ear Sam Shepard,

In the past few years, popular culture has been wracked with celebrity deaths that many feel strongly about. And rightfully so – Robin Williams, Gene Wilder, Carrie Fisher, several very high profile artists and actors that have caught the public eye and imagination. But I don’t think there will be such a widespread heartache for you, sir. Which is a shame, because you have been hailed several times as the greatest American playwright of your time.

While I have only been active in theatre for the past 20 years, I cannot recall a Broadway fiasco like the one that is unfolding with Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812. 

To say it's a mess would be an understatement. If this is how it looks from the outside, I can only imagine what the cast and crew are going through and my heart certainly goes out to them. 

Tell me if this story sounds familiar: You leave an audition feeling like you absolutely crushed it. So much so it would be a complete shock if you weren't offered the role. Days go by and you hear nothing until the moment you're told the role was given to someone else.

Aside from being sad and angry, chances are you might be a bit confused. Why didn't you get the role? What did you do wrong? What could you have done better? 

‘Are you nervous?’ someone asked me last night about bringing my show over from the UK to New York for the first time.

‘No,’ I replied honestly. ‘I don’t tend to get nervous anymore before doing Shurl - just excited to be sharing it with people.’

A couple of hours ago I sat in the tiny black box theatre that is Midtown Festival’s Jewel Box. The technical rehearsal had gone well - efficient; lighting states swiftly sorted; cue-to-cue accomplished without a hitch.

If you've been following theatre news for the past 24-hours, there is quite the mess going down at Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812. It was announced that current Pierre, Okieriete "Oak" Onaodowan, will end his limited engagement on Augst 13th and that Broadway legend Mandy Patinkin will step in the role until September 3rd. 

While many theatre fans rejoiced at the news of Patinkin making a short-lived return to Broadway, many were left wondering, "What happened with Oak?"

This morning, fans of the new musical Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 were shocked to see that Mandy Patinkin will replace Hamilton’s Okieriete “Oak” Onaodowan in the lead role of Pierre on August 15th. Oak had just recently joined the production on July 11th, and many of us were wondering why he is leaving so soon?

If I were to ask most people what they think of when they see the color ‘pink,’ I believe the answer would most likely be femininity. Now, with changing times, I find that ‘femininity’ has a varied meaning from person to person. Although the term has generally been associated with qualities and behaviors traditionally expected to only be embodied by girls and women, people have started to widen their scope and have begun to define femininity in a more individualized manner and associate it with anyone who chooses to personify it (of course, society still has a long way to go before it fully widens its scope, but that’s a different discussion).

Summer definitely seems to be the time when local companies dust off their Shakespeare texts and a wide range of the Bard's work is performed in public places. This is also a time when directors get a bit creative with their takes on these classics. Some of the work really well, others don't. 

But one such company, the Striving Artists Theatre Company is doing something quite interesting. Not only is the Boston based theatre doing Shakespeare's "The Henriad", a funny, action-packed blend of four of the bard's most popular histories, but they are doing it with a cast assembled from a gender-blind audition process. 

Growing up and going to school in the South, I spent most of my life in an environment where those around me shared my basic spiritual ideologies and religious faith. While no one’s journey in faith is identical to anyone else’s, I rarely found myself in circumstances in which my beliefs were overtly questioned.

A while ago, I was working on a production starring one of my favorite all-time performers. Not only did I feel fortunate enough to work alongside this person but also that it was occurring early in my career. From everything I had heard about this woman, she was a joy to work with, told amazing stories and would often lend advice to up and coming performers. As rehearsals began I realized, this was far from the truth.