This summer's season will have six shows, down from 11 pre-pandemic and eight in 2022. AD Nataki Garrett: "Our numbers have come in between 46 and 50 percent of people returning, which is the same return rate as most theatres across the country." - American Theatre
"Edison Research's quarterly analysis of the top genres shows Comedy continues to have the most listeners. The bigger surprise could be that despite the fall election season, the News genre lost ground. It slid back to third place (behind) the all-encompassing Society & Culture." - Inside Radio
Observing the company's worrisome slump in ticket sales and Peter Gelb's announced plans to focus more on contemporary works and reduce the number of performances (especially of revivals), Parterre Box contributor Dawn Fatale suggests further ways to get the FOMO factor working in the Met's favor again. - Parterre Box
"Museum-building in a real estate-obsessed city that Mark Twain called 'superbly beautiful' — in the sunny heart of a proud 'sporting nation' — often requires overcoming a barrage of negativity. The Sydney Opera House was loathed before it was loved, and the Modern has traveled a rough road already." - The New York Times
On the 4½-hour trip between the German capital and the Polish city of Wrocław, "passengers encounter writers, musicians, creative artists, a library and a permanent exhibition. The project was originally designed for a six-month period, but it was so successful that it was never discontinued." - Deutsche Welle
As theatres reckon with racial diversity onstage, some of them are also hiring interpreters who speak Black American Sign Language, or hiring other interpreters who align culturally and racially with productions' speaking actors. - The New York Times
Apple has new AI narrators. They're not great. "Jackson sounds like a pretty standard—if maddening—customer service line voice. ... Madison, on the other hand, sounds a little like a female version of Aiden Gillen playing American on The Wire." - LitHub
"Compared with 2013, the number of events has gone up by 2,000%, no doubt helped along in the past year by the COVID-driven rise in podcasting's popularity. … It seems the mark of success for a podcast or radio show now is whether or not it tours." - The Guardian
Short for “free, ad-supported television,” FAST is a live, linear and growing area of the streaming universe that has emerged as a complement to on-demand offerings. The multibillion-dollar sector is inhabited by an eclectic range of purveyors, content owners and connected-TV players. - Deadline
A week after the cyberattack which has paralyzed its ticketing and payroll operations, the company has not missed a single performance. And with its offer of any unsold seat for $50, fans come flocking. The resulting scene is, despite the difficulties and necessary improvisation, rather orderly. - The New York Times
In partnership with food pantries, housing nonprofits, support organizations for ex-prisoners, and similar groups, the Ticket Bank will offer 1,000 free or pay-what-you-wish tickets each week to performances at the National Theatre, the Barbican, the Roundhouse, and four nonprofit theatres, with more to be added. - The Guardian
Maybe HBO wasn't quite ready for a show that is creators couldn't even describe. "Imagine 'Scooby-Doo' as written by Jorge Luis Borges and directed by Pedro Almodóvar and you can begin to approximate the vibe." - Los Angeles Times
