CMU grad vies for best actor in a musical Tony for 'Hamilton' role

TribLIVE: At every performance, he brings to burning sensation the high drama and low-ball machinations that formed the core of Aaron Burr's flicker of life at the center of American politics and government before and after the Revolutionary War.

Here’s What Shakespeare’s Plays Sounded Like With Their Original English Accent

22 Words: linguist David Crystal and his son, actor Ben Crystal, look at the differences between English pronunciation now and how it was spoken 400 years ago. They answer the most basic question you probably have right now — How do you know what it sounded like back then?

‘School of Rock’: Kids on Broadway Are Quadruple Threats

Variety: It’s tough being a Broadway actor around Tony time. You’ve got eight shows a week, of course, but you’ve also got rehearsals for the Tony Awards ceremony to slot into your schedule. Plus you’ve got press duties for your show’s Tony campaign, and while you’re at it, you’ll have to juggle any additional daytime rehearsals you might have for new actors joining the show.

Everything you should know about "Hamilton"

Business Insider: "Hamilton" is the most coveted Broadway show right now, and tickets are sold out for months in advance. The musical — created and composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda — features a multiracial cast rapping and singing the story of Alexander Hamilton, America's founding father and first secretary of the treasury. It took six years for the musical to come together, but since it has there's no stopping it.

LumenRadio and LiteGear Partner to Create LiteDimmer Wireless DMX System

Stage Directions: LumenRadio and LiteGear have partnered to offer a new ultra-compact LED controller system. The LiteDimmer Wireless DMX system is a wireless transceiver capable of transmitting or receiving DMX signal that is coupled with several LED dimmer units. Because these dimmers incorporate advanced RF receivers along with their dimming circuit in one small housing, LiteDimmer Wireless two- and four-channel units are perfect for use with costumes or props, such as lanterns.

Tonys Actress Roundtable: 7 Broadway Standouts on Biggest Fears and Refusing to Cater to "Teenage Boys"

Hollywood Reporter: "For me," says Lupita Nyong'o, the 33-year-old 12 Years a Slave Oscar winner-turned-best actress in a play Tony nominee for her Broadway debut in Eclipsed, "the hardest time is the moment before I get on stage, when the mountain is ahead of you and you're just like, 'I can't.' Every day, it's total panic and confusion as to how this is supposed to happen, especially feeling the way I feel in that moment, the exhaustion my body is experiencing, being parched in the throat, drinking water and it's just not doing enough. Then they say, 'Places,' and you get on that train, and before you know it, it's over."

Stop the Bots From Killing Broadway

NYTimes.com: THEY call you Lady Luck, but there is room for doubt” — Frank Loesser, “Guys and Dolls”

Almost a year ago, the curtain rose for “Hamilton” at the Richard Rodgers Theater. Since that day, everyone involved in the production has had many wonderful experiences to cherish — from the performance when we hosted President Obama and the first lady to the heartfelt stories we hear from theatergoers outside the stage door.

How Maker Faire Celebrates the Maker Community

makezine.com: At Maker Faire Bay Area this year, Adam Savage returned on Sunday morning to deliver what some might call the Sermon Mounted on the Electric Giraffe (which you can watch in the video below). He stood atop Russell the Electric Giraffe and gave his talk to a crowd of fans. With his thoughtful manner and humor, Adam talked about the value of making and its impact on his life. When he was done, he took questions. One of them was from a young girl who asked him what he does when other people are denigrating his efforts. Adam paused just a moment to think, and then he dismounted from the giraffe, and went to give the young girl a hug.

Sonoma man crushed to death dismantling BottleRock Napa Valley tent

The Press Democrat: The company that employed the Sonoma man crushed to death by a metal beam Tuesday while dismantling a VIP tent at BottleRock Napa Valley was the subject of another investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in 2008.

British pop star Leona Lewis will star in Cats because apparently no Americans can sing

www.timeout.com: British pop star Leona Lewis will play faded-glamour puss Grizabella in the upcoming Broadway revival of Cats, the production confirmed today. This is good news for theater fans who had worried that the revival would be obliged to cast an American stage performer, of whom not one exists with the ability to belt out “Memory."

Tony, Can You Hear Me?

AMERICAN THEATRE: This year marks the 30th anniversary of my professional career in the theatre, where I’ve had the good fortune to make a life designing sound and composing music for numerous productions, many of them on Broadway. I have been privileged to receive one of the highest accolades in the theatre for my work: In 2013, I was nominated for a Tony Award for designing the sound for Horton Foote’s The Trip to Bountiful.

Where Do Broken Hearts and Intellectual Copyright Go? The Ponderings of a Dumped Artistic Director

HowlRound: In January 2016, I went about the afternoon at my theatre company like any other Thursday. I answered emails, had a quick catch up with the associate producer, and then attended the weekly sales meeting. For almost an hour, we discussed strategies for the upcoming spring repertoire. Our fall had huge audience numbers, a hit show was extending, and we were continuing to analyze how our holiday production grossed more than $100,000 past it’s box office goal. When the meeting completed, the executive director and I prepared to leave for what I thought was a pre-board meeting “prep meeting.” I got my coat, packed up my briefcase, and used the rest room before finding the executive director in front of the building. It was at this point I discovered I wasn’t going to the meeting I thought I was and, was actually, about to reenact a scene from the George Clooney movie Up in the Air.

Film Crew Takes Pittsburgh Back To The 1950s For Adaptation of August Wilson's 'Fences'

90.5 WESA: Film crews are turning back the clock to reflect the Steel City of 1957. The old cars and vintage clothing come courtesy of the film adaptation of August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning "Fences," starring the play's Broadway duo, Denzel Washington and Viola Davis. Though based on events that occurred in the Hill District, the Paramount film has been on location in neighborhoods across the city, including Pittsburgh's West End early Friday.

Exploring the Secrets of Soothing Spaceship Sound

Atlas Obscura: You would think, with the decades of Star Trek film, movies, books, websites, conventions and holidays, there'd be nothing new for a fan to discover in the series. But there hasn't been a Star Trek fan quite like Spike Snell. The YouTuber and noise musician was casually watching the entire run of Star Trek: The Next Generation for the fourth time in 2011 when he locked in on something that most obsessives took for granted, yet was present in almost every scene. It was, as he put it, his favorite part of the show. The "ambient engine noise sound."

Tony Awards honors Detroit's Cass Technical High School teacher with Excellence in Theatre Education Award

CBS News: For a second year, the Tony Awards and Carnegie Mellon University have chosen a teacher for the Excellence in Theatre Education Award. Of more than 1,100 submissions from across the country, the winner hails from Detroit's top high school, reports CBS News correspondent Michelle Miller.

Twisting the Grid for 'The Robber Bridegroom'

PLSN: Director Alex Timbers seems to have a penchant for period timepieces gone askew. He displayed this trait while directing previous productions such as Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson as well as the Tony Award-winning Peter Pan prequel, Peter Pan and the Starcatchers. He continues down this road with his latest production, the remake of the 1975 musical The Robber Bridegroom, an 18th century Southern romp inspired by a short story by Eudora Welty.

Microsoft Launches Planner, a Trello-Like Project Management Tool

lifehacker.com: Microsoft Planner, a new tool that helps teams track and collaborate on projects, launched today for the Office 365 suite. Planner lets you organize projects, share files, assign tasks, and chat with other collaborators—all within Office 365.

J.K. Rowling Slams Black Hermione Critics of ‘Harry Potter’ Play

Variety: J.K. Rowling has given her “absolute blessing” to a black actress playing Hermione in London stage production “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” and slammed those who criticized the casting in a new interview.

Manufacturing Ramshackle

Stage Directions: For Fences at Arizona Theatre Company, Scenic Designer Vicki Smith and Charge Scenic Artist Brigitte Bechtel presented to us an opportunity to help create a set that needed to look grungy, worn and real, with rusting metal, peeling paint on wood, tattered pavers and aged brick.

Ansys funds a maker laboratory at Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Engineering simulation software company Ansys Inc. is teaming with Carnegie Mellon University to create a teaching, design and build laboratory for students. Canonsburg-based Ansys will help build a three-story, 30,000-square-foot student laboratory on the Oakland campus with groundbreaking scheduled for fall and completion anticipated in 2018. The cost of the building was not disclosed, but Ansys and university officials hope the lecture and fabrication hall will expand opportunities for collaboration and allow students to try out the latest materials and designs. “There is a huge market for innovation,” Ansys President and CEO James Cashman said. “All these tools will allow people to do ‘what if.’”