the (short) week of august 29 - september 1, 2022
a quick one, before she's away
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in-person theatre
Vinay Patel’s world premiere adaptation of The Cherry Orchard starts previews September 5th at London’s The Yard. James Macdonald directs the reimagination of Chekhov’s last play, centering on a starship crew’s discovery of a new habitable planet.
Bekah Brunstetter and Ingrid Michaelson’s musical adaptation of The Notebook runs September 6 - October 16 at Chicago Shakespeare Festival. Michael Greif and Schele Williams co-direct the world premiere based on the Nicholas Sparks novel and film adaptation.
Tuyết Thị Phạm’s Dinner and Cake begins September 6th at Baltimore’s Everyman Theatre. Paige Hernandez directs the world premiere about a Vietnamese-American translator navigating the complicated cultural, national, and social politics of her identities at a tense dinner.
Mara Nelson-Greenberg’s Do You Feel Anger? runs September 6 - 25 at the Kitchen Theatre in Ithaca, NY. The dark workplace comedy about “the absurdity—and the danger—of a world where some people’s feelings matter more than others” is directed by Rebecca Bradshaw.
Julia Jarcho’s Marie It's Time starts previews September 7th for HERE & Minor Theater. The rock show spin on Woyzeck — “a fucked-up mixtape about love, motherhood, and violence” — is directed by Ásta Bennie Hostetter.
The world premiere of Candrice Jones’ Flex runs September 7 - October 2 at Atlanta’s Theatrical Outfit. Patdro Harris directs the 1990s-set story of a girls’ high school basketball team navigating the pressures of being young, Black, and female in rural Arkansas.
Tony Meneses’ The Hombres starts performances September 10th at Artists Rep in Portland, OR. The “delicate, funny exploration of masculinity and intimacy of male friendships” is directed by Reena Dutt.
2022-23 season updates
Keen Company announced its upcoming season. Projects include a site-specific production of Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking set in living rooms and community spaces across New York City (starring Kathleen Chalfant and directed by Jonathan Silverstein) and Lynn Nottage’s Crumbs from the Table of Joy (directed by Colette Robert).
this week in toxic workplaces & lousy boards: shea’s buffalo theatre
Michael Murphy, the president of Shea’s Buffalo Theatre, was placed on a multi-week board-mandated leave in mid-July after 90% of the staff formally complained of a “toxic and demoralizing workplace.” The board chairman Randall Best claimed that Murphy was merely “on vacation” but acknowledged there were concerns about “personnel issues and management style.” (Once again, men with no media training or self-awareness going on the record always yields obvious lies.)
Twenty-five employees accused Murphy of being “prone to angry outbursts that included obscenities and shaking his fists, denigrating their work and recording conversations with staff, patrons, and board members he would play back to staff.”
30% of the staff resigned over the last year. Theatres love to claim that staff turnover is unavoidable but it’s always a tell-tale sign of institutional rot.
The Shea doesn’t have HR. (Of course.) The board hastily formed an HR committee last month, then told the staff they wouldn’t respond to anonymous concerns. (In my opinion, a reporting system without a mechanism for anonymous complaints is worthless. The fear of intimidation and retaliation is valid.)
Then, the board announced last week that Murphy will return to work — with “new job responsibilities that remove him from day-to-day supervision of daily operations.” (No official word on whether Murphy will still receive the entirety of his $374,138 annual salary, but you already know he will.)
Best stated that “we believe strongly that this arrangement will best serve the team and, most importantly, our patrons and sponsors. We see this as allowing people to play to their strengths.” I see it as grossly devaluing the safety and well-being of your workers in favor of profits!
vacation time
As I mentioned last week, the weekly round-up will return on September 16th, assuming I don’t die driving around the hairpin bends of Trollstigen. I did receive a generous offer from OG Nothing for the Group subscriber Adrian Rooney to guest-write in my absence. (I’m making him pick me up at the airport instead.) Apologies for denying you this stellar Suburban Dad content:
WHY CAN'T WE HAVE NICE THINGS, Dad joke style?