“There’s been a drag on finances for some time,” Muse said, noting the problems had not been addressed over a multi-year period. “There were mistakes that were made … It (the festival) was run as a mom-and-pop operation, and there’s nothing wrong with that when it works.” - Ashland News
"For centuries, skilled Iranian storytellers known as Naqqals have transfixed audiences in traditional coffeehouses" - but it was always an art by men, and for men only. Gordafarid "is the first known female Naqqal to have learned the craft the traditional way." - Los Angeles Times
Ruby Aiyo Gerber to her mom: "For so long, I rebelled against wanting to be a writer, fearing that admiring any part of you was to be forever in your shadow. I had a lot of fear when starting the collaboration." - The New York Times
World Premiere Wisconsin was born in 2019 with three goals - connecting theatres, raising national awareness, and commissioning new work. Then came the pandemic, and "a fourth festival goal was added: to communicate a positive story ... during a critical phase of recovery and rebuilding." - American Theatre
"A former student alleges that then–artistic director Mitchell Nestor 'raped and sexually assaulted' her in the early 1970s. The lawsuit … names the school and late founder Lee Strasberg's wife, Anna, as defendants. Nestor is believed to be deceased." - Vulture
"The updated categories are: Outstanding Leading Performer in a Play, Outstanding Leading Performer in a Musical, Outstanding Featured Performer in a Play and Outstanding Featured Performer in a Musical. Each of these categories will have twice as many nominees as the former categories (and) will have two winners each." - Broadway News
Change Your Mind, by the collective Say Nothing and Leave, "fashions a psychological experiment. ... Answer some questions, take a 'pill' that looks suspiciously like a common candy, don some goggles and headphones, undergo a procedure, and poof! You can 'delete' the most noxious aspects of your personality." - San Francisco Chronicle
"Duty managers are also equipped with bodycams, which – along with the training – often helps to lower the temperature when customer interactions become heated." - The Stage
"The owners of 54 Below, a popular forum for both Broadway stars and rising performers and composers, say they intend to raise close to 20 percent of an annual budget approaching $10 million from supporters ... to offer discounted tickets and subsidize artists' production costs (and) livestreaming." - The New York Times
"The defamation lawsuit Paradise Square producer Garth Drabinsky filed against Actors' Equity has been dismissed with prejudice. … Drabinsky sued the union, claiming defamation, after it placed him on its 'Do Not Work' list following his production of (the musical on Broadway)." - The Hollywood Reporter
The author of the Pulitzer-winning Fat Ham was one of a trio of revolving artistic directors who succeeded Wilma cofounder Blanka Zizka in 2020. When Ijames departs this summer, Lindsay Smiling will join Morgan Green and Yury Urnov as co-artistic directors. - MSN (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
"I got the gig of a lifetime. There's no other way to describe it," says Richard Poole, who's been a member of the ensemble, playing small roles, for almost 25 years. - NPR
"The audience, which included Lin-Manuel Miranda, cheered not only the entrance of each principal performer, but also the first sightings of signature props, including the monkey music box and, of course, the chandelier." - The New York Times
"CTG seems to have received the message that local knowledge of a sprawling, culturally complex city is necessary to rebuilding the communal connection that had been fraying for years." - Los Angeles Times
"It’s meant to give people that beautiful release and time together as an audience, getting to have a really good time in the theatre. But then also, to choose your metaphor, to have the uranium rods for afterwards. ... I’m trying to make these things all exist together." - American Theatre
