Baltimore Center Stage, Maryland’s state theater, says it will refuse to comply with the NEA’s new guidelines — which state that applicants “will not operate any programs promoting ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’” or “gender ideology” — at the cost of its own potential federal funding in the future. - Baltimore Banner
Lead producer Jeffrey Seller: “Political disagreement and debate are vital expressions of democracy. These basic concepts of freedom are at the very heart of Hamilton. However, some institutions are sacred and should be protected from politics. The Kennedy Center is one such institution.” - Variety
Garai received nods as best supporting actress (play) for both The Years and Giant, which led the dramas with five nominations each. A revival of Fiddler on the Roof scored 13 nominations. Staunton received her 14th Olivier nom for Hello, Dolly!; Oscar-winner Brody and Tony- and Emmy-winner Lithgow got acting nods. - The Guardian
The piece, titled Theater of the Mind and based on current research in neuroscience, will be housed in a 19,000-square-foot space inside the Reid Murdoch Building on LaSalle Street for an indefinite run. (And what was the previous David Byrne immersive theater piece? Here Lies Love, the Imelda Marcos disco musical.) - Axios
“All of the performances (are) staged readings, with actors working from scripts without the costumes and sets of a full production. The goal is to workshop brand-new plays that cover big themes, from criminal justice reform and climate change to gender identity.” - WBEZ (Chicago)
The first wave is a so-far monthslong strike at Atlantic Theater. “After stagehands at the Atlantic began organizing, the union tried reaching out to the company’s leadership—which then hired Littler Mendelson, a law firm known for representing Amazon and Starbucks in their anti-union efforts.” - American Theatre
A new director (formal title: general administrator) will soon be taking up his position (one appointed by no less than the French President) at the Comédie-Française. He's Clément Hervieu-Léger, 47, and like most of his predecessors, he's a longtime member of the company who both acts and directs. - The New York Times
Many of these shows started at the Edinburgh Fringe. However, hang around the environs of Adelaide Fringe’s artist hubs and you will soon hear two burning questions: “Is Edinburgh dead?” and “In 2025, can you have success without playing it?” - The Stage
A new 1,200-seat venue in London’s Canary Wharf is being purpose-built to house the production, with a script adapted by playwright Conor McPherson (The Weir, Girl From the North Country). Previews begin on October 20. - The Guardian
“Hidden behind an unmarked door between an Irish pub and a Dunkin’ Donuts in the south wing (of the Port Authority Bus Terminal) is the Hidden Jewel Box Theater, which has been quietly selling out shows” — mostly by the part-theater-part-dance troupe The Love Show NYC — “since this past October.” - Gothamist
Hidden from the Assad regime’s secret police, Mohamad and Ahmad Malas performed over 200 plays in their apartment — until they were arrested during the Arab Spring demonstrations and fled Syria. The brothers never imagined they could return home because they never imagined that Assad would fall. And then he did. - The Guardian
A.R. Rahman (Oscar winner for Slumdog Millionaire, which he’s adapting for the stage) is starting with a 3,000-seat theater in his hometown, Chennai, and wants to set up additional venues elsewhere in Tamil Nadu state and, eventually, beyond. - Variety
Operation Mincemeat, about a plot to convince the Nazis that the Allies were about to invade Greece instead of Sicily, recently arrived on Broadway after winning an Olivier in London. The creators say that, in development, they had to cut some actually true details so improbable that viewers wouldn’t accept them. - Variety
“Broadway has seen more foot traffic and bigger audiences in the first month since the curtain went up on the congestion pricing era — though it’s too early for some to say whether the Manhattan tolls played a starring or a cameo role in such success.“ - amNY
"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
