None of the 18 commercial musicals that opened on Broadway last season have made a profit yet. Some still could, but several have been spectacular flameouts. The new musicals “Tammy Faye,” “Boop!” and “Smash” each cost at least $20 million, and each was gone less than four months after opening. - The New York Times
She wins the most produced playwrights (not counting Shakespeare, who would win every year hands down) list for the third, or is it fourth, time. Eboni Booth of Primary Trust and the team of Come from Away are up there too. - American Theatre
The court ruled that “a new National Endowment for the Arts policy of reviewing grant applicants to see if they comply with President Trump’s executive order on 'gender ideology’ violated the Constitution and could not be implemented.” - The New York Times
“A state-commissioned community advisory committee brought the curtain down on the $5.4 billion plan to redevelop an office tower into a Caesars Palace-branded hotel, gambling and entertainment complex … in a vote that occurred after public hearings in which actors, stagehands, restaurant owners and neighborhood residents lined up to oppose the project.” - AP
By taking the work into unconventional, donated spaces, they’re betting on a future where audiences don’t just consume theater but inhabit it. Time Out New York
Sado Island, just northwest of central Honshu, is home to 34 of the roughly 100 Noh theaters remaining in Japan. Elsewhere, Noh is considered an arcane genre practiced by specialized professionals; on Sado it’s an integral part of the local culture, learned by schoolchildren and performed by community members. - The New York Times
Located in Malvern, England, the Theatre of Small Convenience was once a public toilet; it measures 107 sf and seats 12. It was opened as a puppet theatre in 1997 but fell into disrepair after its founder retired in 2017; community members have saved it from demolition and remodeled it. - The Guardian
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
“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
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!)
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
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 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
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
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
