OPERA: THE SUBLIME TERROR OF KAIJA SAARIAHO'S "INNOCENCE" by Robert Shuman

(Alex Ross's article appeared in The New Yorker, 7/19; illustration: The opera's atmosphere is at once sensual and unsettled"dread in vivid colors. Illustration by Jun Cen.) The new opera…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 4:34pm on July 20, 2021☆⚑

MABOU MINES: 'VS.'"A NEW DIGITAL THEATRE PIECE BY CARL HANCOCK RUX by Robert Shuman

Vs. indulges in a virtual game of 'tag' Mabou Mines presents  Vs.  written by Carl Hancock Rux directed by Mallory Catlett Online premiere July 30 " August 8 Fridays and Saturday…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 2:28pm on July 19, 2021☆⚑

WALLACE SHAWN'S 'DESIGNATED MOURNER' FEELS LIKE WATCHING THE NEWS by Robert Shuman

(Jessa Crispin's article appeared in the Spectator, 7/15; photo:  Wallace Shawn in 2004"Getty.) Films, plays and novels can lurk, waiting for the right cultural context to resonate in a w…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 9:23am on July 18, 2021☆⚑

***** 'SOUTH PACIFIC' REVIEW " A ROOF-RAISING RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN TRIUMPH by Robert Shuman

(Mark Lawson's article appeared in the Guardian, 7/14; Photo: The tones converge … South Pacific, with choreography by Ann Yee. Photograph: Johan Persson.) Old shows often pass nervousl…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 12:34pm on July 16, 2021☆⚑

THE HISTORY BEHIND SHAKESPEARE'S HENRIAD SERIES by Robert Shuman

(Marty Rosen's article appeared in Leo Weekly, 7/14.) In 1398, King Richard II of England did something that astonished the cutthroat, blood-soaked world of medieval England: he stopped two …

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 6:02pm on July 15, 2021☆⚑

I'VE BEEN CAST AS BITCHY THEATRE CRITIC MR SNARL " IT'S A ROLE I COULDN'T TURN DOWN by Robert Shuman

(Michael Billington's article appeared in the Guardian, 7/13; Photograph: Marilyn Kingwill.) Starring in a Zoom production of the play Masks and Faces tested my acting skills " not to mentio…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 2:55pm on July 13, 2021☆⚑

'HAMLET' IN JAPAN (FOLGER FINDS HISTORIC 1930s PHOTOS) by Robert Shuman

(from Shakespeare & Beyond, 7/ 6/ 2021.) In a recent post on the Folger's Collation blog, assistant curator Elizabeth DeBold shared a small set of photographs, newly added to the F…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 3:54pm on July 12, 2021☆⚑

AVIGNON FESTIVAL SHINES SPOTLIGHT ON ACTORS WITH DISABILITIES by Robert Shuman

(from France24 ) The Avignon Festival is back after 2020's Covid-19 hiatus. France's biggest performing arts festival sees thousands of actors, dancers and musicians from around the world pe…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 4:07pm on July 11, 2021☆⚑

CONSTANT STANISLAVSKI (122) by Robert Shuman

The words and wisdom of Constantin Stanislavski: Our art is not eternal, but it is the most inescapable of all arts so far as our contemporaries are concerned. What strength there is in it! …

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 4:40pm on July 10, 2021☆⚑

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FIELDS (SV REVIEW PICK, IRELAND) by Robert Shuman

(Mary Coll's article appeared in the Irish Times, 7/8; Photo: Kathy Rose O'Brien stars as Vera in In the Middle of the Fields.) ★★★★ West Wall Walkway, Kilmallock Tim…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 10:44am on July 9, 2021☆⚑

***** 'ALL OF THIS UNREAL TIME' REVIEW " CILLIAN MURPHY CONFESSES ALL IN POUNDING SOUND AND BLINDING LIGHT by Robert Shuman

(Kate Wyver's article appeared in the Guardian, 7/4; Photo:  Contrition mission … Cillian Murphy in All of This Unreal Time. Photograph: MIF.)  Central Hall, Manchester Central, a…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 6:54pm on July 7, 2021☆⚑

PHYLLIS WHEELER SHINES A LIGHT ON HER TEEN NOVEL: 'THE LONG SHADOW,' FROM ELK LAKE PUBLISHING, INC. (INTERVIEW) by Robert Shuman

In her second interview for Stage Voices, Phyllis Wheeler talks race in America, during three different time periods; stranger danger and comfort zones; and walking a mile"in someone else's …

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 5:21pm on July 5, 2021☆⚑

STOREFRONTS TURNED STAGES FOR 'SEVEN DEADLY SINS' by Robert Shuman

(Laura Collins-Hughes's article appeared in The New York Times, 6/23; via Pam Green.) One afternoon in Manhattan's Meatpacking District, a small crowd gathered around a storefront window, wh…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 5:20pm on July 2, 2021☆⚑

STEVEN SPIELBERG'S 'WEST SIDE STORY' ADAPTATION IS GOING TO GET HIM CANCELED by Robert Shuman

(John Podhoretz's article appeared in The New York Post, 6/30; via the Drudge Report.) For more than four decades, screen mavens have been eagerly awaiting the time when Steven Spielberg wou…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 10:50am on July 1, 2021☆⚑

YALE DRAMA GOES TUITION-FREE WITH $150 MILLION GIFT FROM DAVID GEFFEN by Robert Shuman

(from The New York Times, 6/30; via the Drudge Report.) The billionaire David Geffen is giving $150 million to Yale School of Drama, allowing one of the nation's most prestigious programs…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 1:58pm on June 30, 2021☆⚑

CONSTANT STANISLAVSKI (121) by Robert Shuman

The words and wisdom of Constantin Stanislavski: It remains unknown why certain places in a play are laughed at by everybody at all performances in one city, while altogether different place…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 7:10pm on June 28, 2021☆⚑

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN REOPENS BROADWAY by Robert Shuman

(Johnny Oleksinski's article appeared in the New York Post, 6/27; via the Drudge Report; Photo: Broadway " and The Boss is back: Bruce Springsteen performs during reopening night of "Springs…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 9:16am on June 27, 2021☆⚑

KEY UNION AGREES TO HEALTH AND SAFETY RULES FOR BROADWAY TOURS by Robert Shuman

(Michael Paulson's article appeared in The New York Times, 6/14; via Pam Green; Photo: Shoshana Bean as Elphaba in the musical "Wicked" at the Gershwin Theater in 2005. A tour of the long-ru…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 5:11pm on June 26, 2021☆⚑

9 NEW NAMES IN RUSSIAN BALLET THAT YOU SHOULD KNOW by Robert Shuman

(Anna Galayda's article appeared in Russia Beyond the Headlines, 6/21; Photo: Elena Svinko; The Hvorostovsky Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theater.) We have rounded up the rising stars,…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 6:47pm on June 25, 2021☆⚑

CONTROL OF NEW YORK'S STAGES REMAINS IN WHITE HANDS, A STUDY FINDS by Robert Shuman

(Michael Paulson's article appeared in The New York Times, 6/18; via Pam Green; Photo: Credit…David S. Allee for The New York Times.) The Asian American Performers Action Coalition is hopi…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 2:15pm on June 23, 2021☆⚑

LET'S PLAY 'BEAT THE BARD' (41) by Robert Shuman

Can you beat the Bard? Questions by Joyce E. Henry, Ph.D. All rights reserved.   Can you beat the Bard? Questions by Joyce E. Henry, Ph.D. All rights reserved.

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 10:32am on June 22, 2021☆⚑

OPINIONS | THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE CIRCUS FROM AMERICAN LIFE LEAVES US LONELIER by Robert Shuman

(Les Standiford's article appeared in the Washington Posts, 5/20; Photo: Ringmaster Johnathan Lee Iverson says farewell to the crowd alongside Paulo Dos Santos, center, and Tatiana Tchalabae…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 4:08pm on June 21, 2021☆⚑

TOP 10 BOOKS ABOUT BALLET by Robert Shuman

(Erin Kelley's article appeared in the Guardian, 5/26; Photo: The Bolshoi ballet premieres its production Krakatuk in Moscow in January 2020. Photograph: Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Tass.) From Noe…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 9:11am on June 20, 2021☆⚑

THEATRE OF SCREAMS: TERRIFYING VIDEO SHOWS A PACK OF 30 WOLVES CHASING ACTORS ON STAGE AND LUNGING INTO THE AUDIENCE IN CHINESE THEATRE SHOW by Robert Shuman

(Jacob Bentley-York's article appeared in the Sun, 6/18; via the Drudge Report.) Terrifying video shows a pack of 30 wolves chasing actors on stage and lunging into the audience in Chinese t…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 7:50am on June 19, 2021☆⚑

HOW A FAMILY TRANSFORMED THE LOOK OF EUROPEAN THEATER by Robert Shuman

(Joseph Cermatori's article appeared in The New York Times, 6/11; via Pam Green; Illustration: Rotating the perspective to depict massive, magnificent interiors, the Bibiena family transform…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 5:46pm on June 17, 2021☆⚑