Category: theatre

Theatre on and for military bases has a long history in the U.S. “‘Entertainment for the soldier, by the soldier’ has been part of the US military since the American Revolution. Following the camp shows of the Civil War, military-based theatre was borne during WWI with the involvement of Irving Berlin, who, as a soldier, wrote and performed in Yip Yip Yaphank, an all-soldier musical tribute to the Army. Berlin continued his support of the military during WWII with This Is the Army.” But can it survive in an era of streaming?

Look, theatres … you have to get permission to gender-swap roles (or make any of a number of other changes). So now a woman is playing a role that was written as male – but as a man, not as a woman, which is how the actor started playing the role. “The problem is that in the contract, it says that we can’t change pronouns,” the theatre’s business manager said.

Lauren Yee, who wrote the new musical Cambodian Rock Band, explains why it works so well. “Cambodian music is not just covers of American or Western music. It’s really this modern, distinctive sound that is found nowhere else. It is kind of all these influences, from traditional Cambodian music, French New Wave, some of the Vietnam War-era radio. It is so ingrained in the culture in a way that I just find incredibly unique.”

Here’s a journey that starts 100 years ago: “A remarkable centennial few are paying attention to is the premiere of the first meaningful American opera to have any real national success: The Metropolitan Opera’s production of Charles Wakefield Cadman’s ‘Shanewis (or The Robin Woman).’ The 1918 opera is about a Native American singer who leaves her reservation in Oklahoma to study voice with a Santa Monica socialite at a ‘bungalow by the sea’ (I’m not making this up).”

Every generation re-evaluates the art it has received and decides whether or not it is still worthy and relevant to their interests, but it feels like we’re in a moment of particularly intense scrutiny right now. Maybe it’s important to remind Shakespeare-lovers that much of Shakespeare’s work is deeply problematic. But if we’re going to force people to confront Shakespeare’s problems, then what is the point if we’re not allowed to then say, “Actually, you’re right, this is incredibly offensive, hopelessly out of date, and I want to walk out of this play/stop studying this subject/decide never to watch, read, or produce Shakespeare again.” I think that’s a legitimate response, but not the one, I suspect, that people who are most precious about censoring Shakespeare would support.

“Although representatives of first-rank Israeli companies, such as the Cameri Theatre of Tel Aviv, argue that their organizations do not shy away from controversial work, American artistic directors whose companies have become havens for marginalized Israeli playwrights say otherwise. Groups such as [Boston’s] Israeli Stage and, even more prominently, Mosaic Theater Company in Washington consider themselves outposts for Israeli dramatists who find it increasingly hard to get a hearing in Israel for their most political works.”

The Oscar- and Tony-winning actor, now 82, returned to the stage two years ago, after a 23-year career in the UK Parliament, playing Lear in a modern-dress production at the Old Vic. Rather than bringing that staging to Broadway, she’ll be performing next spring with an entirely new creative team and cast assembled by lead producer Scott Rudin.

Peter Tate and Anthony Biggs write about how they launched The Playground Theatre in a former depot near the recently-burned Grenfell Tower in London, how they decided to configure and equip the empty building, how they connected with audiences in what may be the most diverse area in the entire UK, and how they raised the money to pay for it all.

Former Shakespeare Theatre Company associate director Ethan McSweeny has been named to run the 30-year-old American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Va., beginning next week. The Blue Ridge troupe performs in the Blackfriars Playhouse, a facsimile of the indoor theater used by Shakespeare’s troupe.

“[Disney Theatrical Productions] invited its longtime puppetry collaborator, Michael Curry (The Lion King), to experiment with ways the shaggy creature might be represented onstage. He tested two-performer pantomime before deciding to fashion a full-scale figure that could wordlessly engage with the unfolding plot — that could act — when brought to life by a single actor within. The resulting reindeer has become one of the most popular characters in the show, getting entrance applause and even a cameo on the Tonys.”