Interview: Director Tony Isbell On AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE at Playhouse on the Square

BroadwayWorld: Playhouse on the Square, in partnership with Circuit Playhouse, Inc., presents AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE, Henrik Ibsen's powerful drama in a new adaptation by Amy Herzog, running September 11 through October 4, 2026 at The Circuit Playhouse in Memphis. When Dr. Thomas Stockmann discovers that his town's spa is contaminated with dangerous bacteria, he expects praise from the public.

Why are the Trainspotting team clapping back at the critics?

www.whatsonstage.com: The tour’s demise was marked down to unhealthy ticket sales and a turbulent economic climate: Trainspotting cast members and creatives admitted that if this, of all shows, can’t sell in Edinburgh then really there’s not much to gain in trying. But the period also marked a very pronounced window of hostility between creatives and critics – unlike any this editor has really seen before.

How One Event Turned Pre-Show Survey Feedback into Action

www.eventmarketer.com: For its 2026 Spring Summit, Builder Innovator pivoted from its traditional survey strategy to using AI-powered surveys and conversational AI agents, powered by Marcus AI. For a hosted-buyer construction event, zeroing in on the right connections is critical, and the new survey tools are instrumental in delivering a deeply personalized experience and upgrading the event design overall.

Los Angeles Opera Issues Statement Regarding Center Square Foundation Findings

OperaWire: In light of reports indicating that the Los Angeles Opera is under investigation for its tax returns, the company has a released a statement. The company states that, “The LA Opera is committed to transparency and responsible stewardship of public and private resources.

The Dallas Opera Names New Senior Artistic Advisor

OperaWire: The Dallas Opera has appointed Matthew A. Epstein as the company’s new Senior Artistic Advisor. Epstein, who will now consult on creative, artist, and repertoire programming, takes over the role previously occupied by David Lomelí, who was recently named the company’s Kern Wildenthal General Director and CEO.

Katie Brook Takes the Helm as Quantum Theatre's New Director

OnStagePittsburgh: No stranger to Pittsburgh or Quantum, Brook earned her MFA in Directing from Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama in 2012 and, while living in Pittsburgh during the pandemic, directed Quantum’s The Cherry Orchard in 2022, when Boos led the cast as Madame Ranevskaya. Brook will direct the world premiere of radio island, written by Liza Birkenmeier (MFA Dramatic Writing, CMU School of Drama), for Quantum, opening October 23, 2026.

Wembley Stadium Sets Attendance Record During Biggest Concert Season

TicketNews: Wembley Stadium has completed the largest summer concert season in its history after welcoming more than 2.5 million music fans to 34 shows between June and September. The 90,000-capacity London stadium increased its concert schedule by about 30% compared with 2025, when it presented 26 shows. This year’s program established a venue record for the number of concerts held during a single calendar year.

Fencing goes up around the main Kennedy Center building after Trump-aligned board votes to close it

PBS News: Fencing went up Wednesday around the main Kennedy Center building, a day after the Trump-aligned board voted to close most of the performing arts center for repairs. A Democratic congresswoman who is a trustee quickly sought an emergency court hearing to prevent what she called the "unlawful closing."

Minnesota manufacturer takes fixtures out of robotic welding

www.thefabricator.com: Door Engineering, a manufacturer of custom-engineered doors for commercial, industrial, and aviation, has a technologically diverse welding department. Visit the plant floor in Mankato, Minn., and you’ll see some manual, out-of-position gas metal arc welding, with skilled welders completing challenging joints on complicated workpieces. You’ll see operators training and managing cobot welding cells. They place a piece in the cell, adapt an existing program via a tablet interface, then initiate the weld.

Layered Reality entered liquidation with £20m in debt

AV Magazine: The immersive experience company behind the Elvis Evolution and Jeff Wayne’s War of the World’s shows went into liquidation with £20m of debts, according to documents filed at Companies House last month.

Sam Pinkleton to Direct ‘Annie’ Broadway Revival for Musical’s 50th Anniversary

TicketNews: The revival will mark the musical’s first Broadway production since the 2012 revival and will arrive 50 years after “Annie” made its Broadway debut in 1977. A theater, exact performance dates, casting and ticket-sale information have not yet been announced.

What Burning Man’s Gen Z problem says about the festival

Salon.com: The first time Samantha R. went to Burning Man, it was on a whim. She hadn’t read much about it and had no idea what to expect. She received a free ticket from someone she met at a Grateful Dead event and had little time to prepare. She didn’t bring goggles or even a big coat to survive the cold, dusty nights. Despite the spontaneity and haphazardness of it all, which contributed to a rough burn, the 22-year-old returned on two more occasions — including this year.

Interview: Director James Warwick On THE NORWEGIANS at Shakespeare & Company

BroadwayWorld: Shakespeare & Company is presenting THE NORWEGIANS, C. Denby Swanson's sharp and surprising dark comedy, directed by James Warwick. Set in a Minnesota bar where heartbreak is served alongside beer, the play follows Betty and Olive, two women reeling from romantic betrayal who hatch an unlikely plan: hiring a pair of Norwegian hitmen to deal with the men who wronged them.

Theater in Socialist Mayor Mamdani’s New York

New York Theater: The mayor once took an improv class at Magnet Theater and assisted his filmmaker mother Mira Nair at staged readings when she was developing her movie “Monsoon Wedding” into a musical, but he is of course known far more for his socialist, pro-labor politics than his interest in theater. There are several moves he has made that merge the two. These are primarily rhetorical, but also involve mass ticket giveaways, a couple of crucial appointments, and most concretely an innovative arts-friendly budget.

How Fusion is Expanding What Product Teams Can Accomplish

Fusion Blog: Many manufacturers have already moved beyond experimentation and have started adopting AI and automation tools in their daily workflows. But even as interest turns into adoption, many teams are still asking practical questions: How do we increase output without adding risk? How do we help experienced people move faster without replacing the judgment they bring? And how do we connect work across engineering and manufacturing without disrupting the tools teams already rely on?

The Martha Graham Dance Company Has Moved to New Space in Times Square

Playbill: The Martha Graham Dance Center has officially relocated to its new, expanded home in Times Square at 1501 Broadway. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held September 14, attended by members of the Martha Graham Center’s staff and board, dancers, and community partners, as well as New York State Senators Erik Bottcher and Liz Krueger and New York City Council Member Carl Michael Wilson.

Designers for The Lost Boys, Mexodus, More to Receive Henry Hewes Design Awards

Playbill: The Henry Hewes Design Awards Committee has announced the honorees of the 2026 Henry Hewes Design Awards, which recognize work on Broadway and Off-Broadway. The 62nd annual ceremony will be held October 19 in New York.

KV2 Audio improves intelligibility at University of Bradford

AV Magazine: An KV2 Audio sound system brought a new level of clarity to this summer’s graduation ceremonies at the University of Bradford’s Great Hall. The 900-capacity venue is also used for lectures and events by external organisations, but the previous system was failing to deliver intelligibility and even coverage from the front of the stage to the balcony.

Fifth Avenue Snowflake Lighting Returns This November

www.timeout.com/newyork: New York’s holiday lights are getting an early start this year. Weeks before the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree flips the switch, a 3,300-pound crystal snowflake will illuminate one of Manhattan’s busiest intersections—and anyone can watch it happen for free.

Asolo Repertory Theatre Awarded $85,000 Strategic Partnership Grant

BroadwayWorld: Asolo Repertory Theatre has received an $85,000 Strategic Partnership grant from the Community Foundation of Sarasota County to support its 2026–2027 season. Funding for this grant was made possible by the Community Foundation's Allen Wirtz Nobbe and Jo Bowen Nobbe Fund, Zella I. and Junius F. Allen Fund, and Two-Generation Approach Fund.

Alison Pill: Hollywood Parents Don't Let Their Kids Be Child Stars

The Ankler: “It is brutal for self-esteem. I only understood how brutal later in life.” That’s how Alison Pill describes her experience being a child star — words that echo a comment the late Hayden Panettiere made about her own time as a kid in the industry. “It’s the most brutal experience,” Panettiere, who died in August at 36, said during an interview earlier this year.

For the love of the game

Chicago Reader: How do art exhibitions get made? For major institutions like the Art Institute of Chicago, entire teams of people can spend months or years putting a show together. From the ideation phase to the time an exhibition opens, the work must be transported and installed, programming has to be planned, materials have to be written, a marketing strategy has to be laid out, among the many tasks that typically go on behind the scenes. For exhibitions that happen at smaller venues, all this work still needs to happen, often with little to no resources behind them.

Songwriter Urges Supreme Court to Let Landmark Copyright Ruling Stand

www.billboard.com: The songwriter who won a landmark ruling on copyright termination is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reject efforts by major music companies to overturn it, telling the justices there is no “emergency” and that publishers are “doing just fine.”

New Alice in Wonderland Cabaret Premieres at Hollywood Roosevelt

www.timeout.com/los-angeles: Los Angeles has no shortage of places where you can drink cocktails while wondering if you’ve wandered into another dimension. Now there’s an Alice in Wonderland-themed cabaret hiding behind a bookcase at one of Hollywood’s most iconic hotels.

Colbert Reveals Surprising ‘Dream Job’ After Late-Night Exit

www.thedailybeast.com: Stephen Colbert is branching out into a brand new industry. In addition to writing the new Lord of the Rings movie and winning Emmys left and right, the former host of The Late Show, 62, is working to expand a scriptwriting software company he developed called Scripto.

GLP UK Celebrates 10th Anniversary with New Debuts and JDC2 IP Workshops at PLASA 2026

LightSoundJournal.com: Marking 10 years of GLP UK, the stand brings together the UK team, international GLP colleagues, and some of the latest additions to the GLP range, including the impression FR2, WildBar 8, and TWYN. Alongside them is the JDC2 IP, supported by a separate program of dedicated hands-on workshops running away from the bustle of the show floor.

Transverse Flux Motors: A Compact and Efficient Electric Motor Option

Power & Motion Tech: Electric motors are used in a wide range of applications today to drive hydraulic and pneumatic pumps, electric actuators and more. These motors are typically categorized as radial flux, axial flux and transverse flux, the latter of which is gaining in use due to companies like ETM — the electric motor division of Graco Inc. — advancing the technology in recent years.

What You Can Do With a Theatre Degree Beyond Theatre

Playbill: You've all seen the semi-frequent discourse online—from disapproving elders who insist students study "practical" college degrees, to commenters wondering who can afford to study the arts, in this economy. Sadly, many people feel that a theatre degree, should you not end up working in the theatre, is obsolete.

Outlining Your Terms: A Look At Standard Contract Negotiations & Terms For Freelance Audio Engineers

ProSoundWeb: My work is mostly in corporate events with some broadcast and local music so my terms and experience will be centered on those. Some industries like touring music and theater work could have different norms and require a different approach when discussing rates and negotiations.

How Hollywood Shapes Our Understanding of Health

www.hollywoodreporter.com: Film and TV have always shaped how audiences see the world. Movies and shows have transformed how people think about mental health, addiction, sexuality, and countless other topics once considered too private for the big screen. But when it comes to one of the most common parts of our daily lives—living with illness—many of today’s most prevalent chronic diseases are still largely missing from popular entertainment.

18 Years Later, 'Avengers: Doomsday' Is Bringing Back An Unusual Marvel Technique — But Could It Work Again?

www.inverse.com: There’s a lot that separates Marvel movies from “normal” movies. The biggest thing is, of course, the franchise itself, as each movie is the next chapter in an ever-growing saga. But Marvel Studios films also popularized the post-credits scene teaser, as well as surprise cameos that lead into other movies or shows. But one other surprising filmmaking technique has been part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe fabric from the beginning.

Seeding the Chicago theater field with new productions and companies

Chicago Reader: In July, Oskar Eustis, the celebrated longtime artistic director of New York’s Public Theater (the venue where both A Chorus Line and Hamilton were birthed), announced he would be leaving his position in two years. In an interview with Michael Paulson of the New York Times, Eustis, while declaring the state of the Public itself “strong,” also said, “I think the American nonprofit theater movement is over. That doesn’t mean any individual theater is over. But every individual theater is having to make its own case and come up with its own business model. We’ve lost a lot of theaters, and we’re going to lose more.”

Equity Jeff Awards 2026 winners: full list

WBEZ Chicago: Writers Theatre’s epic family drama Leopoldstadt took home the most prizes at Monday’s 58th annual Equity Jeff Awards. The Glencoe theater won five awards, all for its Midwest premiere of the Tom Stoppard epic family drama.

Kennedy Center board votes to close over Trump naming dispute and financial trouble

PBS News: The Trump-aligned Kennedy Center board voted on Tuesday to close most of the iconic performing arts venue just hours after a federal judge blocked the institution from returning President Donald Trump's name to the building.

UNPACKING HOME to be Presented at Destinos Chicago International Latino Theater Festival

BroadwayWorld: Collaboraction Theatre Company will host a limited run of Unpacking Home by Chicago’s Raices to Roots as part of the 9th Destinos Chicago International Latino Theater Festival, September 18-27 at Collaboraction’s House of Belonging in Humboldt Park, Chicago’s live theater space for social change.

Andrew Scott Had to Re-Learn Shakespeare for Elsinore

www.thewrap.com: Like many of Britain’s great actors, Andrew Scott is very familiar with “Hamlet,” having played the title role dozens of times on the West End. But to take on the role of Ian Charleson in “Elsinore,” he had to toss much of how he approached the Prince of Denmark out of the window…except for the memories of how much it took its toll.

Apple TV returns to Farnborough Studios for ‘Neuromancer’

Reel 360 News: Apple TV returned to Farnborough International Studios to produce its upcoming sci-fi series Neuromancer, continuing its use of the UK facility after Prime Target.

Claypaky at PLASA Show 2026: The New B-EYE Family Debuts with IP66 Rating and RGBL Engine

LightSoundJournal.com: PLASA Show 2026 is currently serving as the meeting point for the entertainment technology sector, and Claypaky is present in London with a selection of technologies developed for professional lighting. The main highlight is the new B-EYE family, making its international debut right at the London event. This new multi-lens platform updates one of Claypaky’s most recognizable concepts by intervening on its source, optics, movement, and creative possibilities.

IATSE Applauds Building Momentum for US Federal Film and Television Production Incentive as Trump Announces Support

IATSE: IATSE welcomes President Donald Trump’s public endorsement of a federal film and television production incentive and is encouraged to see growing support for a policy the union has championed for years, Tuesday.

Claypaky Turns 50

Lighting&Sound America Online - News: Today, 50 years after its foundation, Claypaky celebrates its golden anniversary. It was on August 28, 1976, that Pasquale Quadri "Paky" -- a musician passionate about photography and optics -- founded the company in Bergamo, Italy, with an idea that was anything but obvious at the time: light could be much more than illumination. Paky saw a different future: light could become an active creative element, capable of moving, transforming, interacting with music and, above all, generating emotion.

Oh, Mary! Stage Film Will Debut on HBO, Starring Cole Escola

Playbill: Great days are officially ahead in 2027! The live stage film of Oh, Mary! will debut on HBO and stream on HBO Max next year. The play was filmed in London's West End July 28, with writer and original Broadway star Cole Escola in the title role. Sam Pinkleton re-created his Tony-winning direction for the screen version as well. A premiere date is to be announced.

Kennedy Center could close as early as Tuesday, warns of bankruptcy, documents show

The Washington Post: Leaders of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, installed by President Donald Trump, say the center is on the brink of bankruptcy and argue that putting the president’s name on its facade — and thus ensuring his fundraising efforts — may be the only way to avoid imminent and “certain fiscal collapse,” according to documents obtained by The Washington Post.

Pittsburgh Ballet Theater's New Artistic Director Has Bold Plans

Pittsburgh Magazine: Susan Jaffe has a list of goals she wants to accomplish as Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s sixth artistic director: increasing PBT’s touring and roster size, invigorating the repertoire and enhancing the dancers’ strengths. But her immediate priority since she took the position in July 2020 has been installing pandemic precautions to safely return dancers to the studio for classes and rehearsals.

Irondale Ensemble Project to Launch New Initiative For A New Generation Of Theater Makers

BroadwayWorld: Irondale is launching Irondale NextGen, a new artistic initiative that creates opportunities for a new generation of directors, performers, and theater makers within the Irondale Ensemble to develop and lead projects of their own, drawing on the philosophy and practices developed by the company's founders and longtime ensemble.

Quantum Theatre Names Katie Brook New Artistic Director

Table Magazine: When Quantum Theatre announced that founder and longtime artistic director Karla Boos would be stepping down, the company launched an international search for her successor. In the end, they found their choice — in rehearsals for Quantum’s next show.

Meet Michael Man, the versatile actor playing Gollum at the Stratford Festival

Intermission Magazine: There’s something delightfully impish about the way Michael Man moves onstage. I noticed it when I saw the actor in the Stratford Festival’s world premiere production of Jovanni Sy 施崇梵’s The Tao of the World as Dr. Wilson Wong, a sexually repressed, buttoned-up physician from Saskatchewan caught in the social chaos of a wealthy Singaporean family. I noticed it again in The Hobbit, when he played the instantly recognizable Gollum, a creature who has spent centuries skulking around Middle-earth obsessing over a certain band of gold.

Kennedy Center disassembles 'Blue' sculpture from its grounds

PBS News: The Kennedy Center took down a sculpture known as "Blue" Wednesday, the latest change to the cultural and performing arts center that stirred some pushback in President Donald Trump's second term. The sculpture, a tall, blue stick figure poised in action — as if to kick a ball or, from a different angle, having just kicked one — was designed by sculptor Joel Shapiro and installed in 2019.

Chris Rock Says Infamous Bully Scott Rudin Made Him Better Filmmaker

variety.com: Following a triumphant Toronto International Film Festival premiere for his latest directorial effort “Misty Green,” Rock sat for a keynote chat on Sunday to discuss his expansive career. The comedian told the crowd his chops were elevated by Scott Rudin, a former producing kingpin who disappeared after harrowing accounts of bullying, verbal abuse and being an “absolute monster” in a 2021 exposé.

The Sol Project Marks 10 Years With SolFest 2026

AMERICAN THEATRE: The Sol Project, the Obie award-winning theatre initiative dedicated to producing and elevating Latine voices, has announced SolFest 2026, its annual festival celebrating Latine writers and artists with Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater (PRTT) and North Star Projects. This year’s festival marks the Sol Project’s 10th anniversary and SolFest’s 9th year. This season’s SolFest will run Sept. 27-Oct. 4 throughout Manhattan, with readings of new work presented at PRTT in midtown Manhattan.

Making films against the odds

amp.dw.com: No matter how difficult the conditions, there's only one thing that matters to these artists: making films. Forbidden scenes from Egypt, bold young people in Sierra Leone, behind closed doors in Iran, and the hidden world of an Indigenous community in the Brazilian rainforest.  Along with 200 other international talents, the filmmakers were guests at Berlinale Talents, the Berlin Film Festival’s global networking program.

The Metropolitan Opera reimagines Mozart at Coney Island. It involves snakes

NPR: The Metropolitan Opera has reimagined a version of Mozart's "Cosi fan tutte" set at Coney Island in the 1950s. Live snakes were auditioned and a large boa constrictor named Princess has been cast.