WBEZ’s Theater Club launches to see plays at Steppenwolf and more

Chicago Sun-Times: Let’s go to the theater — together! Just in time for spring culture season, WBEZ/Chicago Sun-Times is launching a Theater Club on April 18 with a trip to see “White Rooster” at Lookingglass Theater. We’ll see the play, chat as a club with some members of the artistic team and socialize with each other over the arts.

Review: Powerful Drama 'Paradox of Education' Teaches Hard Lessons of Racism on Campus

onstagepittsburgh.com: Being made to feel “other” is no way to go through life, no less, to make it through four years of college. In Ty Greenwood’s powerful new drama, Paradox of Education, a group of Black students discover that scholarships to a PWI — predominantly white institutions — come with student debt, living up to academic expectations and piles of obligations, along with shouldering racially-charged, passive-aggressive encounters and outright hostility.

Why 'Becky Shaw' Sparks Laughs and Arguments

TDF: When talking about what audiences will think of Second Stage’s revival of her 2008 dark comedy Becky Shaw, Gina Gionfriddo sounds as apprehensive as someone prepping for a blind date. That’s appropriate since the Pulitzer finalist play is about a setup that goes hilariously, painfully wrong. “I certainly have some anxiety about how the play will be received all these years later in this particular cultural moment,” admits Gionfriddo. “All of my playwriting influences were writers like Nicky Silver and Christopher Durang who mined comedy from cruelty, which I don’t see very much in new plays. I do wonder whether people will feel comfortable laughing.”

Universal looks to blend reality and fantasy in new show system

www.themeparkinsider.com: Night time provides a great environment for stories. It's spooky and mysterious. The dark sky and low light of night time offers a handy environment for theme park designers when they want to create an indoor ride or attraction. It's just easier to make an environment look natural when you set it in night time instead of the bright, harsh, revealing light of day time.

Inside Chicago's innovative Steppenwolf Theatre Company as it marks 50 years

PBS News: Steppenwolf Theatre Company has long been one of the nation’s most influential ensemble companies. It's known for the actors it has launched and the groundbreaking work it has produced. It’s marking its 50th season at a moment of real uncertainty for theaters.

5 Cheaper Impact Drivers That Outperform Milwaukee

www.slashgear.com: There are two types of tool owners in the world: those who know how invaluable an impact driver can be, and those who think a cordless drill/driver is all they need. Of course, the specific driver you're using is also critical. Not only do many major and no-name brands offer an impact driver, but several have multiple models themselves, adding to the wide range of choices out there.

Al Gore to Keynote 2026 Hollywood Reporter Sustainability Event

www.hollywoodreporter.com: Three of the year’s most buzzed-about small-screen stories will receive big kudos at The Hollywood Reporter’s inaugural Sustainability in Entertainment Honors event taking place on April 23 in partnership with the Sustainable Entertainment Alliance.

Coachella stage closes after stage light falls on attendee

www.sfgate.com: Every year, electronic music heads at Coachella flock to Do LaB, a festival within a festival known for its curated lineup and surprise big-name acts; past guests have included Skrillex and Billie Eilish. DJ and producer John Summit was one of this year’s surprise sets, touching down a little after 8 p.m. Friday night. About halfway through this performance, onlookers report that a heavy light fixture fell from the stage, injuring at least one person in the audience.

Hendrick’s brings an immersive gin experience to NYC this April

www.timeout.com: If your ideal night out includes both a perfectly balanced cocktail and a slightly surreal fever dream, Hendrick’s has you covered. The famously eccentric booze brand is bringing a full-blown immersive theater experience to the West Village this month—and naturally, there will be gin. A lot of gin.

No need for hard stares as Paddington: The Musical triumphs at Olivier awardsx

Olivier awards | The Guardian: It was a night of sweet victory for Michael Bond’s marmalade-loving bear as Paddington: The Musical dominated the Olivier awards on Sunday. Amid the tuxes and gowns of a glittering ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall in London, the duffle coat-wearing bear got his sticky paws all over seven prizes including best new musical.

Olivier Awards 2026: ‘Paddington’ Wins Big; Rachel Zegler and ‘Evita’ Also Triumph

The New York Times: “Paddington,” a new musical about the marmalade-loving bear that has been London’s hottest theater ticket since it opened last fall, was the big winner at this year’s Olivier Awards, Britain’s equivalent of the Tonys.

MET’s non-traditional take on 'The Crucible' has merit, but falters

DC Theater Arts: Maryland Ensemble Theatre’s production of The Crucible is one of those shows that is very … interesting. Director Julie Herber’s reimagining of the play, featuring near-constant ensemble movement, rapid-fire line readings, actors delivering lines straight out to the audience, and starkly dramatic lighting and sound, could not be further removed from the naturalism typically associated with Arthur Miller’s work.

‘Death star’ chandeliers and disco dancefloors: making this year’s most dazzling theatre shows

Olivier awards | The Guardian: What does it take to create a giant chandelier on stage, decked out with more than 100 perfectly balanced, flickering candles? What about a disco floor that dazzles the audience in a play’s final moments but is hidden from view until then? On the eve of the 50th Olivier awards, we meet the artists, apprentices, engineers and designers behind some of London’s most memorable theatrical moments this year.

NFTRW Weekly Top Five

Here are the top five comment generating posts of the past week:

Water for Elephants: A Feast for the Senses

onstagepittsburgh.com: Water for Elephants is a no-doubt true showstopper, and I find it hard to select a single aspect to praise because there are so many stunners throughout the performance. First premiered in the Alliance Theatre (Atlanta) in 2023, then as a Broadway musical in 2024, it has been on its national tour since 2025 and is now performing in Pittsburgh as part of the Cultural Trust’s PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh series.

The 16 Best Musical Theater Colleges in the U.S.

Backstage: For aspiring musical theater actors, college is often the first step. If you’re hoping to be cast in a Broadway show someday, it’s important that you pick an undergraduate program tailored to your career goals. Here’s our list of some of the best musical theater programs in the U.S.

The Fabulous Engineering and Design of Duct Tape

kottke.org: Controlling the stickiness of tape is of utmost importance. In fact, a key element of engineering tape is controlling its stickiness — and only by doing that can tape be wound into a useful roll. If the tape sticks too tightly to itself, we could not use it.

You Can’t Have It All: The Impossible Demands of the Modern Museum

Architect Magazine: Is a museum a place for a community to come together around art that both grounds and opens perceptions about the world around them? Is it a monument to our collective cultural achievements and aspirations? A storehouse for those treasures that amaze us?

AI Infiltration Into The Arts Has Fans Seeing Slop Everywhere

www.forbes.com: The rise of AI-generated imagery and videos has turned the commercial art and production industries upside down, but one of its most insidious effects has been to cast doubt on the provenance of any work, whether or not it was created by humans. Now one creator is offering a modest idea for humans to affirm their place in the creative process.

 

First Impressions: TrueFrame Joist

Journal of Light Construction: Sean Collinsgru of Premier Outdoor Living first encountered ProWood’s TrueFrame Joist pressure-treated framing lumber at the 2025 Deck Expo in Las Vegas. He was intrigued, so the southern New Jersey deck designer and builder decided to try it on a 600-square-foot deck that December.

▶️ Meyer Sound Celebrates 40-Year Partnership As Montreux Jazz Festival Turns 60

Live Design Online: When Claude Nobs met John and Helen Meyer in Switzerland in the 1970s, he was already a decade into building what would become one of the world’s great music festivals. John was directing the acoustics laboratory at the Institute for Advanced Musical Studies; Nobs had built Montreux Jazz around the conviction that sound was as central to the experience as the music itself.

Step Up This Season: Behind the Scenes Spring & Summer Mental Health Trainings

Live Design Online: This spring and beyond, the Behind the Scenes Mental Health Initiative is offering a fresh schedule of virtual trainings, giving industry professionals renewed opportunities to build skills that support safer, healthier workplaces. These virtual sessions equip participants to recognize and respond when colleagues are facing mental health or substance use challenges or experiencing bullying and harassment.

The Hand & The Eye: Opening Date, tickets and a look inside the $50M magic mansion

www.timeout.com: The Hand & The Eye, a 36,000-square-foot sanctuary for the all things magic, officially opens its doors on Saturday, April 18. Anchored inside the legendary McCormick Mansion at Ontario and Rush (100 E Ontario St), the venue sits just steps from the Magnificent Mile, transforming a Gilded Age icon into what is being hailed as the world’s most ambitious home for modern magic.

Custom Exhibit Fabrication Process: Sketch To Show Floor

exhibitstudios.com: Behind every successful exhibit is more than a great design. The custom exhibit fabrication process is where precise craftsmanship, structural engineering, and strategic production planning transform concepts into show-ready environments.

The Fabulous Engineering and Design of Duct Tape

kottke.org: Controlling the stickiness of tape is of utmost importance. In fact, a key element of engineering tape is controlling its stickiness — and only by doing that can tape be wound into a useful roll. If the tape sticks too tightly to itself, we could not use it.

AI Infiltration Into The Arts Has Fans Seeing Slop Everywhere

www.forbes.com: The rise of AI-generated imagery and videos has turned the commercial art and production industries upside down, but one of its most insidious effects has been to cast doubt on the provenance of any work, whether or not it was created by humans. Now one creator is offering a modest idea for humans to affirm their place in the creative process.

Live Nation Antitrust Case Narrows as Plaintiffs Drop Standalone Exclusive-Dealing Claim

TicketNews: The federal antitrust case against Live Nation and Ticketmaster narrowed again Tuesday, as the plaintiffs agreed to dismiss one of the claims that had survived Judge Arun Subramanian’s pretrial winnowing of the case, trimming the issues further as the trial moves toward its endgame.

Synchronicity Theatre to Seek New Home

AMERICAN THEATRE: Synchronicity Theatre has announced it will transition away from its current venue at Peachtree Pointe, a mixed-use office space in Midtown Atlanta. Synchronicity’s landlord has chosen not to renew the lease, prompting the organization to embark on a search for a new permanent home that reflects its artistic vision and its deep roots in the Atlanta community.

80th Annual Theatre World Awards Set For June

www.broadwayworld.com: The 80th Annual Theatre World Awards Ceremony will take place on Tuesday afternoon, June 2, 2026 beginning at 2:00PM. The 2026 Honorees for the Theatre World Award for an Outstanding Debut Performance in a Broadway or Off-Broadway Production, the landmark 17th Annual Dorothy Loudon Award for Excellence in the Theater, the 13th Annual John Willis Award, and theatre venue, will be announced soon.

We're Off to See 'The Wizard of Oz' Costumes at Little Lake

onstagepittsburgh.com: At age 23, costume designer, wardrobe supervisor and entrepreneur Dylan A. Blussick’s resume reads like an accomplished retiree’s. The well-traveled Washington County native boasts extensive National Tour experience that will soon include the Tony Award-winning The Outsiders. But just now, he is proving the Ozian adage that there’s no place like home.

A sofa that deserves gawping at: The de Sede Terrazza sofa in film

Film and Furniture: Designed by Ubald Klug for De Sede in 1972, the DS-1025 Terrazza is less a sofa and more a landscape. Its stepped, modular form invites you to sit, recline, sprawl, or simply occupy it like a piece of terrain.

What is a stepper motor, and how is it used in industrial applications?

Control Design: Control systems use stepper motors in various applications, and controls engineers might have to replace a stepper motor in the field. Understanding how a stepper motor works and how it causes motion can be advantageous if the controls engineer needs to specify a motor for replacement or specify one for an application.

Chicago Theaters Cut Ties With Jeff Awards After Director Accused Of Abuse Honored

blockclubchicago.org: More than a dozen Chicago theaters are cutting ties with a prestigious group that has recognized local productions with recommendations and awards since the 1960s, after it honored an artistic director accused of emotionally abusing and harassing an actor during rehearsals years ago.

70 years ago, Anna Sokolow predicted our epidemic of loneliness

forward.com: When the dance begins, they are all onstage together. But they are each very much alone. In the opening vignette of Anna Sokolow’s “Rooms,” there are eight chairs scattered across the stage and eight performers who inhabit them — like city apartments squished so close together yet keeping their occupants apart.

Nikolas Weinstein Studios’ Glass Sculpture Enters Guinness Book of World Records with Autodesk Fusion

Fusion Blog: The jaw-dropping Mangrove glass sculpture is one for the books—quite literally. It was recently named the world’s largest glass tube installation by the definitive recordkeepers at the Guinness Book of World Records.

The 16 Best Musical Theater Colleges in the U.S.

Backstage: For aspiring musical theater actors, college is often the first step. If you’re hoping to be cast in a Broadway show someday, it’s important that you pick an undergraduate program tailored to your career goals. Here’s our list of some of the best musical theater programs in the U.S.

Jonathan Majors suffers fall on-set situation prompt crew to walk out

www.indulgexpress.com: American Jonathan Majors was shooting for an action movie when he suffered an accident onset. The actor, along with his co-star, JC Kilcoyne fell through a window on set while filming a stunt.

5 Things Home Builders Should Know About AI Agents

Builder Magazine: Home builders have spent the last year getting comfortable with artificial intelligence (AI) search and chat tools—systems that answer questions, summarize documents, or help draft emails. AI agents are the next step: software that can read, decide, and act across defined workflows. Over time, this can reshape builder operations, from options management to purchasing controls and back-office approvals.

From Cultural Diplomacy to Creative Cities: A History of International Theatre Festival

Arts Management and Technology Lab: Festivals have existed for more than 4,000 years and have been closely associated with theatrical events for over 3,500 years. In the post-World War II period, international theatre festivals emerged as a distinct category within an ever-expanding festival landscape, bringing together performances from multiple cultural contexts in a limited timeframe. As their names suggest, these international theatre festivals foreground cross-cultural collisions, connections, and collaborations more explicitly than other types of festivals and theatres do (Fleury, 2026).

Q&A: How a new Calgary performance venue aims to energize the city’s indie theatre scene

Intermission Magazine: While on my usual running route late last summer, I was derailed by the discovery of signs for something called “the theatre” just one block away from my apartment. Plastered on the first-floor windows of a typical residential building in Calgary’s Beltline, the signage was simple yet compelling: black-and-white type and snappy playscript quotes, all stylized in lowercase. Just like its name, the typographic design for the theatre felt bold yet ambiguous, and the mystique of this imagery had me curious.

Pittsburgh theater tries mergers, camps to weather change

www.publicsource.org: Pittsburgh actor Tim Hartman has watched those changes closely during more than four decades performing with companies including Pittsburgh Public Theater, City Theatre Company and Pittsburgh CLO. Since his professional debut at the 1983 Three Rivers Shakespeare Festival he said, the theater community has had to adapt to shifting audiences, rising production costs and a more uncertain economic landscape.

Pure entertainment now streaming in Women’s Storytelling Festival

DC Theater Arts: Storytelling has been around for thousands of years. The art form can serve many purposes — conveying history, teaching a lesson, entertaining — and is thought to have co-evolved with language, likely as the driving force to satisfy the human need for interaction and connection. So it comes as no surprise that storytelling exists today in expansive forms of varied media and formats. But the simple form of a single person crafting a tale for a group of people, using only their words and bodies to convey their message, is beautifully intimate.

In Uptown, TimeLine Theatre moves into its new home, nearly a decade in the making

Chicago Sun-Times: Mica Cole stood on the stage, with tears in her eyes. The occasion was TimeLine Theatre’s first public showing of its brand-new building — the culmination of years of near-constant fundraising, nomadic productions, unexpected delays and stress-inducing construction woes.

The house that streaming built: Inside Netflix House Dallas

www.creativereview.co.uk: In the newly opened Netflix House Dallas, the passive engagement of streaming is replaced by active participation. There’s no algorithm at work here; no autoplay or second-screen scrolling. Instead, this live experience represents an expansion into relatively new territory for the brand: specifically, a free-to-enter, 100,000-square-foot experiment in immersive, IRL storytelling.

5 Cheaper Impact Drivers That Outperform Milwaukee

www.slashgear.com: There are two types of tool owners in the world: those who know how invaluable an impact driver can be, and those who think a cordless drill/driver is all they need. Of course, the specific driver you're using is also critical. Not only do many major and no-name brands offer an impact driver, but several have multiple models themselves, adding to the wide range of choices out there.

AI Fluency Is the New Career Moat (And How to Build It)

Asian Efficiency: A college senior asked me recently how to stand out when he graduates. His name is Jacob. He is about to start a construction internship — his first real job. He has been learning AI tools. He wanted to know whether it would actually make a difference. I told him the honest answer: yes, but not in the way most people think.

NAB Show 2026 Preview: Trends, AI, Exhibitors & What to See

www.productionhub.com: Every year around this time, I find myself asking the same question: What’s going to happen at NAB this year? So I reach out to friends and industry colleagues and ask a few tough questions: What’s your favorite part of NAB? What keeps you coming back year after year?

Seats Left Empty on Smithsonian Board as Strain With White House Persists

The New York Times: A month after the terms of two Smithsonian trustees ended, their replacements have yet to be named as the traditional process of filling its governing Board of Regents has slowed in the wake of President Trump’s efforts to gain control of the institution. John Fahey and the board’s chairwoman, Risa J. Lavizzo-Mourey, left the 17-member panel on March 2,

100 Years of Martha Graham in Dance Magazine

dancemagazine.com: In 1926, the pioneering modern choreographer Martha Graham founded her eponymous dance company. One year later, Dance Magazine (originally called The American Dancer) published its first issue. The two institutions’ histories are twined together. Over the following decades, the Martha Graham Dance Company became a profoundly influential force in a dance world that was rapidly evolving; Dance Magazine became that world’s foremost chronicler.

See Works from Inside SHOWSTOPPERS: THE ART OF STAGE AND SCREEN Exhibition at Helicline Fine Art

www.broadwayworld.com: Helicline Fine Art is now presenting Showstoppers: The Art of Stage and Screen, a dynamic new exhibition celebrating nearly a century of performance as seen through the eyes of some of the most influential artists and designers of the 20th century. On view through May 10, 2026, the exhibition brings together more than three dozen works that capture the spectacle, emotion, and cultural impact of live theatre, film, dance, opera, and popular entertainment.

'Company Retreat': How the Hidden Cameras Worked

www.indiewire.com: Production design is always an exercise in worldbuilding. Everything we see on screen was put there by the art team for a very specific reason to tell us something. Colors, textures, shapes, styles; grounded or heightened realism. They’re all an invisible (or not-so-invisible) part of visual storytelling. But rarely is that exercise as much about hidden cameras as it is for “Company Retreat,” the second season of “Jury Duty.”

Fifty metre monument mapping calibrated in 15 minutes

AV Magazine: To mark Bulgaria’s National Holiday on 3 March, MP-Studio delivered a large-scale projection mapping installation titled “Memory” at the Defenders of Stara Zagora Memorial Complex. The 50-metre monument—featuring sculptural elements including the Samara Flag and figures representing the defenders of Stara Zagora—was transformed into a dynamic audiovisual narrative, where content appeared to emerge directly from the structure itself.

Yionoulis named next dean of David Geffen School of Drama at Yale

Yale News: Yionoulis — a Yale alumna, Obie Award-winning director, and former David Geffen School of Drama faculty member — is now dean and director of The Juilliard School’s drama division. She assumes the Yale role July 1, succeeding James Bundy, who has been dean for nearly 25 years.

In ‘Burnout Paradise,’ Running on Treadmills Is Only the Half of It

The New York Times: One night last month at Astor Place Theater, audience members hurriedly hustled onto and off the stage to help four sweat-drenched, exhausted performers jogging on treadmills complete various tasks: shave one actor’s neck, solve a Rubik’s Cube and whip up a pasta dinner from scratch for two audience members to feast on and rate.

Review Roundup: Teatro La Plaza's HAMLET Off-Broadway

www.broadwayworld.com: Theatre For a New Audience is currently presenting Teatro La Plaza's Hamlet through April 4. In this adaptation, Peruvian director Chela De Ferrari intertwines the text of Shakespeare’s Hamlet with the lived experiences of a young ensemble of eight actors with Down syndrome.

Follow-Me announces sales partnership with Kariotis in Greece and Cyprus

LightSoundJournal.com: Follow-Me, leader in performer tracking solutions, has agreed a strategic sales partnership with Kariotis Audio & Lighting, a prominent provider of audiovisual integration solutions serving Greece and Cyprus. The arrangement encompasses the full Follow-Me product range, and marks a significant step in expanding access to advanced performer tracking technology across the Greek and Cypriot markets.

Grizzly launches two lines of premium circular saw blades

Woodworking Network: With 21 specialized blade options, the new Grizzly PRO and Extreme Series lineups bring professional-grade performance to projects of any scale. Each blade is engineered to deliver smoother cuts with significantly reduced material waste. From the jobsite to the industrial shop, these blades are designed to compete with the industry’s top brands on longevity, durability, and price.

VTuber Awards: How To Build A Virtual Stage The Audience Will Believe

Live Design Online: Virtual stages aren’t new, but people still mix up what they really are. When people say “virtual stage,” they often mean LED panels or a 3D background that simply decorates a physical set. That can work, but for me as a stage director, the key point is different: the line between the physical and the virtual stage should be invisible.

Black women take center stage at Harriet Tubman museum event

AFRO American Newspapers: The Harriet Tubman Spirit Awards honored local leaders March 21 at the Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum in Annapolis during a two-part program that also featured an artist discussion on history, memory and Black women’s stories.

Water for Elephants: A Feast for the Senses

onstagepittsburgh.com: Water for Elephants is a no-doubt true showstopper, and I find it hard to select a single aspect to praise because there are so many stunners throughout the performance. First premiered in the Alliance Theatre (Atlanta) in 2023, then as a Broadway musical in 2024, it has been on its national tour since 2025 and is now performing in Pittsburgh as part of the Cultural Trust’s PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh series.

As sweeping layoffs diminish WaPo theater coverage, critics reckon with what’s being lost

DC Theater Arts: In 2015, leaders of children’s theaters across DC rose to decry The Washington Post’s decision to stop reviewing theater for young audiences. At the time, it felt like an isolated crisis within the larger ecosystem of arts coverage.

The LRLR Raise Funds for Behind the Scenes at USITT Raffle

Behind the Scenes: The Long Reach Long Riders (LRLR) celebrated their upcoming ride with a raffle and live auction benefiting Behind the Scenes during the USITT Stage Expo in Long Beach, California. Sales of raffle tickets and auction items raised $5,000 for the charity. The LRLR 2026 ride, dubbed “Backroads to the Brickyard”, begins June 19th in Athens, Ohio. Riders cover all their own expenses, ensuring that every dollar raised goes directly to Behind the Scenes.

Wireless PA kit extends audio across Dream Ride Experience

AV Magazine: The RF PA Extension Kit system provided by TMP Pro proved quick to deploy and highly adaptable to the event’s dynamic requirements. “It was very straightforward,” said Connell. “If you’ve installed a wireless microphone receiver, you can install the PA Extension Kit.” The team used the RF PA Extension Kit to wirelessly feed powered satellite speakers from front-of-house and remote I/O locations. In the field, the set-up delivered long-range, stable signals, with audio quality indistinguishable from a wired connection.

Chekhov Plays for an Un-Chekhov Time

The New York Times: When we think of Anton Chekhov — doctor, humanist, short story writer, playwright — we don’t often think of a political fire starter. His closely observed, often delicately comic work does deal with revolutions, but the hidden and eternal ones, like the hope that turns, season by slow season, into regret. No regime or attitude has successfully claimed him. In Russia, his work was beloved under the czar; it was beloved by Stalin. And it’s beloved now.