MY FIRST EVENT OF THE YEAR 2026

Time Traveling in Costume: My group of ladies in the Historical Dressers had our first fashion show of the year at a new location: the New Frontier Senior Community. I was excited about doing yet another senior community and one of our models, Jeanette, lives there. She pretty much was a major part in making this a perfect event and having our fashion show as the entertainment for an afternoon tea for the residents there.

Why Oscars season in Trumpworld makes us so mad

Salon.com: Chalamet’s words were curt, but his opinion was only further muddled by the clip being spread out of context. Chalamet, who has multiple family members who have performed in the New York City Ballet, was attempting to make a point about the accessibility of his art. He wants his work to be seen by the largest number of people possible for the price of a movie ticket, instead of having his efforts hidden behind the barrier of entry that comes with the higher cost of seeing opera or ballet.

DOJ vs. Live Nation-Ticketmaster trial begins today: what you should know as the case heads to a jury

TicketNews: The long-awaited U.S. antitrust case targeting Live Nation Entertainment and Ticketmaster officially enters its most consequential phase this week, with jury selection beginning in Manhattan federal court. Opening statements are expected Tuesday, marking the first time a jury will hear—under oath, and in public—the government’s argument that the dominant force in concert promotion, major venues, and primary ticketing has maintained its grip through unlawful conduct that ultimately shows up in fans’ wallets through higher fees, fewer choices, and a worse buying experience.

'Emily in Paris' costume designer Marylin Fitoussi on dressing without fear

Harpers bazaar: The year is 2020, and like most people I give in to the temptation. I binge watch Emily in Paris season one. Back then, did I manifest a flight to Paris, without a return ticket? Absolutely. Do I still wish for the same, five seasons later? Without question. And I blame it on the resonance with Emily Cooper—the promise of romance, arguably handsome faces, the urge to rebuild yourself, glimpses of the gleaming Eiffel Tower, and most of all the reminder of the excess and the audacity that fashion meets you at.

Integrators Take the Lighting Lead

Residential Systems: In today’s luxury residential market, lighting remains one of the most underserved and undervalued elements of the home. This isn’t because homeowners lack appreciation for beautiful spaces — they invest heavily in them. It’s because the lighting ecosystem is fragmented, misunderstood, and rarely led by a single stakeholder who can integrate all the moving parts into a cohesive experience.

Pharrell Williams Isn’t A Musician: Chad Hugo Copyright Lawsuit

www.forbes.com: What started as an ugly music biz divorce between Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams – once the most dynamic duo of pop music production – has now morphed into a strange copyright fight over who actually created the music and who took the credit on several tracks.

The Orality Theory of Everything

The Atlantic: The world is full of theories of everything. The smartphone theory of everything argues that our personal devices are responsible for the rise of political polarization, anxiety, depression, and conspiracy theories—not to mention the decline of attention spans, intelligence, happiness, and general comity.

Timothée Chalamet backlash continues as British opera star calls him ‘immature’

The Independent: The curtain is yet to drop on Timothée Chalamet’s ballet and opera fiasco, with Whoopi Goldberg, Doja Cat and theatre stars weighing into the ongoing debate. This month, the Oscar-nominated Marty Supreme actor, 30, has angered those in the arts community after telling Interstellar co-star Matthew McConaughey in a resurfaced interview that “no one cares” about ballet or opera.

The Postered Walls

The Sondheim Hub: The original posters for Follies, Sweeney Todd, and Sunday in the Park with George share a visual language: rupture. Each establishes a relationship to damage, danger, and attention before the curtain rises. Let’s look closely at how each poster makes its promise.

Pittsburgh Power Outage Shuts Down Opening Night of 'Eureka Day' at City Theatre

onstagepittsburgh.com: First there was light, and there was none. And then there was light again. And then none. And then it was light again. By that time, unfortunately, City Theatre had zapped enough electric power that it was impossible for the opening night of Eureka Day to go on. Managing Director James McNeel and Artistic Director Clare Drobot announced to the crowded lobby that a show would be added Tuesday, and ticket-holders would receive emails about that and other options.

15 Milwaukee Packout Products Coming In 2026 Worth Waiting For

www.slashgear.com: Modular tool storage systems, like Milwaukee's Packout, have been a game-changer for many users, including both professionals and casual users. Using wall-mounted Packout accessories has made organizing a garage or workshop particularly easy, but what really makes Packout so popular is the ability to move around a wheeled stack across the jobsite. When organized in the right way, a Packout stack can basically be a portable tool shed.

Meyer Sound Introduces New TIGRA Line Array & 1800-LFC Subwoofer

ProSoundWeb: Meyer Sound has announced the expansion of its next generation of self-powered loudspeakers with the introduction of the TIGRA line array and the 1800-LFC low-frequency control element, both offering GEN-1 intelligent onboard signal processing and Milan connectivity in offering deployment flexibility in more compact form factors.

Quentin Tarantino’s ‘swashbuckling’ play The Popinjay Cavalier set for West End premiere

Theatre | The Guardian: Since Quentin Tarantino announced last year that he had written his first play, it has remained as mysterious as the contents of Marsellus Wallace’s briefcase in Pulp Fiction. But on Wednesday it was announced that the play, which Tarantino will also direct in London, is to be a “rambunctious comedy of deception and disguise” set in 1830s Europe.

Opera and Ballet Companies Respond to Timothée Chalamet's Criticism of Art Forms

Playbill: Academy Award nominee Timothée Chalamet set the opera and ballet worlds abuzz recently when, in an interview for Variety and CNN, he insinuated that "no one cares" about the art forms. The actor—whose grandmother, mother, and sister were ballerinas—is currently nominated for his performance in Marty Supreme.

NFTRW Weekly Top Five

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

Just a reminder: Making stuff is cool

www.thefabricator.com: There are days in the metal fabricating industry when everything feels normal. You walk in, flip on the lights, hear the hum of machines and the clank of steel, smell of smoke, and you don’t even think twice about it. It’s just what you do. It’s what you’ve always done. Honestly, you get kind of complacent. I’ve caught myself in that mindset more than once. Everything seems to be on autopilot and nothing seems to be as fresh as it used to be.

How to Get Plywood Home if You Don’t Have a Truck

www.familyhandyman.com: One of the biggest challenges of working with plywood is getting it home from the store. It usually comes in 4×8 sheets, which is cost-effective and ideal for certain projects, but can be a challenge to transport without a truck. However, it is possible. “I’ve used all manner of transport options to get plywood to my house,” Garrett Poshusta of The Grit and Polish says. It will just take a bit more time, effort and in some cases, money.

Text Messages Reveal How University of Texas Leaders Axed an Anti-ICE Show

hyperallergic.com: Weeks after the University of North Texas (UNT) abruptly axed an exhibition of works criticizing the treatment of immigrants in the United States, newly obtained internal communications show how university administrators deliberated their controversial action.

What the Work Does to the Body

emilkang.substack.com: A few nights ago I was sitting at a bar in Chelsea before a show, waiting for a colleague, when another colleague walked in. We hugged. When I mentioned I was meeting our mutual friend, she said she had been with her the night before at a different performance. We laughed about it, the way you do when the pattern is so familiar it doesn’t even register anymore. We’ve been doing this for thirty years and we still can’t stop.

London's Matilda to Welcome More Than 20 Young Actors

Playbill: The Royal Shakespeare Company production of Matilda the Musical, which has played more than 5,000 performances in the West End, will welcome several new young cast members later this month. Beginning March 17 Sithuni Gamage, Bonnie Harper, and Carla Lopez-Corpas will join Emilia Shefford in the title role.

 

Arena Stage welcomes Darren Johnston as associate artistic director

DC Theater Arts: Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater today announced Darren Edward Johnston as Associate Artistic Director of Commercial Strategy and Partnership. Following a decade of leadership at the Tony Award-winning theatrical production company No Guarantees Productions, most recently as Senior Vice President, Artistic, Johnston will join the Tony-winning regional theater this spring to help shape the next chapter of its artistic and institutional evolution.

Paddington Musical, Into the Woods Lead 2026 Olivier Nominations

Playbill: Nominations for the 2026 Olivier Awards, London's top theatrical honor, were unveiled March 5, with Paddington The Musical and Bridge Theatre's revival of Into the Woods emerging as the season's most nominated productions. Both shows picked up 11 nods total, each capping off with a nomination in their respective top categories, Best New Musical for Paddington and Best Musical Revival for Into the Woods.

The power of Arden in As You Like It, then and now

Folger Shakespeare Library: In Shakespeare’s As You Like It, Rosalind and Celia are forced from court and seek refuge in the Forest of Arden—a space where hierarchy softens and imagination restores what power has fractured. Folger Theatre’s 2026 staging of the play—a love letter to Washington, DC, as envisioned by Artistic Director Karen Ann Daniels and directed by Timothy Douglas—infuses the Forest of Arden with the vibe, culture, and characters of DC’s residential neighborhoods, a singular, resilient, and redemptive place of belonging.

In Frankenstein, Kate Hawley creates anatomical costumes

Wonderland: What does it take for someone to turn one of our time’s biggest heartthrobs into a creature? For Kate Hawley it took years of extensive research and a complete trust on Guillermo del Toro’s vision. On a brisk afternoon in London, I make my way to one of the many hotels in Soho. As I approach the building, what must be at least a 40-foot poster of Frankenstein, featuring the Creature, aka Jacob Elordi, greets me just opposite the hotel doors.

Report: Live Nation, DOJ Strike Deal Settling Antitrust Case and Avoiding Ticketmaster Break-up

TicketNews: Live Nation and the U.S. Department of Justice have reportedly reached a settlement that would end the government’s blockbuster antitrust case against the concert giant — a deal that appears to stop short of the forced Live Nation–Ticketmaster breakup many critics had hoped for.

Between Pandemic and Democracy: What Antigone Can Teach Us

antigonejournal.com: Over the past four years since the pandemic started, different countries have implemented distinct strategies to curb the spread of the Covid-19, often restricting freedom of movement as well as implementing a variety of draconian surveillance methods and compulsory measures, including cellphone and face-recognition contact tracing, quarantines, border closings, and vaccine and testing mandates. Most of these measures have not been accepted in democracies, where privacy laws and civil freedoms are considered the bedrock of a social contract.

James Gwertzman bases Burning Man temple on rare desert flower

www.dezeen.com: American artist James Gwertzman has revealed a sprawling wooden structure based on an ephemeral desert bloom for the 2026 Burning Man temple. Called Temple of the Moon, the structure will be based on the shape of the Queen of the Night – a cactus flower that only blooms once during the year.

Washington Post Lays Off Theatre Critic Naveen Kumar, Raising Questions of Continuing Arts Coverage

Playbill: Mass layoffs at The Washington Post, reported to affect about 30% of its workforce, have drawn the outlet's continuing arts coverage into question, with chief theatre critic Naveen Kumar let go, Kumar tells Playbill. Requests for comment sent to the Post have not yet been returned.

Kansas theatre students tell lawmakers: arts funding matters

www.wibw.com: More than 400 high school thespians from across Kansas visited the Statehouse Wednesday to urge lawmakers to prioritize arts funding, marking the 10th year Kansas Thespians have made the trip to the Capitol. Students representing 35 schools traveled from communities including Kansas City and Wichita to take part in the annual advocacy effort during Theatre in Our Schools Month.

Brands Swap the Runway for Pop-up Events During NYFW 2026

www.eventmarketer.com: Twice a year, the fashion elite gather in Manhattan for couture runway shows and exclusive soirees during New York Fashion Week (NYFW). But sponsors and brands are increasingly showing up with approachable experiences that help democratize the high-profile event and unchain those velvet ropes. From Sensodyne to Jinx to the Idaho Potato Commission (no, really), see what kind of experiential action was in store from Feb. 11-16 during the fall/winter edition of NYFW 2026.

Petrit Halilaj’s Opera of Kosovan Memory and Myth

hyperallergic.com: At the center of Petrit Halilaj’s An Opera Out of Time at Hamburger Bahnhof, the artist’s first major institutional presentation, is a re-presentation of his opera Syrigana, first performed with the Kosovo Philharmonic at an outdoor venue near his hometown of Runik, Kosovo, on June 25th, 2025.

“Is Love Energy Or Matter?” An Interview With Rok Vilcnik, Slovenian Playwright, Author, Musician, Poet

The Theatre Times: Rok Vilčnik (b. 1968), also known as rokgre, is a prominent Slovenian author, poet, playwright, lyricist, and multidisciplinary artist working across theatre, literature, music, television, and radio. Widely recognized as one of Slovenia’s most distinctive contemporary playwrights, he is a three-time recipient of the prestigious Grum Prize for Best New Slovenian Play.

Four actors on the high-stakes art of being an understudy

www.thestar.com: Being an understudy is one of the most challenging roles in the theatre. These actors, who can be called on in a moment’s notice to step in when a lead actor cannot perform, are the living embodiment of the “the show must go on.” The Star recently spoke with four current and former understudies, who shared their insights on the unique role.

Road Test: Shure Digital Wireless Ecosystem

ProSoundWeb: In professional audio production, wireless microphone systems are often judged not by how they perform in ideal conditions, but by how they behave when everything works against them. Radio frequency (RF) congestion, structural interference, dense digital traffic, and demanding live production schedules quickly separate dependable tools from theoretical systems.

Road Test: DPA 4466 CORE+ Headworn Microphone

ProSoundWeb: For a long time, lavalier microphones were the go-to method to capture the voices of pastors, corporate presenters, TV broadcasters, and actors. Then, in the 1980s, viable headworn microphones began hitting the market, and they offered many advantages, both sonically and otherwise, but they were often awkward and clunky. Over the past 20 years or so, however, they’ve gotten better acoustically and are far more comfortable to wear.

Pouring It On for PICT: Michael Patrick Trimm Takes on ‘The Smuggler,’ a Solo Thriller in Rhythmic Verse

onStage Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh International Classic Theatre first announced Michael Patrick Trimm in the role of bartender/smuggler/immigrant Tim Finnegan for March of last year, working with director Patrick Cannon and expected at Riley’s Pour House in Carnegie. Fate and fire intervened, and Riley’s burned to the ground in November 2024, with Trimm moving on to a two-hander, the excellent co-production King James, at both City Theatre and Cleveland Play House.

Live Nation Reaches a Settlement With the DOJ Over Alleged Ticketing Monopoly

gizmodo.com: Live Nation has tentatively settled the antitrust lawsuit brought by the Department of Justice and joined by 30 states. The agreement was announced at a hearing on Monday, per Bloomberg, but still requires the judge’s approval.

What the Work Does to the Body

emilkang.substack.com: A few nights ago I was sitting at a bar in Chelsea before a show, waiting for a colleague, when another colleague walked in. We hugged. When I mentioned I was meeting our mutual friend, she said she had been with her the night before at a different performance. We laughed about it, the way you do when the pattern is so familiar it doesn’t even register anymore. We’ve been doing this for thirty years and we still can’t stop.

Pain and Endurance in barebones productions’ Infinite Life

onstagepittsburgh.com: Playwright Ann Baker‘s Infinite Life depicts a group of five women and a man on a wellness retreat at a fasting facility. They sunbathe on lawn chairs, with only a parking lot behind a bakery in their line of sight.

What Will D.C. Theatres Do Without a Full-Time Critic at the Post?

AMERICAN THEATRE: What would it look like if a major U.S. theatre city lost its last full-time theatre critic? While many U.S. cities have already run this dystopian experiment, it had never happened to one of American theatre’s largest markets until early in February, when massive layoffs at The Washington Post included its entire arts and culture section, chiefly theatre critic Naveen Kumar, arts and entertainment editor Jonathan Fischer, senior editor Zachary Pincus-Roth, and many more across all departments.

When the Fires Struck, Austin Scott Pivoted on Behalf of his Altadena Community

cinemontage.org: After two decades as a working picture editor, Austin Scott knew the rhythms of a freelance career — the rush of steady work, the anxiety of slowdown. What he couldn’t prepare for was the moment when the work vanished; his hometown of Altadena burned in last year’s disastrous fire, and the future felt suddenly unrecognizable.

How to Get Plywood Home if You Don’t Have a Truck

www.familyhandyman.com: One of the biggest challenges of working with plywood is getting it home from the store. It usually comes in 4×8 sheets, which is cost-effective and ideal for certain projects, but can be a challenge to transport without a truck. However, it is possible. “I’ve used all manner of transport options to get plywood to my house,” Garrett Poshusta of The Grit and Polish says. It will just take a bit more time, effort and in some cases, money.

Can Theatre Change People's Minds? To Wallace Shawn, That's Not Inconceivable

Playbill: Stage and screen legend Wallace Shawn sums up his newest play thusly: “Most people have this dream of finding someone they love, finding a partner. Even for priests, monks, nuns, the Pope, it's an issue. They may want a partner, but the rules say they're not allowed to have one. But the topic would be. . . well, I don't think the Pope would be bored by my play.”

Text Messages Reveal How University of Texas Leaders Axed an Anti-ICE Show

hyperallergic.com: Weeks after the University of North Texas (UNT) abruptly axed an exhibition of works criticizing the treatment of immigrants in the United States, newly obtained internal communications show how university administrators deliberated their controversial action.

What happens when AI is used for performance reviews?

Fast Company: During the last decade, digital innovations have produced a range of recruitment and evaluation tools: now, whenever you first apply for a job, you are less likely to be judged by humans and more likely to be assessed by AI. Before you can even get the opportunity to impress a human interviewer, you will first need to impress the algorithm!

A part presentation primer for powder coating

www.thefabricator.com: Parts flow from blanking to bending with minimal work-in-process (WIP). It all seems seamless until you walk to your in-line powder coating system. You see WIP everywhere. Parts are hung haphazardly, widely spaced. Even worse, you see someone wielding a Dremel to frantically remove paint from hooks. Evidently, a lack of grounding was creating some adhesion difficulties.

The "Amazon of Metal" Adds Custom Tube Bending to Its Digital Arsenal

Tooling & Production: The traditional bottleneck of metal fabrication -- waiting weeks for a quote only to face steep order minimums -- is being dismantled by OSH Cut. Headquartered in Spanish Fork, Utah, the online manufacturing leader recently announced the launch of instant CNC tube bending services, a move that brings the convenience of e-commerce to precision structural fabrication.

An AI character comes to life in Morning, Noon, and Night

Chicago Reader: Plays about Black women and the effects (tangential or otherwise) of COVID-19 are having a moment on Chicago stages this winter. MPAACT just completed their run of Squat by Tina Fakhrid-Deen, in which neighbors and lovers in a Bronzeville condo building struggle with their relationships while sheltering in place. COVID cautiousness also shows up in Kristen Adele Calhoun’s Black Cypress Bayou, running through March 15 in a local premiere with Definition Theatre.

Consumer Advocates, Policy Groups, and Lawmakers Slam Proposed Live Nation–Ticketmaster Settlement

TicketNews: The reported settlement between the Trump Department of Justice and Live Nation Entertainment over the company’s alleged monopoly in live entertainment is drawing sharp criticism from consumer advocates, policy organizations, and lawmakers who argue the proposed agreement would allow the Ticketmaster parent company to maintain its dominant grip on the industry, providing limited relief for consumers or competitors in the space.

Philly theaters unite to stage 3 plays by Pulitzer-winning playwright James Ijames

theconversation.com: Most theater subscriptions offer a patron access to a single theater’s season. But Philadelphia’s new Citywide James Ijames Pass provides tickets to three James Ijames – pronounced EYE-ms, rhymes with “chimes” – plays at three theaters in Philadelphia. Subscribers will also get one mustard-colored beanie, one of Ijames’ signature accessories.

In a Screen-Dazzled World, a Theater Critic Has the Antidote

The New York Times: It’s an odd time to be a theater critic. There are fewer of us writing for institutions than ever before — just a handful now across the country. In February, less than a month after I joined The Times, the Washington Post laid off almost every arts writer they had, capping a period of brutal attrition.