Thursday, April 5, 2018

Here's Why English Spelling Is Such A Confounding Mess by Artsjournal1

Linguist John McWhorter explains the reasons (such as our language's mongrel origins) in this Lexicon Valley podcast.

SOURCE: Slate at 04:02PM
Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Did America's Founding Fathers Have English Accents? by Artsjournal1

Linguist John McWhorter gives a rundown of what we know about how Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, and their fellow spoke. (podcast)

SOURCE: Slate at 01:01PM
Friday, December 22, 2017

How A Fight Over Attending The Theatre Fueled Civil Rights Battle In the 1800s

"Across America, on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line, the races were kept separate at the theater. Black people sat apart in the upper galleries or were excluded entirely, by custom and, i…

SOURCE: Slate at 04:01PM
Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Dear Evan Hansen, You Are a Creep by Jason Zinoman

The dissembling liar at the center of Broadway hit Dear Evan Hansen. The hit Broadway musical is testament to the power of skillfully crafted art to obscure moral concerns.

SOURCE: Slate at 08:44PM
Thursday, September 1, 2016

The Making of Trans Scripts by David Levesley

David Levesley follows the development of Paul Lucas's play "Trans Scripts" on its journey from workshop to Edinburgh Fringe to American Repertory Theater. Special focus on the importance o…

SOURCE: Slate at 10:58AM
Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Oral history of Tony Kushner’s play Angels in America. by Isaac Butler and Dan Kois

How Tony Kushner’s play became the defining work of American art of the past 25 years.

SOURCE: Slate at 08:23PM
Sunday, April 17, 2016

Historians are criticizing Hamilton, and fans should be thrilled. by Isaac Butler

If, like me, you work in theater and spend a lot of time procrastinating on social media, you’ve probably seen many of your friends ranting about small minded academic quislings fact-check…

SOURCE: Slate at 11:05PM
Friday, April 8, 2016

A Hamilton critic on why the musical isn’t so revolutionary. by Rebecca Onion

“It’s still white history. And no amount of casting people of color disguises the fact that they’re erasing people of color from the actual narrative.”

SOURCE: Slate at 07:28AM
Saturday, March 19, 2016

America has lots of unsolicited advice for Lin-Manuel Miranda about what his next musical should be. by L. V. Anderson

Earlier this week, the cast of Hamilton gave a student workshop and a performance at the White House, and Barack and Michelle Obama gave the musical’s creator and star, Lin-Manuel Miranda,…

SOURCE: Slate at 08:00AM
Friday, January 8, 2016

How should Lin-Manuel Miranda structure the film adaptation of Hamilton? by David Ehrlich

In my mind (if you’re reading, Mr. Miranda), the silver screen Hamilton adaptation plants the soul of the show into the body of Paul Schrader’s florid and flowing Mishima: A Life in Four…

SOURCE: Slate at 06:25PM
Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Ham4Ham: Lin-Manuel Miranda and the cast of Hamilton reward ticket lottery entrants with free shows. by Forrest Wickman

#Ham4Ham, the joyous, free sidewalk performances outside Hamilton that are stoking the passions of a new generation of theater lovers.

SOURCE: Slate at 04:06PM
Wednesday, November 4, 2015

King Michael of Times Square by Jason Zinoman

The glorious, entertaining, phony, doomed reign of Broadway reporter Michael Riedel.

SOURCE: Slate at 06:23AM
Saturday, October 31, 2015

The MGM history of Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney. by Karina Longworth

The long, fruitful, and tortured relationships Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, and MGM.

SOURCE: Slate at 08:09AM
Friday, October 30, 2015

How does a casting director work? by Arun Venugopal

Bernie Telsey has been casting hit musicals, films, and TV shows for more than 20 years. In this week’s episode of Working, Telsey talks about what he’s looking for in an audition, how d…

SOURCE: Slate at 12:31PM
Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Debbie Gibson on honesty, loyalty, and her Electric Youth. by Brian Koppelman

The iconic pop star reflects on life as a teenage sensation and the years she’s spent since getting to know herself.

SOURCE: Slate at 10:34PM
Friday, June 5, 2015

Why is theater so meaningful to gay people? Broadway's Jordan Roth, interviewed. by June Thomas

At 39, Jordan Roth is one of the most powerful men in the New York theater world. As president and majority shareholder in Jujamcyn Theaters, he controls five Broadway houses, making him the…

SOURCE: Slate at 11:05PM
Monday, May 25, 2015

From Screen to Stage By Mac Rogers

How to turn a movie into a musical.

SOURCE: Slate at 05:58PM

Break a Leg! by Zachary Pincus-Roth

No, really, break it. We need more violence onstage.

SOURCE: Slate at 05:58PM

Let's Just Skip Ahead to Spider-Man: The Musical: The Musical by Tom Scocca

The tale of the ongoing catastrophe of the mega-musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark keeps getting deeper and richer.

SOURCE: Slate at 05:58PM

The Scottsboro Boys by Jason Zinoman

Is the most ambitious new musical of the Broadway season racist? You could get that impression from reading the press coverage of The Scottsboro Boys, a wildly entertaining coda to the rich.…

SOURCE: Slate at 05:58PM

How I Serenaded Your Mother By June Thomas

The fine art of the musical episode.

SOURCE: Slate at 05:58PM

The Scottsboro Boys by Jason Zinoman

Is the most ambitious new musical of the Broadway season racist?

SOURCE: Slate at 05:58PM

With Great Power Comes Great Irresponsibility by Jason Zinoman

Spider-Man is a wild, sexed-up, Greek mythologized train wreck. But it's Julie Taymor's train wreck, through and through.

SOURCE: Slate at 05:58PM

West End Story by June Thomas

My Week of London Theatergoing

SOURCE: Slate at 05:58PM

Didion v. Didion by Amanda Fortini

In The Year of Magical Thinking, the writer picks on herself.

SOURCE: Slate at 05:58PM

We're Soaring! We're Flying! By Marisa Meltzer

For every generation, there is a musical.

SOURCE: Slate at 05:58PM

Lombardi Punts by Jason Zinoman

The new play about the Green Bay Packers coach is more interested in the myth than the man.

SOURCE: Slate at 05:58PM

What a Prick by Jason Zinoman

Al Pacino makes it safe to hate Shylock again.

SOURCE: Slate at 05:58PM

How To Act Like A 3,000-Year-Old Man by Jason Zinoman

In praise of Denis O'Hare.

SOURCE: Slate at 05:58PM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards