Announcing the Star-Studded Guest Lineup for The Scene’s Podcast!
And we learn why A Sherlock Carol offers more than a little holiday spirit! Plus, your weekly round-up of theatre news you may have missed!
Welcome to The Scene, your weekly round-up of theatre news you may have missed. In this week's email:
We unveil the all-star lineup of special guest interviews for The Scene's Podcast!
And we hear from playwright Mark Shanahan, who shares his insights into why his enchanting play, A Sherlock Carol, should be included in your theatre's next season.
Plus, we catch you up on the most important theatre news and stories from the past week. So, raise the curtain, shine the spotlight, and let's dive into another thrilling week in the world of theatre.
Welcome to The Scene.
Ariana DeBose Will Host the 2024 Tony Awards by Logan Culwell-Block, Playbill | The Oscar winner will do the thing—for the third time. Read...
How to Restage Cabaret? Don’t Treat It Like a Classic by Douglas Greenwood, The New York Times | The British director Rebecca Frecknall’s immersive revival of the Kander and Ebb musical was a hit in London. This spring, she’s bringing it to Broadway. Read...
The Alicia Keys Musical Hell's Kitchen Arrives on Broadway by Logan Culwell-Block, Playbill | Shoshana Bean, and Maleah Joi Moon co-star in the new musical based on the 15-time Grammy winner's own life. Read...
Director Michael Greif Digs Into His Broadway Hat Trick With Days of Wine and Roses, The Notebook, and Hell's Kitchen by Kathy Henderson, Broadway Buzz | Opening one new musical on Broadway is an enviable accomplishment for any director. But three? In the same season? Read...
The Who's Tommy Opens on Broadway by Meg Masseron, Playbill | Ali Louis Bourzgui, Alison Luff, and Adam Jacobs lead the reimagined revival of the 1993 musical and 1969 album. Read...
What It’s Like to Be a Broadway Producer by Alix Boyle, Next Avenue | Imagine raising millions of dollars and then spending months perfecting the marketing, social media, and other promotional activities. Read...
All the ‘Succession’ Actors You Can See on Stage This Season by Diep Tran, Playbill | Contrary to Logan Roy's assertion, they are very serious people. Read...
What Does “Broadway Choreography” Mean Today? By Jennifer Heimlich, Dance Magazine | Sign up for a musical theater dance class, and you’ll likely see a familiar mix of isolations and high kicks, shoulder rolls, and chassés. But that might not prepare you for the actual dancing on today’s Broadway stages. Read...
In Broadway Musicals, Three’s No Longer A Crowd by Howard Sherman, The Stage | Broadway’s latest mini-trend features shows constructed with three actors playing a single character at different points in their lives. What does this offer for audiences? Read...
‘Magic to do – just for you’: the miracle of Stephen Schwartz’s musical Pippin by Chris Wiegand, The Guardian | A 50th-anniversary concert in London celebrates the unlikely show about the son of a holy Roman emperor that became one of Broadway’s biggest hits. Read...
The Big Idea
Announcing the Star-Studded Guest Lineup for The Scene’s Podcast!
by Zach Dulli, The Scene
The Scene Podcast has rapidly ascended to a weekly must-listen for anyone deeply engrossed in the world of theatre and theatre education. Host Justin Borak—playwright, actor, and TikTok phenomenon—brings his palpable enthusiasm for theatre to an intriguing assortment of segments that aim to both enlighten and entertain. From exploring the newest plays and musicals in "Show You Should Know" to quickly explaining a variety of theatre-related topics in "Theatre in a Minute," The Scene Podcast delivers an all-access backstage pass to the world of theatre.
The excitement around The Scene Podcast notably intensified this week when the upcoming guest list for the next ten episodes was unveiled. Featuring a veritable who's who from the world of theatre, this lineup is poised to introduce a myriad of perspectives and ideas to listeners of the podcast. Upcoming podcast guests include:
April 1, 2024: Jeanna de Waal, acclaimed for her portrayal of Princess Diana in 2021's Diana: The Musical and her recent starring role in the Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
April 8, 2024: Douglas Lyons is a versatile talent with Broadway acting credits, including the Book of Mormon and the Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of Parade. Douglas is also an accomplished playwright, receiving a GLAAD nomination for his debut Broadway play, Chicken and Biscuits.
April 15, 2024: Brooke Maxwell and Jacob Richmond, the creative minds behind Ride the Cyclone, share their journey of how this once under-the-radar musical found viral success on TikTok and back on stage!
April 22, 2024: Sandy Rustin, a celebrated Broadway playwright and actress best known for her adaptation of Clue and the hit Broadway comedy The Cottage.
April 29, 2024: Alvaro Saar Rios is a playwright who creates multi-generational experiences with his plays, including hits such as Luchadora! and On The Wings of a Mariposa.
May 6, 2024: Jaclyn Backhaus is a playwright and educator whose works have been celebrated Off-Broadway. Jaclyn’s popular titles include Out Of Time, Wives, India Pale Ale, Men On Boats, and You On The Moors Now.
May 13, 2024: Kate Hamill is an actor and playwright who the Wall Street Journal recognized as the 2017 Playwright of the Year. One of the most popular playwrights in America, Hammill’s frequently produced titles include Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Vanity Fair, Little Women, Mansfield Park, and Emma.
May 20, 2024: Candrice Jones is a playwright, poet, educator, and resident fellow at Ground Floor, which is housed by Berkeley Rep, the Bay Area Playwrights’ Festival, and MacDowell’s Colony of the Arts. Popular Candrice Jones plays include Crackbaby and FLEX.
May 27, 2024: Michael Cotey is a director and producer who founded ENOUGH: Plays to End Gun Violence, a program that aims to use theatre as a means for social change. Michael is also the Festival Producer of the inaugural World Premiere Wisconsin, a statewide festival celebrating new plays and musicals.
June 3, 2024: Lauren Gunderson is one of the most-produced playwrights in America and has been the most-produced American playwright three times, including the most recent theatre season. Gunderson is a two-time winner of the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award for her titles I and You and The Book of Will. Other popular works include The Revolutionists, Silent Sky, Bauer, Natural Shocks, The Wickhams, and Miss Bennet.
With such an illustrious array of guests, each episode is destined to be a rich source of information, inspiration, and insight. The Scene Podcast has firmly established itself as a vital resource for anyone seeking to enhance their theatre acumen and inspire the next generation of theatre artists.
The Scene Podcast is accessible on Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Goodpods, with new episodes launching every Monday morning. Subscribe to The Scene Podcast today and immerse yourself in the world of theatre like never before.
Shows You Should Know
A Sherlock Carol Offers More Than a Little Holiday Spirit
by Mark Shanahan
At the end of A Christmas Carol, it is said that "Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all and infinitely more." But what exactly did he do? Well, for one thing, he found himself embroiled in a Dickens of a mystery. One featuring Sherlock Holmes, no less!
It's been unbelievably gratifying to see that, following its critical and commercial success off-Broadway, A Sherlock Carol has been embraced by audiences across the United States and abroad. The play delivers laughs and thrills on numerous professional stages, community theaters, and school auditoriums. With standing ovations, glowing notices, and award nominations for productions and actors alike, the play has provided a happy alternative for theatre makers seeking to do something just a little different during the holidays.
As the author of the play, combining the characters from Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes adventures with those of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol was a fun challenge. I like to say that these characters are so real to me, crafting this mash-up was like inviting friends from different social circles to the same dinner party and hoping like heck they'd get along. I'm pleased to report they do! There are old friends and new ones to be found in our story, with Watson, Lestrade, a grown-up Tiny Tim, and others making appearances- as well as a few Fezziwigs thrown in for good measure. With quick-change artistry, physical comedy, and simple stagecraft, the play is family-friendly in the best possible way. It's sophisticated enough for adults while providing a little magical mayhem for the kid in all of us.
Given the financial challenges of producing theatre these days, the play was conceived with a certain amount of economy in mind. A Sherlock Carol can be performed with a small cast of six or as many actors as a theatre company can fit on its stage. Additionally, the play might be performed on a beautifully ornate set or be well served by employing nothing more than a handful of props and a few pieces of furniture. It's a play that, above all, invites talented actors to let loose and have fun, whether on professional stages, in community theatre, or in school auditoriums.
A good Sherlock Holmes tale always requires a thrilling investigation, and I hope theatremakers will love diving into the case at hand. At its heart, A Sherlock Carol is a classic tale of redemption, in which the spirit of Scrooge guides a disgruntled Holmes to become his best self on a particularly dark and mysterious Christmas Eve. A healthy dose of mystery, romance, friendship, and good old-fashioned Christmas cheer abounds.
Bless us, everyone; the game is afoot!
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Click here to learn more about A Sherlock Carol and playwright Mark Shanahan.
Andrew Scott And the Stranger Things Stage Adaptation Win Big at the UK Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards by Zac Ntim, Deadline | Andrew Scott has been awarded Best Actor at the 33rd Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards. The win makes the Irish actor the first performer to be handed top honors from both of the UK’s national critics bodies. Read...
Cast Complete for West End Return of People, Places and Things, Starring Olivier Winner Denise Gough by Andrew Gans, Playbill | Jeremy Herrin will again direct Duncan Macmillan's celebrated addiction drama. Read...
Cast Climbs Aboard the London Return of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Starlight Express by Darryn King, Broadway Buzz | The musical about sentient trains begins performances at the specially designed Starlight Auditorium at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre on June 8. Read...
Matt Henry Will Play Nigel in U.K. Premiere of The Devil Wears Prada Musical by Andrew Gans and Molly Higgins, Playbill | Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell will direct and choreograph the musical based on the film and novel. Read…
As Theaters Scramble to Reach New Audiences, Three Get $1 Million Each by Elizabeth Blair, NPR | "Largely white, affluent, older." That's Jacob Padrón's description of the traditional audience for Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Conn., where he's artistic director. But that profile applies to other established regional theaters as well. "That was the demographic, that continues to be the demographic, but that's changing," he said. Read...
Matthew Broderick, John Kani, Patrick Page, and Alex Brightman Will Be Part of Shakespeare Theatre Company Season by Margaret Hall, Playbill | The Washington, D.C. institution will present a mixture of new and revived work during the 2024-2025 season. Read...
Cast and Creative Team Revealed for Kate Hamill's Adaptation of Emma at Austin Playhouse by Meg Masseron, Playbill | Lara Toner Haddock will direct the fast-paced take on Jane Austen's novel of the same title. Read...
Paper Mill Playhouse 2024-2025 Season Includes Take the Lead World Premiere Plus The Little Mermaid by Talaura Harms, Playbill | The Tony-winning regional theatre in Millburn, New Jersey, will present five musicals in the upcoming season. Read...
Free Read of the Week
You can read entire plays for free! Free Reads titles are perfect for your theatre, school, and competition performances. Click on the Play’s title, the image below, or the button below to be taken to the Play’s page; once you are there, click the "READ NOW" button and enjoy!
O'Keeffe! by Lucinda McDermott
The Story: Georgia O’Keeffe has summoned an audience to help answer the question, “Was it me or was it Stieglitz?” We journey with O’Keeffe from 1915 when she tears up her work to date and starts over in black and white to discover her own style. She revisits key moments in her life to reveal hidden truths, but the shadow of manager and husband Alfred Stieglitz looms heavy over her. Was it his nude photographs of her that enticed the art world to her, or was it her own excellence of craft? Would she have been noticed if he hadn’t exhibited her? Georgia rejects claims by the male-dominated art world about what drives her art, but when a Stieglitz affair gets too intense and a very public commission collapses, her world falls apart. Georgia rallies, determined to survive and paint again, but some difficult decisions must be made. In the end, the truth that lies deep in Georgia’s heart is revealed—and it’s as devastating as it is honest. A revealing drama about the beloved and complex American icon.
Drama | 110 - 120 minutes | 1 W | Content Notes: Adult language | Set: Minimal: Hat stand, chair, small writing desk, stool, large blank framed canvas.