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Monday, July 27, 2026
The New Hazlett Theater Has Announced Its First Artistic Director
Table Magazine: Melissa Cardello-Linton, a Pittsburgh native who spent the early part of her career working in live performance in New York, has been named the Artistic Director of the North Side theater. It’s a first for the institution; in the 20 years since the New Hazlett Theater became its own organization, it has never had an Artistic Director.
Trump Orders Warnings Placed at ‘Inaccurate’ Smithsonian History Museum
The New York Times: President Trump on Friday ordered warning signs and exhibits installed outside the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History to alert the public that the museum does not, in his view, accurately reflect American history.
New Hazlett makes big changes amid thorny theatrical landscape
Pittsburgh City Paper | News, Dining, Music, Best Of, Arts, Film: In the wake of a rocky year for some of Pittsburgh’s largest theater companies, the New Hazlett Theater is staking its future on locally produced work.
The North Side theater announced the appointment of Melissa Cardello-Linton as the company’s first-ever artistic director as well as the launch of a new program aimed at local, original show production.
Portland mayor supports PSU performing arts center, smaller Keller
Oregon ArtsWatch: The lengthy behind-closed-door deliberations about the future of the Keller Auditorium are finally about to go public, and likely spark even more conflict over whether to replace the downtown performing arts center with a new, city-owned venue at Portland State University.
Award-winning theatre to see at Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026
www.whatsonstage.com: A whole host of performers will be arriving in Edinburgh next month as the Festival Fringe kicks off.
Among them will be a variety of award winners and newcomers, all looking to show off their latest work to audiences. These are just some of the shows that have already received a stamp of approval.
Friday, July 24, 2026
Best AI Tools for Event Planning (2026)
www.asianefficiency.com: For curated, invite-only events, Luma builds the cleanest event pages and handles guest management end to end. For large public events where discovery matters, Eventbrite’s built-in audience and multiple ticket tiers do more work. Canva handles the visuals, ChatGPT does the planning and strategy, and Notion tracks every detail in between — a full stack that runs about $10/month beyond the tools you already pay for.
Deaf West Theatre to Host First-Ever New York City Gala
www.broadwayworld.com: Deaf West Theatre will present The 35th Anniversary Gala – One Night in New York on Monday, September 28 at Joe’s Pub, honoring Academy Award-winning actor Troy Kotsur, five-time Tony Award-winning producer Eva Price, and Tony Award-winning directors Bill Rauch & Zhailon Levingston.
Judge Extends Pause on Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger for Extra 14 Days
variety.com: Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin is scheduled to hold a hearing on Aug. 3 on a request for a preliminary injunction that would block the deal indefinitely. Paramount is asking for additional time to make its case against the injunction.
Blog: RAGTIME's Immigrant Heritage Night Was 'Fuel to Keep Engaging in the Fight'
www.broadwayworld.com: Just last month, the Vivian Beaumont Theatre hosted a special event in recognition of National Immigrant Heritage Month. On June 23, Lincoln Center Theater honored a remarkable group of visionary leaders for a special evening at Ragtime to celebrate the extraordinary ways immigrants have shaped – and continue to shape – the cultural, intellectual, and civic fabric of this country.
Bosch 12V Max Cordless Pocket Drill
Tested and Reviewed by Popular Mechanics: Bosch has an established reputation for making cordless drills that are small yet capable of handling their fair share of fasteners. (The brand also makes the miter saw we recommend for most people.) Such is the case with the Bosch 12V Max Two-Speed Pocket Drill/Driver, the brand’s most diminutive cordless drill. I spent several weeks testing this drill, using it to handle odd jobs around my house and running it through a series of driving and drilling trials.
Thursday, July 23, 2026
‘SUFFS’ Tony-Nominated Director Leigh Silverman
onStage Pittsburgh: Two-time Tony nominee Leigh Silverman carved out time in her very busy schedule on the eve of SUFFS arrival in Pittsburgh Tuesday to talk about the touring musical, its significance, and the state of theater in the United States.
Silverman should know.
Boundary Problems
The Theatre Times: For the second time in two years, a flashy, big-budget Romeo and Juliet has opened in New York that’s so bent on pleasing one particular target audience with shallowly conceived staging gimmicks that its storytelling is hopelessly muddled.
Oskar Eustis Is Stepping Down From the Public Theater
The New York Times: Oskar Eustis has been running theaters his entire adult life.
He co-founded one, called Red Wing, when he was 17. He has led companies in Zurich (Das Labor), San Francisco (Eureka), Los Angeles (Mark Taper Forum), and Providence (Trinity Rep). And, for the last 21 years, he has been the artistic director of the Public Theater in New York, stewarding Free Shakespeare in the Park, nurturing “Hamilton” and becoming one of the most influential figures in the American theater.
Live Nation’s $2.4M California Wage Settlement Covers More Than 16,000 Workers
TicketNews: Live Nation Worldwide and HOB Entertainment have agreed to pay $2.4 million to resolve a proposed class action alleging the companies failed to properly compensate thousands of hourly and nonexempt employees in California.
RWS Global delivers new shows to Holland America Line’s Oosterdam
InPark Magazine: Four new shows are taking center stage on Holland America Line‘s Oosterdam, expanding the cruise line’s entertainment lineup with fresh productions and collaborations. The four original shows were created exclusively for Holland America Line in partnership with RWS Global. One of the debuts includes a new rock show created by RWS Global in collaboration with Rolling Stone: “Holland America Line and Rolling Stone Present, All Access: The Songs That Shaped Us.”
Wednesday, July 22, 2026
Building Theatrical Bridges in Queer and Trans Ohio
HowlRound Theatre Commons: On my commute to teach, amidst the soybean fields and crystalline ponds of Ohio I see a slew of political signs. “Trump save America” appears with a photo of the President surviving an assassination attempt. “Protect life” hovers on plywood in hand-painted red and blue letters. I drive from my queer suburb of Cleveland (rumored to have made it into Trivial Pursuit in the eighties as the United States city with the highest per capita rate of same-sex couples) to Oberlin College (one of the first racially integrated and gender inclusive institutions in the country).
The Moralists at the Stage Door
THEATRE & THE ART OF LIFE: Theatre today remains a frequent target of moralists—people who are quick to tell others how they should behave. At Out Front Theatre in Atlanta, for example, Paul Rudnick’s The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told—a comic, queer retelling of Genesis—was denounced in a petition bearing 40,000 signatures. On Broadway, meanwhile, the suffragist musical Suffs was interrupted mid-performance by protesters demanding that it be shut down for the alleged crime of recycling “white feminism.” Different pulpits, same sermon: Art, behave.
Compact Zevor screwdriver holds 24 bits for DIY
newatlas.com: We've seen a couple of nifty screwdrivers that have room to hold their own driver bits. Thanks to clever design, this new one packs a whopping 24 bits in a lightweight body that's way more compact than you'd expect.
E.U. Withdraws Venice Biennale Funding Over Russia’s Return
news.artnet.com: In a statement, the European Commission‘s spokesperson Thomas Regnier said that European taxpayers’ money should be used to support cultural events that “safeguard democratic values, foster open dialogue, diversity, and freedom of expression.” He added that those values “are not respected in today’s Russia.”
10X10X10 PLAY FESTIVAL to Return to Fells Point Corner Theatre for 10th Edition
www.broadwayworld.com: Fells Point Corner Theatre is celebrating the 10th edition of its annual 10x10x10 Play Festival, a showcase of original short plays that has helped launch works that later expanded into full-length plays and feature films.
Tuesday, July 21, 2026
The real life mermaids of Florida’s Weeki Wachee Springs
Huck: In the Newton Perry Underwater Theatre, a steel-drum cover of ‘Under The Sea’ plays on repeat over tinny speakers. The crowd is the kind you only ever assemble in the offseason, on the cheap midweek slot, a glorious cross-section of the American interior: tattooed young fathers bouncing toddlers on their knee, both in matching Ariel shirts; rows of patient senior citizens with nowhere better to be; a troupe of glittered Disney adults who have clearly made a day of it.
In defence of the theatre preview
www.whatsonstage.com: There was a recurring refrain in the comments sections when we were covering the glitzy opening night at Jesus Christ Superstar earlier this month: “I saw that two weeks ago. How can it be opening tonight?”
Pocket screwdriver tool combines versatility and design
newatlas.com: Most repair tools for the DIYer are functional, but can be cumbersome to carry around. The T.Fix, however – a triangular pocket-sized tool on Kickstarter – is a balance of function, versatility and modern elegant design.
Paramount-Warner Bros Merger Temporarily Blocked—Bigger Losses Could Be Coming
www.forbes.com: A federal judge temporarily blocked Paramount Skydance’s planned merger with Warner Bros. Discovery on Monday, saying states had raised “serious questions” about whether the deal violates antitrust law—a potentially costly early signal for Paramount, as the company faces billions of dollars in payments if the deal either continues getting delayed or ultimately falls through.
Whitney Cummings Donald Trump Sex Trafficking Joke Cut on Netflix
variety.com: Whitney Cummings performed a comedy set at Bill Maher’s Mark Twain Prize ceremony, which took place on June 28 at the Kennedy Center. But according to the comic, her closing joke won’t be seen in the Netflix broadcast of the event, which streams on July 21.
Monday, July 20, 2026
Does Broadway Have a Gen Z Problem?
www.broadwayworld.com: Gen Z is an odd group of people. They dominate online spaces, getting the majority of their news and information from social media (this is now true of most people, but it has always been true of Gen Z). They are also the most anti-AI generation by most accounts, in spite of being one of the most likely generations to willingly use it. They are one of the most anti-social generations, but they also put immense value on live events and experiences. So Broadway feels like a natural outlet for them.
Audio Engineers at Three Denver Music Venues Vote to Join IATSE Local 7
IATSE: Over a dozen Audio Engineers at three of Denver’s most prominent independent music venues have voted overwhelmingly to join the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 7. Workers at The Oriental Theater, The Federal Theatre, and HQ Denver each cast their ballots separately, delivering decisive majorities across all three venues.
The Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC), formerly Loew’s State Theatre – Providence, Rhode Island
After the Final Curtain: PPAC sits on Weybosset Street in downtown Providence and first opened in 1928 as Loew’s State Theatre. Designed by Rapp & Rapp—basically the go-to architects for movie palaces in the ‘20s—it was built for the Loew’s Theatres chain at the height of the movie palace boom. It opened with Excess Baggage starring William Haines, but the real draw that night was the building itself.
Lights, Shoes and Moves: Behind-the-scenes of Civic Theatre's 'Grease'
WBOI - NPR News & Diverse Music in Northeast Indiana: The Fort Wayne Civic Theater is preparing for its opening weekend of ‘Grease’ and after weeks of preparation the stage is set and ready for the actors to do their part. But before the curtains could open on this iconic musical, months of work went into to building it from the ground up.
Ten of the most eye-catching Edinburgh Festival Fringe shows of 2026
www.whatsonstage.com: The annual Edinburgh Festival Fringe is almost upon us!
With thousands of performers and audience members flocking to the Scottish capital, there are just as many shows on offer and it can be positively impossible to decide which ones to book to fill your day.
Friday, July 17, 2026
Who owns an AI generated song? What we can learn from the phonograph and the evolution of copyright laws
theconversation.com: Copyright is built on the idea that human creativity deserves protection. Legally, this is known as “originality”. The principle is simple: people create valuable cultural works and the law protects that effort.
But artificial intelligence (AI) is challenging one of copyright law’s most basic assumptions. In doing so, it may force us to rethink what we mean by intellectual property.
Make it Shine! Make it Sparkle! A Step by Step Guide to Creating Your Own Textured Stained Glass
Guild of Scenic Artists: Stained glass is a significant part of architecture and design often used in churches, castles, and even homes. It’s also a very common Scenic technique, and one of my favorite elements of Scenic Art.
Suspended Rings Float in Kinetic Light Installation
mymodernmet.com: Spanish artist SpY has unveiled a mesmerizing new installation for the 2026 NUR International Media Art Festival in Kazan, Russia. Titled CYCLES N2, the large-scale work suspends 15 illuminated rings above a dramatic hall lined with glowing red ramps.
Nolan and Lucas Have VERY Different Stances About AI in Movies
Nerdist: Recently, two big-name directors have taken public stances on AI usage in the movies. Interviewers have asked both George Lucas and Christopher Nolan about AI and its place in movie-making recently, and they have very contrasting takes.
Longtime Vegas Fixture, "Marriage Can Be Murder" Closes at Rio
Vital Vegas: “Marriage Can Be Murder,” a dinner show that ran for an astonishing 27 years in Las Vegas, has closed at Rio.
Taking its place is another long-in-the-tooth crowd-pleaser, “Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding,” further proof original ideas have become as scarce as talent at a Gordie Brown show.
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