“St. Martin could have shown empathy. That’s what good spokespeople are supposed to do. Instead, if anything, she was defiant over the current business model that works for the rich and doesn’t work for everyone else.”

“Many of us in the industry have always looked at the theatre as a safe place, a place where you can truly be yourself bound only by the limits of your imagination. That is why it is so extra heartbreaking when we uncover stories of abuse and mismanagement and toxicity in our theaters, because, for a whole bunch of us, the stage is a lifeline.”

“While there are worse ways to spend 17 minutes and 40 seconds, the best I can say about her five-track exercise in self-pity is that it exists.”

“A list of references made to everyone’s favorite Halloween cult musical.”

“Would the show have worked on Broadway? The question was inescapable as I exited the Raimund and looked at the marquee shining bright, envisioning what would have happened if I was looking at it outside of the Broadhurst Theater in New York. In this writer’s opinion, I don’t think it would have.”

“Whether it is a song, a moment of silence, a circle in the water, the telling of stories, the things we do in the aftermath, alone and together, help us to make sense of the most perplexing aspect of our experience as humans.”

“The Little Mermaid is a mythical creature who can look like anything and anyone! You’re telling me it’s easier to believe that a character has a fish tale than that she’s Black?”

“He’s an artist who has lost the favor of his original industry, one based on innovation and boundary-pushing that he was a healthy beneficiary of. All he can do now is spew right-wing talking points for the niche audience that consumes media based on political affiliation.”

Some shows contain scenes with explicit violence, full-frontal nudity, and in some cases, even scenes depicting sexual acts on stage. As one can imagine, this often provokes controversy and often can spark outright negative reactions from the audience. In cases such as this, it is worth asking: Are there instances in which theatre goes “too far”? If so, what would they be?

“There have been a lot of discussions in various spaces about the responsibility of the artist to the audience. But what about addressing the responsibility of the audience to the artist? With stories filling the news about audience members refusing to wear masks, abusing front of house staff, sneaking nude photos/videos of cast members in the middle of a performance and posting them online…it seems like we need to.”

“A theatre teacher at a Kansas middle school is under fire today over an alleged incident during performances of Basehor-Linwood Middle School's production of “Charlotte's Web”. The teacher is accused of launching into a profanity-laced rant directed at students over missed lines and other mishaps that occurred during the production.”

“Theatre touches something deep within me, and that happens whether I’m working on a show or am an audience member watching one. Just being around art, in all forms, is a satisfying experience for me.”