Artistry is what the ’40s biopics get most wrong. Not just the facts, though the depictions of composition, collaboration and show-making are boldly inaccurate. “Rhapsody in Blue” makes a fuss about Gershwin’s use of a diminished-ninth chord in “Swanee,” a chord that appears nowhere in it. - The New York Times
“I think the understudies, the swings, the standbys and the alternates do so much work, with so little recognition, so much of the time — this is a little piece of paper that makes sure they’re acknowledged by the people who are watching them.” - The New York Times
Festival administrators canceled controversial director Milo Rau’s play The Pelicot Trial, allegedly over Rau’s criticism of the Serbian government last year; consequently, the festival’s artistic director resigned. Artists say the government — which has been facing months of protests over corruption — is putting political pressure on the festival and slashing funding. - AFP (Barron’s)
“The venerable Chicago-based improvisational comedy institution has quietly built out a surprising side-hustle: Using the fundamentals and tactics of improv to teach corporate executives and professional athletes how to be better communicators.” - The Hollywood Reporter
Steppenwolf is embarking on its 50 anniversary season as one of America’s pre-eminent theater companies. An invitation to join its storied ensemble — a familial coterie of actors, directors and writers — is a golden ticket. - The New York Times
There’s an immediate pay increase well as 3% annual raises for the next three years, increased producer contributions to Equity’s health insurance plan, and a limit to how many consecutive days an actor or stage manager must work. - Playbill
The musical, which depicts Eliza Schuyler, Hamilton, and Angelica Schuyler as emotionally entangled right from the get-go, catalyzed Amanda Vaill’s earlier feeling that there was a backstory to Hamilton’s relationship with his wife and sister-in-law that should be told. - Slate
Good question, one that 1948’s biopic about Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart - Words and Music, starring Mickey Rooney as a heterosexual Hart - got very wrong. But: “That the ’40s biopics are so bad on the facts as well as the spirit doesn’t render them entirely worthless.” - The New York Times
“Circus Centre Melbourne, originally designed as a home for Circus Oz, has reopened as a home for the broader contemporary circus and physical theatre sectors — a space where circus artists can meet, create, train and perform.” - ArtsHub (Australia)
“Today, the Globe is thriving as San Diego’s oldest and largest theater organization, offering performances … for more than 250,000 people a year. … We spoke with its leaders, present and past, about the company’s legacy, and some of the goals in mind for the theater’s centennial in 2035.” - The San Diego Union-Tribune (MSN)
AFM Local 802 announced that a deal with the Broadway League at 4:30 Thursday morning, saying in a statement that “this three-year agreement provides meaningful wage and health benefit increases.” - The Hollywood Reporter
“We unfortunately are operating with a little bit of fear, as we continue to be the prominent immigrant community theater company in Chicago, let alone in our neighborhood." - WBEZ
AFM Local 802 and the Broadway League (representing producers) go into mediation on Wednesday, and Local 802 is prepared to strike immediately if no deal is reached by Thursday morning. The League and Actors’ Equity negotiated an agreement last weekend, but Equity could still strike in solidarity with the musicians. - Playbill
No technological breakthrough will ever nullify the wisdom of these playwrights. The shadow of death sentences us to live in endless search of elusive meaning. But the introduction of artificial intelligence has given a new prism through which to view these unresolved existential questions. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
Ellin Stein looks at what’s fact and what’s fiction in director Richard Linklater’s film about Lorenz Hart on the opening night of Oklahoma!, Richard Rodgers’s first show with his other lyricist, Oscar Hammerstein II. - Slate (Yahoo!)
