the week of january 7-13, 2023

round and round the leadership merry-go-round

Lauren Halvorsen

Jan 13, 2023

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Graphic Design: Elizabeth Haley Morton | Editorial Support: Rebecca Adelsheim

in-person theatre

Jonathan Larson’s tick, tick…BOOM! is now playing at Chicago’s BoHo Theatre. Bo Frazier directs a reimagined version of Larson’s autobiographical rock musical featuring an all-trans and gender nonconforming cast. (There’s a great feature in American Theatre this week about the production.)
The world premiere of Whitney White’s By the Queen is now playing at Trinity Rep in Providence. The “dynamic new drama, lifted and remixed from the text of Henry VI and Richard III” centers Queen Margaret, portrayed by three performers of different ages, and is directed by Brian McEleney.
Sanaz Toossi’s English is now playing at DC’s Studio Theatre. Knud Adams directs the Iran-set “comedy of miscommunication and look at the ways speaking a new language can expand your world and change your voice.”
Caitlin Saylor Stephens’ Modern Swimwear runs January 13 - February 12 at The Tank in NYC. The world premiere “about the last night of celebrated swimwear designer Sylvie Cachay’s life and the cost of female ambition” is directed by Meghan Finn and features dramaturgy by Amauta Marston-Firmino.
Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell’s Ride the Cyclone starts performances January 13th at DC’s Arena Stage. The darkly comic musical about “six teens singing their way back to life after a freak roller coaster accident catapults them to the afterlife” is directed by Sarah Rasmussen.
Christina Anderson’s the ripple, the wave that carried me home runs January 13 - February 12 at the Goodman in Chicago. Jackson Gay directs the “moving exploration of a family’s response to injustice and a daughter’s reckoning with her political inheritance.”
Kate Snodgrass’ The Art of Burning starts performances January 13th at the Huntington in Boston. The new play “exploring the love, rage, and responsibility that come with marriage and parenting in America” is directed by Melia Bensussen.
Psalmayene 24’s Out of the Vineyard will have a free staged reading on January 14th at Joe’s Movement Emporium in Mt. Rainier, MD. Tony Thomas directs the commissioned work “based on interviews with descendants of enslaved families and people connected to the history of freedom suits in Prince George's County that weaves together monologues excavating a buried chapter in American history while illuminating how the legacy of slavery still affects us today.”
The world premiere of Livian Yeh's Memorial begins January 19th at NYC’s Pan Asian Repertory Theatre. The play dramatizes the real-life opposition faced by artist Maya Lin for her ‘untraditional’ Vietnam Veterans Memorial design and is directed by Jeff Liu.
A workshop production of Jake Broder and Conor Duffy’s Max and Willy’s Last Laugh will run January 19 - 22 as part of Mosaic Theatre Company’s Catalyst New Play Festival in DC. Sheryl Kaller directs the new musical play “based on the true story of entertainers Max Ehrlich and Willy Rosen who for 18 months performed the funniest cabaret in Europe to ensure their safety at the Westerbork Transit Camp during World War II.”

digital theatre

Laiona Michelle, Greg Dean Borowsky, and Shaun Borowsky’s Mandela will be broadcast live January 19 - 23 from the Young Vic in London. Schele Williams directs the new musical about the life and legacy of the South African anti-apartheid activist, politician, and philanthropist.
Gabby Wolfe’s La Llorona is now streaming from DC’s We Happy Few . The adaptation of the Latin American mythical ghost story “weaves us through three generations of women and their relationship with family, love, and colonization” and is co-directed by Kerry McGee, Rachel Dixon, & Esteban Marmolejo-Suarez.
Aaron Posner & Teller’s adaptation of The Tempest is available to stream through January 29th from Round House Theatre. The reimagined Shakespearean classic features “haunting music from the catalog of iconic songwriter Tom Waits, mind-bending moves from Pilobolus, and astonishing feats of magic.”

the regional theatre game of thrones

Stephanie Ybarra is stepping down after five years as artistic director of Baltimore Center Stage. Ybarra is leaving to become the new program officer in arts and culture at the Mellon Foundation. Ken-Matt Martin, the former artistic director of Victory Gardens, will serve as interim AD as the company conducts a nationwide search.
Oregon Shakespeare Festival executive director David Schmitz is stepping down amid an organizational restructure. Schmitz joined the company three years ago. Artistic director Nataki Garrett will take on the role of interim executive artistic director. The theatre also announced 12 layoffs, seven furloughs, and a hiring freeze on 18 open positions, and has reduced its season to six in-person productions. (Last year had eight productions and American Theatre noted that pre-pandemic seasons had up to 11. The festival’s budget has also shrunk from $42 million in 2019 to $18 million in its 2021 tax filing.)
David Binder is stepping down as artistic director of BAM. Binder plans to return to commercial producing, as he “accomplished what I set out to do [here].” He joined the Brooklyn multi-arts venue in 2019.
Barry Grove is leaving Manhattan Theatre Club after 48 years. Grove started as the managing director in 1975. During his tenure, MTC went from producing in a rented space on the Upper East Side to a multi-venue operation on and Off Broadway with a $27 million annual budget.
Huntington Theatre managing director Michael Maso is departing after 41 years. Maso has led the Boston theatre since its inception in 1982.