The historic and prolific St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre (commonly known as The Muny), is marking a rare feat for regional theatres, its 100th season. It's a milestone that should rightfully be celebrated in not only the St. Louis theatrical community but here in New York City as well, as many a performer has graced that stage at one time or another. 

However, their season is off to a bumpy start, according to some who have seen how they've decided to stage various numbers in their production of Jerome Robbins' Broadway. The show, which serves as a tribute anthology to shows that Robbins worked on, features fully produced recreations of his choreography. That means these numbers are done in the context of the shows their from and with full costuming. And that is where the problem lies. 

What will be today’s Musical Theatre legacy?  What work will be left behind for the next generation to look back on with admiration, commenting on how ahead of its time it was?  Should producers be dusting off old chestnuts like South Pacific, Hair and La Cage in this time of turmoil?  Or should Musical Theatre simply be an escape for its audience to forget about the turmoil this nation is facing? 

First up: Here’s a fun collection of some of our favourite artists covering the musical theatre greats. It’s not meant to be a comprehensive list; not everyone’s faves are going to be on it.  Not everyone is going to make every list every time. This isn’t a list of the “best,” it’s just that: a mixed tape. Also excluded were more recent folks from the theatre community covering theatre songs. 

There were many amazing, memorable moments from the 2018 Tony Awards: The students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School's incredible and touching rendition of "Seasons of Love", the Carousel cast's show-stopping choreographed performance, Josh Groban and Sara Bareilles' quirky yet charming hosting, the Dear Evan Hansen cast's beautiful medley of "You Will Be Found" and "For Forever", Lindsay Mendez's acceptance speech, the #TonyDreaming montages, the list could go on and on. 

Anyone who watched the Tony award show in its entirety caught Robert De Niro’s bleeped-out remark about President Trump, and, of course, it spread through social media like wildfire.  His f**k Trump statement was a quick, yet succinct, personal, and some would say political, comment that drew the ire of some and admiration from others.  So, does this type of remark belong at an awards ceremony?

As adults, is it 'cool' to hate competitive theatre festivals and events? Is it in our moral DNA to say it's not right to judge art?' Does our stance change if we are also thrilled by it, and would we have a different point of view if we were the ones winning? 

In 2017, I was really struggling to find the right path on a professional level. I had just graduated college with a journalism degree and had stage-managed my last college production. I felt myself coming to the end of a road, and I was right about that. It was the end of my college career and I soon would be dealing with a less strict schedule which meant only one thing: more time on my hands. 

Last week, I wrote about over whether or not high school theatre awards actually help or hurt high school theatre departments. Reaction to the piece was mixed with some sharing their positive experiences and others who had quite the opposite.

In the past few days, an uproar in Pittsburgh regarding their high school theatre awards proves how these types of awards can create issues and cause students and parents to lose focus on what's really important when it comes to the performing arts. 

I would be lying if I said I was familiar with Theatre Under the Stars in Houston, TX. But their audition notice for their upcoming production of The Wiz has caught many performers' attention for its...well...character descriptions and the type of performers they're seeking for these roles. 

A while back I went to see a show my friend was performing in. I'm going to be honest with you when I say that the show was horrible. I can count on two fingers the number of shows I've left during intermission due to their quality and had my friend not been in it, this would have been the third. 

After the show, we went out for coffee. I knew the question was coming but I was really hoping it wasn't. Finally, after our first cups she said,

"So what did you think?"

During my second year studying undergraduate theatre, my class watched a documentary called Every Little Step. This film details the story of the musical Chorus Line and follows the casting process of the 2006 Broadway revival. Although it is a truly fascinating film I would recommend to all theatre fanatics, one moment stuck with me most of all. One of the actresses cast in the revival said of dancing and showbiz, “If you have something to fall back on, you’ll fall back.” My fellow classmates seemed to think this was wise advice to keep in mind as we began our careers as actors, but to me something seemed wrong with the picture.

When I was 15 years old, I shimmied into a sequined leotard and balanced a feathered headpiece on my head for my high school production of George M! I distinctly recall claiming a private changing space in our closet-sized dressing room during our first dress rehearsal, only to have it dawn on me that there was no point in being modest: I’d be wearing virtually nothing onstage, so why bother hiding now?