"It could be the most terrifying folk art in China. It is called shua ya, which literally means 'teeth playing'. … Performers need to manipulate four to 10 tusks in their mouths, using their lips, teeth, and breath to make them move, conveying the emotions of characters." - South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)
"Cultural figures supporting the women" — director Yevgenia Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk, two highly decorated fixtures of contemporary Russian theater — "say this is the first time in Russia’s post-Soviet era that a work of art is effectively being put on trial." - The New York Times
"The multimillion-dollar (facility) in Allston will expand the A.R.T.’s performance capabilities and meet rigorous standards for sustainability. The 80,000-square-foot building ... has been in the works since 2019, when a $100 million gift jumpstarted plans to move the theater from its longtime home at the Loeb Drama Center in Harvard Square." - WBUR (Boston)
"Most of the country expected the election would be called in autumn, so when the announcement came that it would be done and dusted less than a month before the Fringe opens, comedians who dared to tackle politics in this volatile year were suddenly faced with serious rewrites." - The Observer (UK)
“There was a customer on the phone who said something along the lines of 'Just throw out $20,000,' and reported to our staff member to shout that out into the room. And boy did it work, because the first time it came up, it stunned the room and silenced the room.” - Slate
Zelda Fichandler, a month before Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated: "When I look around, however, beyond our too-perfected technique and … the ‘canons of our craft,’ a deep, visceral intuition tells me that the power of our art is being blunted, deadened, and caged.” - American Theatre
“By opening itself more forthrightly to a wider audience, the library is doing something that Henry Clay Folger could probably never have imagined would be necessary: assert the importance of Shakespeare to public life, from scholars to laymen, passersby and politicians.” - Washington Post
The pull-out-all-the-stops production now on Broadway is pulling in $1 million a week despite lukewarm reviews. The version at ART in Cambridge, initially billed as "pre-Broadway," has direction by a Tony winner, book by a Pulitzer laureate, and score by a rockstar. Is there room for both? - The Washington Post (MSN)
"Sir Ian McKellen will not be returning to his starring role for the final three West End performances of Player Kings, after falling from the stage on 17 June. It is hoped the veteran actor will return to the cast when the play moves to Bristol on 3 July." - BBC
An unprecedented 14 new shows opened in April. A wide slate with something for everyone. Yet, still, suburban visitors to Broadway are down roughly 20%. What’s it all about and what can we, as supporters of a vibrant Broadway community who rely on suburbanites, do about it? - LoHud
Maria is a successful actor/singer/director in Britain, and Sonia is arguably London's leading producer. They've occasionally worked together before, but Merrily We Roll Along is their big passion project, which they did in England, Japan, and Boston before the New York production that just won four Tonys. - The New York Times
No aspect of the process of making a play has been left unturned. From the lighting (switching to LED bulbs) to reducing travel (rehearsals are longer but less frequent to cut down on journeys) “everything has come in for scrutiny,” says Marcel Klett, the managing director. - The Guardian
The show is the second to announce plans to close in the wake of this year’s Tony nominations, joining “Lempicka”. “The Heart of Rock and Roll” opened on April 22 to better-than-expected reviews, but picked up zero Tony nominations. - The New York Times
