The real-life audience for stand-up is larger, and more diverse, thanks to viral clips. But, one comedian says, "If you base your comedy around the algorithm, you’re doomed. ... You have to do what you think is good for comedy, and not think about the sharing." - Washington Post
Has comedy changed dramatically in purpose in our era? Or have its ideological trappings gone pious in ways that are at odds with what comedians have always done? - The New Yorker
"In a year in which the festival (had) its budget halved, … a roster of local artists might have been an easier sell. But that would undercut the ethos of Under the Radar, which has always mingled international artists with local ones in pursuit of ... 'the global downtown.'" - The New York Times
"The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society has reached an agreement with the Broadway League on a new four-year contract that covers associate directors and choreographers for the first time. … (They) had been one of the rare non-unionized groups on Broadway." - The Hollywood Reporter
Winner of the week? Disney’s The Lion King, which grossed a massive $4,316,629, not only setting a house record at the Minskoff but a Broadway record for the highest single-week gross ever, a big achievement even when noting that the long-running musical played nine performances, as did other productions over the holidays. - Deadline
"When I was playing Hamlet, a guy took out his laptop – not his phone, his laptop – while I was in the middle of ‘To be or not to f***ing be’. I was pausing and (the stage team) were like, ‘Get on with it’ and I was like, ‘There’s no way’.” - The Guardian
"We should positively reframe and reclaim the word ‘risk’ as an artistic necessity that is vital to the future of our sector. What are the classics of tomorrow? We won’t find them if we operate from a place of caution and fear." - The Stage
"For the most part, though, being a theater critic has been an extraordinary privilege. How many people have the opportunity to be transported by an actor’s performance or a playwright’s words or a composer’s music, and then be able to do something about it?" - The Washington Post (MSN)
That’s right: in Orange County, Florida, students currently can’t read three Tony Award winners for Best Play, as well as a major work by a Pulitzer prize-winner, let alone a collection of plays by one of the earliest major dramatists in world history. - Howard Sherman
"'It's so bizarre to me,' says the Last Comic Standing finalist Laurie Kilmartin. 'Because when you look at how modern standup started, it was a thing that happened in between strippers. It’s gutter art. We’re not trying to win a Pulitzer Prize.'" - The Guardian
The ephemeral nature of the stage is part of its power. Prospero in Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” compares actors to “spirits” who melt into “thin air” once the revels are ended. - Los Angeles Times
"This is really fun, and I'm super honored. But I feel like I'm under no delusions that my life is different. I'm still going to probably do my next play in a little basement downtown. And that's okay because that's what I signed up to do." - Broadway.com
