“Every number is a homage to at least one classic musical, and often two or three. Here, the hills are alive with the sound of pastiche; the plains and the valleys too.” - The New York Times
At least, according to The New York Times’s Helen Shaw. For instance: “When I think about the sheer old-fashioned ebullience of Cinco Paul’s Schmigadoon! — its compositional invention and depth of talent — I find myself hoping the voters will give it the laurel.” - The New York Times
This Tony-nominated actor is finding more theatrical work - and, let’s face it, likely better pay - as a member of the Savannah Bananas, playing a relief pitcher who comes on dressed as, and singing, the Phantom of the Opera. - The New York Times
Aleshea Harris: "It felt natural and inevitable because I am a very particular playwright. … I already have strong ideas and impulses about not just writing the thing, but helping people to understand.” - The New York Times
Daniel Radcliffe, Every Brilliant Thing: “My ideal version is that the play starts without you noticing.” Ana Gasteyer, Schmigadoon!: “People from my particular background, which is Saturday Night Live, which is sketch, work very quickly. There is no process.” - The New York Times
“It’s a $46 million project built within the shell of a historic storage warehouse that was built by the W.C. Reebie and Brother Company in the 1910s, and the big vertical sign is easily visible to anyone traveling past.” - Chicago Tribune (Yahoo!)
“Drama has historically been considered a form of fiction or poetry. Yet as recent plays approach the feeling of reportage, what’s surprising isn’t that so many fail to convince but that several succeed, in the process inventing a new style befitting our time.” - T — The New York Times Style Magazine
The Joseph Jefferson Awards present two sets of honors, one for Equity productions and another for non-union shows at the area’s storefront theaters. The Jeff Committee is suspending consideration of non-Equity shows opening after June 1 due to backlash over an award in March to a director accused of abuse. - WBEZ (Chicago)
“Called National Theatre Nationwide, the initiative will see one National Theatre production tour annually direct from its London run with its original cast, … (to) 12 venues across England,” among them venues in Sheffield, Coventry, Salford/Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, and Newcastle. - WhatsOnStage (UK)
More than 350 years after his death, the 17th-century dramatist has been revived after scholars at the Sorbonne University in Paris used artificial intelligence to help write an experimental play in his style. - The Guardian
“Indigo’s report (for Britain’s National Theatre) states that ‘there is very little evidence that filmed theatre reduces in-person attendance of theatre overall’ and that 93% of survey respondents who saw at least one filmed theatre production in the cinema or via streaming also attended a performance in person.” - The Guardian
“The pastiche numbers glue together scrapbook memories from multiple shows and even as far afield as Alvin Ailey’s Revelations. A dance that seems to derive from The Music Man might sneak in a gesture from The Sound of Music.” - The New York Times
“I think of book writing as analogous to screenwriting: It’s a craft more about structure than dialogue, about setting the scene for the central activity, which … in the case of a musical is singing and dancing.” - American Theatre
“The long-running Broadway hit … will close its doors through May 17 as its theater undergoes repairs. … The blaze, which began May 4 in an electrical room, caused ‘substantial damage’ to the Eugene O’Neill Theatre.” - AP
