Best Theater of 2023

The New York Times: If 2023 was a tragedy in the world, on New York stages it was a dramedy year, highlighted not only by serious plays with great jokes, but also by flat-out comedies with dark underpinnings. And though not all 10 shows (and various bonuses) on my mostly chronological list below fit that mongrel category, even the gravest of them seem to have gotten the memo that theater should not be a bore or a drag. It should thrill you into thought or, as the case may be, solace.

Katy Sullivan To Be First Woman with Disability In 'Richard III' Lead

www.ticketnews.com: The Tony-nominated actress Katy Sullivan will star in “Richard III” at Chicago’s Shakespeare Theatre, making her the first woman with a disability to play a lead production role.

YPT's It’s a Wonderful Life makes theatre magic with… celery

Intermission: This holiday season, Toronto’s Young People’s Theatre is echoing with sounds of laughter, wonder — and celery. This crunchy vegetable is one of a collection of whacky, whimsical props being used to create the soundscape of Young People’s Theatre’s current production, It’s a Wonderful Life: A Radio Play.

Normalizing Rescue Plans within the Circus Community

circustalk.com: In my 18 years working in circus-styled live entertainment, I remain perplexed at how many circus performers find it unsettling to prepare for emergency situations. I have found a common mindset from circus performers to be “If you speak of it, it will come to fruition” and, in turn, rescue training and emergency preparedness are often seen as self-fulfilling prophecies.

Indigenous Theatre Reclaims the Center at Minneapolis’s Guthrie Theater

HowlRound Theatre Commons: For six decades, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has occupied a myriad of cultural “centers”: a historic center of the regional theatre movement, an artistic center for professional theatre in the Midwest, and an erudite center for European “classics”

Holiday Shows in NYC 2023

New York Theater: While there are always new shows in December (see December 2023 New York Theater Openings), the heart of theater during the month is in many ways the annual holiday shows — plays, ballets, operas, concerts, musicals, burlesques, and hybrid entertainments — some of which have reappeared each December for decades. Some are bracingly expensive; most are not. Some are surprisingly raunchy; most are family fare. Some are so popular that they are already sold out (maybe you can plan early for next year.)

What Happens in the Lobby

ASTC: Lobbies require many features to meet the core mission of serving the audience and potentially as a source of revenue. Some organizations want to activate their lobbies during the day, and often it’s important the public can see something exciting and creative is happening day and night.

‘I studied the play in school – I hated it’: Cush Jumbo and David Tennant on playing the Macbeths

Macbeth | The Guardian: David Tennant and Cush Jumbo walk into the Donmar Warehouse’s offices, above the theatre’s rehearsal rooms in Covent Garden, and sit down on a sofa, side by side. Tennant has that look his many fans will instantly be able to call to mind of being at once stressed – with a desperado gleam in his eye – yet mischievously engaged, which has to do with the intelligence he applies to everything, the niceness he directs at everyone.

Broadway Babies, Singing Show Tunes for Seniors

The New York Times: “Oh, baby, give me one more chance,” sang Corey J, a former Little Michael in the Broadway musical “MJ.” Dressed in a black rimmed hat and a black turtleneck, jacket and pants, he slipped through the explosion of joy that is the chord progression of the Jackson 5 song “I Want You Back.”

Original Cast of Peter Allen's Legs Diamond Reunites at New York Public Library for the Performing Arts December 4

Playbill: The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts stages a special reunion of original cast members from Peter Allen’s Legs Diamond December 4. The 1988 Broadway musical was written by Charles Suppon and Harvey Fierstein.

Indoor Arena Rock: Ligabue unleashes the power of TT+ AUDIO

LightSoundJournal.com: Following the success of his concert/event at RCF Arena and his stadium dates in the summer of 2023, Italian rocker Luciano Ligabue returns to perform indoors in Italy and Switzerland with over 25 dates supported by the GTX line array.

10 Works and Performances That Helped Me Make Sense of 2023

The New York Times: “I hope you don’t mind if we carry on,” Juicy says at the end of “Fat Ham.” The other characters in the play then begin cleaning and clearing the stage, an act that affirms Juicy’s proposition and, in this work inspired by Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy, suggests that there might be a way for them to work through their shared trauma together.

Roundabout Theatre Company Receives $2 Million Gift From Laura Pels Foundation

Playbill: Fulfilling a pledge made by Laura Pels celebrating Roundabout Theatre Company's 50th anniversary, the Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater has made a $2 million gift to the theatre.

Francine Jamison-Tanchuck (‘The Color Purple’ costumes) interview

GoldDerby: “The original movie was so meaningful to me because of the span of so many different periods and working with the wonderful mentor of mine, Aggie Rodgers,” says “The Color Purple” costume designer Francine Jamison-Tanchuck. “My job was to clothe a lot of the background ladies and shopping for fabrics for Aggie.

Companies Can Now Build Their Own AI Models for Video with Runway and Getty Images

nofilmschool.com: After a few dormant months for AI news (at least compared to the first few months of the year), it feels like the major AI industry players are once again in a back-and-forth arms race unveiling new projects, partnerships and technologies left and right.

KISS Ends 'Physical Existence,' Band to Continue with Avatars

www.ticketnews.com: The iconic glam-rockers of KISS may not be touring in-person anymore, but fans will still be able to “Rock and Roll All Nite” with the band’s new digital avatars, making them immortal.

Exhibition explores how the Victorians are being reimagined in contemporary art

theconversation.com: As you enter Reimag(in)ing the Victorians, a quote from Oscar Wilde faces you from across the room: “The one duty we owe to history is to rewrite it.” Wilde’s statement draws the attention of visitors to two things. First, the fact that history is an ever-changing form of representation. And second, that it is form of representation produced by us.

Hyundai and Kia completely rethink the EV drive unit with Uni Wheel idea

Ars Technica: We like weird new engineering ideas here at Ars, and today we have a particularly interesting one in the realm of electric cars. It's called the Uni Wheel, and it has been designed by Hyundai and Kia as a way to revolutionize the layout of an EV powertrain to more efficiently use space. In fact, the automakers say it's not just for cars—the new drive system works with wheel sizes as small as four inches to as large as 25 inches.

Bob Shaw (‘The Gilded Age’ production designer) video interview

GoldDerby: “Bertha is a woman of boundless ambition and if she’s a social climber, she still hasn’t reached the summit,” explains production designer Bob Shaw about the every-expanding scope of the HBO series “The Gilded Age.” Now in its second season, the series centers on Bertha (Carrie Coon), the wife of industrialist robber baron George Russell (Morgan Spector), who attempts to elbow her way into the moneyed society of “old New York.” The designer explains that the biggest challenge of this season versus the first “was to try to be a little bigger.”

For Walter DeShields, 'Crumbs From the Table of Joy' is another teaching experience

The Arts | phillytrib.com: He may be one of the busiest and hard-working performance artists and educators in our area. He’s an actor, but not just an actor. He’s a teacher, but not just a teacher. And he’s an activist, but not just an activist. In fact, Walter DeShields wears so many hats that it’s hard to pick just one that fits him best. He is not only known for his many stage and film roles, but also as a man committed to bringing arts and activism to the Philadelphia community.