“The British Theatre Consortium report, titled ‘British Theatre Before & After Covid’, examines 2019, the last full year before the pandemic, and 2023, the first full year after theatres reopened. It draws on anonymised data from 139 theatres across the UK.” - WhatsOnStage (UK)
The musical, based on a 2012 documentary about a Florida couple seeking to build a palatial home but stymied by an economic downturn, is yet another high-profile financial failure for Broadway: The show cost up to $22.5 million to capitalize. - The New York Times
The musical, starring Kristin Chenoweth (in her return to Broadway after ten years) and featuring Stephen Schwartz’s first Broadway score since Wicked, began previews in October and officially opened two weeks ago. The production was expected to run into next spring but, after negative reviews, will close on Jan. 4. - Entertainment Weekly
Pam MacKinnon will step down as artistic director of San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) at the close of the 2025-2026 season, ending an eight-year tenure with the company. MacKinnon was the theatre's fourth leader, joining in 2018. - Playbill
“Fatal accidents inside the Globe of Death — a popular circus stunt in which multiple motorcyclists ride around inside a globe-shaped metal cage in tight formations — are rare, despite the stunt’s death-defying appearance.” - The New York Times
“While it was not immediately clear what they were protesting, eyewitnesses said one of them had denounced David H. Koch, the billionaire industrialist, a polarizing figure who poured much of his fortune into right-wing causes and a campaign to discredit the idea of climate change.” - The New York Times
The Bruns Amphitheater, formerly home of California Shakespeare Company, is slated to reopen in April 2026 under a new name, the Siesta Valley Bowl. The newly-formed nonprofit Siesta Valley Foundation intends to present theater, including Shakespeare, as well as 40 to 60 concerts per year, which will bring in revenue. - SFGate
Early to Bed (1943) is the only book musical for which Waller wrote all the music, yet no official score or even libretto exists. Yet John McWhorter (yes, the Columbia University linguist/New York Times columnist) managed to find Waller’s sketches and is presenting the show’s score in concert. - The New York Times
“The filmmaking is, I think, up there with anything Hollywood's produced. And musically … there's not many musicals out there, if any, which have as many classics on the soundtrack as The Sound of Music.” - CBC
Theater makers have long depicted health struggles onstage, including the realities of living with H.I.V. and cancer, but the debate around this production, titled “Jeanne Dark” and running through May 22, has shown that ethical questions remain about how various conditions are portrayed theatrically — and who gets to shape those depictions. - The New York Times
As of early next year, the two-time Tony nominee (for her direction of Kimberly Akimbo in 2023 and Water for Elephants in 2024) will succeed Christopher Ashley, who is departing to lead the Roundabout Theatre Company in New York. - The San Diego Union-Tribune (MSN)
“If authentically delivered, the potential is colossal. India’s population of 1.4 billion includes a fast-growing urban middle class … (with) a rising appetite for theatre that blends storytelling, music and spectacle. The real question is whether India can find its own mainstream musical theatre voice, and cinema may offer some clues.” - The Stage (UK)
Imagine a painter still layering colors on a canvas while a stranger posts, “This looks messy and unfinished!” That’s what happens when someone reviews a preview. The damage lingers, and the artistry suffers. - The Broadway Maven
“If you press your ear to the plays of the 20th century, they’ll tell you secrets of human acts gone by and strategies to keep on. Among bloody slings and arrows of inhumane humanity are extraordinary scenes, real and imagined, of survival.” - American Theatre
“As a sports obsessive and avid theatergoer, I’ve always found the communal experiences staggeringly similar. Either way, we root and cheer and gasp in unison. Worship-worthy idols emerge — and nothing beats seeing them ply their trade in person.” - Washington Post (Yahoo)
