Sexual Harassment in the Theater. Also: Lin-Manuel Miranda in Fatwa the Musical. Gyllenhaal sings to Sondheim. Armie Hammer, Reggie Jackson On Stage. Week in NY Theater

You are not alone. That was the message of  the Town Hall on sexual harassment in the theater that was held on Monday at the Public Theater, which included both comments from dozens of people from the theater community, and a list of resources (See below.) The convening occurred amid a growing accumulation of public accusations, the latest a well-known playwright and a casting agent.

Also this week in New York theater: Lin-Manuel Miranda performs in Fatwa the Musical (in Curb Your Enthusiasm),Armie Hammer to make his Broadway debut, Reggie Jackson joins a musical, the Broadway League escalates fight with casting agents, Marlee Matlin at the Broadway Accessibility Summit, the Boss extends, the Butterfly ends early;  November’s quiz, December’s openings. And Jake Gyllenhaal and Annaleigh Ashford record “Move On” while Stephen Sondheim reacts.

November Quiz December Theater openings

MISCONDUCT

Among the resources available: The Crime Victims Treatment Center   The Sexual Harrassment Handbook: Everything You Need to Know Before Someone Calls a Lawyer by Linda Gordon Howard (17-Feb-2007) Paperback, a guide by attorney Linda Gordon Howard on how to recognize and effectively deal with sexual harassment in the workplace.   Details

Full list of resources, provided by the Public Theater   Some of the comments by the dozens of people who spoke at the Town Hall at the PublicTheater, which was moderated by Stephanie Ybarra, the Director of Special Artistic Projects at The Public.

Recent theater graduate: We learned technical things about theater, but not how to treat people, and not how to value ourselves

Performance artist: I was sexually assaulted, I did all the right things; I reported it right away. The assistant district attorney, a woman, said she couldn’t prosecute. This will change when the culture changes. It IS changing

Stage hand: I’m one of four women among 200 men. I’m harassed every single day of my life. When I went to complain, they said: Work at Starbucks.

Actress: I’m both a victim and a witness of sexual assault. I haven’t come forward, because I believe the biggest impact won’t be on the perpetrators, but on me and my friends

Actor: We can’t change the past 100 years of how people treated one another in the theater, but what should our expectations be moving forward – Telsey & Co. has fired senior casting director Justin Huff, who has cast six Broadway shows (Kinky Boots, Newsies ) amid internal reports of sexual misconduct.

Nine women accuse Playwright Israel Horovitz of sexual misconduct

Beastie Boys’ Ad-Rock Condemns Dad: “I believe the allegations against my father are true, and I stand behind the women that made them.”

“I heard a word used recently about people like this — they’re dream crushers,” said Ms. Dann (one of the accusers). “He took this thing that was such a beautiful thing, this young hope, this sense of promise, and he just ruined it.”

House of Cards to resume in 2018, without Kevin Spacey.

Happy Birthday, Bette! Apologize to her, Geraldo!

And here it is, a birthday present to Bette, sort of — the latest in two months of inadequate apologies by powerful men for vile behavior

Dame Angela Lansbury weighs in on sexual harassment, which causes a backlash, prompting her response to the backlash.

Week in New York Theater Reviews

Chloe Sevigny as Mary, Advid Levi as her son.

Downtown Race Riot Review: Chloë Sevigny As A Single Junkie Mom in 1970s Greenwich Village

Harry Clarke Review: Seduced by Billy Crudup

Week in New York Theater News

M Butterfly will close six weeks early, on January 14, 2018, after 19 previews & 93 regular performances Springsteen on Broadway extends an extra three months, to June 30,2018 (I guess Springsteen likes Broadway)

Chess, the cult musical about chess championship that lasted just two months on Broadway in 1988, is getting a new adaptation by Danny Strong (The Butler, Game Change), directed by Michael Mayer,  for a  run in February at the Kennedy Center, with an amazing cast: Raul Esparz, Ramin Karimloo, Ruthie Ann Miles, Karen Olivo. Next move, Broadway?i

The Broadway League files a lawsuit against seven Broadway casting offices (including Telsey & Co), as well as the Casting Society of America and Teamsters Local 817,  accusing them of acting like a cartel. Article in New York Times. Copy of lawsuit.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio signed the repeal of the hated 91-year old Cabaret Law, which made dancing illegal in bars/eateries without a cabaret license. (Only 104 out of 20,000 + had one) “New Yorkers looking to let loose will no longer have to fear the dance police” –  Councilmember @Rafael Espinal Jr.

At the Broadway Accessibility Summit, organizers explained that soon, every Broadway theater will have “on-demand” captions for hearing impaired through an app, #GalaPro

Below, Lauren Ridloff, star of the forthcoming Children of Lesser God, and Marlee Matlin, and Deaf West artistic director DJ Kurs

Notes from the Field

“Notes From The Field,” Anna Deavere Smith’s solo show about school-to-prison pipeline, will be presented on HBO in Feb, 2018.

Enter here for five dollar lottery for first preview on Dec 15th of Robert O,hara’s Mankind, a comedy about a world without women.

The Cort Theater was built in 1912. The Shuberts sought approval from The New York City Landmarks Commission, to restore the Broadway theater

and expand it

 

Lin-Manuel Miranda will moderate the 10th anniversary panel of In The Heights at Broadwaycon, Jan 26-28 at the Javits Center. Other alumni panelists: Karen Olivo (Vanessa), Olga Merediz (Abuela Claudia), Javier Muñoz (original Ensemble, Usnavi), Alex Lacamoire,musical director.

Lin-Manuel Miranda and F. Murray Abraham perform the opening number of “Fatwa the Musical,” in the Season 9 finale to Curb Your Enthusiasm.

“Man of La Mancha,” one-time concert by Transport Group on December 18th at Merkin Concert Hall will feature John Cariani, Jason Danieley, Santino Fontana, Marc Kudisch,Bryce Pinkham, Andrew Samonsky, and Mary Testa

Buy Sunday in the Park with George (2017 Broadway Cast Recording)

Author: New York Theater

Jonathan Mandell is a 3rd generation NYC journalist, who sees shows, reads plays, writes reviews and sometimes talks with people.

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