"Giving an audience member 'a hand in guiding the show' is key to the success of a one-person performance. 'You have to sort of walk a tightrope between delivering a scripted show and being flexible to an audience member.'" - The Guardian
Thousands of fans left at loose ends after Swift's Vienna show was called off (due to terrorist threats) flocked to the Austrian capital's museums. At the Albertina, the lines were 20 minutes long in 91°F heat, yet people waited patiently. And the visitors were a demographic rarely seen in such numbers there. - ARTnews
After some anger and grief, and years of frustration, this is what happens now when news sites die: “Former DCist reporter Colleen Grablick remembers fellow DCist coworker Maddie Poore asking: ‘Local news co-op, when?’” - Nieman Lab
The surprise hit film is going to be a stage musical! But you knew that. The true news is that the Hugh Jackman passion project is finally in serious development for the stage, with Disney. Do we hear the sound of a million theatre kid dreams soaring? - Variety
At the American Players Theater, about an hour west of Madison, they do around nine mostly classic plays (no musicals) each season, running in repertory, with no microphones in a 1,075-seat amphitheater. Audiences love it, with many people returning season after season. - The New York Times
"Some, such as Yahoo, Puck, and New York Times Opinion, have launched new Reddit accounts in the last several months. Others, such as Rolling Stone, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Independent, the AP, and Newsweek, have restarted existing accounts or dedicated more resources to them." - Adweek
"Death slots" were times when audiences were presumed to be low, and therefore where network programmers would park shows presumed to be doomed anyway, so the series — most notoriously, the original Star Trek — would get cancelled for low ratings. Yet it turned out some shows thrived in "death slots." - Tedium
At American Players Theater, “banking on the glory of the human voice is primarily an artistic decision: Nothing comes between the actors, their words and the public.” - The New York Times
The EP-1320 comes “pre-loaded with a selection of playable musical instruments from the Middle Ages, from frame drums, battle toms, and coconut horse hooves to bagpipes, bowed harps, and, yes, hurdy-gurdies.” - Open Culture
When’s the big reveal after the surprise five animal appearances this week? Is the artist protesting far-right rioters, climate change, or … what? - The Guardian (UK)
“At a time when costs for Broadway shows continue to rise … the necessity is producers so committed to projects and their potential to find audience favour that they will fight conventional wisdom to give shows the opportunity for recognition and financial success.” - The Stage (UK)
That is, until it opened. “The muted response to the show itself suggests that fewer British people are riled by the debate than the media coverage implies — or at least that when activists engage with potentially inflammatory art, outrage can quickly vanish.” - The New York Times
Christopher Wu has some ideas to make symphony-going seem less of a chore to newbies. “Culture is always shifting. Everyone is into TikTok now. ... So maybe we need to be open to reimagining the presentation of this music we love, not the music itself.” - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
How did The Great Gatsby get excitement for its cast album flowing? TikTok, of course - and also YouTube, Instagram, and X/Twitter, not to mention a party for influencers on all of these channels. Brand strategy: Snag the kids now, and it’ll pay off later. - The New York Times
