I went island hopping this past week, without ever leaving New York City, all to see theatrical productions – Roosevelt Island, Governors Island, Little Island. These outdoor shows, along with a theater festival in Hell’s Kitchen taking place inside and outside neighborhood landmarks (a meat market, a paint store, a gymnasium) felt like a sign not just of the resurrection of in-person shows, but promising examples of the much talked about “reimagined theater” that people have been hoping will emerge post-pandemic.
And there’s more to come
New York’s annual summer theater festivals return
The Week in Theater Reviews
The Alcestiad. Thornton Wilder’s flop resurrected on Roosevelt Island
Intar’s MicroTEATRO Festival. Turning Hell’s Kitchen Into a Reimagined Theater Wonderland
It’s Only A Play. Terrence McNally’s bitchy semi-updated Broadway backstage comedy
Book Review: In The Heights Finding Home
The Week in Theater News
New York lifts most virus restrictions (NY Times)
There are now 36 Broadway shows with specific opening or reopening dates for 2021-2022 season. The latest:
David Byrne’s American Utopia, is scheduled to reopen on Broadway September 17, as promised long ago, but now announced at a different theater, St. James.
Freestyle Love Supreme is returning to Broadway’s Booth Theater October 7, 2021 -January 2, 2022
The Book of Mormon has announced its reopening date: November 5, 2021.
Juneteenth 2021: A New Federal Holiday, and a Day of Theater and Music
The Asian American Performing Arts Action Coalition (AAPAC) issued its tenth annual diversity report, for New York City’s 2018-2019 theater season (the last full season before the pandemic.) It’s full of charts. Here are a few:
Among the findings: Of the 18 major nonprofit theaters examined by the group, 100 percent of artistic directors were white, as were 88 percent of board members. On Broadway, 94 percent of producers were white, as were 100 percent of general managers
Actors Equity and The Broadway League reach agreement on Broadway tours (NY Times). “Producers must require all members of the traveling company to be fully vaccinated and mandates free weekly virus tests. Also: “absolutely no interaction” will be permitted between performers and audience members.”
“In The Heights” was a box office disappointment the first weekend, with a sharp drop the second weekend
