A Lost ‘Member’: The Mary Rodgers Musical That Wasn’t
In this excerpt from ‘Shy,’ the brutally frank memoir Rodgers wrote with Jesse Green, a Carson McCullers adaptation takes shape, then founders.
Category Archives: Opinion
Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary
Composer Mary Rodgers’s unsparing new memoir, equal parts hilarious and harrowing, tells of an eventful life in which musical theatre wasn’t the only source of drama.
The Red Stuff: A Guide to Letting It Bleed Onstage
Jennifer McClure’s new book provides a prop master’s guide to blood effects, from design to clean-up and every sanguinary step in between.
Funny Girls, Money Men: The Complications of Jewishness on Broadway
Using ‘Funny Girl’ and ‘The Lehman Trilogy’ as jumping-off points, 2 theatremakers tackle the often cross-cutting challenges of Jewish representation, and explore why casting alone can’t save problematic material.
Wake Up, Theatres: Do You Think They’ll Stop With Book Bans?
The forces attacking the human rights and free expression of the most marginalized among us know exactly what they’re doing, but we have a way to fight back: the stage.
Why So Much Rain on Beanie’s Parade?
Fair criticism is one thing, but the vitriol directed at the ‘Funny Girl’ star, or at anyone who dared to celebrate her historic casting, felt personal.
Customs of the Stage Tribe
This excerpt from a new book introducing performers to the unique world of the stage actor covers some of its unique rituals and traditions.
Fragments, Loss, and Language: On the Jewishness of Pinter and Stoppard
An excerpt from a new book about the lessons learned from staging the work of 2 major English writers.
For Better or Worse, We Still Live in Joe Papp’s World
The Public Theater founder’s life and legacy, traced in a documentary on PBS, may be best understood, and built upon, as part of the U.S. regional theatre movement.
Tripwire Harlot to Publish ‘Sledgehammer Series’ of BIPOC Plays
The new 4-volume series will include collected works by Phillip Howze, Hansol Jung, Jorge Ignacio Cortiñas, and Christina Anderson.
