542 stories by "Mark Blankenship"
Recently, my mom mailed me some odds and ends from my childhood—old photos, favorite books, bits of writing, etc. Imagine my amazement when I uncovered “Cinderella in ’88,&…
Hello everyone! Forgive my lengthy absence. Life has gotten wild recently. But I’m back today with Roommate Joe to discuss last night’s announcement of the Grammy nominees. Take …
Director Jeff Calhoun brings a new musical to life For a director, the canvas of a new musical can be intimidatingly blank: There might be songs and scenes, but they need a world to exist in…
Inside the fascinating structure of “Queen of the Mist” During the first act of Michael John LaChiusa’s new musical Queen of the Mist, it’s tempting to think we under…
The stars of “Lysistrata Jones” balance comedy and heart Welcome to Building Character, TDF Stages’ ongoing series about actors and how they create their roles — Ther…
Inside a new play’s vibrant development process All-American begins with startling intimacy. In near-silence, a father and daughter play football, running through a move called the 3-s…
Designer Jill BC DuBoff creates a sonic world A sound designer is both an artist and a technician, matching every aesthetic insight with a choice about how sound is produced. After al…
David Dean Bottrell has bounced from actor to playwright to screenwriter to actor and now, to director, as he makes his staging debut with the Colony Theatre's Travels With My Aunt. Mean…
How Theresa Rebeck’s new play blends dark laughs and deep thoughts — It’s a comedy, sure, but there are serious questions rippling through Theresa Rebeck’s Seminar, n…
You all know that I love Beyonce’s music and that “Countdown” is a particularly beloved jam. That’s why I’ve been concerned by the lackluster sales of her recen…
The story behind a fascinating character in a new dark comedy They’re called playwrights and not “playwrites” because plays are wrought, constructed, carefully made. Even i…
In today’s NPR/Monkey See post, I’m arguing why it’s exhausting to learn that Ricky Gervais may host the Golden Globes again… and why it may permanently damage his va…
David Hallberg is a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre, and he recently made headlines by becoming the first American to join Russia’s famed Bolshoi Ballet. Our friends …
My NPR week continues with this analysis of 7 Minutes in Heaven, the ridiculously funny web series hosted by SNL writer Mike O’Brien. If you haven’t watched these delicious clips…
My week at NPR’s Monkey See blog continues with my secret wish for American Horror Story‘s second season. It doesn’t directly involve a scene where Dylan McDermott makes ou…
Hey all! While the head writer’s on vacation, I’ll be posting at NPR’s Monkey See blog every day this week. Woo! Today’s post is about the trailer for Extremely Loud …
The folks at Frontier Psychiatrist have launched a fascinating experiment: They are “audio-serializing” Jim Knable’s new novel Sons of Dionysus, meaning that every Friday, …
I am in the lucky minority of Americans who walk to work everyday, and the commute is one of my favorite parts of the day. The exercise is nice, as is using my weathergear. (Back when I drov…
How crowds and spaces affect PigPen Theatre Company’s work A play’s identity changes based on where you see it and whom you see it with. The same production seems differen…
Over at NPR’s Monkey See blog, I’m thinking about Your Man Reminder, a new app that uses sexy men to raise awareness about breast cancer I’m pretty ambivalent about the who…
Mary J. Blige doesn’t make mere albums. She makes testaments. That’s why I love her: As much as any pop star in history, Mary J. Blige turns her own life into an epic narrative. …
The “Chinglish” actors speak two languages in their Broadway debuts At the moment, Broadway shows are set everywhere from the African plains to the Australian outback to the tren…
Perhaps by accident or perhaps by shrewd design, Justin Bieber’s forthcoming Christmas album Under the Mistletoe perfectly encapsulates the current pop marketplace. It simultaneously c…
“Mangella” imagines a desktop-human romance For as long as there have been machines, there have been stories about machines replacing people, and that tradition gets a sly…
and MARK PEIKERT Inside Broadway’s first autism-friendly performance In many ways, the October 2nd matinee of The Lion King was like any other performance. The theatre buzzed wi…
