Intentionally or not, the stage version of the polymorphously perverse cult classic, produced by North Texas's flagship theater company, has become a standard-bearer of opposition to the state law S.B. 12, which regulates any performance that "appeals to the prurient interest in sex." - MSN (The Washington Post)
Thomas Schumacher, who is 65 and currently holds the titles of president and producer of Disney Theatrical Group, told his staff on Thursday morning that he will take on a new role as the division’s chief creative officer. - The New York Times
Activists with the British group Just Stop Oil, which started the climate-protesting art-vandalism trend, disrupted a West End performance of Les Misérables during (of course) the anthem "Do You Hear The People Sing?" Then they padlocked themselves to the scenery and the performance was ended. - BBC
On Monday, the Latino Theater Company announced $9 million in grants to 52 Latino theaters in cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Santa Fe, N.M., Denver, Providence, R.I., and St. Paul, Minn. - Los Angeles Times
In an overhaul of its priorities last month, Arts Council of Wales (the national funder) eliminated its entire £1.6 million annual grant to the principality's main English-language theatre. "If this funding decision stands," warns the company's management, "Wales will lose National Theatre Wales in six months’ time." - The Stage
Dmitri Krymov had nine different shows running in Moscow when he left for Philadelphia to stage The Cherry Orchard. Then Putin invaded Ukraine, and Krymov's friends warned him not to come home. Now he's settled in New York, with his own fledgling theater company, raising the money himself. - The New Yorker
Nearly all artistic and managing directors polled saw their company’s price increases as marginal. But for many Americans, an increase of a few dollars per ticket can be significant, especially when piled on top of every other rising cost for goods and services. - American Theatre
Not only did Henry Condye and John Heminges assemble and publish the First Folio, they almost certainly helped lead the rescue of Shakespeare's plays (many of which had not yet been published) from the 1613 fire that destroyed the Globe Theatre. - Literary Hub
While the six Broadway houses controlled by these four companies may be dwarfed by the Shubert Organization, the Nederlander Organization and the recently merged ATG-Jujamcyn bloc, their presence on Broadway is somewhat outsized in a way that many don’t realise. - The Stage
Laurence Olivier said, "Frankly, Lear is an easy part … He’s like all of us really: he’s just a stupid old fart." Tom Courtenay relayed that "I had a much jollier time with it than playing Hamlet." Michael Billington surveys the approaches various actors have taken. - The Guardian
The event, hosted by the Professional Non-Profit Theater Coalition, is poised to “shine a spotlight on the challenges facing the theater industry, showcase the value and importance of professional non-profit theater, and call on Congress to save American theater.” - The Hill
Ivo van Hove is bringing his video-heavy style to Jesus Christ Superstar in Amsterdam. Jamie Lloyd (loves Pinter, hates scenery) is staging Sunset Boulevard in London. Sammi Cannold's feminist Evita played Boston and D.C. Bill Rauch and Zhailon Levingston are turning Cats into a queer drag ball. - The New York Times
The change, which takes effect in fall 2024, "follows other acting programs that have stopped charging tuition, including the Yale School of Drama, which became tuition free for all students in the school starting in 2021 after a $150 million gift from David Geffen." - The Hollywood Reporter
How did a show that Team Sondheim suggested was incomplete at the time of his death get to a point where it was ready for public consumption? - The New York Times
