The options for renovating Portland's not-at-all-earthquake-safe, landmark-in-downtown big hall aren't great. Now, the city is checking out ideas for a new site, "which would allow continuous operations at the Keller Auditorium until the new facility is completed." Hmmm. - Oregon ArtsWatch
Never fear, Europe. Though the language itself seems to have invaded every corner of France, an announced focus on English this summer at the Avignon (theatre) Festival turned out to be mildly interesting at best. - The New York Times
"'We have had so many conversations with our upper management about the issues we are trying to fix, and once it became clear that they would not budge on these issues, unionizing became the obvious choice,' said Ella Fent, Drunk Shakespeare United union leader." - American Theatre
Says artistic director Oskar Eustis, "Our audience is down by about 30 percent, we have expenses up anywhere from 30 to 45 percent, and we have kept our donor base, but it's static. Put that all together, and you get budget shortfalls — big budget shortfalls." - The New York Times
"The so-called Bus & Truck Touring Agreement pertains to IATSE crew members working on tours presented by (four corporations which) are not Broadway League producers. As part of the new agreement, IATSE said it had won the right for single occupancy housing while on the road." - The Hollywood Reporter
The Stratford Festival has come a long way in 70 years but the story of how racialized artists began to get a foothold and carve out creative space for themselves both onstage and backstage is a theme that has been omitted from the various historical narratives written about the festival over the years. - Aisle Say
"In 2023, McAnuff argues, Tommy’s transformation from catatonic schoolboy to a charismatic cult leader resonates more strongly when considering modern-day celebrity worship. And the show’s exploration of trauma — including post-traumatic stress disorder, sexual abuse and bullying — is something that audiences now have a deeper understanding of." - The New York Times
We’d all known the Edinburgh Festival Fringe has been broken for a while now, with prices running out of control. But it’s been difficult to focus on that in the past few years. With the pandemic lockdowns receding, though, the truth now feels obvious: there’s no help coming and nobody has any ideas. - The Stage
"Hanoch Levin's Queen of a Bathtub, … a musical that used satire to attack perceived militarism, self-righteousness and racism in the aftermath of Israel's victory in the 1967 war, … (is) being revived in Jaffa amid a sense among its Palestinian performers it is more relevant than ever." - The Guardian
"To watch a show the customer has to insert their phone into the VR device. Once the phone is place, the users strap the box, effectively a pair of cardboard goggles, around their head and plug in their own headphones. The app then streams a recorded performance." - BBC
The set designer for the production at the Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival: "It just immediately added a layer that I don't think we would have achieved if we had to fake it out of totally brand new bolts of fabric from the store." - CBC
Just what we need: More joyless, foolish bureaucrats quashing theatrical productions. "The interactive show is set at an Italian-American wedding, with a three-course meal, live music and dancing." - BBC
"In the early 1960s, the Jewish American soul was tied in knots. On the one hand, Jews knew they were outsiders. ... On the other hand, Jews were finally starting to get what their immigrant grandparents had worked so hard in sweatshops to achieve." Then came Fiddler. - Salon
He realised that in this case technology had triggered deeper emotions than a stage performance. "VR is a very personal experience as opposed to theatre, which is communal." - BBC
For immigrants, it's seeing their own history on a Broadway stage; for their children, it's a major lesson. ("Growing up, the only thing I really knew about Imelda was her shoe collection.") For the all-Filipino cast, it's revisiting "a past that's hardly in the rearview mirror." - The New York Times
