Spend Winter Break with Broadway Weekends!
And it's week 2 of The Scene’s Festive Giveaways! 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:
Spend Winter Break with Broadway Weekends and discover their Pay-What-You-Can Virtual Winter Classes! It’s also our second week of FESTIVE GIVEAWAYS, so keep reading to learn how you can be entered to win a $250 Amazon Gift Card. In addition, we catch you up on the week's most important theatre news and stories, including:
Why ‘Succession’s’ Jeremy Strong Is “Terrified” to return to Broadway
Meet the First Female Leader of London’s National Theatre
Will a Movie about the making of ‘Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark’ be coming to the Big Screen?
All that and more in this week’s edition of The Scene.
Don’t forget to check out the video below to discover The Scene Premium!
The Scene’s Festive Giveaways!
Welcome back to week two of our festive giveaways! We are so thankful for our current and future Scene Premium subscribers. So the first 300 premium subscribers (monthly or yearly) will have the opportunity to be entered to win a $250 Amazon Gift Card!
If you are already a subscriber, you are already entered to win. Discover more about the exclusive benefits that come with The Scene Premium Subscription by clicking here!
The lucky winner will be notified via email! Stay tuned for more next week!
Why Jeremy Strong Is “Terrified” to Return to Broadway by Caitlin Huston, The Hollywood Reporter | The notoriously intense actor discusses his upcoming role in Ibsen’s 'Enemy of the People: “As artists, you move toward the danger.” Read on...
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins Revisits His ‘Illusion of Suffering’ on Broadway by Eric Grode, The New York Times | The “Appropriate” playwright has teamed up with the actors Sarah Paulson and Corey Stoll and the director Lila Neugebauer for the play’s Broadway debut. “Everybody onstage is a political statement,” he says. Read more...
The Broadway League Releases its 2022-2023 Audience Demographics Report by Michael Abourizk, Broadway News | Findings include increased diversity in attendance, the younger average age of theatergoers, and tickets purchased closer to performance date as the industry continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Continue...
Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff, and Lindsay Mendez Are 'Old Friends' in this new music video from the current Broadway production of ‘Merrily We Roll Along’:
Will a Movie About the Making of ‘Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark’ Come to the Big Screen? by Logan Culwell-Block, Playbill | The infamous 2010 musical is the subject of one of the screenplays on this year's Black List. Read...
Carly Hughes, Paolo Montalban, Jeff Whiting, More Join Educational Theatre Foundation Board by Logan Culwell-Block, Playbill |The new appointments are part of a move to add artists to the roster to both serve as trustees and act as mentors and advocates in the industry. Continue...
Situation to Spearhead New Theater Marketing Course at NYU by Ruthie Fierberg, Broadway News | The class, titled “From Storytelling to Story Selling: Live Experience Marketing,” will be offered to students beginning in spring 2024. Read on...
He Made ‘Seven Brides’ Less Sexist. But Can He Stage It? by Michael Paulson, The New York Times | David Landay, an author of the 1982 stage musical, reworked a kidnapping scene for a 2021 production. Now, he’s suing the estates of his coauthors for the right to keep going. Read...
Hear Sutton Foster, Norbert Leo Butz, and More Sing the Opening From the Diary of Wimpy Kid Musical by Logan Culwell-Block, Playbill | A cast album of the musical adaptation of Jeff Kinney's book series drops December 15. Continue...
Spend Winter Break with Broadway Weekends!
No matter where you live, spend time this winter break learning from some of Broadway’s brightest with Broadway Weekends. Broadway Weekends will host four virtual workshops in the last week of 2023, highlighting artists and shows from the upcoming 2024 Broadway season. Workshops include:
Sammi Cannold, the director of ‘How To Dance In Ohio,’ will lead a deep dive workshop focusing on material from the show.
How To Dance In Ohio is a new, original musical now running on Broadway. The musical is based on the Peabody Award-winning HBO documentary of the same title, and the story takes place at a group counseling center for a group of autistic young adults, preparing for their spring formal dance.
Sammi is a Forbes Magazine's 30 Under 30 in Hollywood & Entertainment, and she is making her directorial Broadway debut with this production. Sammi holds a B.A. from Stanford University and an M.A. from Harvard University.
In addition to the workshop with Sammi Cannold, Broadway Weekends will host three more virtual workshops. Check out the full lineup, which includes Julie Benko and Jeanna de Waal, HERE.
Whether you are new to Broadway Weekends or a loyalist, this experience is not to be missed!! To make this offering accessible to all, Broadway Weekends has made this programming Pay What You Can.
ALL AGES WELCOME
All workshops are VIRTUAL
3 - 4 day period between Christmas and New Year
PAY WHAT YOU CAN
ABOUT: During the pandemic, BW launched Broadway Weekends at Home, hosting 100 virtual theater classes a month for students across 46 countries. Teachers included theatrical artists from Broadway, the West End, and even Australia. The BWAH Community is still active today, and BW hosts virtual pop-up offerings throughout the year.
Join the Group’s Facebook Page to connect with theater lovers alike.
BW SUMMER CAMPS FOR ADULTS
Held in the heart of NYC, Times Square, BW Summer Camp is taught by theater artists and creatives from the Broadway industry, and many of our teachers have extensive teaching resumes in addition to their high profile performing ones. Our Summer Camp faculty heavily features artists from the current Broadway season, offering immediate access to the art form and how it is currently practiced at the highest level.
Participants create a track from our packed summer schedule, focusing on performing, gaining a glimpse into the Broadway theater industry, or discovering new theater based games, exercises, and ideas to take back to their classroom.
SUMMER CAMP DATES:
5 Day: July 28th - Aug 1st, 2024
2 Day: Aug 2nd - August 3rd, 2024
PRICING WITH CODE: BroadwayLicensing
5 Day: $2450
2 Day: $700
Attend with a friend and receive an additional 5% discount!
More information can be found on the Broadway Weekends Website, and a downloadable information packet is available HERE. To stay up to date with Broadway Weekends, sign up for their newsletter HERE or follow them on IG or Facebook.
London’s National Theater, Source of Broadway Hits, Gets Its First Female Leader by Alex Marshall, The New York Times | Indhu Rubasingham will lead the venerable London institution where plays including “War Horse” and “The Lehman Trilogy” originated. Read more...
Top 50 Shows of 2023: UK and Ireland by The Stage | The past year brought us some thrilling shows from all corners of the UK and Ireland, including small-scale gems and significant premieres, sharp new writing, and retooled classics. The Stage’s critics tell us their picks of 2023. Read on...
Britain’s Friendliest Bear to Hit the Stage in ‘Paddington: The Musical’ by Amanda Holpuch, The New York Times | The star of a long-running book series and two films will hit the stage in a show currently being developed in Britain, producers said. Continue...
Stranger Things: The First Shadow Opens World Premiere in London's West End by Logan Culwell-Block, Playbill |Patrick Vaill, Lauren Ward, and more are starring in the new stage play based on the Netflix series. Read more...
Lookingglass Comes to PBS in a Rare Broadcast of Regional Theater by Cara Joy David, Broadway World | Lookingglass might not be producing live work currently, but one of its best-known titles is about to be available to millions. Read on...
‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ to debut national tour in Chicago by Andy Lefkowitz, Broadway News | This will be the first-ever touring production of the play. Continue...
Broadway's Shucked Will Launch North American Tour in Nashville by Meg Masseron, Margaret Hall, Playbill |The nine-time Tony-nominated musical was composed by Nashville's Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally. Read more...
Tamara Tunie, Harry Lennix, More Will Star in Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' Purpose by Logan Culwell-Block, Playbill | Chicago's Steppenwolf is hosting the world premiere in 2024. Read...
Playscripts Free Reads
Read entire plays for free! Free Reads titles are perfect for your theatre, school, and competition performances. Click on the Play’s title or image to be taken to the Play’s page; once you are there, click the "READ NOW" button and enjoy!
Free Read of the Week:
Holiday Shmolida by Lynne Elson
THE STORY: Samson is forced to find a "cool" Chanukah song for his choir to sing, or else the school bully will beat him up. At first, Samson is reluctant to celebrate his Jewish roots, but with a surprise visit from a magical Dreidel Man, he goes on a journey exploring other cultures' celebrations of the holidays. Through his travels and with the help of his pet fish, Gefilte, Samson gains self-confidence and finds a new respect for his heritage. He finally returns home, equipped with an original holiday song, and faces the choir bully.
Comedy/Drama | 90 minutes | 9 W, 5 M, 3 Any (7-20 actors possible: 4-12 W, 3-8 M) | Set: Unit set