Theater Resources Unlimited Upcoming TRU Community Gathering Via Zoom Do All These Musicals Belong On Broadway?

A dependable haven for artists in isolation, Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) is now in its fourth year of non-stop weekly Community Gatherings this Friday, having offered to date over 200 conversations and unlimited camaraderie since April 17, 2020.

TRU hosts their Community Gatherings every Friday at 5pm ET via Zoom, originally presented to explore the creation of art and theater in the time of COVID-19, and now to ensure that these crucial conversations continue going forward as theater reopens.

6/28 - Do All These Musicals Belong on Broadway? In the room: Frankie Daily, new works director of NAMT (National Association for Musical Theater); and Peter Filichia, former New York-based theater critic for The Star-Ledger, writer and historian of the American musical theater. In 2023-24 season 15 new musicals opened on Broadway, the highest number since the 2016-17 season. Assumptions about what constitutes a Broadway musical have changed over the decades and the financial challenges of off-Broadway have lured some smaller shows into the commercial spotlight. Nevertheless, some musicals have found a level of success without the Broadway stamp of approval. Are there realistic criteria for success other than being a Broadway blockbuster? Click here to register and receive the zoom link.

UPCOMING:

7/12 - Is Australian Theatre Back to Business As Usual? And What Exactly Is That? In the room: Australian producer Neil Gooding (Back to the Future in London and New York, Holding The Man in London, UK productions of What's New Pussycat and Little Voice; Australian premieres of Gutenberg! The Musical!, Dogfight and 33 Variations and New York productions of Harmony, Islander, Church and State, Handle with Care, The 39 Steps); Nancye Hayes, member of the Order of Australia for services to the entertainment industry, legendary Australian actress, dancer, singer and choreographer/director and narrator, a leading figure in Australian musical theatre (starring in Sweet Charity, Chicago, Guys and Dolls, 42nd Street, Annie, My Fair Lady, Sweeney Todd, A Little Night Music, Sunday in the Park, Follies and Australian productions of new work) as well as plays (Born Yesterday, Same Time Next Year, Stepping Out, Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks and new work); Paul J. Hodge, an award-winning writer-composer from Brisbane (Clinton the Musical Off-Broadway, London, Edinburgh, Western Australia, JOH for P.M.; upcoming Martin Guerre); Jason Langley, an award-winning Australian director (The Hello Girls, The Production Company's revivals of Dusty, Brigadoon and The Boy From Oz at Melbourne's State Theatre, Australian tour of The Woman in Black, Wonderful Town at the Sydney Opera House) and actor (Australian premieres of Spamalot as Brave Sir Robin and Mothers and Sons as Cal) with thirty-two years in the theatre. A 14-hour time difference is the easy part. Australia and the US are worlds apart in terms of a career path in theater, the development of new works and the very business itself. What can we learn from each other? Click here to register and receive the zoom link.

Check back at TRU's web page for future 2024 gatherings: truonline.org/tru-community-gathering. To receive the Zoom invitation for weekly meetings, email TRUnltd@aol.com with "Zoom Me" in the subject header. These gatherings are free for TRU members, non-members are asked to make an optional tax-deductible donation or consider joining TRU at truonline.org/membership to support the organization during these challenging times.

Videos of past Community Gatherings may be viewed on TRU's YouTube channel at youtube.com/channel/UC43rsChi4fA23dNLeloaF_A/. And a podcast series, TRU Talks About Theater featuring 2023 Community Gathering conversations is now available wherever you get your podcasts; or tune in at ElectraCast: https://electracast.com/?s=Theater+Resources

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) is the leading network for developing theater professionals, a thirty-one year old 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization created to help producers produce, emerging theater companies to emerge healthily and all theater professionals to understand and navigate the business of the arts. Membership includes self-Producing Artists as well as career producers and theater companies.

TRU publishes an email community newsletter of services, opportunities and productions; presents weekly Community Gatherings; offers a Producer Development & Mentorship Program taught by prominent producers and general managers in New York theater, and also presents Producer Boot Camp workshops to help aspirants develop business skills. TRU serves writers through the TRU Voices Play Reading Series, TRUSpeak: Hear Our Voices evening of short plays about social issues, Writer-Producer Speed Date, a Practical Playwriting Workshop, How to Write a Musical That Works and a Director-Writer Communications Lab.

Programs of Theater Resources Unlimited are supported in part by the Montage Foundation, The Storyline Project and the Leibowitz Greenway Foundation; and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

For more information about TRU membership and programs, visit www.truonline.org.