ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

THEATRE

How Roger Ailes Commandeered A Save-The-Earth Hippie Musical And Inadvertently Birthed A Pop Juggernaut

Yes, the future chief of Fox News, fresh off getting Nixon re-elected, took control of a California show called Mother Earth, revamped it (badly) and took it to Broadway, where it flopped. Meanwhile, the show's composer, one Toni Shearer, quit — and ended up fronting one of the 1970s' superstar groups. - Playbill

The Tricky Negotiations Of Dark Comedy

Satire is just dark comedy’s alibi, a way for critics to render their attraction to the genre compatible with morality and self-respect. - The Point

Theater Festival Brings Solace To Capital Of Troubled Burkina Faso

The dry, landlocked West African nation used to be known for its lively cultural scene; in recent years, the country's stability has been wrecked by extremist militias and their battles with government forces. Solace has come from the festival Récréâtrales, a festival spread across a district in the capital, Ouagadougou. - AP

In The Theatre, Digital Tickets And Programs Erase The Physical Record Of Attending

"It has become possible to spend an evening on Broadway without handling a physical document. Still, it may seem sensational to say that a revolution has taken place. A QR code ticket is still a ticket, isn’t it? But with the decline of documents, something other than information may vanish." - Public Books

At 77, Playwright David Hare Is In A Hurry

"I have written three new plays that are going to be on in different places and I have done that partly because of my sense that I don’t have much time. I am trying to write a lot of stuff while I can." - The Observer (UK)

The Native Woman Who Made Her Own Shows During A Time Of Stereotypes, And Found Massive Success

Go-wan-go Mohawk “decided to write her own roles, ultimately carving out a groundbreaking career in which she told stories onstage about Indigenous people as the heroes of their own lives. She also did it while performing as a man.” - The New York Times

Make That Art, Take That Class, Create That Play

You never know whom you’ll influence - or end up being influenced by, in an artistic collaboration years down the line. - The New York Times

A Musical That’s Profitable Before It Even Opens? How?

Turns out star power helps a lot - and so does having a city own the theatre and fund its costs. - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

The Importance Of “The Importance Of Being Earnest”

"People have been arguing about the nature of the play ever since its 1895 premiere. Wilde himself described it as 'a delicate bubble of fancy', but added: 'It has its philosophy.' … What kind of play is it and how do we stage it today? These questions still divide opinion." - The Guardian

A Pulitzer Prize Winner Is Adapting “Fahrenheit 451” For The Stage

Martyna Majok, who won the Pulitzer for drama in 2018 with her play Cost of Living, will write the script. The project is in early development, and no director or marquee actor has yet been publicly attached to the project. - The Hollywood Reporter

Well-Known UK TV Actor Comes Up With Scheme To Save Small Theatre

Funds would be raised by selling tickets to the performances of the winning entries, with the theatre’s president Suranne Jones giving an on-stage critique afterwards. "It will combine a search for community talent with being a money-maker," she said. - BBC

This Play Is Part Puzzle, Part Real-Life Video Game, Part Grief Ritual

"Great Gold Bird is set across three locations, (starting with) audience members' homes. Where to go next is revealed via the narrative — an address unlocked after perusing a website dedicated to a lost love, or a map uncovered in a locked chest after we discover its combination." - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

How The “Theater Kid” Type In Pop Culture Went From Deeply Uncool To Fabulous

A decade ago, Anne Hathaway was widely mocked for her earnest, try-hard theater-kid ways, and when Ariana Grande, totally a theater kid in her youth, decided to become a pop star, she hid that past and those attitudes. But now the pop-culture pendulum has swung 180 degrees. - The New York Times

How Choreographers Create Dance Movement For Straight Plays

"(This) which can mean adding subtle movement that never registers as choreography, or creating an unapologetic, front-facing dance number, or designing dancing that looks totally spontaneous — mostly without any dance-trained bodies." Choreographers Susan Stroman, Sonya Tayeh, and Sam Pinkleton explain how they meet the challenge. - Dance Magazine

Broadway League Will No Longer Announce Dimming Of Marquee Lights For Deceased Stars

Following heavy pushback over the (since-reversed) decision to do only a partial dimming in memory of Gavin Creel, who died in September at 48, the League has turned over all such announcements to an outside press spokesperson for the separate Broadway Theatre Owners Committee." - Gothamist

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