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THEATRE

The Great British Bake Off Is Being Turned Into A Musical

"Paul came to see the show and loved it. ... He gave me two handshakes after and is going to bring his mum back. He'd never even seen a musical before this." - BBC

Conservative Legislators In Tennessee, And Many Other States, Are Attempting To Crush Drag Performances

In their deeply hostile "think about the children" anti-drag legislation, they may be also trying to crush theatre. - The New York Times

What It’s Like To Be Hard Of Hearing In The Theatre

It's hard. "Across the board, the HOH artists I interviewed expressed their frustration over accommodations having slipped through the cracks—from cast mates refusing to wear clear masks, to stage management taking days/weeks to meet accessibility requests, to obstinate directors refusing to restage." - American Theatre

How Theatre Deals With Its Roald Dahl Edits

Few seem to have made the leap to how theatre addresses the issue of bringing past works back to the stage, perhaps because such editing is not uncommon. There was so much racism casually thrown into musicals from the 1920s and 1930s – at the very least, many have been retooled. - The Stage

This Circus, Having Stopped Using Elephants, Is Using Holographs Of Them Instead

"Circus-Theater Roncalli, which was founded (in Germany) in 1976, introduced the holograms in 2019 when they partnered with a German firm specializing in augmented reality. Other acts have followed suit, including the French circus L'Écocirque, which features holograms of a lion, an elephant and beluga whales." - MSN (The Washington Post)

Chile’s Most Famous Circus Has Been Battling Anti-Gay Discrimination For 54 Years

"All Chileans know Circo Timoteo," said manager Stéfano Rubio. More a cabaret in a tent than a conventional circus, Timoteo began in 1968 when a male dancer in a dress was a last-minute substitute for a woman.  It has celebrated sexual diversity ever since — even through the Pinochet years. - AP

Theatre Curtain Calls Used To Mean More…

The thing is, audiences love to go crazy. It means the tickets were worth it. - NPR

The Number Of Broadway Shows That Closed This Past January Isn’t As Bad As It Looks

"By the end of the month, 12 Broadway productions in total ended their runs. It may sound bleak, and many have reported these numbers using terms like 'record-breaking.' But ... January closures are part of the typical rhythm of Broadway and the number of closures this year is not record-breaking." - Broadway News

Trying To Save A 112-Year-Old Toronto Theatre From The Wrecking Ball

"The theatre is set to be razed and redeveloped into a 76-storey, mixed-use building. ... The smallest of Mirvish's four venues, the 700-seat CAA Theatre has been a bridge between local theatre artists and Mirvish's wider audiences. ... Theatre artists and producers say (its) closure would mark an immense loss." - Toronto Star

100-Year-Old Historic Toronto Theatre To Be Torn Down

The proposal comes as a rash of other live performance venues have shuttered across the city in recent years. If the project moves forward, theatre artists and producers say the theatre’s closure would mark an immense loss for the city’s performing arts industry. - Toronto Star

Why Black Playwrights Canceling Productions Of Their Plays Has Become A Thing

"The steps by playwrights to halt productions of their own work reflects concerns by Black artists frustrated by what they see as a failure of theater administrators to live up to the lofty promises made during and after the spring of 2020." - The New York Times

Actors’ Equity Report Finds “Modest Improvement” In Diversity/Equity In US Theater Industry

"The latest installment of Actors' Equity Association's annual hiring and wage report – covering the year 2021 and titled 'Progress During an Atypical Year' – finds that the theater industry made small but steady progress in diversity and equity in union jobs for stage managers and actors." - Deadline

NYC’s Rattlestick Theatre Hires A New Artistic Director

Davis, who is particularly interested in developing new plays, previously served as artistic director of the American Theater Company in Chicago. He programmed experimental work there and box office revenue declined; his tenure ended with the shuttering of the theater company. - The New York Times

Belarus Free Theatre: “Nobody Can Go Back — We All Face Jail”

"In October 2021 (the company's) actors, directors and audience were all arrested. Released pending a trial, most were facing a prison sentence of up to eight years. (They) fled to Ukraine using a border resistance network. When Russia declared war …, the company crossed the border to Poland." - The Guardian

How To Become Bad Cinderella

First, watch In the Heights in high school. Linedy Genao: "I was like, ‘They said Dominican Republic on Broadway! I didn’t know that was allowed!’"- The New York Times

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