to strike immediately if no deal is reached by Thursday morning. The League and Actors’ Equity negotiated an agreement last weekend, but Equity could still strike in solidarity with the musicians. - Playbill
No technological breakthrough will ever nullify the wisdom of these playwrights. The shadow of death sentences us to live in endless search of elusive meaning. But the introduction of artificial intelligence has given a new prism through which to view these unresolved existential questions. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
Ellin Stein looks at what’s fact and what’s fiction in director Richard Linklater’s film about Lorenz Hart on the opening night of Oklahoma!, Richard Rodgers’s first show with his other lyricist, Oscar Hammerstein II. - Slate (Yahoo!)
After a somewhat quiet few years of foreign theatre programming in New York, we are suddenly enjoying a superbloom, largely thanks to several adventurous international festivals, working in synchrony this fall. - The New Yorker
“‘To build a building like this, it required public investment, it required private investment, and it required a lot of belief through those dark days of the pandemic,’ said TimeLine’s charismatic artistic director, PJ Powers, during a recent tour of the still shell-like structure.” - WBEZ (Chicago)
Was a young Stephen Sondheim really at the party after the opening night of Oklahoma! at Sardi’s, the night that possibly destroyed Lorenz Hart? Er … let’s just say that “adherence to reality would have deprived the movie of a hilarious scene." - Slate
“Just as Trump is trying to legally redefine what it means to be ‘American,’ he is also attempting to redefine which Americans can make and see art. Our work as Americans right now, as citizens and artists, is to continually expand the definition of ‘our people.’” - American Theatre
The musicians’ local president: “We are thankful that our brothers and sisters in labor at Actors’ Equity have reached an agreement. … Local 802 is still in negotiation for a fair contract, and everything remains on the table, including a strike.” - The New York Times
“The cost of undertaking higher education courses is increasingly a barrier for people from less well-off backgrounds. This will lead to even less diversity in the pool of creative talent in the future. That is a big problem.” - The Stage
Kimberly Mark, a veteran Broadway dresser, joined the Hamilton crew a decade ago. Her suit alleges that, after four operations and weeks of chemotherapy and radiation, she was told by producers that “the job has become too physically demanding” and later fired. - The Independent (UK)
Beane was in his hometown — Reading, Pennsylvania — scouting locations for his first feature film when he learned that the Genesius Theatre, where had his first stage experiences while growing up, had both money troubles and a leadership vacancy. Now he’s artistic director, with plans to stabilize the finances and revitalize programming. - Playbill
Theatre in itself is an elite cultural form. There are of course exceptions, many wonderful theatre companies that manage to put on affordable performances for everybody. But the great thing about the cinema is that everyone could – maybe not so much these days – but everyone could buy a ticket. - The Guardian
“The warning came as … growing numbers of (union) members made complaints about infringements of their copyright and misuse of their personal data in AI material. … Last week (Equity) confirmed its was supporting a Scottish actor who believes her image was used in the creation of ‘AI actor’ Tilly Norwood.” - The Guardian
