Theatre

From one year to the next, he manipulated the Comédie-Française, selecting plays and scheduling performances on or around his birthday (which fell, conveniently, on a major Catholic feast) to give himself (born into minor Corsican nobility) the aura of a divinely appointed monarch. – History Today

“The characters were laid out on sheets of paper, frozen in dramatic poses … [and] the sets [were] storybook illustrations of extravagant palaces and howling wildernesses, to be slotted in and out of the back of the theater, behind the cavorting characters. The scripts that came with them were as miniaturized as the stage.” – JSTOR Daily

Despite it being a show that satirised the appropriation of disabled roles by non-disabled actors, few assumed someone with cerebral palsy might have staged it. That he did – and so well – feels like a step forward. – The Guardian

“Many in this new generation of female producers are taking alternate paths to the industry’s top rung — picking up skills in the nonprofit theater world, which has become an important breeding ground for Broadway shows, or in the corporate entertainment industry, home to many of the movie and pop-music brands that end up seeding international stages.” – The New York Times

“In a video recorded during the airport protest Friday, hundreds of demonstrators can be seen participating in a sit-down and heard singing and clapping to an a cappella version of ‘Do You Hear the People Sing?’ from the 1987 blockbuster … Les Misérables.” – The Washington Post

“Slowly at first — but now in increasing numbers — Russian female comics are taking to the stage to challenge the status quo. Embedded in the humor are also serious reckonings on their countrymen’s grip on power, both in the Kremlin and over their personal lives.” – The Washington Post

“I was bitten by the theater bug from a very, very young age,” he tells The Post in his high-pitched voice. Just weeks after the family moved to New York from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Josh, then 8, signed with an agent and booked a job. He’s hardly stopped working since. – New York Post

What’s unusual is that instead of hanging on until Labor Day to cash in on tourist dollars, five musicals are closing in the next two weekends: King Kong (which bumped up the losses significantly because it cost a staggering $36.5 million), The Prom, Pretty Woman, The Cher Show and Be More Chill. – NPR

It’s devastating when you get to a pinnacle of your life and your career and people are like, “No. You suck. Like, literally, not just as a vampire.” – The New York Times

Leaders from 13 of England’s biggest theatres have collectively cautioned that their ability to work with schools is being significantly impacted by a narrowing curriculum and cuts to arts subjects, following the introduction of the English Baccalaureate. – The Stage

Peter Marks: “I was curious about how an actor of color might approach entering a world not written for someone who looked like them, but I realized the question was riddled with absurdity. Isn’t musical theater intrinsically make-believe? Why do we sometimes persist in applying the strictures of realism to a platform on which characters interrupt conversations to break out in show tunes? Whose expectations are being served?” – Washington Post

Lyn Gardner: “Science … can give us the facts or the knowledge. But as a species we don’t always respond to facts because they make us feel guilty and paralysed. What we respond to as human beings are stories.” – The Stage

“In the play’s first few moments — its preamble, really — [Heidi] Schreck lays out the elements for its perfect union of form and function: direct address, displayed enactment, meta-theatrical distancing, contemporary commentary, droll humor, and a disarmingly cheery demeanor that is both absolutely genuine and deployed for maximum comedic and critical effect.” Alisa Solomon examines each of those elements and how they fit together. – The Nation

“Even leftwing performers in Edinburgh seem unsure what the best response to current affairs should be. Some feel that making Brexit party leader Nigel Farage, Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Tory MP, and Boris Johnson into figures of fun has backfired. … Other young performers at the festival have deliberately made the choice to ‘stay silly’, in spite of their political feelings.” – The Observer (UK)

According to Equity, theatre employers are not always paying industry standard terms and conditions on funded projects, despite it being a requirement of receiving a grant. It described the funding body’s policing of this situation as “poor”. – The Stage

Though no one gets married in The Prom, the musical celebrates same-sex prom-going even as it lampoons celebrity culture, with a glitzy finale set (obviously) at the prom. “But all that glittered was rivaled after Saturday evening’s performance when two brides, gleaming in rose-gold sequins, exchanged marriage vows onstage.” – The New York Times

A new play about the play, and the man, and his affair with the woman playing Desdemona (who happened to be Ute Hagen), and also her husband (who happened to be José Ferrer) … well, there’s a lot to discuss about American theatre history. – BBC

The musical Six is about – what else – the wives of Henry VIII, a musical inspired by Beyoncé and Ariana Grande. That makes it an obvious candidate for Broadway, right? Yep: “The show started out in a 100-seat venue at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2017 before moving to London’s West End. It will open at New York’s 1,000-capacity Brooks Atkinson Theatre next February.” – BBC

During a conference on “Bürgerböhne” – or participatory theatre for citizens – “it became clear to me that not all countries—or even communities—have the same ideas about how participatory theatre projects work or ‘should’ work, and, on top of this, what the role of the artist, within these communities, is.” What’s the same, and what changes in different theatres across the world? – Howlround

Jocelyn Allgood, who participates in several community theatres near her in Texas, says that “it’s our small contribution to humanity — to ease the burden of life, to make you laugh, to stir that emotion burning inside of you — be it jeers for the villains, tears or cheers for the heroes and (we hope) applause for the cast.” – Dallas Morning News

“Why should we take seriously the words of someone who doesn’t understand the great amount of work involved in creating a performance? A critic’s opinion is unreliable if it’s based only on a writer’s personal preference. Personal preference tells the reader what the writer enjoys, it doesn’t tell the reader why the writer enjoyed it.” – Howlround

“Changes to rental rules in Scotland and an increasing lack of affordable accommodation are threatening to turn the fringe into ‘a glorified industry showcase’, according to artists.” – The Guardian

The theatre had produced an adaptation of “The Greatest Showman” and the company claimed damages of £200,000. Across seven performances, the show made approximately £40,000 in ticket sales. – The Stage

“Perhaps not, but where does the responsibility for change lie? Lyn Gardner speaks to theatremakers and festival organisers.” – The Stage