“Why are there never enough boys in children's theater programs? Why is it that there is a stigma with theater not being considered masculine?"

“Staff members at a Rhode Island theatre company have resigned following an investigation into allegations of sexual assault against the company’s artistic director, who has vowed to continue in his role.”

Sixteen current and former students of Pace University’s School of Performing Arts have filed individual lawsuits in hopes of forcing the school to address allegations of systemic racism within its musical theatre program. Named in the lawsuits are not only Pace University but also its former head of the musical theatre program, Amy Rogers.

“It’s not that a musical can’t ever translate well on screen. Grease, Rodger and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Annie, West Side Story, Hello Dolly! – these worked. I also have hope for other upcoming adaptations, such as Lin Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights. In cases like these, the switch in medium makes sense and serves an artistic purpose. For Spelling Bee, it has the potential to do the opposite.”

“After such a difficult time, it’s been more than a relief to see friends posting positive social media updates about their return to the theatre now that we’re beginning to reopen. But for some, the forced COVID career change, though unwelcome, has been a time to reflect on their work in the theatre and to reevaluate what the future holds.”

“The statement Lin-Manuel Miranda released regarding the criticism towards In The Heights indicates that he understands that his choice to leave out some stories is a direct result of his biases and blind-spots. That would be less of a problem if more people, with different biases and blind-spots, were also telling uplifting stories about the Latino community.”

“With the film adaptation of ‘In the Heights’ officially released to the general public (both in movie theatres, and on HBO Max), the time for Easter egg hunting has begun. Below are 13 of our favorite cameos, ranging from original Broadway cast members to legendary public radio hosts.”

“With a brand new movie musical “In The Heights” coming out in theaters and HBO Max on June 10th, OnStage Blog conducted a survey of its readers to find out how many people were planning on seeing the movie and whether they were going to venture back into theaters to do it.”

“Throughout my years of both being involved in community theatre and covering it, I’ve seen constant examples of theatre groups tolerating and ignoring the bad behavior of their male talent. This practice has led to serious issues such as sexual misconduct which could have been prevented if theatre officials took real action.”

“To me, if half the soundtrack stays with the audience after it ends, the movie musical succeeded. Is it a low bar? I guess, but ultimately, the goal of a movie musical is for the music to engage the audience long after the performance ends.”

“Figure out why you want to hire,” Pace said. “What are you hoping they’ll bring to the table? Do you want someone who will do education or just choreography? Are you looking for a borderline co-director because the show is so intimate? Ask questions tailored to what you need, rather than what you think they should have.”

In the past week, there has been a newfound call to arms for theatres across the globe to make their stages more diverse when they resume operations. However, not every community theatre can do this. Not every community is diverse enough or has the talent pool to produce heavily diverse shows. So what steps can they take to bring more performers of color to their stages?