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THEATRE

For These Successful Playwrights, It Was A Hard Journey Just To Reach Midcareer Status

"They constitute an unusual cohort, bucking the bad news of the American theater by having made it past emerging to emerged. Granted, pretty much all of them did so with the help of other industries. … These nontheater jobs are how playwrights make real money and get health insurance." - The New York Times

Making Theatre For Liberation — And For After Liberation: South African Actor-Playwright John Kani

During apartheid, in addition to being Athol Fugard's leading actor, he co-wrote and co-starred in the seminal plays Sizwe Bandi Is Dead and The Island. Since majority rule began in 1994, Kani has written what's now a trilogy looking at the triumphs and troubles of post-apartheid South Africa. - The Washington Post (MSN)

Minnesota Theatre Says It Will Decline NEA Funding, Double Down On DEI

A Minneapolis theater organization says it will decline federal funding in order to preserve its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. - Bring Me the News

Kharkiv’s Puppetry Tradition Thrives During War

But Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 dealt Kharkiv’s puppetry a heavy blow, as much of the city’s population of 1.4 million evacuated in the face of the Russian onslaught. The puppet theater closed its doors. Yet, as it turned out, not for long. - Christian Science Monitor

School Censors Play, Students Write Anti-Censorship Play And Win State Award

School play gets canceled for "inappropriate content". In response students write , their own anti-censorship play skewering the school district, sells out performances, and ultimately takes gold at the Lenaea High School Theatre Festival. - KQED

After Six Weeks In London’s West End, “The Years” Is Still Seeing Audience Members Pass Out

"While fainting theatergoers are nothing new — several passed out over the onstage torture in Sarah Kane’s Cleansed at the National Theater almost a decade ago — the sheer number keeling over at The Years stands out." - The New York Times

Abortion Play “The Years” May Be An Example Of Trigger Warnings Making Things Worse

The Anne Ernaux adaptation currently running in London's West End has been making headlines for the fact that audience members keep fainting during a particularly bloody abortion scene. That didn't happen when productions of the play had no trigger warnings. And the more warnings, the more faintings. - The Guardian

Why Theatre Is Devolving Into Uselessness

Does anyone actually read theatre reviews? National newspapers continue to slim down arts sections. Theatre coverage, with confined geography, is lucky to survive with slashed wordcounts. Sometimes the Sunday Times devotes more lines to podcasts than it does to theatre. - The Critic

The New Musical About Frederick Douglass And Abraham Lincoln Isn’t Meant To Be A History Lesson

“The adversaries-turned-allies famously shaped the course of American history, even though the two leaders met in person only three times .” - Los Angeles Times

Lea Salonga Says She’ll Never Tire Of Sondheim

Salonga, longtime Broadway star, is pleased with her newest role. “I’m getting the chance to sing some of the most incredible lyrics ever written. I’m getting to dip, not just a toe, but my entire body, into this incredible work.” - The New York Times

Sing Sing Star Colman Domingo Found Himself In Theatre

As a 19-year-old at Temple University, Domingo says, “just taking an acting class as an elective, it gave me a voice. ... And it gave me some purpose. You’re creating a community, and you’re doing something and building together.” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

How One Regional Theater Company Was Resurrected Ten Years After Its Sudden Demise

Carolina Actors Studio Theatre (CAST) in Charlotte was founded in 1992 and won numerous regional awards; in 2014, it abruptly announced its closure shortly before opening night of a production. CAST is reopening at the end of this month; here's how the company's revival came together. - The Charlotte Observer

Ibsen’s “An Enemy Of The People” Is Just The Play For These Times

"That’s not just because President Donald Trump has repeatedly weaponized the phrase of the title against his own critics. ... It’s also because the 1882 play … seems to express the micro and macro ethical dilemmas that have become a daily fixture of the second Trump term." - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)

Her Title Just Begins To Describe What This Woman Does For Broadway’s “The Lion King”

"The show is like a giant, kinetic jigsaw puzzle: It needs someone to ensure that all the pieces fit together, so that the narrative moves forward — and no one gets hurt. This has been Ruthlyn Salomons’s job" — with the title of resident dance supervisor — "for 25 years." - The New York Times

“Dolly Parton” Producers Strike Back Against Homophobic Audience Outbursts

The homophobic incidents come as a new bio-musical about Parton, titled Hello, I’m Dolly, is prepping for a bow on Broadway in 2026, with the country legend writing the music, co-writing the book, and serving as a producer. - Deadline

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