HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE SCENE!
Celebrating the The Scene's first year! 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:
THE BROADWAY BEAT - Back to the Future: the Musical Begins on Broadway this Weekend | Camelot to end Broadway run early | New Program Will Allow Early-Career Musicians to Shadow the Music Team at Broadway's Wicked | Schools of the Stars: See Where the 76th Annual Tony Award Winners Went to College | Jared Lee Didn’t Even Expect to Get Cast in His High School Musical, Now He Works on Broadway |
HOT TOPICS - NAMT Festival of New Musicals Reveals 2023 Line-Up | Tectonic Theater Project to Launch Moment Work Institute Featuring Moisés Kaufman | Meet the 2023 Jimmy Award Winners | The Lillys Announce Inaugural Recipients Of Hansberry Lilly Playwright Fellowship | Stroker, Frost, Herrod, Feldman & Boniello join the Cast of Rent at the Kennedy Center | Go Inside the NYC Return of The 24 Hour Musicals | The Lillys Announce the Inaugural Recipients Of Hansberry Lilly Playwright Fellowship | O’Neill Playwrights Conference Kicks Off With 6 New Plays | Disney Plus to Drop a new Hamilton Sing-Along Version with Video Preview
FREE READS - Discover 4 Plays you can read for FREE this month!
THE BIG IDEA – Happy Birthday to The Scene: Celebrating our first year with a feedback request from our subscribers!
NEWS SPECIAL: REGIONAL THEATRES ACROSS THE COUNTRY STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE- Tony-Winning Lookingglass Theatre to Pause Programming, Lay Off Staff | California’s Devastated Live Theater Industry Hopes for a Bailout: ‘We’re All Dying’ | Book-It’s Last Chapter: Seattle Theatre to Shut Down After 3-Decade Run | Triad Stage Closes Its Doors
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The Broadway Beat
BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE MUSICAL BEGINS ON BROADWAY THIS WEEKEND! - The musical adaptation of the hit film opens August 3 at the Winter Garden Theatre.
CAMELOT TO END BROADWAY RUN EARLY – The musical revival that began previews at the Vivian Beaumont on March 9 and officially opened on April 13, was recently extended past its original closing of June 23, until early September. How the production has now announced a new closing date of July 23.
NEW PROGRAM WILL ALLOW EARLY-CAREER MUSICIANS TO SHADOW MUSIC TEAM AT BROADWAY'S WICKED- Two nonprofit organizations focused on diversity in musical theater will launch the program.
SCHOOLS OF THE STARS: SEE WHERE THE 76TH ANNUAL TONY AWARD WINNERS WENT TO COLLEGE - Take a look at the alma maters of the 2023 Tony Award Winners.
JARED LEE DIDN'T EVEN EXPECT TO GET CAST IN HIS HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL, NOW HE WORKS ON BROADWAY - Lee is spending his Black Theatre Coalition Fellowship working in musical direction on the upcoming ‘Back to the Future.’
Hot Topics
NAMT FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS REVEALS 2023 LINE-UP - The festival has previously presented Come From Away, ‘The Drowsy Chaperone’, and ‘Thoroughly Modern Millie’, all before they made it to Broadway.
TECTONIC THEATER PROJECT TO LAUNCH MOMENT WORK SUMMER INSTITUTE FEATURING MOISÉS KAUFMAN & MORE - The Moment Work Institute Summer Intensive will offer three sessions this summer.
MEET THE 2023 JIMMY AWARDS WINNERS - Lauren A. Marchand of Long Island, New York and Langston Lee of Austin, Texas were last night’s Best Performance winners—here’s what they had to say about their big moment.
THE LILLYS ANNOUNCE INAUGURAL RECIPIENTS OF HANSBERRY LILLY PLAYWRIGHT FELLOWSHIP - Amalia Oliva Rojas and Danielle Stagger are currently pursuing graduate degrees in playwriting.
STROKER, FROST, HERROD, FELDMAN & BONIELLO JOIN THE CAST OF RENT AT THE KENNEDY CENTER - The cast will be led by Ali Stroker as Maureen, Myles Frost as Benny, Jimmie Herrod as Angel, Andrew Barth Feldman as Mark, and Alex Boniello as Roger.
GO INSIDE THE NYC RETURN OF THE 24 HOUR MUSICALS – Amber Ruffin, David Krumholtz, and Sarah Steele were among the artists who wrote, rehearsed, and performed brand-new musicals over a 24-hour period.
O’NEILL PLAYWRIGHTS CONFERENCE KICKS OFF WITH 6 NEW PLAYS - This year’s national conference features work by jose sebastian alberdi, Jan Rosenberg, a.k. payne, Alex Lin, Collin Van Son, and Liba Vaynberg.
DISNEY PLUS TO DROP HAMILTON SING-ALONG VERSION - Hamilton celebrates three years of streaming on Disney Plus.
PLAYSCRIPTS FREE READS | JULY 2023
Playscripts is proud to provide readers of The Scene with a selection of plays to read for free for the month of July. The theme for July is Freedom. So please keep scrolling to see this month’s free read selections.
Click on the title of the play you want to read below. Once you click and have been taken to the play’s main page, click on the title, then on the next page you will see a "READ For FREE" button in red, click the button and enjoy!
Here are this month’s free reads. Click on the title to begin.
The Election by Don Zolidis
About: After an embattled student body president resigns in disgrace, Mark Davenport figures he will cruise to victory in the special election. After all, his only opponent is nerdy Christy Martin, who wants to eliminate football. But when a mysterious Super PAC gives her an unlimited budget, things start to get very ugly. Mark must face total annihilation or accept the services of a slick professional campaign manager with questionable ethics and a million-dollar Super PAC of his own. A hilarious and timely satire on the contemporary political scene.
Comedy | 85 - 95 minutes
7 W, 7 M, 10 Any (19-48 actors possible: 4-43 W, 5-44 M)
Set: Minimal.
Alice in Wonderland adapted by Jason Pizzarello
About: After Alice tumbles down a mysterious rabbit hole, she finds herself in a strange land where everyone is raving mad. With the help of a Cheshire Cat, an astute Caterpillar, and a righteous Humpty Dumpty, Alice must find her way home and discover who she really is. A darker, more faithful version of Lewis Carroll's classic tale that reimagines the experience of Wonderland and ends with an unexpected new twist.
Drama/Comedy|30 - 40 minutes
9 W, 9 M, 12 Any (11-38 actors possible: 5-32 W, 6-33 M)
Set: Minimal.
Content Notes: The length of this play can be cut for time restrictions. Please contact Playscripts for permission.
Booby Trap (Formerly Booby in the Trap) by Ed Monk
About: In the near future, an American soldier sits in a combat zone, trapped by a land mine. As he waits to see what will happen to him, scenes from his past, present, and future unfold around him.
Drama | 30 - 35 minutes
6 W, 5 M, 6 Any (11-17 actors possible: 5-12 W, 5-12 M)
Set: One realistic tree stump and six combat uniforms
Content Notes: Mild adult language
Rue by Mandy Conner
About: Deep in a Louisiana swamp, sixteen-year-old Josephine struggles with intense anxiety following the mysterious disappearance of her parents. She refuses to leave the safety of her home and face the outside world, even as it becomes increasingly dangerous for her to stay in the marshland. Against the wishes of her brother and best friend, Jo turns to the dark inhabitants of the swamp for answers. But is she brave enough to face the truth about her family—and herself?
Comedy | 85 - 95 minutes
7 W, 7 M, 10 Any (19-48 actors possible: 4-43 W, 5-44 M)
Set: Minimal.
The Big Idea
Happy Birthday to The Scene.
Our Big Idea story this week is about The Scene. Today the Scene celebrates it First Birthday and the publishing of our 52nd edition.
Over the past year, The Scene has become one of the top weekly blogs for theatre teachers and educators in the United States. As of July 1, The Scene is proud to have over 320,000 subscribers, located in all 50 US states and in 128 countries around the world.
As we reflect on the past year, we must admit that we didn't always hit the perfect note in all of our first 52 editions. Rest assured we will never again substitute Duct Tape for Gaffe Tape. We learned our lesson! However, we do sincerely hope that each edition of The Scene has provided you with at least one important story or valuable resource that supported you in your work. Connecting with so many of you who faithfully read The Scene has brought us immeasurable joy, and we eagerly look forward to embarking on year two of this extraordinary adventure together.
In the coming weeks, The Scene will be working diligently to make several improvements indented to enhance your experience. But here's the best part: we want to hear from YOU! Your thoughts and opinions matter deeply to us.
The Scene prepared a short survey where you can share your experiences with The Scene over the past year. You can suggest additional information or resources you would like us to provide, or you can even sign up to be an official contributor to The Scene. Thank you for your feedback, it will help us shape the future The Scene.