THEATRE

An Ohio School District Cancels A Popular Play, And The Fallout Is Ongoing

“Copley Superintendent Aimee Kirsch said the play was canceled not because of its gay themes but because the proper vetting procedure wasn't followed.” Unh-hunh. The students cast in the canceled She Kills Monsters were offered parts in the newly approved Alice in Wonderland. - Akron Beacon Journal (Yahoo)

Theatre As A Public Good

To me, Theatre as Public Good argues that the convening power of theatre, and the belonging and connection it creates, is essential, and should therefore be classified as a public good. - Karthik Subramanian

Beckett Is Only Bleak If You Have No Sense Of Humor

“I think Irish actors and directors have an innate advantage in dealing with Beckett. They get his humour.” - Irish Times

The School District That Tried To Cancel ‘Ragtime’ Claimed It Was A Miscommunication, But Emails Reveal A Different Story

“In emails with members of the public obtained by KyCIR, Duncan repeatedly said the show was never canceled because Balasubramanian ‘went rogue.’” That’s a little different from a miscommunication. - WFPL

We Don’t Make People Pay To Access Public Parks

Public parks are widely considered a social good, and we know that because our tax dollars go to maintain them, we don’t have to pay every time we go to a park. What if the same were true for theatre? - American Theatre

Shakespeare’s Globe Opens London’s First Dedicated Shakespeare Library And Research Centre

“The library sits underground, beneath the Globe in London’s South Bank, and is accessible to the public, containing more than 6,000 books about Shakespeare, early modern literature and the history of dramatic performance around the world. A digital performance archive is also available to the public by appointment.” - The Bookseller (UK)

A New Wave Of Documentary Theater Sweeps Latin America

“Over the last three decades, a growing cohort of theater artists across Latin America have … used journalism, documentary and memoir to explore the boundaries between fact and fiction while confronting their region’s troubled past and turbulent present in a genre known as Theater of the Real.” - T — The New York Times Style Magazine

Equity UK And National Theatre Of Scotland Agree To Something Novel: Five-Day Work Weeks And Overtime Pay

“As well as reducing standard rehearsal weeks from six to five days,” the new agreement “includes the reduction of the working week from 44 hours to 40 hours, meaning any performers and stage management working more than 40 hours in a week for NTS will receive extra pay.” - The Stage (UK)

Cate Blanchett Implores Audience From A London Stage To Stop Videoing

“There are few places on this planet where we can simply be together and be present. I understand you like filming the curtain call – and it is kind of flattering in a way – but for anyone who is filming the show, please don’t, because it spoils it for the next group of people." - Deadline

More Legal/Financial Drama Over “Titanique”

“Four Titanique off-Broadway investors initiated an arbitration against the lead producer of the ‘splash hit musical,’ which has said it was defrauded by its former general manager and reported losing $3 million in its final 18 months.” - Broadway Journal

One Man’s Quest To Understand Theatre Economics

If these institutions were really facing an existential financial situation, “they’re acting commercial” wasn’t much of a fair, nor novel, accusation. The question soon turned to: Once commercial capital entered the nonprofit stream, whose risk did the nonprofit’s advantages reduce, and who captured the resulting value? - Jared Harbour

This 1972 Canadian Godspell Truly Had All The Good Gifts

The Toronto production was “a Rosetta stone of funny people that featured then unknowns such as Martin Short, Gilda Radner, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Dave Thomas, Victor Garber and Paul Shaffer.” - The New York Times

You’ll Have To Take The A Train Even Farther Than 181st For This New Theatre

What if actors and backstage workers who live in Inwood could walk home from work? That’s part of the appeal of the new, Lin-Manuel Miranda-supported, permanent buildling for the People’s Theatre: Centro Cultural Inmigrante on 206th Street. - The New York Times

Lynchpin Of “Oh, Mary!” National Tour Takes Medical Leave

J. Harrison Ghee, who won a Tony in 2023 for playing Jerry/Daphne in Some Like It Hot, was cast as Mary’s Husband for the first part of the tour, then Mary herself as of January. Ghee, who lives with kidney disease, has been advised not to perform until at least November 1. - TheaterMania

Some Surprises In This Season’s List Of Most-Produced Plays And Playwrights

There’s a new play atop the list: Kimberly Belflower’s John Proctor Is the Villain, followed by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins's Purpose and Bess Wohl’s Pulitzer-winning Liberation. Among playwrights, once-perennial leader Lauren Gunderson is down to fourth place; the late August Wilson is number one, followed by Belflower and Jacobs-Jenkins. - American Theatre

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