What’s Gender Got to Do With Acting Awards?
Why the Georgia High School Musical Theatre Awards are beginning to eliminate gendered acting awards, in recognition of a generational shift and an increase in LGBTQIA+ representation.
Category Archives: Opinion
Hath Not a Jew Roles? A Case for Authentic Jewish Casting
Not every Jewish role needs to be cast with Jewish actors, but for plays with antisemitic elements, strong Jewish representation is a must.
Kaddish for Steve: On the Jewishness of Sondheim
Sondheim’s work is elusive, ambivalent, internally conflicted, and deeply concerned with how stories are told. What could be more Jewish?
In Theatre, At Least We’re Honest About the Lie
A poet/playwright reflects on the pleasure and possibility of a medium where deliberate fakery can lead to a kind of freedom.
How ‘American Utopia’ Managed to Remain in Light
The Broadway stage manager recounts how her company conceived and staged a new concert version of the popular show in the face of COVID cancellations.
It Takes a Virtual Village: New Motherhood, Theatre, and the Pandemic
As if having a baby while working in the theatre isn’t hard enough, the pandemic has only intensified the stress—and the need for networks of support.
Everything in Moderation: Rethinking the Talkback
Post-show engagement might take many forms, so why are we stuck with a one-size-fits-all Q&A format?
First the Album, Then the Show
Without the brand name of well-known IP, Broadway musicals are increasingly finding that releasing albums early is a route to the stage, and to fans’ hearts.
Gender and Sexuality on Broadway: You Oughta Know Better
Clocking the missed opportunities, missteps, and outright transphobic tropes in 3 currently running musicals.
A Statement With a Gun: Why ‘Assassins’ Doesn’t Need the Firepower
Classic Stage Company’s understated new production shows how Sondheim and Weidman’s triggering musical can play in an age of mass shootings and the Capitol insurrection.
