theater

• 
• 3/21/2021
  

  Rally 'Round the Rune: Fascist Echoes of the CPAC Stage

  by Mark Auslander and Jay Ball

  The incorporation of a Norse rune associated with the SS into the stage of the recent CPAC conference probably isn't an accident; the choice reflects the cultural cachet of Norse myth on the far right, the conservative movement's desire to maintain deniability about its ties to the far right, and the recognition that the design would be crystal clear to viewers of internet memes. 

• 
• SOURCE: Zocálo Public Square
  9/4/2020
  

  The Black Ambition of "A Raisin In The Sun"

  by Koritha Mitchell

  Lorraine Hansberry's play and the critical response to it offer a lens on American theater's current reckoning with racism and exclusion, as "the play reveals that what has been framed as “integration” is really about getting white people to stop hoarding everything desirable."

• 
• 8/16/2020
  

  Curtain Up: Two Theater Companies Return to Live Performance, with Concessions to COVID

  by Bruce Chadwick

  “We want to remind the Berkshires, and the country, that the virus will be defeated and that in the meantime we must reclaim our lives and the arts is the way to do that,” said Nick Paleologos of the Berkshires Theater.

• 
• 7/7/2020
  

  Historians on the "Hamilton" Film

  The Broadway hit moves to streaming video. Historians weigh in on the source material, the relationship of the founding to slavery, and more. 

• 
• 4/12/2020
  

  The Other Booths

  by David O. Stewart

  The notoriety of the Lincoln assassination has obscured the other Booths in history, but some were as well known as John Wilkes--or even better, at least until he pulled the trigger in the president’s box at Ford’s Theater, 155 years ago this week. 

• 
• SOURCE: The Atlantic
  3/14/2020
  

  Shakespeare Wrote His Best Works During a Plague

  by Daniel Pollack-Peltzner

  The most heartening lesson from Shakespeare’s era is that the playhouses will likely survive and reopen, again and again. What plays to perform when they do?

• 
• SOURCE: The Conversation
  3/12/2020
  

  Plagues Follow Bad Leadership in Ancient Greek Tales

  by Joel Christensen

  Zeus observes in Homer’s “Odyssey,” as I’ve translated it, “Humans are always blaming the gods for their suffering / but they experience pain beyond their fate because of their own recklessness.”

• 
• 4-19-16
  

  Hamilton’s Pulitzer Prize is a Shot in the Arm for History

  by Bruce Chadwick

  The nod of the Pulitzer committee will whet the public appetite for more history plays, and movies.

• 
• 8-23-15
  

  Why “Hamilton” Is the Right Musical for Our Time

  by Robert W. Snyder

  “Hamilton” pulls musical theater decisively into the 21st century and reinterprets the American past.

• 
• SOURCE: NYT
  7-29-15
  

  “Hamilton,” Based on a Book, Is Becoming One Again

  Lin-Manuel Miranda’s raucous hip-hop musical, “Hamilton,” sprang from an unlikely source: a dense, 818-page biography of Alexander Hamilton by the historian Ron Chernow.

• 
• 7-26-15
  

  “Hamilton” on Broadway – “It Lived Up to the Hype”

  by John Baick

  It’s history written with hip-hop, heart, and heroes.

• 
• SOURCE: Huffington Post
  7-14-15
  

  Lin-Manuel Miranda's 'Hamilton' and the Inclusive Future Of American History

  by Ian Reifowitz

  Hamilton points the way toward our future as a people by looking back at our past in a revolutionary manner.

• 
• SOURCE: NYT
  7-12-15
  

  ‘Hamilton’ Heads to Broadway in a Hip-Hop Retelling

  The musical retelling of the life of the nation’s first Treasury secretary is poised to become not only a hit, but a turning point for the art form and a cultural conversation piece.

• 
• SOURCE: NYT
  3-27-15
  

  ‘Hamilton’ Puts Politics Onstage and Politicians in Attendance

  The hip-hop musical “Hamilton,” featuring a mainly black and Latino cast playing America’s founding fathers, has drawn a steady stream of boldface names including Dick Cheney (who liked it).

• 
• SOURCE: Religion Dispatches
  

  Jesus, Santa, and Now "Sound of Music's" Mother Abbess?

  by Shannen Dee Williams

  The controversy over NBC's live remake of "The Sound of Music," starring black actress Audra McDonald as the Mother Abbess.

• 
• 11-13-13
  

  The Cotton Club of 1932 Returns with a Roar

  by Bruce Chadwick

  "After Midnight" is a winner for bringing Harlem’s Depression jubilant night life back to life.

• 
• 10-28-13
  

  "Our Town" Once Revives the America We Loved

  by Bruce Chadwick

  It may be an oldie, but it's still a goodie.

• 
• 10-21-13
  

  A Honeymoon in Vegas? Yes, Please.

  by Bruce Chadwick

  This is not your grandpa’s Las Vegas.

• 
• 10-21-13
  

  Troubled Memories of the Holocaust

  by Bruce Chadwick

  The new revival of "The Model Apartment" at 59E59 Theaters is a bumpy road.

• 
• 10-14-13
  

  The Triumph and Tragedy of 1930s Singer Billie Holiday

  by Bruce Chadwick

  "Lady Day" is a delight for historians.