Spotlight
Stories that deserve your attention
University Theatre cancels 'Chaplin: The Musical' over concerns about his conduct with young girls
“Last week, a university theatre club in New Zealand decided to cancel their upcoming production of Chaplin: The Musical after it had been discovered that the actor had a notorious past when it came to conduct with teenaged girls.”
How to assemble the perfect production team
“Hiring a talented but also reliable production team can be stressful. Of course, you want a crew that can help bring your vision to the stage, but how do you know they’ll also make deadlines, show up to production meetings on time, and overall be a professional individual?”
The 5 Struggles of Being the Only Musical Theatre Fan in Your Group of Friends
“Some day you’ll make your friends come around.”
Encourage more boys to join youth theater
“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?"
RI Theatre Staff Resign Amid Allegations of Sexual Assault Against Artistic Director
“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.”
Musical Theater Students & Alums File Lawsuits Against Pace University and Former Head of MT Program
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.
Does 'The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee' work as a film?
“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.”
COVID Career Changes: Thoughts on Returning to Jobs in Theatre
“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.”
'In The Heights' & Avoiding Hollywood's "Single Story" on Latinx Representation
“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.”
Check out these 'In the Heights' Easter Eggs!
“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.”
Will "In The Heights" Be Seen In Theaters Or HBO Max? We Surveyed Our Readers To Find Out!
“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.”
Community Theatres Need to Stop Protecting Their Problematic Men
“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.”