In November, school officials in Sherman, Texas objected to the casting of trans student Max Hightower in a male role and ordered that actors' birth gender must match that of their roles. Here's how parents, students, and, ultimately, allies all over the US fought back and won. - The Dallas Morning News
Zuri Washington: "I was made to feel like I did something wrong in the course of this entire experience, and I know I didn't do anything wrong. I could have done things differently, perhaps. But what they did to me is like a legal version of tone-policing." - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
Cervantes played Alexander Hamilton for more than two thousand shows, through the early days of the pandemic and much more - including the death of his daughter. "This show gave me an opportunity to use my frustrations and anger and sadness," he says. - Playbill
The Royal Court says it' seeking to "find new business models to sustain the theatre", while Hampstead has said 2022/23 turned out to be "one of the most challenging" in its history. The Young Vic has warned that "cost inflation and soaring energy bills" contributed to a deficit that went "way beyond budget. - The Stage
Trisha Kirk has been a member of the Guthrie team since 1985 and has held various positions, including season ticket manager, box office manager, and marketing manager, and, later, director of marketing. - American Theatre
Arifa Akbar: "Some trimmed-down Shakespeares – such as Simon Godwin’s Romeo and Juliet – are as rich as the originals, and not every staging of Much Ado About Nothing has to have its protracted comic interludes with Dogberry and his gang." Especially if it means missing the last train home from Stratford-upon-Avon. - The Guardian
"The (company is) offering 25,000 tickets at £25 as the theatre’s new artistic directors aim to 'throw open the doors' to a more diverse crowd. … The ticketing plan will be on offer for the entire season and sit alongside the existing TikTok £10 scheme for 14- to 25-year-olds." - The Guardian
Both, evidently. Some longtime standups are saying it's worse than it used to be; others say it's happened for the entire history of the profession. What consequences can be suffered for getting caught joke-thieving when jokes can't usually be copyrighted? - The Hollywood Reporter
"In a surprise announcement, Charlotte St. Martin ... said she would be stepping down from her current role next month. As the leader of the league, a trade association representing producers and theater owners ..., Martin has held one of the most pivotal positions in the theater industry." - The New York Times
"The more straight-faced, incendiary boo of displeasure has been all but silenced, bar lone tuts or harrumphs. But for centuries, theatregoing etiquette allowed for heckles and hisses alongside cheers and whistles, all permissible within the great debating chamber of drama." - The Guardian
The link between Albee's best-known play and artists Marie Menken and Willard Maas isn't undisputed although they "were notorious for drunkenly arguing in front of guests at their parties" - and Andy Warhol shot a version of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf starring the couple. - The New York Times
Stop clapping so much! Stop drinking so much! Don't use your phone's flashlight to find your seats! And for pity's sake, stop eating potato chips during a movie or play! (And other possibly cranky advice from critics.) - The Guardian (UK)
When unions post "Strikes work" on social media, this is what they mean: "Negotiations had dragged on for almost two years before the union announced a strike date last week." - Chicago Sun-Times
The hottest ticket on the Great White Way at the moment, judging from what people are willing to pay for it, is Sondheim's notoriously troubled musical-that-goes-backwards, Merrily We Roll Along. The hottest ticket Off-Broadway, and already the longest running show ever to play at Manhattan's new venue The Shed, is Here We Are, the musical Sondheim was still working...
