Category: theatre

“We know from soldiers today coming back from Iraq or Afghanistan that they have these hallucinations,” Michael Fassbender said. “You could be walking down the Croisette here and then it’s Basra. All of a sudden it’s Basra”.

“The use of on-stage tropes to represent colonial oppression has been written about extensively by many scholars in my field of Theatre Studies. The over-arching theme is that non-Indigenous playwrights appear consumed by the desire to exhume, revise, critique or, perhaps, correct a national narrative in which colonial violence, massacre and dispossession has remained concealed in official accounts of history.”

“The poison of a bad review is not the public shame, although that doesn’t feel great. And it’s not the fact that an expert believes you may be an untalented writer or a horrible mother or a sub-standard teacher. It’s that a bad review can confirm your worst suspicions about yourself.”

“When most audience members watch Wong perform, on the set of ‘Is It True?’ or at one of his theater shows, they’re not just seeing him for the first time: It’s their first exposure to live stand-up, period. They’re not always sure how to react.”

“The subject is sensitive, awkward and uncomfortable but also, a growing priority for even the most established theater companies in Chicago, many of which are still relatively new at what museums and universities have been doing for decades: discretely shimmying up to cherished, aging supporters and gently wondering if they might leave the theater a little something in their wills some day. But there is an art to the ask.

“Both Paparelli and his theater company — the two were inseparable — were at their creative peak. During Paparelli’s seven-year tenure, ATC produced a slew of highly regarded world premieres, including that of Ayad Akhtar’s “Disgraced” which moved to Broadway and went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for drama.”

“Thanks in part to the box-office drawing power of Hugh Jackman, Bradley Cooper, Helen Mirren, Larry David, Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick and other celebrated performers, Broadway’s on-track to report that grosses and attendance rose by about 8 percent from 2013-14. After 51 weeks, Broadway’s sales of $1.33 billion are already a record. Given that attendance is 12.8 million and exceeds 200,000 a week, it’s almost certain to top 13 million for the first time when official results come out early next week.”

“Creative Arts Awards, including Best Original Score, Best Book of a Musical and others such as Scenic Design, Lighting Design, Orchestrations and more, are typically handed out off the air. Clips from winners’ acceptance speeches are then shown during a commercial break, and videos later surface on the Tony Awards YouTube channel.”

“The five songs that were cut before rehearsals include a tune called “Lady Liza,” sung by Higgins and his buddy Colonel Hugh Pickering; “Please Don’t Marry Me,” a lament for Higgins; and “Shy,” in which Eliza confesses she has feelings for her professor. The composers decided that wasn’t true to George Bernard Shaw’s original play, so they replaced it with “I Could Have Danced All Night,” where she expresses excitement rather than affection.”

While 20 have been nominated, only four will win. “Here, a look at who’s ahead, who can upset and who should just be happy to be there.”