The Black American playwright was inspired to adapt Lennon's In His Own Write by her son's Beatlemania. To her initial surprise, Kenneth Tynan picked up the play, and she watched the first performance next to Olivier, her hero. Most of the rest of the experience, though, was more dispiriting. - The Guardian
"Tim Sheader …, who currently runs Regent's Park Open Air theatre, will take over from Michael Longhurst in March 2024 and will also be the Donmar's joint chief executive alongside executive director Henny Finch." - The Guardian
"The union is demanding a 19-piece live orchestra, as mandated by contracts, barring 'special situation' exemptions. Producers want the show as it has been for 10 years, with actors singing mostly to pre-recorded backing tracks, which they say is an inherent reflection of the karaoke culture of the Philippines." - Variety
Attention must be paid to the core audience that has stuck it out and been filling these doddering old venues with their seasoned laughter and empathy. The Tony Awards on Sunday really ought to add one more prize to the evening’s roster — a special award to the stalwart Broadway theatergoer. - Los Angeles Times
We can all thank Jeremy O. Harris, who didn't want to miss it but was out of town during its run at BAM. "Harris quickly enlisted some producing vets, such as Sue Wagner and John Johnson, and set about finding a theater." - Variety
"Even with Broadway budgets for musicals regularly topping $20 million, suddenly adding 19 people (the theatre minimum according to the collective bargaining agreement in place) to the payroll would be a significant additional expense at the last minute." - The Stage (UK)
Sure, David Byrne is trying to make do with no orchestra in his show, but check out Sweeney Todd, Camelot, and Some Like It Hot. Philippa Soo, who plays Guinevere, says "she feels supported by the big orchestra, not just musically, but dramatically." - NPR
“We did this workshop,” Foley told me. “And he came to see it, and . . . he did not like it. It was a really awful experience, because everybody was, like, What did Sondheim think? What did Sondheim think? And . . . I had to lie. - The New Yorker
"The artisan Nakamura Mitsue employs her four decades of experience as she cuts, carves and paints, gradually forging an eerily lifelike human face from a single block of wood." (video) - Aeon
Succession comes by its theater DNA honestly. A number of its writers are working playwrights, with impressive produced work under their belts, and executive producer Frank Rich was the New York Times’s chief theater critic from 1980 to 1993. - Vox
"The manuscripts were copied by cleric Richard Heege, a tutor to the Sherbrooke family, part of the Derbyshire gentry. … Dr. Wade concluded that Heege copied the text of an unknown minstrel who performed near the Derbyshire-Nottinghamshire border in about 1480." - BBC
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival announced Thursday that former tech executive Tyler Hokama has been appointed the company’s interim executive director, and at the same time announced a new fundraising goal to complete its 2023 season. - The Oregonian
Behind the scenes, Toronto’s largest theatre festival was struggling. Audience attendance fell below expectations. Fundraising efforts came up short. All that while the festival saw COVID subsidies wind up and operating costs increase. - Toronto Star
"The special Tony Award that honors educators will go this year to Jason Zembuch-Young, a drama teacher in Florida who has closed the gap between the deaf and hearing worlds by having productions performed in both voice and American Sign Language." - AP
"Grosses are down about 13% from the record 2018-19 season but only 7% from the (previous) year. The remaining gap is largely caused by the reluctance of suburban audiences to return — (partly because) many suburbanites have not returned to working in their city offices during the week." - The Hollywood Reporter
