John McWhorter makes the case for Raisin — a 1973 adaptation of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun with book by her former husband, Robert Nemiroff (with Charlotte Zaltzberg), music by Judd Woldin and lyrics by Robert Brittan — and suggests a plausible explanation for why it was forgotten. - The New York Times
Co-curated by actor Adrian Dunbar, Beckett: Unbound 2024 is "a multiarts festival that juxtaposes familiar pieces by the Dublin-born author with new responses to his work. After Liverpool, the productions will transfer to Paris." - The Guardian
Playwright Suzie Miller's Prima Facie, a one-woman show about a defense attorney in sexual assault cases who is then raped by a colleague, starred Jodie Comer in the West End and on Broadway. A video of the play is being provided to judges in Northern Ireland who handle sexual assault cases. - BBC
"The venue, owned and operated by the Nederlander Organization, will house Ben Platt: Live at the Palace for a limited engagement beginning May 28, 2024, and later this year will welcome the Broadway premiere of Tammy Faye." During the project, the entire theatre was lifted 30 feet in the air. - Broadway Direct
The story of a middle-aged man suddenly laid off from his job at a bookstore, Primary Trust premiered last summer at New York's Roundabout Theatre Company. The other finalists were Shayok Misha Chowdhury's Public Obscenities and Here There Are Blueberries by Moisés Kaufman and Amanda Gronich. - Deadline
The Revival returns "with the opening of a new theater in the South Loop. And The Home Comedy Theater, conceived by a collective of iO and Second City veterans, is building out a space in Lake View as an artistic residence for displaced long-form improvisers." - Chicago Sun-Times
Snehal Desai: "It’s not that CTG doesn’t have folks coming; we have tens of thousands of folks, it’s just that we’re not necessarily getting folks to move within our venues.” - American Theatre
Redmayne, just nominated for a Tony, explains, “We’ve had sort of moments where the audience interaction can get a bit too vocal ... and we’ll have to sort of clamber through and improvise around the situation but that, again, keeps us on our toes.” - The Hollywood Reporter
"The hope must be that the more traditional audiences will move with the times, and come around to new visions. You can’t please all of the people all of the time — but you can do your best to take them with you." - The New York Times
Playwright Eleanor Burgess's "Galilee, 34" at SoCal's South Coast Rep depicts Jesus's family and followers months after the Crucifixion as they try to figure out — sometimes arguing and frequently cussing — what to do next and whether to continue the preaching that got Jesus executed. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
Throughout his time in Seattle, John Langs has become known as a champion of new work, an advocate for local artists, and a director who values long, collaborative working relationships. - Seattle Times
The Sherman, Texas school board finalized a separation agreement with former superintendent Tyson Bennett, who had forbidden a high school production of Oklahoma! that included a transgender student in the cast. The cancellation was reversed after heavy pushback from students and parents. - The Dallas Morning News (MSN)
Well, turns out there's a history of very bad things happening during productions of "the Scottish play" going all the way back to Shakespeare's own company in 1606. Actors getting injured or killed onstage. Theaters burning down. Massive audience brawls. The 1849 Shakespeare riots in New York? Yep, over Macbeth. - Mental Floss
"The 37-year old’s directorial debut is the result of a three-force collaboration: the dance is by Peck himself to Stevens’s introspective coming-of-age album with a narrative written by playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury. A group of singers perform the album’s songs while dancers express Sibblies Drury’s storyline without uttering any lines." - The Guardian
