In years past, what used to be called Off-Off-Broadway would take place on small, out-of-the-way stages in storefronts, schools or church basements. Post-pandemic, they're happening in people's living rooms or tiny backyards or on their rooftops. - Gothamist
"The company, which was founded in 1988 by a group of Northwestern University graduates and achieved national fame for its original theatrical works, has been struggling financially since the COVID-19 crisis and has seen its theater production activities dwindle." - Chicago Tribune (MSN)
When school district leaders in the Fort Worth suburb of Keller cancelled the production last month, they gave no specific reason but indicated that they'd prefer something more anodyne than a docudrama about the murder of a gay college student. But, facing resistance, the officials backed down. - The Dallas Morning News (MSN)
"Groupe Juste pour rire Inc. said that it is seeking protection from its creditors as it begins formal restructuring under Canada’s Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. … The company plans to continue operations in what it called a scaled-down format as it restructures (and) hopes the festival will return in 2025." - AP
"If you’re going to musicalize a horror movie, Teeth is a doozy, and a gamble. Darkly comic and at times stomach-churningly gory, it’s a touchstone of feminist body horror and an exemplar … of a rape-revenge film that indicts misogyny and body shame." - The New York Times
"The latest effort to breathe life into San Francisco’s struggling Mid-Market neighborhood involves bringing amateur musicians to the streets. The nonprofit Mid-Market Business Association unveiled a new initiative, Busk It!, on Thursday. The project aims to attract local musicians for weekly live performances on the sidewalks." - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
“If Broadway is sustained by tourists, to use a sweeping generalisation, Off-Broadway is where the locals can be found, given the primarily limited run nature of what is offered. Losing theatres to high rents and redevelopment only contributes to the hollowing out of the city." - The Stage (UK)
"Athena Stevens is suing Shakespeare’s Globe for harassment, discrimination and victimisation, claiming she encountered ‘unfavourable' treatment because of her disability while working there” - and since the story first broke, new information about the Globe’s policies may have strengthened her claim. - The Stage (UK)
The newest version of the long-running humorous take on Broadway will spoof many, many Sondheim productions, including the current Merrily We Roll Along, as well as whatever else the current crop of shows tosses into the satirical maw. Will it also spoof itself? - The New York Times
A theatre belongs to the people who make it more than just a building. That includes the volunteers just as much as it does the stars, staff and audience. - The Guardian
As during the play's Broadway run, the West End production will have "Black Out" nights, as playwright Jeremy O. Harris calls them, when Black playgoers can enjoy the show (in Harris's words) "free from the white gaze." More than in New York, some people are flipping out over this. - BBC
Why? Because the workshops, funded by the BBC, are for members of groups under-represented in standup: women, disabled, and LGBTQ people, yes — but also, crucially, working-class people. - The Guardian
The company will pick up its first Broadway credit this spring as a producer of “Patriots,” by Peter Morgan, the creator of the hit Netflix series “The Crown.” - The New York Times
"As I see it, the force of the Elizabethan form lay in its ability to follow the mental processes of its protagonists wherever they might lead. The same may be said of mine." - The Atlantic
"Absurdism is like smoke – it shifts before your eyes and takes on strange, beguiling patterns, but if you try to close your hand around it, it will disappear. Other moments in life that seem to contain the most meaning – when the world reveals itself to you – are like this too." - Psyche
