File this under Covid stories: A woman who performed with Wicked's national tour and Broadway ensemble as Elphaba's understudy but left theatre in 2015 got the call in late December, flew to New York, and stepped into the cast. - Vulture
"The two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright (Ruined, Sweat, Clyde's) breaks down her remarkable career and shares how, as an optimist at heart, she finds the light and resilience in unexpected stories." (audio) - WNYC (New York City)
To be sure, Jesse Green and Maya Phillips disagree in a most collegial and cordial manner. Indeed, they value their disagreement (not least because it took them a while to find some). - The New York Times
Box office rebounded, climbing to $26 million from Christmas Week’s grim, Covid-decimated $14 million. That’s an overall, week-to-week increase of 87%, and reflects a tally largely in keeping with recent pre-Christmas Week figures. - Deadline
The union didn't even have an organizing department until 2017, and it has just created the post of Mobilization Director. Stefanie Frey, a stage manager by trade, has been involved in many of the gains Equity has negotiated in recent years. - Observer (New York City)
The Public announced the cancellation on Twitter today. Considered one of the top international theater festivals focusing on new work, Under The Radar 2022 had been set to run from Jan. 12-30. - Deadline
Jesse Green: "It seems to me that designers, bringing evermore astonishing prowess to bear, too often outshine the work they are meant to support. As if to compensate, the stories are getting dimmer. … Hyperdesign is a hint that something fundamental is missing." - The New York Times
"In the last few weeks, I've seen … Trouble in Mind, Caroline, or Change and Clyde's. Individually, their plots and period settings offer great insight into how far we've really come. But taken together, they reveal a full range of aesthetic and racial possibilities." - The New York Times
As cast members test positive for the new coronavirus variant and have to isolate, these under-recognized performers — many of whom must master two or three roles which they have little chance to rehearse — make the difference between the show going on and getting cancelled. - The New York Times
Jackman told the audience "Kathy, when she turned up at work at 12 o'clock could have played any of 8 roles. It happened to be the leading lady. She found out at 12 noon today and at 1 o'clock she had her very first rehearsal as Marion Paroo. This is unprecedented. - Broadway World
The program consistently ranked as one of the top five graduate acting schools in the country, after more than five decades educating such distinguished alumni as Denzel Washington, Anna Deavere Smith, Annette Bening, Elizabeth Banks and Anika Noni Rose. - San Francisco Chronicle
This selective information release does little to quell anxieties, and resentment toward the Broadway establishment is often triggered. - Washington Post
With three cast members testing positive for COVID and only two understudies available, Keenan Scott II grabbed his script for Thoughts of a Colored Man and decided to go onstage himself. (Alas, after the following night's performance, the run was cancelled anyway.) - Playbill
