Says one HBCU alum, Broadway director and theatre founder Kenny Leon, “I was trained to believe in myself and know that anything is possible. You didn’t have to go to Juilliard, Harvard, or Yale. All you have to do is understand the practicality.” - American Theatre
That's what one cast member said, during rehearsals at New York's Public Theater, about Itamar Moses's The Ally, in which the characters hash out a myriad of today's thorniest issues — and they all have good points to make. - The New York Times
The approximately 800 pages of material included the musical’s complete orchestration, with parts for flute, cello, trumpet, trombone, percussion, violin, bass and piano. - Michigan Live
After midnight on Nov. 30, 2022, Synetic Theater co-founder Paata Tsikurishvili was sitting in traffic when another car rear-ended his and knocked it into the HOV lane, where it was hit at full speed by a third vehicle. Astoundingly, he was back at work in under a year. - The Washington Post (MSN)
The density of late-season openings — 11 plays and musicals over a nine-day stretch in late April — has producers and investors worried about how those shows will find enough ticket buyers to survive. - The New York Times
Philadelphia's Arden Theatre Co. is offering hearing-impaired patrons the use of high-tech eyewear that displays real-time captions, adjustable for placement, size and color. People's Light in nearby Malvern (which introduced them in 2019) and Arden are currently the only US theaters to offer the glasses. - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
The Presidents Day Weekend was like a little Christmas gift for Broadway, with grosses for the 23 productions posting a hefty 27% increase over the previous week, topping out at $26,946,864. - Deadline
Journalist Rachel Handler talks to a somatic psychotherapist, an acting coach to major stars, that coach's son, and several actors and directors, all in a quest to learn how to summon the tears. - Vulture
Actually - how very Scottish. A Play, A Pie, and A Pint premiered in Glasgow in 2004 and hasn’t stopped (aside from the early days of COVID-19) producing 48 new plays a year ever since. - BBC
In the current staging, Sweeney's barbershop is above the stage; when he slits a customer's throat, he pulls a lever that sends the victim down a slide into Mrs. Lovett's basement. Under the tag "A Bad Idea Worth Considering," Rebecca Alter points out that slide's underutilized revenue potential. Wheeeeee! - Vulture (MSN)
"Cutting Ball Theater, the 25-year-old company known for form-breaking new plays and rejuvenated classics, ... says it needs to raise $45,000 by March 1 and $200,000 by June, out of a $750,000 annual budget, in order to stay open." - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
"The new site (in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood) is less of a traditional comedy club than it is a sort of small campus for comedy aficionados. The 12,000-square-foot, two-floor complex includes two cabaret-style live theaters, a training center …, and a restaurant bar called The Bentwood." - Time Out New York
“What people don’t realize is that in a $6 million budget, the expenses in Phoenix are only $1 million more. We netted close to $2 million more by being in two cities; we got two bats with only one batter." - American Theatre
In Olinda, a town on the northern coast near Recife whose historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage site, the puppets range from the traditional Midnight Man and Daytime Woman (and their son, Afternoon Boy) to David Bowie, James Brown, and the John Travolta of Saturday Night Fever. - The New York Times
"The Royal Court is known for putting the names of emerging playwrights up in lights for the first time, but … (its) literary department is struggling to survive as the venue on Sloane Square, renowned for staging risk-taking shows over 60 years, makes swingeing cuts in order to keep going." - The Guardian
