Billionaire Saves Broadway Producer from the Brink of Bankruptcy by Marc Hershberg

After the ambitious Hollywood and Broadway production company failed to repay over $200 million in bank loans, Larry Ellison stepped in to save the business from shutting down.

Belleville by Darryl Reilly

The small studio theater space where the show is performed with its basic living room scenic design informs director Cameron Clarke’s resourceful and bold staging. Working in such a confin…

Hollywood onstage: why are so many musicals adapted from movies? by Arts Review

In a 2004 original musical about creating an original musical – cheekily titled [title of show] – one writer asks, “So movies make good musicals?” His writing partner responds: “We…

Philly Fringe 2019: Hestia Theatre Company presents Shakespeare’s ‘Richard III’ by Brad Rothbart

Reclaiming their time; claiming their space. Hestia Theatre mounts a feminist revisioning of ‘Richard III.’ Brad Rothbart reviews.

The Rapture – Chapter II by Arts Review

You know what they say: One man’s “transcendent, synaesthetic emporium of gothic-erotic dreams, rock’n’roll angels, soul searing music, porcelain icicles, couture, sculpture, skin sh…

See You by Mark Dundas Wood

This production is a rambunctious enterprise, and Hunter and his cast do a reasonably good job of keeping dialogue that’s made up largely of long strings of short declarative sentences (o…

People You Should Know . . . Victoria Broyles by Zack Calhoon

VICTORIA BROYLES Graduated from East Carolina University in May 2014. Worked at Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre for two summers as ASM: Shrek, Crazy for You, King and I, Les Miserables, Chic…

Review: In ‘American Moor,’ an Insider’s Guide to ‘Othello’ by Jesse Green

A new play argues that no one knows more about Shakespeare’s great tragedy than a man “born black in America.”

Adelaide’s Feast Festival launches 2019 program by Arts Review

Feast, Adelaide’s LGBTIQ Queer Arts and Cultural Festival has launched its 2019 program with a brand-new concept to underpin the Festival – Pridevember – a celebration of Feast and all…

Australia Council announces Fellowships and First Nations grants by Arts Review

The Australia Council’s latest grants and fellowships announced today show a continued trend of strong success for First Nations artists. A total investment of $6.2 million will support 20…

L.O.V.E.R.: From Boy Crazy to Womanly and Wily by Elysa Gardner

★★Lois Robbins wrote and stars in a mostly autobiographical look at a woman's relationships through life The post L.O.V.E.R.: From Boy Crazy to Womanly and Wily appeared first on New Yor…

Book Commentary: “Dying of Whiteness” — What Rough Beast Slouches Toward Kansas to be Born?  by Jeremy Ray Jewell

Class pressures are exerting themselves, class fault-lines are emerging, and ancient demons are being released as a result. The post Book Commentary: “Dying of Whiteness” — What Rough …

BECAUSE OF WINN DIXIE: Plenty of Assets in Store by Peter Filichia

I saw Ethel Merman once, Mary Martin twice and Barbra Streisand thrice (for I saw FUNNY GIRL both in its...Continue Reading The post BECAUSE OF WINN DIXIE: Plenty of Assets in Store appeared…

Today on Broadway: Monday, September 9, 2019 by Matt Tamanini

Len Cariou and Craig Bierko to Lead “Harry Townsend’s Last Stand,” Busy Week in Theatre, and Jason Danieley Donates Marin Mazzie’s Costumes “Today on Broadway” is a daily, Monday…

American Moor: Keith Hamilton Cobb Turns an Othello Audition Red Hot by David Finkle

★★★ The playwright/actor questions how effective any understanding between the races can be The post American Moor: Keith Hamilton Cobb Turns an Othello Audition Red Hot appeared first…

Showing meaning in dance art: Inclined Dance Project’s inQUAD by Admin

Dixon Place, New York, NY. August 23, 2019. A reach conveying longing and loss, a falling to the floor conveying despair and hopelessness; dance can show meaning like no other art form can.…

Review: ‘A Few Good Men’ at The Little Theatre of Alexandria by Chuck Leonard

OORAH and HOOYAH! Integrity and a code of honor is at the heart of the play A Few Good Men, showing now at The Little Theatre of Alexandria. Many Marines and a few Naval officers share the f…

CONSTANT STANISLAVSKI (19) by Robert Shuman

The stage director can do a great deal, but he cannot do everything.  The most important thing is in the hands of the actor, whom one must help, who must be guided in the proper direction. …

Review: ‘Proof’ at Everyman Theatre by David Gerson

No gift comes without a cost. And that lesson courses through every moment of Proof, David Auburn’s very fine Pulitzer Prize-winning play, which is being given a thrilling revival at Every…

Honors Students by Innovative Theatre Foundation

Produced by Tavine Productions Written by Rae Mariah MacCarthy Directed by Leta Tremblay Nominations: Outstanding Lighting Design - Cha See; Outstanding Sound Design - Jeanne Travis About …

On the stage, Alexander Litvinenko gets the justice he was denied in life | Luke Harding by Luke Harding

A Very Expensive Poison, about the dissident’s murder, shows how Putin and the Russian state twisted the truth The character is called Mr President. He’s a fussy little man who walks bri…

Anthony Ekundayo Lennon on being accused of 'passing' as a black man: 'It felt like an assassination' by Simon Hattenstone

All his life, people have assumed the theatre director is mixed race – and he was happy to embrace that identity. Then he was accused of faking it Anthony Ekundayo Lennon remembers the mom…

Review: ‘Butterfly’ by IN Series at the Source Theatre by Em Skow

While considered one of the classics in opera’s storied canon, Madame Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini is simultaneously acknowledged to be one of the most problematic for its depictions of ra…

Lear: That Old Man I Used to Know: Not the Tragedy You Used to Know by David Finkle

★★★ Writer-director Beth Ann Hopkins fools with Shakespeare's King Lear for intriguing changes The post Lear: That Old Man I Used to Know: Not the Tragedy You Used to Know appeared fir…

Betrayal Review: The Actors Are the Thing, the Stage-Craft Not So Much by Dan Rubins

Jamie Lloyd’s gauzy new production of Harold Pinter’s play aims for the abstractly lyrical. The post <em>Betrayal</em> Review: The Actors Are the Thing, the Stage-Craft Not S…

Play! and Theatre in the Dark: Carpe Diem. Challenging your notion of what theater is to get to “ahhh” by New York Theater

The audience creates the show in “Play!” The audience is the show in “Theatre in the Dark: Carpe Diem.”  Those are the uncomfortable ideas embedded in the two latest theater pieces,…

How Should Writers Deal With Climate Change? by Artsjournal2

Novelist Amitav Ghosh has some ideas, but most of all, he wants writers to deal with it in their books instead of ignoring it. “Something this big and this important, there have to be an i…

What Did The Venice Film Festival Just Say To Women And The MeToo Movement? by Artsjournal2

About the fest’s awards. The Daily Beast headline is “Child Rapist Roman Polanski Wins Venice Film Festival Award,” so there’s one point of view. A more reportorial version comes fro…

Fall for Five Fantastic New Shows! Must-Do Events for the Week of September 9 to 15 by Kathy Henderson

Though it’s still officially summer, the fall theater season is already in full swing, with four Broadway shows starting previews this week, plus a killer—literally—new off-Broadway mu…

Q&A video and photos: What would Pete Buttigieg think of his Jekyll & Hyde incarnation? by Terri Paddock

Arrows & Traps’ 18th production in its five-year history is also its tenth at London’s Brockley Jack Theatre, where it is now an associate company, and its third in a Gothic trilogy.…

Anthony Parnther Finds Inspiration Everywhere by Artsjournal1

“A prolific conductor of film, television, and video game scores, Anthony Parnther may be one of Southern California’s best kept musical secrets. An American conductor of West Indian and…

Anticolonial Creative Collaboration and the Development of ‘Mirror Butterfly’ by Artsjournal1

“Ben Barson and Giselxanath Rodriguez, part of the Afro Yaqui Music colective, talk about artivism — what it means, what it can look like — in relation to building a jazz opera with va…

History forgot these female composers. An L.A. music writer is helping us remember by Artsjournal1

“I dont want to call it a conspiracy, because I dont think its done on purpose, but there is this falling away of women artists and artists of color that needs to stop and be corrected, sa…

The Lakota Music Project finds common ground through collaboration by Artsjournal1

“The Lakota Music Project [is] a collaborative program developed with the [South Dakota Symphony Orchestra] and musicians of the tribe. The goal is to create cultural cooperation and break…

Opera North: The Leeds-based company offering sanctuary to refugees by Artsjournal1

“[Opera North] has won awards before, but the one it received last December represented a first for any opera company. City of Sanctuary, an independent national movement working on solida…

How Portland’s black community and police are sharing their stories through theater by Artsjournal1

“Over the last few years, [Kevin Jones and Lesli Mones, co-founders of The August Wilson Red Door Project, and retired Portland Police Bureau deputy chief Robert Day] have formed an unusua…

Latino artists help illuminate what it means to be Hispanic in Kansas City by Artsjournal1

“‘Why aren’t there more Latinx murals in Kansas City?’ The Flatland team reached out to historians, cultural directors, curators, sociologists and artists, many of whom identify as H…

A New Identity for Oklahoma by Artsjournal1

“Tara Brooke Watkins discusses how Oklahoma! has shaped the state’s cultural identity, the Tulsa race Massacre, and Spinning Plates’s production of the musical with an all-black cast.�…

The Studio Museum Residency Has Shaped the World’s Understanding of Black Contemporary Art. That’s a Lot of Responsibility by Artsjournal1

“This year’s cohort … may suggest a shift [away from painting and toward multimedia work] for a program that has been exceedingly influential as a career-defining platform for generati…

Playwrights of Color, White Directors, and Exposing Racist Policy by Artsjournal1

“Nicole Brewer examines a prominent racist policy in theatre — when plays written by people of color are staged by white directors — through the lens of actors, theatregoers, and playw…

5 Tips for Finding Community as a POC Arts Professional by Artsjournal1

“We live in a time when Google spreadsheets are documenting how arts administrators are underpaid and undervalued; when activists and cultural workers increasingly demand accountability fr…

Throw Out the Bathwater and Keep the Baby: How to Stage Racially Problematic Works from the Western Canon by Artsjournal1

Phil Chan, co-founder of Final Bow for Yellowface: “What is emerging is a series of best practices that any performing arts organization can employ when staging works from the Western cano…

We Didn’t Have Any Role Models: An Interview with the Founders of Wry Crips Disabled Women’s Theatre Group by Artsjournal1

“Michaela Goldhaber, current artistic director of Wry Crips, talks to the founding and early members of the disabled women’s theatre group about their history.” – HowlRound

The Habits Of Highly Effective Writers by Artsjournal2

It’s clear that aspiring writers should get up early, write every day, write only when they feel like it, write in the afternoon, write longhand, definitely use a laptop, never get distrac…

What’s Up With British Pathé Newsreels’ Terrifying Puppets? by Artsjournal2

Er, what were you doing, British Pathé? “At the height of the Blitz, the British government made the bold decision to communicate Nazi air raid safety tips to the population the only way …

How Awkwafina Went From Her Trash-Talk Viral Video About Genitalia To Serious Starring Roles In Hollywood by Artsjournal2

Nora Lum – that is, Awkwafina – is everywhere in Hollywood now, including some new Disney properties. But she got her start through fangirling actress Lucy Liu – the only visible Asian…

After Controversy, Jewish Theatre Artists In Britain Form Collective To Draft ‘Best Practices ‘Guide by Artsjournal2

A few weeks ago, the group said in an open letter that Jews were not sufficiently represented onstage – or offstage, in production teams – in the theatre in Britain, criticism sparked by…

Nothing Says ‘This Movie Needs Your Attention’ Like A Mass Walkout by Artsjournal2

The latest in a long line of cinema that makes critics and others walk out in the middle of a film? The Painted Bird, a new adaptation of the Jerzy Kozinski novel. “Cinema seats don’t te…

Off-Broadway Review: Red Bull Theater’s “American Moor” at Cherry Lane Theatre by David Roberts

Keith Hamilton Cobb has been on an urgent mission, crisscrossing the United States since 2013 performing his “American Moor.” Mr. Cobb’s almost-one-man-show is a trope, here an extende…

Jazz CD Review: Pianist Erroll Garner — Remastered Sessions from his Prime by Michael Ullman

Octave is issuing ten sessions ("newly restored and expanded") of Erroll Garner material from the '60s and '70s, when the popular pianist was at the height of his career. The post Jazz CD Re…

Alliance For New Music-Theatre Will Be First Theater-in-Residence at Dupont Underground by News Desk

Alliance for New Music-Theatre (ANMT) is delighted to announce it has been named Dupont Underground’s first Theatre-in-Residence. The residency coincides with the launch of its 2019-2020…

Review: ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ by the Potomac Playmakers by Terri Magers

Bringing Little Shop of Horrors to life is no small feat for any theatre company, and it’s even more difficult when performing in a very limited space, but the Potomac Playmakers and Direc…

Co•Lab Dance at Manhattan Movement & Arts Center by Patricia Contino

“What did you do on your summer vacation?” is a big conversation starter this time of year  Dancers dance, whether on tour, as featured guests at festivals, or for members of American…

Are Galleries Finally Welcoming People With Disabilities? by Artsjournal2

After a massive online protest of the Tate Modern in the recent weeks (“It’s an older work,” the museum first protested when met with the facts that one of its 2002 – so old, who kne…

Ella Fitzgerald Is Influencing A Whole New Generation Of Musicians by Artsjournal2

Millennial Latinx musicians say that Fitzgerald’s influence lives far beyond her own time. Colombian neo-soul artist Mabiland: “I had no idea a woman could sing like that. … To hear th…

The Wall That Broke An Art Handler’s Back (And A Lot Of Other Dangers) by Artsjournal2

“The gallery wall that broke Michael Pajón’s body crashed into the art handler with the force of a grand piano. He remembers the precise moment when the movable partition collapsed upon…

Lin-Manuel Miranda Gives The Minnesota State Fair, And Its Unique Art, Some Attention by Artsjournal2

What does the state fair’s Crop Art exhibit have for the New York-based actor/singer/writer/famous person? Well, a blue-ribbon winning seed art portrait, of course. – The Pioneer Press (…

Coming Attractions: September 8 through 24 — What Will Light Your Fire by Bill Marx

Arts Fuse critics select the best in film, dance, visual art, theater, music, and author events for the coming weeks. The post Coming Attractions: September 8 through 24 — What Will Light …

Theater Review: MIDSUMMER [A PLAY WITH SONGS] (Greenhouse Theatre Center) by Lawrence Bommer

LOVE IN THE FAST LANE “Love will break your heart; sometimes you want it to.” That curious contradiction is the opening shot in MIDSUMMER (A Play with Songs). This theatrical roller coa…

Review: In ‘Bad News!,’ an Evening of Show and Tell by Alexis Soloski

JoAnne Akalaitis’s show at N.Y.U. Skirball assembles messenger speeches from Ancient Greek drama, with a nod to the present.

Brilliant, breathtaking 'Angels in America' opens season at Repertory Theatre of St. Louis by Calvin Wilson St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Epic storytelling, pointed irreverence and naked theatricality come together in “Angels in America,” the brilliant and breathtaking production that opens the 2019-20 Repertory Theatre of…

Fringe is Here. Fringe is Queer. by Henrik Eger

Fringe if you're glad to be gay, Fringe if you're happy that way.

From Steve Martin’s “Bright Star” to Cheryl Strayed’s “Tiny Beautiful Things,” 10 must-see fall plays in Colorado by Lisa Kennedy, The Know

There's so much great theater on the bill this fall.

An Iliad for our time by Cogency

An Iliad, performed by Jason Greenfield at Millésimé, 33 North 2nd Street, Philadelphia, as part of the 2019 Fringe Festival.   This 2012 adaptation of Homer’s story came back to Philad…

VIDEO: Donny and Marie Osmond Discuss Going Solo on CBS SUNDAY MORNING

Donny and Marie Osmond recently sat down with CBS Sunday Morning to discuss the ending of their Vegas show, their careers, and future plans.

BWW Exclusive: See Megan Hilty Sing 'Walkin' After Midnight' from PATSY & LORETTA

BroadwayWorld has an an exclusive video of Megan Hilty who plays Patsy in the upcoming Lifetime movie a?oePatsy & Lorettaa??, singing a?oeWalkin' After Midnight.a?? The video is timed …

This Week on Broadway for September 8, 2019: Public Works’ Hercules by James Marino

Peter Filichia, James Marino, and Michael Portantiere talk about Betrayal, Public Works’ Hercules @ The Delacorte Theater, Red Bull Theater’s American Moor, Make Believe @ Second Stage, …

‘Elevated by an outrageously good ensemble’: FALSETTOS – The Other Palace by Jonathan Baz

Judging the production at face-value though, Falsettos is well sung, ultra-smart and ultimately gutting. Those who buy a ticket will have plenty to look forward to.

Learn About London's New Les Misérables: The Staged Concert on This Week's Elaine Paige on Sunday by Broadway.com

Olivier-winning actress Elaine Paige is giving Broadway.com listeners a chance to hear her BBC Radio 2 show, Elaine Paige on Sunday, and this week it's all about Les Misérables: The Staged…

The Dances That Shook The World by Artsjournal2

What freaked out Elizabethan England? A dance from (gasp!) Italy, of course, where “a man clasped his female partner tightly around the waist with his left hand, took hold of the busk (the…

How To Attract Young Audiences To Theatre, And Keep Them by Artsjournal2

A case study comes via Portland Center Stage in Oregon, where the theatre had a funded chance to experiment to see what works … and what doesn’t. Turns out, exterior bus advertising and …

Rio De Janeiro’s Mayor Tries To Censor A Marvel Book With A Gay Kiss, But The Court Blocks Him by Artsjournal2

Predictable results of the homophobic censorship attempt (which was headed off by the judge as an issue of freedom of expression): “Copies of the comic book, Avengers: The Children’s Cru…

Ask Male Actors (Not Just Women) How They’re Working And Parenting by Artsjournal2

Bryce Dallas Howard is a little fed up with watching actresses constantly being asked about parenting, and actors never getting asked. “It’s dangerous, because the assumption is a father…

How 18th-Century Gentlemen Got Dressed [VIDEO] by Artsjournal2

Hint: They didn’t do it for themselves. – Aeon

Francisco Toledo, The Mexican Artist Who Just Died At 79, Embodied The Soul Of Oaxaca by Artsjournal2

Toledo’s art met social activism at every turn. For instance, “in December 2014, from his studio in Oaxaca, Mexico, he made a series of kites adorned with portraits of the ’43,’ or t…

Hey Amazon, Goodreads Is A Terrible, Neglected Trashfire by Artsjournal2

Goodreads is essentially a good listmaking app, a place where readers go to, well, make lists. Is it a community of readers? Um. “Goodreads lingers in the dustbin of the early aughts, doom…

Whale Songs Are Getting Deeper by Artsjournal2

Truly they are, and it’s probably because of humans. But in what way? “In a study last year that analyzed more than 1 million individual recordings of whale calls, scale shifts were fo…

Critic Writes Incredible Essay About Pop Singer; Pop Singer Hits Back On Twitter; What Happens Next Will Shock You by Artsjournal2

Or not. Ann Powers, NPR’s music critic, published this piece about the singer Lana Del Rey, and Del Rey tweeted some of her displeasure on Twitter, and then her stans – super fans – st…

Torch Song review – pioneering gay drama still packs a punch by Michael Billington

Turbine, LondonMatthew Needham stars with tremulous assurance as the witty, sharp-tongued drag queen of Harvey Fierstein’s 70s drama Theatre seems one of our crazy nation’s few growth in…

Ten Times Table Tour by Douglas Mayo

By Douglas Mayo Robert Daws is to lead the cast of Alan Ayckbourn's hilarious comedy by committee Ten Times Table tour. This post Ten Times Table Tour first appeared on British Theatre. Hurr…

Matilda West End announces new cast – September 2019 by Douglas Mayo

By Douglas Mayo The RSC’s West End production of Matilda The Musical has announced the new adult and child cast, including casting the 100th Matilda. This post Matilda West End announces n…

Sea Wall / A Life ****1/2 by Barry Gordin

By: Isa Goldberg September 8, 2019: Two companion pieces, Sea Wall and A Life bring the welcome return of Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridge to Broadway. Recently, the two actors worked …

VIDEO: Beanie Feldstein Talks Starring in MERRILY Film Alongside BFF Ben Platt

Beanie Feldstein recently chatted with the LA Times about the recently-announced Merrily We Roll Along film, starring herself and Ben Platt.

Julie Keyes, Owner Keyes Gallery, Sag Harbor, September 10, 2019 by Barry Gordin

Listen to This Exclusive Track From the Upcoming Sex, Satire, and Song by Ruthie Fierberg

UnsungMusicalsCo’s Ben West offers a sneak peek of his upcoming exhibition on the history of the Broadway revue.

Ep. 36: Sweet Mama Stringbean, The Life and Times of Ethel Waters with Phyllis Morrison and Kenneth Hinton by Lauren Van Hemert

Ethel Waters was a pioneer who broke down barriers on Broadway, in films, and on television. She was the first to sing the song “Stormy Weather” at the famed Cotton Club in 1933. In fact…

Super Friends: The Last Great Superhero Franchise by Trav S.D.

September 8, 1973 marked the debut of Super Friends, Hanna-Barbera’s kid-friendly adaptation of DC’s Justice League of America comic for the Saturday morning cartoon set. Going on at eig…

PHYLLIS WHEELER INTERVIEW ON “THE LONG SHADOW” by Robert Shuman

Author Phyllis Wheeler talks to Bob Shuman, at Marit Literary Agency and Stage Voices, about her YA novel The Long Shadow, a Huckleberry Finn story for the 21st century. A white suburban, co…

‘The total theatrical package’: THE STRANGE CASE OF JEKYLL & HYDE – Brockley Jack Studio Theatre & Touring ★★★★★ by Fairy Powered Productions

Arrows & Traps’ track record adapting classics is second to none, and with this new production of The Strange Case of Jekyll & Hyde Ross McGregor has created something startlingly …

Playbill Calendar: Your Guide to Broadway, Off-Broadway and More September 9-15 by Roberto Araujo

A look at the week ahead.

Mame at Hope Mill Theatre Manchester – Rehearsal Images Released by Douglas Mayo

By Douglas Mayo Rehearsal images have been released for the first UK professional revival of Jerry Herman's iconic musical Mame at the Hope Mill Theatre Manchester. This post Mame at Hope Mi…

The Wolf Of Wall Street immersive experience cast announced by Douglas Mayo

By Douglas Mayo Cast announced for the world premiere immersive production of The Wolf Of Wall Street which opens in the City Of London this month. This post The Wolf Of Wall Street immersiv…

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: Lazarus/Revelations – review by Sarah Crompton

Sadler’s Wells, LondonA hip-hop tribute to Alvin Ailey dazzles with its thrilling interpretation of African American livesThe shadow of Alvin Ailey has always stood over the company he fou…

Two Trains Running review – a menacing tale of black oppression by Clare Brennan

Royal and Derngate, NorthamptonThis fine revival of August Wilson’s 1992 play finds seven people in 60s Pittsburgh struggling with a turbulent world Double Pulitzer prize-winning writer Au…

The week in theatre: Hansard; The Son; Bartholomew Fair – review by Susannah Clapp

Lyttelton; Duke of York’s; Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, LondonAlex Jennings and Lindsay Duncan snipe to perfection as an 80s Tory MP and his wife in a debut play that isn’t quite so sharp. P…

Backlisted is a literary podcast with a difference

The series, which has reached its 100th episode, takes a novel approach to its subject matter

Lois Robbins' L.O.V.E.R. Opens Off-Broadway by Olivia Clement

In her new play, the writer and actor gets candid about life, love, and sex.