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?

A debate has arisen over Sunday night's win for Tony Shalhoub for his performance in The Band's Visit. While other nominees such as Ethan Slater sung and danced through Spongbob Sqaurepants and Joshua Henry had to take on the musical theatre doctorate known as "Soliloquoy", Mr. Shalhoub hardly sings at all. While I don't have the sheet music in front of me, having seen the show, I would guess that he sings roughly 32-64 bars in the entire show.

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? 

On Thursday, Playbill reported that actress Ruthie Ann Miles would be returning to her role as Lady Tiang for the West End production of "The King and I". Managing News Editor, Ryan McPhee, also reported that Miles would share the role with Naoko Mori. 

The article also pointed out that "The casting update follows the news that Miles lost the unborn child she was carrying two months after a Brooklyn car crash that took the life of her four-year-old daughter."

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. 

12 Tony Nominations, Critical praise and pulling in $1.4 million per week, the debate whether or not "Mean Girls" would be a success has been decided, it most definitely is. The musical is striking a cord with younger audiences and I have no doubt this will become a staple in high schools and colleges for years to come once licensing rights are available. But given its popularity and success on 42nd Street, one has to wonder if this, along with other shows like Dear Evan Hansen, will lead to more teenage-centric stories to grace Broadway stages. The same goes for shows that never got their Broadway run but have since become incredibly popular with younger audiences. The best example of this would be "Heathers". 

While many high school students are taking finals and getting ready for the summer, many of their thespian classmates are getting ready for the most important time of the year, high school theatre competitions. 

Over the years many of these awards have provided more than just bragging rights for area schools. They have provided scholarships and resume highlights for these students. The schools themselves also benefit from having tangible achievements that come in handy when budget season comes around. 

But with any competition, whether it's on the field or on the stage, there are negative elements that can create toxic environments and poor choices on the part of the educators. It also reveals an uneven playing field where the richer schools benefit while the lower budget ones are ignored. 

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.