Regional NewsIn the News: Get a Sneak Peek at Shakespearean Rock Concert Macbeth in Stride, War Words Will Play NYC and L.A.Plus: This Is Reality, a companion podcast to Tina Satter's Is This A Room, is now available.
By
Andrew Gans, Dan Meyer
October 20, 2021
Read on for more theatre news you may have missed in today's headlines.
A Sneak Peek of Whitney White's Macbeth in Stride Obie Award winner Whitney White's Macbeth in Stride plays American Repertory Theater at Harvard University's Loeb Drama Center beginning October 23. Directed by Tyler Dobrowsky and Taibi Magar, the 90-minute production is the first of White’s five-part series commissioned by A.R.T. excavating the women from Shakespeare’s canon, examining what it means to be an ambitious Black woman through the lens of Shakespeare’s most well-known characters. The production uses pop, rock, gospel, and R&B to trace the arc of Lady Macbeth while lifting up contemporary Black female power, femininity, and desire. In the video above, watch a performance of "Reach For It,” performed by White as Woman, Charlie Thurston as Man, and Phoenix Best, Reggie D. White, and Kira Sarai Helper as the Witches. The video is by Johnathan Carr.
New York and Los Angeles Presentations of War Words Will Commemorate Veterans Day The Atlantic Council,NewYorkRep,andThe United States Veterans’ Artists Alliance will present Michelle Kholos Brooks' WarWords November 9 at 7:30 PM at The Intrepid in Manhattan and November 11 at 7:30 PM at Los Angeles' The Actors’ Gang Theater. The docu-play, which uses the words of those who served in the U.S. military during the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, will feature casts of actors that include U.S. veterans. The New York presentation features Joe Quintero, Cara Akselrad, Dave Powers, Maggie Bofill, Morgan Zipf-Meister, Sid Williams, Reynaldo Piniella, Alex Ferree, Peter Collier, Rudy Galvin, and Maribel Martinez, while the L.A. presentation features Lucy Devito, Kim Estes, Brian Lescher, Cara Akselrad, Zach Grant, Satiar Pourvasei, Alice Rietveld, James Bane, Kate Miller, Jason Olazabal, Shaun Baker, Ian Castleberry, Steve Spiro, Ron Bottitta, Christopher Sweeney, and Drea Garcia. Both presentations are free and open to the public with online registration. (WarWords will also be presented in Forth Worth, Miami, Philadelphia, and Syracuse.)
New York Theatre Barn Will Return to In-Person New Musical Showcases The first in-person New Works Series since the pandemic began will take place November 1 at 7 PM ET at The Cell in NYC. It will also be streamed live and, for the first time, the company will provide ASL interpreters for all audiences. The evening will feature excerpts from the musicals From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and How to You: A Musical Guide to Black Boyhood, as well as a conversation with the writers. The former has a book by Jessica Penzias, music by Adam Ben-David, lyrics by Christyn Budzyna, and direction by Sammi Cannold. The musical adaptation of E.L. Konigsburg’s novel tells the story of 11-year-old Claudia Kincaid and her younger brother Jamie, as they run away from home and hide out at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The latter features a book, music, and lyrics by Joriah Kwamé and follows the unborn spirit of a Black man who appears in limbo to prepare to go to the world. How to You will feature performances by Elijah Caldwell, Brynn Williams, and Kwamé, while casting for From the Mixed-Up Files… will be announced at a later date. For more information, visit NYTheatreBarn.org.
Is This A Room Companion Podcast Released This Is Reality, from Dori Berinstein and Sally Horchow, explores the true story of Reality Winner (the subject of Tina Satter’s Broadway play Is This A Room) told by those closest to her and her espionage case. In 2017, Winner, a former Air Force intelligence specialist, was charged with leaking proof of Russian interference in the 2016 election to the media. She received the longest sentence ever imposed for unauthorized release of government information. The podcast captures the unfolding events of the interrogation, the trial, the imprisonment, and the current efforts to pursue clemency with those that were "in the room" where it all happened. The audio original, produced in association with the Broadway Podcast Network, premiered October 19. Listen on BPN.FM.
The Fred Ebb Award recognizes excellence in musical theatre songwriting, by a songwriter or songwriting team that has not yet achieved significant commercial success.
