the week of january 31 - february 4, 2022

gotta get through february

Feb 04, 2022

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what paid subscribers got this week

I sent out the first edition of Season Planning Futures, a new feature where I write about trends, developments, and predictions for the 2022-23 regional theatre season. Based on the number of new paid subscribers (thank you!), you’re all very thirsty for season planning gossip and analysis. (I mean, same.)

in-person theatre

Cinco Paul and Bekah Brunstetter’s musical A.D. 16 starts performances at Olney Theatre Center on February 4th. The world premiere musical comedy, directed by Stephen Brackett, follows a teenaged Mary Magdalene crushing hard on the boy next door (Jesus).
Omar Elerian’s adapation of Eugène Ionesco’s The Chairs begins February 5th at the Almeida. Elerian directs a cast led by Kathryn Hunter, who is worth a trek to London.
Paul Grellong’s Power of Sail opens February 8th at the Geffen Playhouse. Weyni Mengesha directs a cast led by Bryan Cranston and Amy Brenneman. (I always hesitate to recommend The Leftovers unless you’re in the mood to get gloriously wrecked but Amy is really excellent on that series.)
The world premiere of Chisa Hutchinson’s Amerikin opens February 11th at the Alley Theatre. Directed by James Black, the play follows a white supremacist-hopeful whose ancestry test yields surprising results. (A digital version of the production will be available March 14 - 27.)
Deborah Zoe Laufer’s Rooted opens at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park on February 12th. The world premiere comedy on “the power of plants and the idiosyncrasies of people” is directed by Noah Himmelstein.
The monologue collection Out of Time — performed by an ensemble of actors all over the age of 60 — runs February 15 - March 13 at the Public. Conceived and directed by Les Waters and commissioned by NAATCO, Out of Time is “a theatrical tapestry exploring age, memory, parenthood, and identity in moving new works by writers Jaclyn Backhaus, Sam Chanse, Mia Chung, Naomi Iizuka, and Anna Ouyang Moench.”

digital theatre

The Playwrights’ Center and Arizona Theatre Company will present an online reading of Dominic Orlando’s Danny Casolaro Died for You on February 7th at 8PM ET. The free reading is directed by Kip Fagan and recounts the true story of the late playwright's cousin, a reporter who died under mysterious circumstances while investigating government corruption.
Mike Lew’s Teenage Dick will stream February 3-27 at Pasadena Playhouse. The filmed version, which was directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel and captured at the Huntington earlier this year, replaces the scheduled in-person production.
The Huntington’s production of Lydia R. Diamond’s The Bluest Eye streams February 14 - April 9. The Toni Morrison adaptation is currently running in-person through March 26th and is directed by Awoye Timpo.

2022-23 season updates

Roundabout announced two plays for its fall/winter 2022–23 season. The company will present the previously scheduled Anna Ziegler’s The Wanderers (directed by Barry Edelstein) and the world premiere of 2018 Relentless Award winner Harrison David Rivers’ the bandaged place (directed by David Mendizábal).
The Public announced the 2022 Shakespeare in the Park line-up. Robert O’Hara will direct Richard III starring Danai Gurira in the title role. Laurie Woolery and Shaina Taub’s Public Works musical adaptation of As You Like It, which originally premiered in 2017, will also return.

award season

The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize announced its ten 2022 finalists. The playwrights are Chiara Atik, Daniella De Jesús, Sarah Hanly, Zora Howard, Sonya Kelly, Benedict Lombe, Joanna Murray-Smith, Kae Tempest, Lauren Whitehead, and Amanda Wilkin. The winner will be announced in April and receive a cash prize of $25,000.
The 2022 Obie Awards will consider virtual, digital, and audio work for the first time in its history. The ceremony will take place in November 2022 and honor shows that opened between July 1, 2020 and August 31, 2022.

that’s not a living wage

Here are this week’s featured underpaid job listings, paired with the living wage for a 40-hour work week for one adult with no children in that area. (You can read more about the methodology here.)

Marketing Coordinator, 59E59: $35,000
Living Wage for NYC: $51,323
Digital Marketing Associate, Studio Theatre: $42,000
Living Wage for DC: $51,245

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