the week of november 15-19, 2021
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Identity Design: Elizabeth Haley Morton || Editorial Support: Rebecca Adelsheim
in-person theatre
Michael R. Jackson’s A Strange Loop starts performances November 22nd at Woolly Mammoth. Directed by Stephen Brackett, the 2020 Pulitzer Prize-winning musical is about “a Black, queer writer writing his original musical…about a Black, queer writer writing his original musical.”
Anna Deavere Smith’s Fires in the Mirror begins November 27th at Baltimore Center Stage. The solo performance, featuring 26 characters and based on over 100 interviews conducted by Smith with people involved in the 1991 Crown Heights uprising, is directed by Nicole Brewer.
Once Upon a One More Time starts performances on November 30th at Shakespeare Theatre Company. The world premiere, Broadway-bound jukebox/fairytale musical features the songs of the recently freed Britney Spears, with a book by Jon Hartmere and direction by Keone and Mari Madrid.
The Dutch Kills Theater production of Eric John Meyer’s The Antelope Party plays through December 4th at The Wild Project. The world premiere dark comedy about “Bronies and fascism” (and recent NYT Critics’ Pick) is directed by Jess Chayes.
Rorschach Theatre’s season-long immersive experience CHEMICAL EXILE: A Psychogeographies Project is now in process. The project takes participants to unexpected locations around DC while a season-long fictional narrative plays out over layers of history and magic realism. Audience members also receive monthly materials in the mail and the experience concludes with a live performance at the end of the season.
Matt Schatz’s musical An Untitled New Play by Justin Timberlake debuts November 27th in a City Theatre Company/Pittsburgh CLO production. The co-world premiere is directed by Reginald L. Douglas and, to my great delight, is about “an idealistic literary manager at a non-profit theater [who] wants to change the world by discovering unsung writers and plays that matter, but her tone-deaf boss instead chooses a ‘pop superstar’ to write the ‘hit’ that will keep the theater from going out of business.” Finally some representation for dramaturgs with taste!
digital theatre
Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord will stream for two weeks starting December 1st. The NYTW production details Wong’s early pandemic experience “sew[ing] masks out of old clothes and household materials, eventually leading a virtual cohort of volunteers that blurred the lines between ‘feminist care utopia’ and ‘mutual aid doomsday cult.’”
I mentioned Solas Nua’s Prime Cut Festival in last week’s newsletter — a digital showcase of four US premieres from the acclaimed Belfast theatre company — and Solas Nua reached out and offered a 25% discount for my readers. We love perks! Promo code is PRIMETIME.
2022 season updates
Park Avenue Armory announced its 2022 season. The line-up includes Dutch composer Michel van der Aa’s 80-minute opera Upload, a repertory of Robert Icke’s productions of Hamlet and Oresteia, Tyshawn Sorey’s Rothko Chapel (directed by Peter Sellars), the exhibition Assembly, and Julian Rosefeldt’s immersive film installation Euphoria.
59E59 announced its upcoming season. Projects include The Civilians' production of Duncan Sheik and Kyle Jarrow’s musical Whisper House, LABryinth Theater Company’s developmental production of Victor Almanzar’s Through the Fire, Geva Theatre Center’s production of Gabriel Jason Dean's Heartland, and Happenstance Theater’s devised work Barococo. 59E59 is also launching several new initiatives: VOLT Festival, which will produce three New York premieres from one writer produced by three different companies (this year’s writer in Karen Hartman); Makers Series, which grants space and financial aid to BIPOC theatre companies for new work development; and Space Lab, which provides free rehearsal space.
the regional theatre game of thrones
Peggy McKowen is the new producing artistic director of Contemporary American Theatre Festival. McKowen is the West Virginia new play festival’s longtime associate artistic director. She succeeds founder Ed Herendeen, who announced his retirement in September. CATF will be moving to a three-person leadership structure and will be hiring a managing director and co-artistic leader in the coming months.
Chautauqua Theater Company’s artistic director Andrew Borba and managing director Sarah Clare Corporandy will both step down in 2022. Borba has been the artistic director since 2016, after previously serving as associate AD for eight years. Corporandy has been the managing director since 2012, after joining the theatre in 2009 as company manager.
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.)
Community Engagement Manager, Richmond Triangle Players (full-time exempt): $30,000
Living Wage for Richmond, VA: $40,007Artistic Producer, Golden Thread Productions: $58,240
Living Wage for San Francisco, CA: $69,072Marketing Associate, Atlantic Theater Company: $40,000
Living Wage for NYC: $51,323
FYI
I’m taking next week off from the newsletter, but I’ll be back with the usual round-up on December 3rd. I’m seeing a show on Monday for the first time since March 2020 so I might write a subscriber-only post about that experience because I’m sure I’ll have a lot of feelings! Or maybe my capacity for wonder has been permanently broken by the last 20 months and it’ll be chill and unremarkable? Stay tuned.
