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THEATRE

Edith Wharton’s Never-Produced Play Is Finally Having Its Premiere

She wrote The Shadow of a Doubt in 1901 and came close to seeing it staged briefly on Broadway, only for the project to fall apart for still-unclear reasons. The script lay undiscovered until 2016, and it's now onstage at the Shaw Festival in Ontario. - The New York Times

A Masterclass In Biography-Writing: How Patti Hartigan Got To Know August Wilson

The blood’s memory really coursed through August. You also have to remember that the man read everything ever written—he was an autodidact. But he didn’t specifically research and say, “Okay, I’m writing a play about this era…” - American Theatre

“Fleabag” Has Been Casting A Long Shadow — Too Long — Over Women At The Edinburgh Fringe

"For a long time critics couldn't stop talking about the 'next Fleabag' in a way that may have been constraining for other women writing frank, funny solo pieces about their messy lives." Natasha Tripney talks with three of those women at this year's festival. - The Guardian

How Do You Translate A Musical Like “Chicago” Into Arabic?

You transpose it to Beirut.  It was a complicated endeavor, especially (given the huge differences between Arabic and English) for the songs. But it worked — in fact, says the Arabic lyricist, "It's like it was written to be a commentary on the judicial system in Lebanon." - The New York Times

Hey – Theatre Kids Are Running The World!

All of these power-adult former theater kids exist in a moment when the very things that used to make drama-loving teenagers an easy punchline have become strengths. Today, performing an outsize version of oneself is often rewarded. - The New York Times

Where Have Theatre Audiences Gone?

One expert says theatres have to invest in kids to inculcate a cultural habit "they might enjoy as they get older" - but, she adds, people in their 30s and 40s can't afford houses, so theatre as cultural investment? Unlikely. - Oregon ArtsWatch

How Actor Lea Salonga Relaxes Between Performances Of Here Lies Love

Her PlayStation 5 is key, she says - and the K-Pop stars BTS. - The New York Times

It’s Time To Embrace ‘Bad’ Audience Behavior

After all, they're live. That's what we want - energy. - The Guardian (UK)

There Goes Another: Public Theater Of San Antonio “Pauses” Its 2023-24 Season

As with so many other US regional theaters, a post-pandemic cash crunch to put on hold all five of its scheduled productions for the coming season and undertake a $500,000 "Save the Playhouse" emergency fundraising campaign. When performances will resume depends on how much money is raised. - San Antonio Report

Theater In Chicago Is Facing A Lot Of Problems. Here’s One Of The Least Talked About.

Besides the much-discussed problems facing most American theaters, and that leadership at many of the city's companies has changed virtually all at once, there's this: "what once were internal disputes, such as debates over hiring, programming and the allocation of scarce resources, (have spilled) over into the public sphere." - Chicago Tribune

How August Wilson Changed Theatre

"He was viscerally aware that the essence of dramatic art is found in the living, breathing doing of it with a collective cast of participants—actors, directors, producers, mentors, audiences. Reworking isn’t failure. Indeed, Wilson the bluesman rewrote and remixed in real time, improvising and experimenting his way to mastery and historical revelation." The Atlantic

40-Year-Old Portland Oregon Theatre Shuts Down, Blames “National Crisis” In Theatre

Leaders of Portland’s Artists Repertory Theatre announced on Tuesday they are canceling the 2023-24 season, just as the company was beginning rehearsals for one of the shows it planned to produce. - Oregon Public Broadcasting

Bread And Puppet Theater’s Founder Is 89. What Happens When He Finally Passes Away?

"'(It's) always been an iffy little enterprise that depends way too much on me,” said Peter Schumann. 'Is it sustainable when I'm gone and will people recognize it as important?' Those questions remain unanswered as Schumann's incessant creation of new work keeps the focus on the present." - The New York Times

Edinburgh Fringe: On The Road To Terminal Decline?

"I’ve been talking with many here this summer, from producers to those who run venues to the artists themselves, and I’m struck by how many think the fringe is in deep trouble already. One producer I spoke to likened it to climate change." - The Stage

Has The Edinburgh Fringe Regained Its Magic? Or Is It An Atrocity of Chaos?

Depending on whom you listen to, fringe 2023 is an atrocity against mental health, social justice and artists’ bank accounts. Or it is a phoenix-from-the-ashes rebirth of the world’s biggest arts festival after the Covid hiatus and last year’s tetchy, partial re-emergence. - The Guardian

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