CHICAGO'S GREAT CULTURAL COMEBACK IS COMING MUCH FASTER THAN WE THOUGHT. HERE'S WHY. by Robert Shuman

(Christ Jones's article appeared in the Chicago Tribune, 5/5; Photo: Chicago Tribune.) Just weeks ago, the working assumption around town was that this would be a relatively quiet summer in …

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 3:39pm on May 12, 2021☆⚑

THESE FOUR STAGE DIRECTORS KNOW JUST WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE by Robert Shuman

(Scott Heller's article appeared in The New York Times, 5/5/2021; via Pam Green. Photo: From left, the stage directors Whitney White, Tyne Rafaeli, Taibi Magar and Danya Taymor, who have tak…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 3:23pm on May 11, 2021☆⚑

JEREMY IRONS AND STEPHEN SCHWARTZ: 'WE EVEN PERFORMED IT IN FRONT OF THE POPE!' " HOW WE MADE GODSPELL by Robert Shuman

(Chris Wiegand's article appeared in the Guardian, 5/10. Photo: 'I dance like a duck' … Jeremy Irons, right, as Judas in London; the musical's first commercial staging in New York was 50 y…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 3:02pm on May 10, 2021☆⚑

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY"LET'S PLAY 'BEAT THE BARD' (38) by Robert Shuman

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

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 6:08pm on May 9, 2021☆⚑

DAVID HARE: COVID-HIT UK THEATRE NEEDS A JOHN OSBORNE-INSPIRED REVOLUTION by Robert Shuman

(Lanre Bakare's article appeared in the Guardian, 5/8; Photo: Jimmy Akingbola and Simon Harrison in a production of John Osborne's Look Back in Anger at Jermyn Street theatre in 2008. Pho…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 2:48pm on May 8, 2021☆⚑

SECRETS OF RUSSIAN BALLERINAS: HOW TO STAY YOUNG WELL INTO YOUR GOLDEN YEARS by Robert Shuman

(Eleonora Goldman's article appeared on Russia Beyond, 5/6.) Maya Plisetskaya danced until 70! Vasily Malyshev, Vladimir Vyatkin/Sputnik Maya Plisetskaya, Galina Ulanova, Ekaterina Maximova"…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 1:23pm on May 7, 2021☆⚑

BROADWAY IS REOPENING. BUT NOT UNTIL SEPTEMBER. by Robert Shuman

(Michael Paulson's article appeared in The New York Times, 5/5; via Pam Green; Photo: Broadway, a powerful economic driver of New York City, will begin to reopen Sept. 14 with full-capacity …

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 10:33am on May 6, 2021☆⚑

IRELAND: ALL THE WORLD IS A VAN: SHAKESPEARE IN A TIME OF COVID by Robert Shuman

(Patrick Freyne's article appeared in the Irish Times, 5/5; King Lear in a Van: Arthur Riordan as King Lear with Karen McCartney as Cordelia and Matthew Malone as Kent. Photograph: Nick Brad…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 10:02am on May 5, 2021☆⚑

CONSTANT STANISLAVSKI (116) by Robert Shuman

The words and wisdom of Constantin Stanislavski: [It was in our production of Cricket on the Hearth, based on Dickens], perhaps, that there sounded for the first time those deep and heartfel…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 12:24pm on May 4, 2021☆⚑

TWITTER'S MOST HEARTFELT LIZA MINNELLI TRIBUTE by Robert Shuman

(Rachel Syme's article appeared in the New Yorker, 5/1 Photo: Illustration by Ohni Lisle; Source photograph by Ken McKay / Shutterstock.) The superfan behind @LiZaOutlives says, "I will alwa…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 9:25am on May 3, 2021☆⚑

REDISCOVERING FRANCE'S EARLY FEMALE PLAYWRIGHTS by Robert Shuman

(Laura Cappelle's article appeared in The New York Times, 4/28; via Pam Green.  Photo: From left, Marie Langlet, Julie Ménard and Marine Ségalen in a production of Madame de Villedieu's…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 12:43pm on May 2, 2021☆⚑

OLYMPIA DUKAKIS DIES: OSCAR-WINNING ACTRESS FOR 'MOONSTRUCK' WAS 89 by Robert Shuman

(Bruce Haring's and Erik Pedersen's article appeared on Deadline, 5/1; via Pam Green. Photo: Olympia Dukakis in 'Moonstruck'Everett Collection.) Olympia Dukakis, who won an Oscar for her sup…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 5:12pm on May 1, 2021☆⚑

SONDHEIM MUSICAL, IN DEVELOPMENT FOR YEARS, LOOKS UNLIKELY by Robert Shuman

(Sarah Bahr's article appeared in The New York Times, 4/27; via Pam Green. Photo: Stephen Sondheim, who had been working on developing "Buñuel" for the last decade or so with the playwrig…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 4:51pm on April 30, 2021☆⚑

MABOU MINES: 'LEAR' (WATCH NOW"THROUGH MAY 5) by Robert Shuman

MBOU MINES LEAR BY William Shakespeare ADAPTED AND DIRECTED BY Lee Breuer PREMIERE: Triplex Performing Arts Center, NYC January 9, 1990 Ruth Maleczech with Greg Mehrten and Karen Kandel, …

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 5:28pm on April 29, 2021☆⚑

CROWD ME WITH LOVE! OUR ULTIMATE TOP 20 "BEING ALIVE" COUNTDOWN FROM STEPHEN SONDHEIM'S COMPANY by Robert Shuman

(from Broadway Box, 4/26; via Pam Green.)  BroadwayBoxCom BroadwayBox Photo by Emilio Madrid, Martha Swope/NYPL for Performing Arts At the Alvin Theatre on April 26, 1970, the name Bobby …

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 5:46pm on April 28, 2021☆⚑

SPAIN: 'NOVIEMBRE': EXPLOSIVE MANIFESTO TAKES THEATRE TO THE STREETS by Robert Shuman

(Chris Wiegand's article appeared in the Guardian, 4/24; Authentic and earnest … Óscar Jaenada in Noviembre. Photograph: Album/Alamy.) Actors roam Madrid, springing provocative perf…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 4:21pm on April 27, 2021☆⚑

BROADWAY'S CAPITALIST MODEL ISN'T PERFECT, BUT HERE'S WHY IT WORKS, AND WHAT CAN BE FIXED by Robert Shuman

(Chris Jones's article appeared in the Chicago Tribune, 4/22; Photo:  Aaron Tveit and Karen Olivo during a shutdown. Olivo has since left the cast. (Matthew Murphy via AP/AP) The anti-…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 6:33pm on April 26, 2021☆⚑

'WEST SIDE STORY': THE REMAKE OF THE 1961 CLASSIC HITS THEATERS DEC. 10. by Robert Shuman

(Aaron Couch's article appeared in the Hollywood Reporter, 4/25; Photo: Twentieth Century Fox.) The first trailer for West Side Story danced its way to the Oscars on Sunday night. S…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 1:54am on April 26, 2021☆⚑

RARE PHOTOS OF LEGENDARY BALLETS RUSSES ON TOURS ABROAD by Robert Shuman

(Anna Sorokina's article appeared in Russia Beyond the Headlines, 8/24; Photos above, credit: E. O. Hoppé; A.Botkin; The New York Public Library.) The world glory of the Russian ballet star…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 9:27pm on April 24, 2021☆⚑

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SHAKESPEARE"LET'S PLAY 'BEAT THE BARD' (37) by Robert Shuman

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

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 6:20pm on April 23, 2021☆⚑

IRELAND: DRUID'S NEW PRODUCTION EXPLORES THE MIND AND IMAGINATION OF EAVAN BOLAND by Robert Shuman

(Deirdre Falvey's article appeared in the Irish Times, 4/20; One of Frances Kelly's paintings, a portrait of her daughter Eavan Boland as a young girl. It features in the poster for Druid's …

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 3:09pm on April 22, 2021☆⚑

"SIX GUN JUSTICE" WITH PAUL BISHOP PODCAST: ROBERT DWYER & AUSTIN WRIGHT ON THEIR BOOK: 'THE SHERIFF' (FROM TWODOT BOOKS) by Robert Shuman

Listen Hang out around the Six-Gun Justice water cooler for another Six-Gun Justice Conversation segment.  Co-host Paul Bishop talks with Western writers Austin Wright & Robert Dwy…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 7:21pm on April 21, 2021☆⚑

REJECTED BROADWAY POSTERS ON SALE TO HELP THEATER COMMUNITY by Robert Shuman

(Mark Kennedy's article appeared on the AP, 4/19; via Pam Green.) This combination of photos shows rejected theatrical poster art from "Cabaret, from left, "Equus," and "Matilda The Musical,…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 4:45pm on April 20, 2021☆⚑

LET'S PLAY 'BEAT THE BARD' (36) by Robert Shuman

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

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 8:42am on April 19, 2021☆⚑

THE BRIEF, BRILLIANT AND RADICAL LIFE OF LORRAINE HANSBERRY by Robert Shuman

(Parul Sehgal's article appeared in The New York Times, 4/14; via Pam Green. Photo: The playwright Lorraine Hansberry in 1959. Credit…David Attie/Getty Images.) The curtain rises on a dim,…

SOURCE: stagevoices.com at 1:07pm on April 18, 2021☆⚑