ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

THEATRE

Study: Australian Theatre Pay Lags

Drawing on data from 92 Australian performing arts organisations with annual turnovers of between $250,000 and $4 million, the survey charts the persistently lagging salaries of small-to-medium arts company employees – even in roles that enjoyed healthy increases over the past two years. - ArtsHub

Critics’ Consensus: This Year’s Best Shows On Broadway

“Liberation” was the only clear-cut consensus choice among the professional critics, as you’ll see below. - New York Theatre

Off-Broadway Parody “Titanique” Gets A Surprise Broadway Transfer

A Céline Dion jukebox musical dressed up as a spoof of James Cameron’s blockbuster movie retold from the pop diva’s point of view, Titanique ran for three years Off-Broadway and has since been staged on four continents. The show can head to Broadway thanks to the early closing of The Queen of Versailles. - Variety

How Some Regional Theatres Are Surviving

One way is by, let’s say, not being intense with their audiences. “My first covenant is with the audience, and I care about what they think. … People don’t want to spend money on a show they don’t think they’re going to like.” - The New York Times

Tom Hanks Literally Wrote His Own Script This Time

“I embarked on this endeavor, partly fueled by a desire to bring to life onstage a sense of lives caught between the certainties of the past and the unknowable future. I wanted theatergoers to ponder the possibilities of each present moment.” - The New York Times

Broadway Had Its Second-Highest Attendance In History Last Season

More than 14.7 million seats were filled in 2024-25, according to the latest audience-demographics report from The Broadway League.  Among other findings is that, yet again, the average ticket-buyer is a 41-year-old, college-educated woman whose household income is over $275K a year. - Deadline

Broadway Attendance From New York’s Suburbs Is Lowest In 30 Years

“According to data released ... on Wednesday, less than 13% of admissions in (2024-25) came from the surrounding New York suburbs, which was the lowest percentage on Broadway in 30 years. The demographic, which once made up 20% of the audience, has been trending down over the past few years.” - The Hollywood Reporter

The Muny In St. Louis To Get $9.5 Million Renovation Next Fall

The beloved outdoor theater will replace all 11,000-odd seats and make structural improvements to protect against flooding, which caused serious damage after a torrential 2022 rainstorm. - St. Louis Public Radio

Philly Fringe Returns To Regular-Season Programming

“The legendary festival, known for experimental and boundary-pushing theater, previously offered year-round programming before the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. In recent years, it has seen record-breaking audience growth, prompting producing director Nell Bang-Jensen to expand beyond the month of September.” - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)

Emily Nussbaum Named The New Yorker’s Theatre Critic

“Nussbaum, a highly respected culture writer who received a Pulitzer Prize for her television criticism, has been a member of the New Yorker writing staff since 2011. She takes over the position from Helen Shaw, who has left The New Yorker after being appointed chief theatre critic at The New York Times.” - Playbill

Playwrights Are Breaking Theatre’s Fourth Wall

These writers create an environment in which characters can enter or exit the main storyline as if from a magic door. Audiences are cognizant of this portal, but they are encouraged to forget its existence when the drama ramps up, thereby allowing them to have their cake and eat it too. - Los Angeles Times

DC’s Woolly Mammoth Theatre Appoints New Artistic Director

“Reggie D. White, whose résumé spans acting, directing and playwriting in addition to in-office leadership, will (succeed) Maria Manuela Goyanes, (who) announced her departure in March for New York’s Lincoln Center Theatre.” White will be only the third director in the company’s 45-year history. - The Washington Post (MSN)

How Stephen Sondheim’s Biggest Flop Is Suddenly A Pretty Great Feature Film

To be fair, it’s a film - a “pro shot” - of the Broadway revival of Merrily We Roll Along. And “what ended up saving it was a superfan: actor and director Maria Friedman, who turned a role in a 1992 production of the play into a series of restagings.” - CBC

Royal Shakespeare Company To Eliminate Its Music Department

As part of its company-wide layoffs, the RSC will terminate its entire live music staff and switch to using recorded music. - The Stage (UK)

New York Times’s New Chief Theater Critic: Helen Shaw Of The New Yorker

“The (Times) has been publishing reviews by a number of writers since predecessor Jesse Green was reassigned earlier this year. That list notably did not include Shaw, who joins the Times after a stint as theatre critic for The New Yorker, and a tenure as chief theatre critic at New York magazine prior.” - Playbill

Our Free Newsletter

Join our 30,000 subscribers

Latest

Don't Miss

function my_excerpt_length($length){ return 200; } add_filter('excerpt_length', 'my_excerpt_length');