ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

THEATRE

Hugh Jackman Signs Up For Affordable Theatre

Audible Theater is teaming up with Together, a new accessible-theater initiative led by megastar Hugh Jackman and superproducer Sonia Friedman, for an eight-week series of programming at Off Broadway's Minetta Lane Theatre this spring. - TimeOut

The Unpredictable Power Balance Between Othello And Iago, And How Actors Have Pulled It Off

“Othello is Shakespeare’s only major work in which the hero and antihero are given equal weight. … As the Shakespeare scholar Harold Bloom summed up the dichotomy: It is Othello’s tragedy, but it is Iago’s play.” Ben Brantley considers 13 Othello-Iago pairs, going back nearly a century. - The New York Times

What To Say To A Friend After A Rough Theatre Performance

Basically, lie (unless you’re a critic, in which case say nothing until the review). One actor: “It takes incredible amounts of bravery to be vulnerable enough to offer yourself to an audience, whether screen or stage. I’m proud of anyone who dares.” - The New York Times

Seattle University Plans To Destroy A Theatre In Order To Raise A Museum

“Members of SU’s theater community argue that the Lee, a relatively new building that opened in 2006, is an irreplaceable part of the school’s creative ecosystem that shouldn’t be razed to accommodate a glitzy, donor-driven project.” - Seattle Times

The Origin Story Of “Maybe Happy Ending”

“This intimate spectacle (was) already a hit title in Asia for years. ... The Times spoke separately with members of the musical's cast and creative team about developing the standout show in Asia, witnessing its remarkable rise to Broadway acclaim and pulling off an ending that fascinates audiences.” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

Two Big Seattle Theatres Join Forces

This pairing is the latest in a series of major deals between local arts and cultural organizations, including the merger of ACT Contemporary Theatre and Seattle Shakespeare Company, as well as Seattle University’s acquisition of Cornish College of the Arts. - Seattle Times

Living Legends Of Avant-Garde Theatre: The Wooster Group At 50

“Classic writers — Chekhov, Racine, Eugene O’Neill, Gertrude Stein — have been resurrected in conversation with a tumultuous, shape-shifting present for an astonishing 50 years. … In the late 1970s, these shows … were the ones that the coolest of experimental theatergoers swooned over, gossiped about.” - The New York Times

George Clooney “Good Night, And Good Luck” Breaks Broadway Box Office Record

“Two weeks after the Denzel Washington- and Jake Gyllenhaal-led Othello broke the record for top gross in one week by a Broadway play, the George Clooney-led Good Night, and Good Luck has broken that record to become the top grossing show on Broadway with $3.3 million last week.” - Playbill

Recovering The Great American Musical Nobody Thought Could Be Recovered

Love Life, composer Kurt Weill’s only collaboration with lyricist Alan Jay Lerner, seemed like a very promising project. But its debut didn’t go over well — Broadway wasn’t ready for a concept musical in 1948 — and circumstances led to almost no trace of the show surviving. Until now. - The New York Times

Who’s Getting The Highest Ticket Prices On Broadway (Not Just The A-List Movie Stars)

Earlier this week, we tracked down what the top ticket cost was to see each of these stars at the evening performance on Saturday, Mar. 22. Like any great piece of theater that warrants a second mortgage in order to afford to see, the results took us by surprise! - The Daily Beast

The Clown Car Didn’t Used To Have Any Room For Women

But, centuries in, things may be changing. - The New York Times

The Long Overdue Return Of A Great American Musical

Love Life premiered in 1948 “as a new show with music by Kurt Weill, and a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. ... Stephen Sondheim got himself a ticket, as did his future collaborator Hal Prince.” But it was never recorded, and seemed lost. - The New York Times

The Writer Of Buena Vista Social Club, Now On Broadway, Is Passionate About Protecting The Music

"I’ve felt a little bit like Indiana Jones running through a temple where tons of things are being thrown at you and you’re just trying to save the one beautiful thing because you’re like, “This belongs in a museum.’” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

In UK Prisons, A Theatre Program Helps Save Lives

That’s what one formerly incarcerated woman says. “This company came into jail and turned, not just my life around, but hundreds of other people’s. … They really, really, did save me.” - BBC

A New Report On The State Of Theatre Isn’t Exactly Reassuring

“None of the indicators show full recovery from pre-pandemic levels. And though the pre-Covid years may look booming in hindsight, many of the issues that have battered the field since 2020 were in fact long-standing and systemic, and are still being worked through.” - American Theatre

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