Beware the Ides of March, indeed.
A year ago today, the mayor shut down all remaining New York City theaters (the governor had shut Broadway three days earlier). “I think we all remember where we were when we heard the news, because we’re all still there,” Stephen Colbert said, deftly tweaking nostalgists who treated the grim anniversary as something akin to 9/11, a date to reminisce about.
Better to look ahead, short-term and long-term.
What shows are opening this week.
What was announced for this season.
The Week in Awards.
The Week in Theater Reviews.
The Week in Theater News.
The Year in Review.
The Week in Theater Videos: In The Heights trailer, We Will Be Back Times Square concert. A Year of Online Theater in Seven Minutes.
What was announced this week for the season
(My reviews of the original productions: Vanya and Masha; The Royale; The Wolves; Marys Seacole)
Spotlight on Plays seven-play season
THE THANKSGIVING PLAY
By Larissa FastHorse, Directed by Leigh Silverman
Starring Bobby Cannavale, Keanu Reeves, Heidi Schreck, Alia Shawkat
Date: March 25
(My review Off-Broadway)
ANGRY, RAUCOUS AND SHAMELESSLY GORGEOUS
By Pearl Cleage, Directed by Camille A. Brown
Starring Debbie Allen, Phylicia Rashad, Heather Alicia Simms, Alicia Stith
Date: April 9
(Details and dates for the others to be announced)
WATCH ON THE RHINE
By Lillian Hellman, Directed by Sarna Lapine
OHIO STATE MURDERS
By Adrienne Kennedy, Directed by Kenny Leon
DEAR ELIZABETH
By Sarah Ruhl, Directed by Kate Whoriskey
THE BALTIMORE WALTZ
By Paula Vogel, Directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz
THE SISTERS ROSENSWEIG
By Wendy Wasserstein, Directed by Anna D. Shapiro
Playground, a theater company that’s popular in San Francisco and Los Angeles, is opening Playground NY in the Fall.
The Week in Awards
The ACTA Winners: Online Theater Awards for Pandemic Year One
Jagged Little Pill Wins Grammy For Best Musical Album
Oscar Nominations 2021: Mank Leads
The Week in Theater Reviews
Three Days of Rain: Not Julia Roberts, but better
The Year of Magical Thinking and Middletown: Boomer Theater?
The Week in Theater News
The 1.9 trillion dollar stimulus bill that Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed into law last week includes $470 million earmarked for cultural organizations, with $135 million each for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and $200 million for the Institute of Museum and Library Services
In President Biden’s address to the nation on March 11th, the first anniversary of the World Health Organization’s decision to declare COVID-19 a pandemic, he set himself a series of deadlines
“All adult Americans will be eligible to get a vaccine no later than May 1….
“…we’ll have enough vaccine supply for all adults in America by the end of May….”
“I need you to get vaccinated when it’s your turn and when you can find an opportunity. And to help your family, your friends, your neighbors get vaccinated as well….if we do all this, if we do our part, if we do this together, by July the 4th, there’s a good chance you, your families and friends will be able to get together in your backyard or your neighborhood and have a cookout and a barbecue and celebrate Independence Day.”
The Met Opera’s Musicians, Unpaid Since April, Are Struggling
About 40 percent of the players have left the New York area, and a tenth have retired. Now the Met is seeking long-term pay cuts, and offering them partial pay if they come to the bargaining table.
Brown Paper Tickets to refund $9 million to 45,000 customers
In honor of Women’s History Month, the New York Public Library’s Patrick Hoffman considers the legacy of Betty Corwin, founder oTheatre on Film and Tape Archive
The Pandemic Year in Review
A Year Offstage (American Theatre Magazine package)
March 12, 2020: The Night the City Sighed to Sleep (NY Times)
I knew I’d miss theater when Broadway shuttered. I didn’t know I’d miss the audiences, by Catherine Rampell, Washington Post
I Miss Being Part of an Audience by Jason Zinoman NY Times
The Week in Theater Videos
To watch the entire We’ll Be Back concert, with speeches of gratitude and advocacy.
