Unsurprisingly, considering his decades with New York experimental-theater legends the Wooster Group (which will perform at the Biennale), Dafoe is focusing on the avant-garde, with work by directors Thomas Ostermeier and Milo Rau. Says Dafoe, “Some of these pieces will sail, some won’t. What’s important is people talking about stuff.” - The Guardian
“Tony Award-winning playwright John Logan is donating $40,000 to Berkeley Repertory Theatre — the same amount the company was set to receive from the federal agency to support the Ground Floor, its new play development program.” - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
“Berkeley’s Aurora Theatre Company plans to ‘suspend’ producing shows (next season), taking a possible step toward closure. The company hopes to continue to exist in some form, Artistic Director Josh Costello (said, noting) a $500,000 operating deficit and a 50% decrease in the company’s subscriber count compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic.” - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
“Included in the $254 billion budget is an expansion of the New York City Musical and Theatrical Production Tax Credit, known colloquially as the downstate tax credit. The new budget increases the program’s allotment to $400 million (up from $300 million in the preceding budget) and extends the program into 2027.” - Broadway News
The acclaimed new play broke history many times over and recently announced that it holds the all-time record for the highest grossing play in Broadway history and is the first play to surpass a gross of $4 million in a single week. - Deadline
“All of this — right down to that climatic, rushing release called catharsis — is provided, near the end of a delectably tuneful show, by a lone woman performing a single song in what is generally regarded as the cheeriest of theatrical forms, the American musical.” - The New York Times
“The performers’ major concern was a wage increase. David Kolen, a senior business representative at Actors Equity Association, said the performers have taken a major step towards earning living wages with a five-year contract that will yield 35% increases that compound out to 40.5% ‘over the duration of the deal.’” - WBEZ (Chicago)
”The competition feels stiffer (perhaps oversaturated), though artists searching for opportunities during the audition season—typically winter through spring—are finding community through research and collective commiseration.” - American Theatre
“It’s a show where you’re always thinking about the other people onstage. … Everyone is both lead and chorus, and you really can’t have an ego because it requires five minds to work as one.” - The New York Times
“A brief statement from the show , which earned seven Tony nominations this month, said that it had decided not to perform at the library ‘upon learning of the termination of Dr. Carla Hayden.’” - The New York Times
With the real-estate heir-turned-tabloid fixture-turned-reality TV star-turned-politician having taken over the Kennedy Center and now talking about what big-name musicals to present there, Jada Yuan looks at his 56-year relationship with New York’s theater, including a brief outing as an investor. - The Washington Post (MSN)
On Thursday, the theater company launched a $9 million emergency fundraising campaign, saying that unless it can raise the first part of the funds, $2.5 million, by Aug. 31, “the theater will cease operations.” - The Oregonian
The Muny — officially, the Municipal Theatre Association of St. Louis — is the oldest and largest outdoor musical theater in the U.S., founded in 1919. Its annual attendance at its home in the city’s Forest Park is over 300,000. - TheaterMania
Michael Billington: “There is more to (Arthur Miller’s play) than a single political parallel and, whenever I see the play, I am struck by its capacity to take on new meanings and to reflect the pressure of the times. I would cite three revivals in proof.” - The Guardian
