"The school had been working tirelessly to find a university partner in order to stay open. … But, as ACT artistic director Pam MacKinnon put it, there were three reasons that such a partnership did not come to fruition: 'COVID, COVID, COVID.'" - American Theatre
Jacqueline René, for instance, can do, and has done, everything from Nala the lioness and Shenzi the zebra to the bird lady, a patch of savanna grass, and the eye of the ghost of Mufasa — all depending on who tested positive for COVID that day. - New York Magazine
“Touring, when we can perform, is going great — the audiences are showing up, and the audiences are enthusiastic. Touring is not going great when Covid sweeps through our company, which has happened to every one of our tours.” - The New York Times
"Theatre producer David Pugh (fears) it could spell the end of plays in the West End. … By contrast with his show, where tickets have a top price of £59, major West End shows have cut prices to as little as £10." - The Guardian
The show on Sunday issued a statement saying that James Snyder, who played the title role for about a year before the pandemic and then rejoined the show when it restarted last fall, had been terminated following a complaint by Diane Davis, the actress playing his wife, Ginny. - The New York Times
You know, hologram theatre in your kitchen or living room or ... wherever. "Theater makers are naturally fascinated: They’re used to working in 3-D. ... As soon as you bring a director or stage designer or choreographer into V.R., you see their brains whirring." - The New York Times
Recently, Broadway shows haven't needed to cancel because of COVID cases in cast or crew, but there are a lot of empty seats - and three shows are closing in hopes of reopening in the spring. - NPR
Some detainees at Rikers Island watched a livestream of Clyde's. "Theater artists often speak of their aspirations for social relevance, especially in work focused squarely on contemporary issues. That aim has long been close to Nottage’s heart." - Washington Post
The most fun part about writing is that every writer I know is a fucking liar. Some think this is radical political work. Some think that to write is to channel the ancestors and the woo-woos to put voice to page. But all of these are just tactics. - American Theatre
The highly contagious omicron variant has given productions a reason to shut down for what happen to be the slowest two months of the year (when many shows die even in ordinary times), reopening in March as tourists start coming back. Could that practice work out long-term? - TheaterMania
At a time of a public health emergency, more people appear to have prioritised football than theatregoing. We should ask why. The answer is likely to be less about price and more about perceived value. - The Stage
"(Kathy) Hochul on Tuesday proposed budgeting $200 million for the New York City Musical and Theatrical Production Tax Credit, which provides up to $3 million per show to help defray production costs. … Nearly three dozen productions have told the state they expect to apply." - The New York Times
So how did a quaint, 175-seat theatre at the end of a quiet, dead-end street in the Rockland area find itself at the centre of such a storm? - The Times-Colonist (Victoria, BC)
Actor-director Francis Huster has campaigned for years for the "father of the French language" to be admitted to the ranks of les immortels. Yet even in his quadracentennial year, the great playwright is denied. Why? Robert Zaretsky argues that the reason given by the government is, quite frankly, merde. - Slate
Income at the National Theatre dropped by £50 million and the organisation lost just under a quarter of its staff in the first year of the pandemic. - The Stage
