ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

THEATRE

How Broadway Was Tied Up With Signature Bank

The New York-based institution is the favored bank of many Broadway theaters, producers, and related businesses; when New York state regulators closed Signature last Sunday, there was genuine fear that those businesses could lose everything but the FDIC-insured $250,000. For now, though, they're okay. - Broadway News

Stephen Sondheim’s Final Musical Has A New York Opening Date

The show, whose last working title was Square One, is now called Here We Are; it's based loosely on the Luís Buñuel films The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie and The Exterminating Angel. The commercial Off-Broadway production, directed by Joe Mantello, opens at The Shed in September. - The New York Times

Women Are Mastering (And Sometimes Subverting) The All-Male Craft Of Maskmaking For Noh Theater

"When Mitsue Nakamura began, she knew of one other woman in the field, but this year, all four of her current apprentices, some of whom study for 10 years, are female. Some adhere to traditional archetypes and techniques, while others radically reinterpret them." - T — The New York Times Style Magazine

Defending The American Musical

My sense of musical theater in America is that we may undervalue that the higher forms of the Broadway musical are every bit the equal in artistic quality of operas like “Don Giovanni.” - The New York Times

The Guardian’s Chief Theatre Critic Defends Audience Misbehavior (Up To A Point)

Arifa Akbar: "Crunching or chewing can be a distraction, especially in the confines of the older, tighter West End venues, but theatre is a group activity. … The group experience is what we come for – and that includes jostling in the foyer, coughing, rustling and, yes, eating or drinking." - The Guardian

Is Lithuania The New Capital Of Performance Art?

“We have a history of performance art going back to the 1970s. These were often illegal actions in public spaces only seen by maybe ten friends, but they documented them.” Once the Soviet yoke was lifted, an explosion of creativity followed, giving rise to a dynamic and experimental art scene. - The Art Newspaper

Those People In Times Square Passing Out Flyers For Shows? They’re A Key Part Of Broadway Marketing

"For the general public, street teams are often the first touchpoint to a theater production. ... They serve as extensions of a show's brand, contribute to the general Broadway education for potential theatergoers and provide feedback to producers and marketers about what they're hearing on the ground from target audiences." - Broadway News

Britain’s National Theatre To “Reduce Activity” For The Next Four Years

"The National Theatre is cutting productions due to money troubles. … Accounts show the theatre's income for the year to March 2022 was £80.8 million, down from £100m pre-COVID. Audience levels were down by 20%, while the theatre only staged 464 performances, around half as many as normal." - London Evening Standard

The Days Of Rolling Thunder

Four years of being the "token able-bodied actor" in Canada's Roliing Thunder Theatre Company, which had three actors with cerebral palsy and one who was blind, left writer Larry Brown with memories and the skills to cope with his own life-changing diagnosis. - American Theatre

Atlanta’s Leading Musical Theatre Company Shuts Down After Four Decades

"The Atlanta Lyric Theatre has closed its doors after 42 years under the weight of financial strain … (due to) 'a significant drop in overall attendance in the wake of the pandemic.' Remaining shows of the 42nd season — including Pippin, The Best of Broadway and the Cabaret series — have been cancelled." - ArtsATL

Massachusetts Proposes Theatre Tax To Help Send Shows To Broadway

Gov. Healey’s proposal describes the live theater tax credit as a “pilot program” designed to support productions costing at least $100,000 that are headed to Broadway, off-Broadway or a national tour. The Massachusetts Office of Business Development would be able to grant up to $5 million a year to qualifying productions. - WBUR

France And The Theatre Of Demonstrations

Demonstrations are frequent enough in the country that they have taken on a ritualistic dimension, and often feature overtly theatrical elements designed to grab the attention. - The New York Times

Parents Are Challenging High School Theatre Productions For Content

In Florida, Indiana, Kansas and Pennsylvania plays and musicals have been challenged or canceled recently. Parents or school officials have complained that the content isn't family friendly. - NPR

What’s Worse For A Theater’s Artistic Director Than Managing Big Cutbacks? Managing Cutbacks And Death Threats

Nataki Garrett went from artistic director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival to interim executive artistic director — because the executive director position was eliminated, along with more than a third of the staff and over 10% of the budget.  If only that were all she had to deal with ... - San Francisco Chronicle

Britain’s National Theatre Is Producing A Multi-City Adaptation Of “The Odyssey”

The first four episodes of the updated version of Homer's epic will be produced in Stoke-on-Trent, Doncaster, Trowbridge, and Sunderland, with each episode adapted by a local playwright.  For the finale, the teams from all four towns will converge at the NT headquarters in London. - The Guardian

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