A Nuanced and an Idealized New York: Two Productions Show Us the City

joeysims.substack.com: Near City Hall in Lower Manhattan, a semi-neglected public green called Collect Pond Park sits tucked away between imposing city courthouses. It was to this park that I was led last Tuesday evening by a voice in my ear. My instructions were to seek out “The Gardener” and, upon approach, introduce myself with the coded greeting: “It’s all a garden.”

'KPop Demon Hunters: The Immersive Experience' details, tickets

www.goldderby.com: Want to live in the world of KPop Demon Hunters? Netflix is about to grant you a "Golden" opportunity. The streamer revealed on Tuesday that KPop Demon Hunters: The Immersive Experience is coming to its Netflix House locations in Dallas and Philadelphia on Nov. 12 and Nov. 20, respectively.

Confluence Theater of Pittsburgh announces 1st full season

triblive.com: On Wednesday, the new company announced its first full season, which will run throughout 2027. The season includes seven productions — one of which will be announced in the future — along with a “spirited holiday celebration,” education programs and more.

A Clever Plywood Drawer Cabinet With No Metal Slides

www.obsessedwoodworking.com: Chris set out to build a rolling workshop cabinet almost entirely from plywood, skipping traditional metal drawer slides altogether. The build started in his old shop in Jacksonville, Florida, and was finished up months later after a move to North Carolina, giving the video a bit of a two-part feel as the project traveled with him.

Review Roundup: BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB Launches North American Tour

BroadwayWorld: It’s been years since legendary singer Omara Portuondo last entered a recording studio. Once known as the “Queen of Feeling,” her voice was celebrated throughout Cuba – until she vanished from the spotlight. But when an ambitious young record producer brings her a rare opportunity, the elusive diva must finally reckon with her past.

4 Reality Checks About AI in Construction That Cut Through the Hype

Builder Magazine: Artificial intelligence is one of the most talked-about topics in construction right now, and builders are feeling pressure to do something with it, often without clearly understanding how best to incorporate it. At the same time, new tools launch weekly, promises are everywhere, and the pressure to adopt something to stay ahead of the competition is real.

SCHOOL GIRLS Is Finally in Session on Broadway- Inside Opening Night

BroadwayWorld: Opening night has finally arrived for School Girls; or, the African Mean Girls Play! Jocelyn Bioh’s acclaimed comedy has arrived on Broadway, opening at Manhattan Theatre Club under the direction of Whitney White.

Children’s Museum’s ‘Beautiful Day to Be You’ takes all generations through Fred Rogers' universe

90.5 WESA: If there were ever an exhibit representing the Fred Rogers Cinematic Universe, it might look a little like “It’s a Beautiful Day to Be You,” the brand-new interactive installation debuting this weekend at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh.

If Subscriptions Are Dying, Are We the Ones Killing Them?

AMERICAN THEATRE: Ask 10 theatre leaders whether subscriptions are dying and you’ll get 10 defensible answers. Some organizations have watched their base erode for a decade. Others will tell you, accurately, that their numbers have held steady or grown, and that the eulogies say more about which institutions get written about than about the field as a whole. All things are true at once, which is exactly the problem: It means that the health of any one organization’s subscription program tells you almost nothing about the health of subscriptions as a category.

A.I. 'Actress' Glitches By Speaking Chinese During Interview

brobible.com: Last year, the world was introduced to Tilly Norwood, who was positioned as the world’s first A.I.-generated actress. However, it would appear that the company behind the nonexistent performer has some kinks to work out after its creation randomly started speaking Chinese in the middle of an interview.

Federal Film and TV Tax Credit Officially Introduced

www.hollywoodreporter.com: In a landmark moment for Hollywood workers and small businesses, a bipartisan group of lawmakers in Congress has introduced proposed legislation to establish a federal film and television tax credit, aimed at reshoring production work back to the U.S.

Interview: Joe Serafini On Playing Evan Hansen at the John W. Engeman Theater

BroadwayWorld: The John W. Engeman Theater presents DEAR EVAN HANSEN, the winner of six Tony Awards including Best Musical, running through October 25, 2026 in Northport. Featuring a book by Steven Levenson and a score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the show tells the story of Evan Hansen, a young man on the outside looking in, whose letter to himself sets off a lie that spirals into everything he ever wanted. The production is directed by Scott Weinstein with choreography by Robin Levine.

Interview: Deborah Hope of GLORIA: A LIFE at Cypress Stage

BroadwayWorld: Cypress Stage launches its inaugural season with Emily Mann’s Gloria: A Life, running October 2 through October 18. Houston theater veteran Deborah Hope directs the production, which explores the life and work of feminist icon Gloria Steinem. Hope spoke with BroadwayWorld writer Brett Cullum about the new theater company, her personal connection to Steinem, her career in Houston theater, and why she believes the city’s theater community is so special.

5 New Ridgid 18V Power Tools To Add To Your Wishlist In 2026

www.slashgear.com: Founded in Ohio in 1923, the Ridge Tool Company has been making tools for over a century. Starting as a manufacturer of pipe wrenches, the company soon added more products to its catalog and ultimately became one of the world's major tool manufacturers. Now owned by Emerson Electric, Ridgid's cordless power tools are produced under license by TTI, which also owns Milwaukee Tool.

After Blackface at Blue Moon, Black Performers Are Asking Pittsburgh’s LGBTQ Community to Do More Than Be Outraged

QBurgh: An alleged blackface performance at Blue Moon Bar’s weekly Open Stage Wednesday has sparked anger, grief, and calls for accountability across Pittsburgh’s LGBTQ community, with Black performers asking not only how it happened, but what will change now that it has.

Judge Approves Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger Settlement

www.thewrap.com: Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín has signed off on Paramount’s legal settlement with 12 state attorneys general, clearing the final hurdle for its $110 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.

BEAVER BAUER: FROM STREET TO STAGE Opens at San Francisco Public Library

BroadwayWorld: FROM STREET TO STAGE, a Fifty-Year Retrospective by iconic artist and theatrical Costume Designer Beaver Bauer, opens Thurs. Nov. 5, 2026 at 5:00 pm and runs through Sun. April 11, 2027 at the San Francisco Public Library Main Branch, 100 Larkin St., San Francisco, CA 94102.

Interview: Theatre Life with Robert Diamond

BroadwayWorld: Today’s subject Robert Diamond is living his theatre life holding one of the most important jobs you could have in the theatre industry. He is the founder and CEO of the premiere site for theatre. You might have heard of it. Actually, you’re on it now if you are reding this. That’s right, Robert Diamond is the mastermind behind Broadway World.

CABARET: THE KIT KAT CLUB Experience Now Open at Balthazar Restaurant

BroadwayWorld: For six weeks only, Balthazar Covent Garden will partner with the seven-time Olivier Award-winning musical, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club to create one of the West End's most exciting dining experiences. From 21 September to 1 November, the legendary French brasserie will become home to an exclusive takeover celebrating one of the most successful musicals of all time.

Review Roundup: DEATH BECOMES HER Launches North American Tour

BroadwayWorld: Madeline Ashton is the most beautiful actress (just ask her) ever to grace the stage and screen. Helen Sharp is the long-suffering author (just ask her) who lives in her shadow. They have always been the best of frenemies… until Madeline steals Helen’s fiancé away. As Helen plots revenge and Madeline clings to her rapidly fading star, their world is suddenly turned upside down by Viola Van Horn, a mysterious woman with a secret that’s to die for.

How controls engineers can choose the right uninterruptible power supply for PLCs and IPCs

Control Design: While attending community college, our programmable logic controller (PLC) class took a field trip to a packaging plant. When looking in the controller cabinet, I noticed that the PLC’s power leads originated from a DeWalt 24 V cordless drill battery pack sitting in its charger. If power was lost, the PLC continued to run from the cordless drill battery for long enough to save its data and shut down, as opposed to just power off abruptly and lose critical data.

The next phase of design will still be human-led

Fast Company: Someone can convert an idea into reality faster than ever before with the help of generative AI, and that makes the role of humans in the process even more important. “More is not always better. Faster is not always better,” said Emily Galloway, Spotify’s senior director of product design, at the New Rules of Great Design panel during the 2026 Fast Company Innovation Festival in New York City. “Human judgment is becoming so important.”

Trust Convening of Pittsburgh Cultural District Arts Leaders Touts Partnerships, Outreach, and Glow-Ups

onStage Pittsburgh: The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s inaugural Annual Community Meeting on Wednesday, billed as “a new signature event highlighting the transformative role of the arts in Downtown Pittsburgh,” provided a shared stage among the arts leaders of not only the Trust, but also a platform for showcasing what’s happening among its Cultural District neighbors at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Pittsburgh Opera and the Confluence Theater of Pittsburgh.

Evil Socialist NYC Mayor Wants To Take 70,000 New Yorkers To The Opera, Evilly

www.wonkette.com: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced on Thursday that the city, in partnership with the Metropolitan Opera, will be organizing a lottery that will give out 70,000 tickets to the opera to New York City residents every year, allowing people who might not otherwise have had the opportunity to go and experience a night at one of the best opera houses in the world.

CMU to open Miami campus after $3 billion gift from Citadel founder Ken Griffin

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Carnegie Mellon University will open an innovative campus in Miami after a $3 billion donation from hedge fund CEO Kenneth Griffin, whose nationally historic gift will also aim to bolster CMU’s flagship Pittsburgh campus.

Craft Subreddit Bans Harry Potter Projects

aftermath.site: The r/Crafts subreddit has been debating banning Harry Potter crafts for months, and came to a decision last week: Explicitly Harry Potter-themed projects are no longer allowed. The subreddit's moderation team held a poll two months ago to determine how they should handle Harry Potter-themed projects, which were causing a lot of "off-topic conversations and uncivil conversations," according to a post announcing the results.

I Love The Frustratingly Realistic Sewing In Dressmaker

aftermath.site: Do you remember the reality show Project Runway? Not the zombified new version on the cable network Freeform, but the original run of the show on Bravo back in 2004. I was obsessed with that show, not just because I love drama but because it gave the viewer an in-depth look at what it takes to create a clothing pattern and then put it together. I get the same vicarious thrill from the game Dressmaker.

Kabuki theatre to return to London for the first time in over a decade

www.whatsonstage.com: Dating from early 17th century Japan, kabuki combines music, dance and acting and is traditionally performed by all-male companies. The art form was proclaimed a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2005.

11th Annual Ecolution Fashion Gala: Pop Couture at The Pennsylvanian (Wed., 9/30/26)

Entertainment Central Pittsburgh: The 2026 Ecolution Fashion Gala‘s theme is Pop Couture: Fashion, Fame & Obsession. Set for Wednesday, September 30, the event is always a creative, lively mix of fashion, art, dance, and music.

6 Tricks for Faking a Car Crash

No Film School: You always want your opening sequence to grab attention. How can you set up your story and hook the audience, all in one go? And how can you do it on a low budget but still get that big set piece?

Shaw Festival Names Manami Hara and Murdoch Schon Neil Munro Interns

BroadwayWorld: As part of the Slaight Family Academy, the Shaw Festival engages two directors as Neil Munro Interns each season. This prestigious internship is intended to deepen the practice and promote the next generation of Canadian theatre directors through an ongoing training “gymnasia” with resident Shaw designers, visiting directors and general theatre practitioners in the Shaw Festival's world-class repertory environment.

Audible Theater Opens Applications for Emerging Playwrights Fund

BroadwayWorld: Audible Theater has opened applications for its Emerging Playwrights Fund, offering up to five commissions of $25,000 each to early-career theatrical writers crafting original audio plays.

Visualizing Uniformity: Common Misconceptions When Reading Heat Map Predictions

ProSoundWeb: An isobaric acoustic prediction is a critically important tool that allows a sound system designer to predict and evaluate how well a sound system covers the audience area. Designers and engineers can see a “pressure map” or “heat map” of the system coverage at a particular frequency range.

How the Master FX ATLAS Ended Up in Stadiums, Tours, Clubs, and Theme Parks

www.limelightwired.com: Working with cryo is always a blast in the moment, but getting it into a show is complicated for a lot of reasons. For years, a massive vertical hit meant accepting everything that came with a traditional cryogenic system. The dewars. The hoses. The jets. The local sourcing. The floor space. The noise. The safety considerations. The effect is amazing, but the system behind it does not fit every production. Master FX built the ATLAS to deliver the look without the baggage.

Artifact: Pittsburgh Paints’ 2027 Color of the Year Is a Rare Reset

Builder Magazine: Pittsburgh Paints Co. has named Artifact its 2027 Color of the Year for both its Pittsburgh Paints and Glidden brands. Artifact, a smoky, atmospheric blue, leverages the emotional potential of color.

Makita 2026 Advent Calendar Is Packed With Real Tools

www.popularmechanics.com: Advent calendars are usually full of chocolate, tiny bottles of booze, or other stuff you probably don't need 24 of. Makita's 2026 advent calendar takes a different approach: It packs 24 small tools and accessories into a reusable Makita storage case, so there's at least something useful waiting behind the doors.

Interview: Josh Tower of BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB National Tour

BroadwayWorld: From September 22nd-27th, the national tour of Buena Vista Social Club will be gracing the stage of the Durham Performing Arts Center. I recently got to speak with Josh Tower, who's one of the understudies in the show. He has previously been seen on Broadway and on tour in RAGTIME, THE LION KING, MOTOWN THE MUSICAL, SCHOOL OF ROCK, and HAMILTON. Yet before all of that, he went to graduate school at the University of North Carolina.

WANTED to Open The James Earl Jones Theatre Box Office Next Week

BroadwayWorld: Texas, 1893 — Twin sisters Mary and Martha Clarke are on the run. The sisters, Black women who pass for white and hide in plain sight, straddle a dangerous line between two Americas. But as powerful forces close in to keep their family from claiming a future of their own, Mary and Martha are driven to desperate measures to save their mother and their family's legacy.

SLAM FRANK Actor Reveals ‘People Have Walked Out’ of Controversial Off-Broadway Musical

BroadwayWorld: The production, which began preview performances earlier this month ahead of its official October 4 opening at the Orpheum Theatre, has been met with mixed responses. “I know that there are people who do get offended,” actor Olivia Bernábe, who stars as Anne, told The Guardian in an article published Saturday, September 26.

Watertown High School students hope to revive ‘Flashdance’

www.tmj4.com: Watertown High School theater students are pushing back after the interim superintendent canceled their planned spring production of the high school version of "Flashdance," citing concerns the show could be risqué or potentially controversial.

Pittsburgh Symphony Kicks Off its New Season with a Gala Worthy of the Name

onstagepittsburgh.com: The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, fresh from its acclaimed European tour, returned to Heinz Hall Saturday night in a stunning performance to launch its new season. The annual gala is the PSO’s major fundraising event of the year, with much of the proceeds supporting the symphony’s outreach to youth in Allegheny County. The stage was bathed in red, and many of the female musicians wore evening gowns, as did those who paid to attend the opening and closing receptions.

Evolution of integrated control and safety systems in industrial automation

Control Design: An integrated control and safety (ICS) system is a centralized architecture that combines basic process control and safety control measures into one system. Some may argue that safety has always been integrated, since controls engineers used to wire safety relays directly into the feed that provided a machine with control power. What is the No. 1 thing needed to turn a machine on? Control power.

Review Roundup: DIRTY DANCING Launches North American Tour

BroadwayWorld: The North American Tour of Dirty Dancing: The Musical is now underway! The tour launched at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in Saint Paul, MN and will continue across North America, making stops in cities including Detroit, Boston, Toronto, and Washington, DC.

6 Designers You Should Know

AMERICAN THEATRE: A San Francisco-based sound designer and composer, Caruthers creates immersive theatrical soundscapes and experimental electronic music. His 300-plus credits include Troilus and Cressida for Oregon Shakespeare Festival; 1984, The Winter’s Tale, Pictures from Home, and Born Yesterday for Alley Theatre; Frankenstein: Playing With Fire for Guthrie Theater; and Sweat for Center Repertory Company. What’s next: Sound design for Assimilation and Smoke and Shadows with Word for Word at Z Space, and Alice, Formerly of Wonderland, an a cappella musical, at TheatreWorks.

Hans Zimmer Reveals the Moment That Changed ‘The Lion King’ Forever

collider.com: The Lion King may be one of those iconic films that is instantly identifiable by its music and its score. The 1994 Disney classic ultimately earned Hans Zimmer his first Academy Award, but it has endured to the point that it's no longer just a movie score. It's been transplanted onto the stage, into concerts, live-action, you name it, for more than 30 years. Yet the most remarkable thing about it might be that Zimmer never even wanted to score The Lion King in the first place.

Interview: Valerie Rachelle of COME FROM AWAY at STAGES HOUSTON

BroadwayWorld: Come From Away is the season opener for Stages Houston. The musical celebrates the kindness of the people of Gander, Newfoundland, to passengers from a rerouted flight following September 11, 2001. The production opens September 18 and runs through October 18 on the Sterling Stage at the Gordy. Valerie Rachelle, Associate Artistic Director for Stages, serves as Director-Choreographer.

A Better Blueprint for Construction Mental Health

Builder Magazine: The construction industry has made progress in addressing suicide prevention and mental health, but challenges remain. From demanding schedules and workforce shortages to stigma around asking for help, many workers continue to face pressures that can impact their wellbeing.

Every single slasher mask you can think of is on display at the Academy Museum

www.timeout.com/los-angeles: Think of all the images from scary movies that have haunted your nightmares over the years—then picture them all in one place. That’s what’s in store for you at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures’ new exhibition, “The Horror Show,” which opens on Saturday, just in time for Halloween season.

Can a ballerina do a stomp? Natalia Osipova on making her fearsome, foul-mouthed acting debut

Stage | The Guardian: When Natalia Osipova started rehearsals for her first ever play, it didn’t go well. “I cry. I’m shaking. I’m stressed and completely lost on the first day,” she reports. “I think, ‘I’m a piece of shit!’ I want to take a taxi and run away.”

Paramount Preps California Exit Amid WBD Legal Battle

www.thewrap.com: Paramount has informed the offices of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Attorney General Rob Bonta that it is preparing to leave the state amid a legal battle over its $110 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. A Paramount spokesperson had no comment when asked about the plans, while a spokesperson for Bass told TheWrap she is “focused on protecting and fighting for jobs in L.A., including critical jobs in the entertainment industry that have been a vital part of Los Angeles’ economy.”

Ditching The Daily Crisis

Sign Builder Illustrated, The How-To Sign Industry Magazine: It is only 9:15 on a Tuesday morning, and the day is already off to a rough start. The production manager is standing in the office inquiring about a rush job that the sales team promised would be ready by Friday. Meanwhile, an installer is on the phone because a cabinet sign scheduled for installation is still sitting unfinished in the fabrication department. Adding to the stress, purchasing has just discovered that a critical material was never ordered, and the owner is frantically trying to respond to emails from frustrated customers wondering why their projects are running behind schedule.

Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days has new meaning in the age of climate change

theconversation.com: In Happy Days, one of Irish playwright Samuel Beckett’s best-known plays, the body of the protagonist Winnie is embedded in a mound of sand or dirt. During the first act, she is buried to above her waist and in the second, she is buried up to her neck.

A Set For Slam Frank, The Anne Frank Afro-Latin Hip-Hop Musical

Live Design Online: Anne Frank and an Afro-Latin Hip-Hop musical may seem like strange theatrical bedfellows but they are the premise for Slam Frank, an edgy production that reimagines Anne Frank’s story through an intersectional, multiethnic, genderqueer, Afro-Latin hip-hop lens.

What If We Valued Theatre Like We Value Parks?

AMERICAN THEATRE: Since the beginning of September, thousands of people have gathered in Prospect Park to watch a play by Molière. Some arrived as lifelong theatregoers or returning audience members. Many were simply walking through the park and spontaneously decided to stay.

BLIND RUNNER to be Presented at South Coast Repertory

BroadwayWorld: South Coast Repertory will present the international multimedia hit Blind Runner, a Mehr Theatre Group production, with text and direction by award-winning Iranian theatre artist Amir Reza Koohestani. Performed entirely in Persian with English supertitles, Blind Runner runs Oct. 18-Nov. 8 on the Julianne Argyros Stage.

Federal Tax Incentive for Filming Projects Extra $125B in Production

www.indiewire.com: A new study shows that if the United States were to adopt a federal film tax incentive program, the benefits could be enormous. Production spend between 2027 and 2035 could rise an extra $125.3 billion. Nearly $250 billion in overall income for the economy could be generated. The U.S. could add an estimated 143,500 full time jobs. And America’s share of filming around the world could reach as high as 65 percent of all film and TV projects.

StubHub Wins Arbitration Ruling in CEO Ticket Fund Class Action

www.ticketnews.com: StubHub has won a ruling forcing a proposed class action over CEO Eric Baker’s ties to professional ticket reseller Andro Capital into individual arbitration, preventing the plaintiff from pursuing the case as a class action in federal court.