"'Every year our expenses go up at least five percent, if not more, because we so outpace inflation,' says Ken Davenport, producer of the Neil Diamond musical A Beautiful Noise. 'So flat is terrible.'" - The Hollywood Reporter
Are subscriptions in free fall, and if so, what does that mean for the continuing health of theatres? Are subscriptions still a viable model, for either audiences or companies? - American Theatre
"(Hallie) Flanagan and her colleagues made theater an important expression of the American democratic experiment through force of will, passion, and ingenuity. And although that experiment was destroyed through a mix of reactionary perfidy and liberal wimpiness, the meaning of its story is not solely contained in its ending." - The Atlantic (MSN)
For every rave like Entertainment Weekly's ("jaw-droppingly gorgeous from start to finish"), there's a critique like this from The New York Times ("too often a misguided attempt to resuscitate the show breaks its ribs"). Director Rebecca Frecknall and stars Eddie Redmayne and Gayle Rankin consider why. - The Washington Post (MSN)
One nonbinary Black actor who played Belle says, “I was really encouraged to do my own interpretation, ... and I got to have a say in my costumes—like, I wasn’t in a blue dress, I was in a blue jumpsuit, and wore red Doc Martens boots.” - American Theatre
The three "have offered one another couches to sleep on and airfare for auditions. They write and produce music and musicals together. They hype up one another before callback auditions, promote the others’ gigs on social media and cheer wildly from the mezzanine during performances.” - The New York Times
The Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture, originally planned for 2020, is back - and “longtime collaborators playwright Alani Apio and artistic director Harry Wong III saw an opportunity to realize a shared dream 30 years in the making: to simultaneously stage all three plays in Apio’s The Kāmau Trilogy.” - American Theatre
That women directors are leading all three Shakespeare productions at the festival this season signifies an important shift for the company, which for decades favoured men over women for prestigious directorial opportunities. - Toronto Star
There are several factors behind the proliferation of live video in theatre. Partly, it is just because directors have been excited to explore the creative opportunities it offers. - The Stage
Repeating items over and over, called maintenance rehearsal, is not the most effective strategy for remembering. Instead, actors engage in elaborative rehearsal, focusing their attention on the meaning of the material and associating it with information they already know. - Nautilus
"Casting, casting, casting is the obvious answer," writes Charles McNulty, "though there’s a bit more to it than that." Friedman and star Jonathan Groff explain. - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
“It’s one of the great roles in musical theater, and I’ve always thought maybe some day I could try it,” she said. “It scares me to death, but I certainly feel old enough now, and having experienced motherhood, perhaps I have what is needed to dive in.” - The New York Times
Co-producers meaning, in this case, the many individuals who provided or raised money to run the production — and these days, it takes a lot of them to get a show onto Broadway. The organizers say there's insufficient time to get all of them safely onstage; nevertheless, some are mightily miffed. - Broadway Journal
Critic Elisabeth Vincentelli reports that audiences being moved to actual tears (and, yes, even wailing on occasion) has become surprisingly commonplace this season — and it's all because of the way the scripts and cast are connecting with viewers. - The Washington Post (MSN)
"During the audition process, as characters recited certain lines over and over, Adjmi realized the play had become autobiographical. At one point, he felt physically sick. … Even now, Adjmi said he has a hard time watching the play, comparing it to 'having people watch you take a shower.'" - The Hollywood Reporter
