Here's Why English Spelling Is Such A Confounding Mess by Artsjournal1

Linguist John McWhorter explains the reasons (such as our language's mongrel origins) in this Lexicon Valley podcast.

Did America's Founding Fathers Have English Accents? by Artsjournal1

Linguist John McWhorter gives a rundown of what we know about how Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, and their fellow spoke. (podcast)

How A Fight Over Attending The Theatre Fueled Civil Rights Battle In the 1800s

"Across America, on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line, the races were kept separate at the theater. Black people sat apart in the upper galleries or were excluded entirely, by custom and, i…

Dear Evan Hansen, You Are a Creep by Jason Zinoman

The dissembling liar at the center of Broadway hit Dear Evan Hansen. The hit Broadway musical is testament to the power of skillfully crafted art to obscure moral concerns.

The Making of Trans Scripts by David Levesley

David Levesley follows the development of Paul Lucas's play "Trans Scripts" on its journey from workshop to Edinburgh Fringe to American Repertory Theater. Special focus on the importance o…

Oral history of Tony Kushner’s play Angels in America. by Isaac Butler and Dan Kois

How Tony Kushner’s play became the defining work of American art of the past 25 years.

Historians are criticizing Hamilton, and fans should be thrilled. by Isaac Butler

If, like me, you work in theater and spend a lot of time procrastinating on social media, you’ve probably seen many of your friends ranting about small minded academic quislings fact-check…

A Hamilton critic on why the musical isn’t so revolutionary. by Rebecca Onion

“It’s still white history. And no amount of casting people of color disguises the fact that they’re erasing people of color from the actual narrative.”

America has lots of unsolicited advice for Lin-Manuel Miranda about what his next musical should be. by L. V. Anderson

Earlier this week, the cast of Hamilton gave a student workshop and a performance at the White House, and Barack and Michelle Obama gave the musical’s creator and star, Lin-Manuel Miranda,…

How should Lin-Manuel Miranda structure the film adaptation of Hamilton? by David Ehrlich

In my mind (if you’re reading, Mr. Miranda), the silver screen Hamilton adaptation plants the soul of the show into the body of Paul Schrader’s florid and flowing Mishima: A Life in Four…

Ham4Ham: Lin-Manuel Miranda and the cast of Hamilton reward ticket lottery entrants with free shows. by Forrest Wickman

#Ham4Ham, the joyous, free sidewalk performances outside Hamilton that are stoking the passions of a new generation of theater lovers.

King Michael of Times Square by Jason Zinoman

The glorious, entertaining, phony, doomed reign of Broadway reporter Michael Riedel.

The MGM history of Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney. by Karina Longworth

The long, fruitful, and tortured relationships Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, and MGM.

How does a casting director work? by Arun Venugopal

Bernie Telsey has been casting hit musicals, films, and TV shows for more than 20 years. In this week’s episode of Working, Telsey talks about what he’s looking for in an audition, how d…

Debbie Gibson on honesty, loyalty, and her Electric Youth. by Brian Koppelman

The iconic pop star reflects on life as a teenage sensation and the years she’s spent since getting to know herself.

Why is theater so meaningful to gay people? Broadway's Jordan Roth, interviewed. by June Thomas

At 39, Jordan Roth is one of the most powerful men in the New York theater world. As president and majority shareholder in Jujamcyn Theaters, he controls five Broadway houses, making him the…

From Screen to Stage By Mac Rogers

How to turn a movie into a musical.

Break a Leg! by Zachary Pincus-Roth

No, really, break it. We need more violence onstage.

Let's Just Skip Ahead to Spider-Man: The Musical: The Musical by Tom Scocca

The tale of the ongoing catastrophe of the mega-musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark keeps getting deeper and richer.

The Scottsboro Boys by Jason Zinoman

Is the most ambitious new musical of the Broadway season racist? You could get that impression from reading the press coverage of The Scottsboro Boys, a wildly entertaining coda to the rich.…

How I Serenaded Your Mother By June Thomas

The fine art of the musical episode.

The Scottsboro Boys by Jason Zinoman

Is the most ambitious new musical of the Broadway season racist?

With Great Power Comes Great Irresponsibility by Jason Zinoman

Spider-Man is a wild, sexed-up, Greek mythologized train wreck. But it's Julie Taymor's train wreck, through and through.

West End Story by June Thomas

My Week of London Theatergoing

Didion v. Didion by Amanda Fortini

In The Year of Magical Thinking, the writer picks on herself.

Dishing the 2006-07 Broadway Theater Season by Peter Filichia and June Thomas

We're Soaring! We're Flying! By Marisa Meltzer

For every generation, there is a musical.

Lombardi Punts by Jason Zinoman

The new play about the Green Bay Packers coach is more interested in the myth than the man.

Brow Beat: Slate's Culture Blog
The Gayest Night of the Year by June Thomas

What a Prick by Jason Zinoman

Al Pacino makes it safe to hate Shylock again.

How To Act Like A 3,000-Year-Old Man by Jason Zinoman

In praise of Denis O'Hare.