Theater
Sondheim’s “Company” Getting Gender Swapped by Marianne Elliott
Tony winner Marianne Elliott’s new company is giving the Sondheim musical “Company” a twist by gender swapping the main character. According to The New York Times, Elliott’s new company,...
Project for Women Directors Sabotaged By a One Man’s Complaint
The news coming out of North Carolina’s theater scene is slightly confusing, but what it sounds like is a classic case of sexist sabotage. As IndyWeek reports, on Tuesday of last week, Jerome...
Read Sarah Ruhl’s Inspiring Speech on the Election and Being a Female Writer
Playwright Sarah Ruhl was awarded with the 2016 Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award last week. The prize, which “celebrates career excellence in American theater,” comes with $200,000. An...
Theater Director Leigh Silverman Inspires Artists in a Trump World
The 16th annual 24 Hour Plays on Broadway took place on November 14. This year’s event honored theater director Leigh Silverman and her inspiring thank you speech is available to read now. The 24...
Musical Adaptation of “Amelie” Heading to Broadway Starring Phillipa Soo
A musical adaptation of the French film “Amelie” will hit Broadway in April, 2017 with “Hamilton’s” Phillipa Soo in the lead role, Variety reports. The musical will open at the Walter...
“Frozen” Writer Kristen Anderson-Lopez Making Broadway Debut with “In Transit”
“Frozen” co-writer Kristen Anderson-Lopez is taking her talent to Broadway. The writer will make her stage debut with “In Transit,” the Great White Way’s first a capella musical. It was...
MGM Snags Chiara Atik’s “Fairy Godmother” Spec Script
Chiara Atik is turning her gaze from the stage to the screen. MGM has acquired the playwright’s first spec script, “Fairy Godmother,” following a “competitive” bidding process,...
First New Play Written By a Woman Announced for Current Broadway Season
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel is set to make her Broadway debut, The New York Times reports. “Indecent,” Vogel’s newest play, will be staged on Broadway next spring. Rebecca...
Jackie Wylie Named Artistic Director of National Theatre of Scotland
Jackie Wylie has been announced as the new Artistic Director of The National Theatre of Scotland, The Guardian reports. Former Artistic Director Laurie Sansom departed unexpectedly earlier this year...
When Visionary Women Aren’t Trusted: Emma Rice Out at The Globe Theatre
Just two days ago I read a story about Emma Rice, the new (she started in April) and soon to depart Artistic Director of The Globe Theatre in London. She was on a panel sponsored by Tonic Theatre...
Glenn Close Bringing “Sunset Boulevard” Back to Broadway
Glenn Close is returning to Broadway in the role that won her a Tony. As Variety reports, a new production of “Sunset Boulevard” will hit the Great White Way in February 2017 with Close...
Playwright Aleshea Harris Wins The Relentless Award for “Is God Is”
Playwright Aleshea Harris has won The Relentless Award, for her play “Is God Is,” The New York Times reports. The award includes prize money of $45,000 and opportunities for staged readings at...
Awards, Films, News, Television, Theater
Allison Janney Scores Walk of Fame Star and Announces Return to Broadway
Allison Janney is having a big week. The Emmy-winning actress was recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Monday, and on Tuesday the New York Times announced Janney’s return to...
Jennifer Diaz Becomes First Female Head Carpenter of IATSE Theater Union
Jennifer Diaz has made history. In the 120 year history of Local 1 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, she is the first female head carpenter. In a profile in The New York...
D.C.’s Signature Theatre and Broadway Producer Launch Writers Initiative to Support Female…
D.C.’s Signature Theatre and Broadway Producer Launch Writers Initiative to Support Female Playwrights Broadway producer Jenna Segal is teaming up with the Washington D.C. Signature Theatre to...
Elizabeth LeCompte Awarded 2016 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize
Elizabeth LeCompte, founding member and director of experimental theater company The Wooster Group, has been chosen as the recipient of this year’s Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, Broadway...
Sarah Ruhl to Receive Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award
Playwright Sarah Ruhl has been named the recipient of this year’s Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, The New York Times reports. The prize, which “celebrates career excellence in American...
Bette Midler’s “Hello, Dolly!” Breaks Broadway Sale Records
Bette Midler has broken a record. As Deadline reports, her upcoming Broadway revival of “Hello, Dolly!” has already banked $9.08 million in ticket sales, and the show won’t even open...
“Fun Home” Writers Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron on Saying Goodbye to Broadway
Gabriella Pizzolo and Michael Cerveris in “Fun Home”: Joan Marcus Musicals take many years to develop, and when that development results in a successful Broadway run, saying goodbye can be...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet Alison Maclean — “The Rehearsal”
Alison Maclean’s credits include “Crush,” “Jesus’s Son,” and “Kitchen Sink.” She was born in Canada and raised in New Zealand. “The Rehearsal” will premiere at the 2016 Toronto...
The Revolutionary “Fun Home” Ends Its Broadway Run
The Original Broadway Cast of “Fun Home”: Joan Marcus Many will feel the loss when “Fun Home,” 2015’s Tony Award winner for Best Musical, closes on Saturday. I know I will. For roughly 17...
Bias and Stereotypes Hold Women Back from Theater Leadership Positions
Why are so few women in top leadership positions in theaters and how can these numbers improve? HowlRound, a commons by and for people who make performance, has shared new research seeking answers...
Watch Today: Women’s Leadership in Theater Conference Live Stream
The American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco is hosting a Women’s Leadership Conference today that you can watch live. The conference, as BroadwayWorld reports, “emerged from a...
Julie Taymor to Direct Revival of “M. Butterfly”
Julie Taymor will direct a revival of “M. Butterfly,” David Henry Hwang’s Tony-award winning play, BroadwayWorld reports. The drama originally opened on Broadway in 1988 and starred John...
Pat Benatar Musical Heading to Broadway
A new musical based on the music of Pat Benatar is heading to the stage. According to Deadline, the musical will focus on the professional and personal accomplishments of Benatar and her...
Rosa Parks Musical in the Works in London
A new musical based on the life of civil rights icon Rosa Parks is in the works in London, Playbill reports. The show was written by Victoria Gimby (book and lyrics) and Stuart Matthew Price (music...
Apply for the Billie Burke Ziegfeld Award for Composers
The Ziegfeld Club, one of the first not-for-profit organizations in the Broadway community, has announced the second Billie Burke Ziegfeld Award for female composers. Named in honor of late actress...
“Hamilton’s” Renée Elise Goldsberry to Play Title Role in HBO’s “The Immortal Life of Henrietta…
“Hamilton’s” Renée Elise Goldsberry to Play Title Role in HBO’s “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” “Hamilton” star and Tony winner Renée Elise Goldsberry has been cast as the...
New Georges to Celebrate 25th Anniversary with World Premieres by Hilary Bettis and Sheila…
New Georges to Celebrate 25th Anniversary with World Premieres by Hilary Bettis and Sheila Callaghan New Georges, a theatrical production company devoted to women, has announced that they will...
Imelda Staunton Becoming a Theatrical Leading Lady
She may have immortalized her career in film by playing Delores Umbridge in the “Harry Potter” movies, but Imelda Staunton is having an equally successful turn on the stage as of late. As...
The Kilroys Launch “The List”: Production-Ready Plays by Female and Trans Writers
The Kilroys have announced the third annual installment of “The List.” The LA-based collective has assembled a list of production-ready new plays written by female and trans writers. The Kilroys...
Inspirational Women in Theater To Be Celebrated By London’s Tonic Theatre
Tonic Theatre is launching an event to honor women in theater. The inaugural celebration will take June 22 at the Ambassadors Theater in London, England. Lucy Kerbel, Tonic’s director, will...
Nicole Kidman to Star in Big Screen Version of Anna Ziegler’s “Photograph 51”
Playwright Anna Zielger will adapt her play “Photograph 51” for the big screen, The Tracking Board reports, and Nicole Kidman, who starred in the 2015 West End production, is attached to star....
“Wicked” Musical Coming to the Big Screen
After almost 13 years on Broadway, “Wicked” is finally set to fly on the big screen. Universal has announced that the musical film adaptation of the hit show and book will open in theaters...
TV Land Renews “Younger” for Fourth Season
TV Land’s Sutton Foster comedy “Younger” has been renewed for a fourth season, Broadway World reports, shortly after production began on the third, which is set to premiere on September...
Celebrate Reproductive Rights at a Reading of “Spare Rib” Hosted by Gloria Steinem
More information has been revealed about Spare Rib, an upcoming reproductive rights celebration hosted by the Society for Ethical Culture. Gloria Steinem will host the event honoring the work of Dr....
Genne Murphy Wins Leah Ryan Prize for Emerging Women Writers
Leah Ryan’s Fund for Emerging Women Writers has announced Genne Murphy as the winner of the seventh annual prize for her play “Giantess.” Ryan was a playwright, essayist, writer of post-modern...
All Female “Taming of the Shrew” Coming to Shakespeare in the Park
An all-female Shakespeare production is coming to Shakespeare in the Park, and what’s a better choice for such an event than the Bard’s battle-of-the-sexes comedy “The Taming of...
Anne Hathaway Bringing Stage Role in “Grounded” To the Big Screen
Anne Hathaway is adapting a movie version of the play “Grounded,” according to Variety. In 2015, she appeared in a New York production of the single-actor drama at the Public Theater, which was...
Lupita Nyong’o and Cast of Danai Gurira’s “Eclipsed” Urge #BringBackOurGirls
After one recent matinee showing of Danai Gurira’s “Eclipsed,” which is now playing on Broadway, the play’s star, Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o championed a movement to remember the...
Women Make Up Half the Movie Audience and Other Takeaways from the 2015 MPAA Report
The film world is in that lovely city of Las Vegas this week participating in its annual orgy of excess known as CinemaCon. This is when the major studios tout their upcoming big-budget movies and...
League of Professional Theatre Women Announces 2016 Awards for ‘Fun Home,’ Micki Grant and More
The League of Professional Theatre Women, an organization that promotes visibility and works to increase opportunities for women in professional theatre, has announced the winners of its 2016...
Lorraine Hansberry’s ‘Les Blancs’ Receives London Stage Revival
London’s National Theatre has mounted a revival of Lorraine Hansberry’s 1970 play “Les Blancs” (“The Whites”). Hansberry, who died in 1965, is best known as the playwright behind the...
Emily Schwend Wins Prestigious Yale Theater Prize, Both Runners-Up Are Women
Playwright Emily Schwend has won the 2016 Yale Drama Series prize for her play “Utility,” a family drama set in Texas. Schwend will receive $10,000, publication by Yale University Press and a...
Guest Post: Women of the West Offer New Perspectives on the American Stage
From John Wayne movies to the plays of Sam Shepard, the story of the American West has always been presented as a distinctly male experience. Cowboys and Indians, outlaws and frontiersman, ranchers...
Happy Friday: Watch Emma Watson Beatbox For Gender Equality
Emma Watson continues to work her magic. The “Harry Potter” alum plans to take a year off from acting but she’s making amazing use of her time away from Hollywood: The UN Women Goodwill...
Playwright of the Moment: Danai Gurira Has Two Plays Running in NYC
If you’re only familiar with Danai Gurira from her role as Michonne on “The Walking Dead,” AMC’s hit zombie apocalypse drama, it’s time to familiarize yourself with her other works, namely...
‘Wicked’ Passes $1 Billion Benchmark in Record Time
“Wicked” just broke a big record. The 10th-longest running production in Broadway history has officially earned more than $1 billion at the box-office, making it the third-ever show to do so....
Julie Taymor Launches Fellowship for Young Theater Directors
Julie Taymor, the first woman to win a Tony Award for directing a musical, has created a fellowship for young theater directors. The Julie Taymor World Theater Fellowship is designed to enable...
Waking the Feminists Comes to New York City
Last week I had the privilege to participate in Waking theFeminists as it arrived in NYC from Dublin. This movement began when womenprotested at the Abbey Theatre about the lack of women playwrights...