“Last week, I was driving to work, thinking about how I would interact with aliens if I ever met them. What’s the best way to explain yourself to complete and utter strangers? The answer is obvious, of course: MIXTAPES!”

“This past week, I reported that a theatre company in Australia had opened their production of ‘A Chorus Line’ without the role of Richie, a role written to be played by a Black performer. Well, there have been some updates. The Australian theatre company, Drew Anthony Creative, announced today that they have cast the role. But questions remain about how all this happened in the first place.”

“Teaching the works of Shakespeare in Florida schools will look a lot different than in past years. Schools are planning to only show excerpts of works by Shakespeare to students, in a bid to avoid “racy or sexual” content in his plays.”

“A music professor at one of the country’s most prestigious performing arts colleges is under investigation after allegations of grooming and sexual assault were brought forward by one of his former students.”

“Does theatre need help? Absolutely and there’s a myriad of sources that can be tapped to help the industry through a combination of factors that make this a challenging moment. But to presume that all hope is lost and that theatre is dead as an art form is as cynical as the people writing the op-eds.”

“A teacher from a school in India, posted in a Facebook group that they were going to do Disney’s ‘Encanto’ for their school musical this year. He was very quickly reminded that the rights to the musical aren’t available and that he shouldn’t continue trying to perform the show.”

“A three-week intensive like this is a fantastic opportunity for someone to get access and mentorship that has been challenging to obtain for the communities that MUSE and MAESTRA are dedicated to helping. I don’t have a problem with this, and I’m sure many of you don’t either. But hell hath no fury like telling a cis-white male that a door isn’t open for him to burst through like the Kool Aid Man.”

“This past week, the Bradley Playhouse had the licensing rights for their production of ‘A Chorus Line’ revoked because they had removed the character of “Richie” from the show when they weren’t able to find an actor to portray him. Now a theatre halfway around the world may have done same the same thing.”

“The new statement from the Bradley Playhouse raises even more questions. It doesn’t address the real problems at the playhouse and doesn’t even begin to give any solution. If anything, this statement is only further proof that the new leadership who can actually do the work to lead them from all this.”

“The leadership at the Bradley Playhouse has to go. They made one wrong decision with ‘A Chorus Line’ but have a history of other disastrous decisions that are putting people at risk. It is some of the worst leadership I have ever seen at a community theatre.”

“A community theatre in CT has had to cancel its entire run of A Chorus Line’ after the licensing rights to the show were revoked when it was discovered that the theatre had removed the character of “Richie” because they could not find a Black performer to portray the role.”

Monty Python’s Spamalot, the 2005 Tony winner for Best Musical, will return to Broadway this fall. Performances will begin on October 31 at the St. James Theatre, in advance of a November 16 opening.