the week of july 1-7, 2023
watch the west coast thrones
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icymi: bills, bills, bills
This month’s money diary is from a union stagehand working on Broadway. As Jenna wrote in her intro, “If you enjoy cats and ice cream and off-peak subway rides, this one is for you.”
productions
Lynn Nottage’s Clyde's starts previews July 7th at TheaterWorks Hartford. Mikael Burke directs the comedy set in a “truck stop sandwich shop that offers its formerly incarcerated kitchen staff a shot at reclaiming their lives.”
James L. Rogers III and Jenny McConnell Frederick’s Angel Number Nine starts performances July 7th from DC’s Rorschach Theatre. Frederick directs the “part rock show, part booze-soaked road trip through the dive bars and dark clubs of the late 90’s east coast music scene” which will include a “pre-show experience with curated listening stations, vinyl for sale, and an exhibit highlighting hidden histories of DC music.”
Betty Shamieh’s Malvolio starts performances July 8th at The Classical Theatre of Harlem. The irreverent sequel to Twelfth Night is directed by Ian Belknap and Ty Jones.
Samantha Hurley’s I’m Gonna Marry You Tobey Maguire runs July 8 - 29 from Watermark Productions and the cell theatre in NYC. Tyler Struble directs the “full-throttle explosion of our para-social relationships and the obsessions that detonate them.”
Tennessee Williams’ Orpheus Descending runs July 9 - August 6 at Theatre for a New Audience. The revival of the Deep South-set “toxic brew of racist violence, bigotry, misogyny, sexual passion and longing for liberation” is directed by Erica Schmidt and stars my fellow Bryn Mawr alum Maggie Siff.
The world premiere of Jenn Freeman and Sonya Tayeh’s Is It Thursday Yet? starts performances July 11th at La Jolla Playhouse. The “stunning tapestry of dance, live music, and home video footage” examining “the unique complexities of Freeman’s neurodivergent brain” is composed and performed by Holland Andrews.
Love's Labor's Lost starts previews July 12th at Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival. Amanda Dehnert directs Shakespeare’s early romantic comedy, featuring an original pop-rock score co-composed with Andre Pleuss.
Harold Pinter’s No Man's Land runs July 13 - August 20 at Steppenwolf in Chicago. The revival of “Pinter’s modern masterpiece: a generational power struggle, a tug of war between expert wordsmiths, a maze of murky meaning” is directed by Les Waters.
The world premiere of Shakill Jamal’s The Code Switch runs July 14-30 from Sisters Freehold at the Baltimore Theatre Project. Jamal also directs their “fast-paced social satire that puts the complicated concept of code-switching centerstage.”
workshops & readings
May Treuhaft-Ali’s Quick Service and Fernanda Coppel’s AYA will have readings at the Cape Cod Theatre Project between July 6 - 15. Cristina Angeles directs Treuhaft-Ali’s work about four employees trying to survive the dinner rush at a Chicago empanada shop, while Carolyn Cantor helms Coppel’s play about a depressed divorcé embarking on a week-long ayahuasca workshop in Peru.
the regional theatre game of thrones
Tim Bond is the new artistic director of Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He previously served as an associate artistic director at OSF from 1996 to 2007. He succeeds Nataki Garrett, who resigned from the beleaguered company at the end of May. Bond is currently the artistic director of TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, which he took over in March 2020. (Cannot think of a more stressful time to start a job, except maybe taking over OSF right now!)
…which means that Giovanna Sardelli will be the new interim artistic director of TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. She is the current artistic associate and director of new works for the Palo Alto theatre.
2023-24 season updates
First Floor Theater announced its 2024 season. The Chicago company will produce Benjamin Benne’s In His Hands (directed by Ismael Lara Jr.) and the world premiere of Brynne Frauenhoffer’s Pro-Am (directed by Rebecca Willingham).
GALA Hispanic Theatre announced its 2023-24 season. In addition to their dance, film, and chamber opera programming, the DC company will produce the following plays in Spanish with English surtitles: Nilo Cruz’s Bathing in Moonlight (directed by Cruz); Cristina García’s The Palacios Sisters (directed by Adrián Alea), Mariano Vales and Gustavo Ott’s musical Mummy in the Closet: The Return of Eva Perón (directed by Mariano Caligaris).
awards & residencies
Basil Kreimendahl is the 2023-26 Mellon Foundation Playwright-in-Residence at Rattlestick Theater. Kreimendahl will receive three years of salary, benefits, and a research and development fund for his play Sadie River’s Drag Ball on the Lawn.
this week in our ongoing field-wide existential crisis
Chicago’s Lookingglass Theatre Company is pausing programming until spring 2024 and laying off 50% of its staff. The board cited “financial fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.” During this break — the theatres hopes to return to producing in spring 2024 — Lookingglass will be renovating its lobby with restricted state funding from Illinois “expressly for this purpose”.
ooh angel number nine looks very cool