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THEATRE

Broadway Box Office Bumps Up

Attendance for the week ending April 9 was 280,760, up 4%. The more modest jump in attendance left ticket prices to do some heavy lifting: Average paid admission was $137.46, up 8% from the previous week. - Deadline

Why Williamstown Theatre Festival Is Throttling Back Its Productions This Summer

The reason for the absence of theater amounts to what is essentially a public atonement for how the festival treated interns, apprentices and other staff for decades and a commitment to finding a new model for producing a season of world-class summer theater. - Albany Times-Union

Can Bart Sher And Aaron Sorkin Make “Camelot” Relevant Again?

The initial production’s optimistic look at how ethical leaders harness power to forge better worlds seems hopelessly naive in this divided political environment. Or maybe not — maybe “Camelot” is just what we need. - Variety

It Took A Dozen Years For “Shucked” To Plow Its Path To Broadway

"The history of iterations of Shucked is an interesting one, since it bears almost no resemblance to the show that McAnally and Clark started working on. … That first conception of the production depended on existing IP, albeit in not much more than name: It was called Hee Haw: The Musical." - Variety

Will A Proposed New York City Law Banning Size Discrimination Make A Difference On Broadway?

"The bill … would 'prohibit discrimination on the basis of a person's height or weight in opportunities of employment, housing, and public accommodation.' … If Bill INT 0209 passes, it would push producers to see a wider pool of applicants, and encourage them to cast outside of the stereotypical Broadway body." - Playbill

Dallas Theatres Are Struggling With New Realities

“It’s not like we want to sound the fire alarm. It’s not all doom and gloom. But the current situation is not sustainable.” - Dallas Morning News

Broadway Loved Our “Oklahoma.” On The Road It Was A Completely Different Story

"You know how some movies bomb with critics but still make millions at the box office? We were the inverse of that. We had walkouts, of course, but also snickering, jeering, dumbfounded faces, searing reviews, refunds demanded, boos..." - HowlRound

Wil Ron DeSantis Come After Mrs. Doubtfire? Florida’s Theater Community Worries About Governor’s Anti-Drag Crusade

A number of organizations, especially larger ones such as Miami's Arsht Center, are confident that shows like Mrs. Doubtfire and Hairspray are sufficiently distant from "adult entertainment" to be okay under new laws. (Kinky Boots? Well …) Smaller companies and school groups are more nervous. - WLRN (The Miami Herald)

How Pasadena Playhouse Became LA’s Best Theatre

Feldman’s mission is to remind local audiences what they’ve been missing. He wants theatergoers to demand more from the menu than a selection of reheated Broadway dishes. Only this way can an artist of Sondheim’s caliber rise again. - Los Angeles Times

John Kander, At Age 96, Has A New Show Opening On Broadway

Titled New York, New York — yes, after what he calls "that song," which he and Fred Ebb wrote but he's never liked — it differs substantially from the Scorsese-De Niro-Minnelli movie and has plenty of new material, including half a dozen songs with lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda. - The New York Times

Ontario’s Stratford Festival Reports Modest Surplus

Stratford "reported total revenues of $66.2 million for the year, with a surplus of $638,711 after expenses. The results, credited to strong ticket sales, donors and government support, improved on a 2021 surplus of $553,058 during a smaller, mostly outdoor season." - Toronto Star

Houston’s Leading Theatre Cancels Cancels A Major Production Because It Just Can’t Get The Staging Done

Said artistic director Rob Melrose in his announcement calling off Derek Walcott's adaptation of Homer's Odyssey, "We knew going into this production the scope was difficult, and we thought it was appropriately resourced, … (but) it is impossible to bring this production to completion." - Houston Chronicle

Actors’ Equity Threatens Strike Against Touring Broadway Productions

"The union … has been bargaining with The Broadway League, which represents industry producers, presenters and general managers, since mid-January to create a new touring contract. Now, Actors' Equity has authorized … a strike on all Broadway national tours" if negotiations remain stalled. - The Hollywood Reporter

Who And What Won Big At Britain’s Olivier Awards

The play Prima Facie and the adapted play My Neighbor Totoro were the biggest, but not the only, winners from London's West End. - The New York Times

Chicago Gets A New Theatre-Focused Bookstore

Is it like New York's Drama Book Shop? A little, but "The Understudy has rotating displays atop wheeled shop tables, curated by Chicago artists. They are also providing a new hub for itinerant theatre companies seeking space for readings and workshops." - American Theatre

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