Industry Theatre Newsroom Page 50

A new play about the decades-long, tempestuous friendship between Dorothy Parker and Robert Benchley will receive an industry reading on Wednesday, May 18, 2022.

Enchant Christmas-the fastest-growing live-entertainment concept in America, and on the road to major expansion throughout the U.S. this fall-has named Cirque du Soleil pioneer Jerry Nadal as chief operating officer as the growing holiday extravaganza prepares to unveil an expanded series of 2022 dates in key cities throughout the U.S.

Tony Awards season is officially underway! With the announcement yesterday of the nominations, BroadwayWorld will be bringing you continuous coverage, stories, and exclusive interviews leading up to the big night in June.

Web Monetization for the Arts has been awarded a Spark level award from The Interledger Foundation's Grant for the Web. The project will be one of the first to look at Web Monetization solutions for the performing arts ecosystem in the United States.

GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, held the 33rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York City last night where a host of LGBTQ notables and allies called on the community to fight back against growing anti-LGBTQ attacks, particularly on LGBTQ youth and transgender Americans. GLAAD also announced recipients for 16 of this year’s 30 categories for the 33rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards. Additional categories were announced in Los Angeles on April 2 and a full list is available below.

The new musical The Music of Life, with a book by Madeline Dow and Samantha Squeri and music & lyrics by Travis Dow and Will Foreman, will receive an invite-only developmental reading on May 15. 

The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation’s 12th annual Broadway Belts for PFF! raised a record $475,000 in a new hybrid format on April 29. The sold-out gala at New York City’s Edison Ballroom, live streamed for the first time, is the single largest fundraiser in the Foundation’s history.

Student loan debt is a significant challenge for many actors and artists working in the theater today. Many rely on Student Loans to support their education. Upon entering the field they find their options limited as they struggle to pay back those loans while finding their place in the field.

Playwright Adam Rapp has signed with CAA for representation in all areas.

The Juilliard School will hold its 117th commencement ceremony on May 20, 2022, at 10:30am. The ceremony will be held outdoors on the Lincoln Center campus in Damrosch Park, presided over by Juilliard President Damian Woetzel. It will also be livestreamed at juilliard.edu for those unable to attend in person.

Actors' Equity Association, the national labor union representing more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers in live theatre, has issued the following statement in response to reports that the Supreme Court of the United States is likely to issue a ruling overturning Roe V. Wade: 

Rhinebeck Writers Retreat is presenting a reading of MISSING PEACE, a contemporary Native musical by Kalani Queypo and Kyle Puccia. The reading is directed by Devanand Janki (Little Girl Blue-The Nina Simone Musical) and music-directed by Yan Li.

The True and Unquestionable Account of Dr. Joseph Snodgrass by Ashley Marinelli is set to premiere as an industry showcase at The Players Club on Gramercy Park May 12th and 13th.

The Broadway League has announced United Airlines’ support of the League’s Black to Broadway program, developed to inspire deeper engagement, more awareness, and further access to Broadway for all Black people.

The Broadway Advocacy Coalition will present “The Fellowship Hall”, an inspiring virtual event celebrating the second annual cohort of the BAC Artivism Fellowship, supporting eight artist-activists using their artistic tools to have an impact on the world around them.

At the top of our Industry Trends section this week, we have a story about honey from the bees at the Vienna State Opera. Paired with our other story about implementing digital ticketing at venues, we can see this as two ways that companies can go about reducing the environmental harm that comes from producing large-scale live events.

Black Public Media (BPM) has awarded a total of $225,000 in funding to three creative teams who competed at its PitchBLACK Forum, which took place Tuesday and Wednesday. The annual forum, which is the largest pitching competition for Black independent filmmakers and creative technologists in the United States, is designed to advance Black content and draws a “who’s who” of public television and commercial distributors and funders.

The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales welcomes actor Alyssa May Gold for its latest episode!

Together with supporters and partners, MENTOR will host Amplify Mentoring, a Celebration of Connection & Possibility, to reflect on collective achievements in the field of mentoring, recognize champions of the movement, and celebrate the resiliency of young people and the mentors and leaders who support them.

RWS Entertainment Group (RWS), the world’s largest, fullservice provider of visitor attractions and experiences, today announced the acquisition of The Experience Department, popularly known as ted.

The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival announced today that Managing Director Kate Liberman will depart the company on August 15, 2022. Over the coming months, HVSF will be conducting a thorough search for its next Managing Director.

The rising costs of production are putting a squeeze on many theatres - from Long Wharf to the Edinburgh fringe. While some of these costs are inflation related and are sure to come back down in the long term, it does leave the question of what theatres and producers can do as they try and recover from the past two years of challenges.

Equity has launched a new campaign against the use of AI, which puts the livelihoods of actors at risk.

Written by Gracie Rittenberg & Directed by Jessica Wu. This new gender-bent adaptation of Hamlet is taking on New York by storm and looking to partner with like-minded artists and companies.

Music Theatre International has released Broadway Junior Revue: Pure Imagination, the perfect introduction to Broadway Junior for young performers!