Me as a feminist after finishing this season of House of the Dragon

Just watched this new movie on Netflix called DON'T SAY GOOD LUCK. A girl is cast as Jenna in her high school production of Waitress and her mom (Melanie Lynskey) has cancer and her grandma is Bebe Neuwirth. 10/10 if you want a good cry and a very good rendition of "She Used to Be Mine"

Are you theater journalist who identifies as BIPOC or is a woman or is trans/non-binary? Apply here for the Edward Medina Prize for Excellence in Cultural Criticism and you might win $1,500. You'll even get judged by me! 😜 airtable.com/apppwm63kEhp...

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Watching House of the Dragon this season, it is impressive how they created a show while (I wouldn’t call it good) is immensely watchable despite every character being a terrible human. I am only rooting for the dragons

With Odyssey and Hadestown leading the cinema box office, what a time to have Greek mythology as your special interest. It’s a reminder why these tales get told and retold, they truly hit different every time

Just spent 2.5 weeks in Japan, and I’m most struck by how intentional things seem to be there. From the excellent food to the traffic cones shaped like frogs that said “sorry,” things seemed designed to be functional and nice to be around. Can’t live in Japan but I can live with more intention

Some eye opening reporting here with testimonies from staff members at Arena Stage. Kudos to @nicolehertvik.bsky.social and @rjritzel.bsky.social for these multifaceted investigations dctheaterarts.org/2026/07/05/a... www.notus.org/metro/arena-...

At Arena Stage, artists and staff describe a workplace in crisis

As former Artistic Director Hana S. Sharif exits, starkly different perspectives emerge on what brought instability to DC’s premier regional theater.

dctheaterarts.org

“Whenever I see an all-white cast in a play, I kind of get taken out. ‘This is still a thing that's happening?’ It just feels more honest when there are more people of color.” I talk to Jon Norman Schneider who is leading a wonderful all Asian production of Henry VI playbill.com/article/jon-...

Jon Norman Schneider Is Leading a Cast of 16 Asian-American Actors in Henry VI, Showing That Shakespeare Truly Is Universal

This longtime stage actor had never done Shakespeare before, then NAATCO called him.

playbill.com

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce getting married in NYC at MSG during July 4th and the World Cup, disrupting New Yorkers' commutes in the process, using NYC taxpayer dollars for NYPD presence...we gotta tax these billionaires more.

“An excitement about a person of color in leadership … only then for those leaders to be handed a financial model that was unsustainable and really tough for them to succeed.” Really great analysis of why Hana Sharif left Arena Stage after just 3 years alheartley.substack.com/p/feature-no...

Feature, Not a Bug: How Regional Theater Keeps Setting Leaders of Color Up to Fail

Hana Sharif's resignation from Arena Stage raises more questions about the field's problem with keeping leaders of color and regional theater's financial structure.

alheartley.substack.com

Considering that a vocal opposition party is essential in the fight against tyranny, it seems New Yorkers want leaders who will stand up to fascism. And the Democrats who are upset should ask themselves which side they are really on

My favorite genre of Jimmy Awards performers continues to be high schoolers channeling the souls of unhappily married middle aged people. Theater kids really grow up fast

Warriors vs Paddington, I'm already so stressed out about the 80th Tony Award

As an overachieving shortie, never thought I would relate to a 6'2'' basketball player. But seeing Jalen Brunson work so hard while being shorter than everyone else, I feel that. Love a (relatively) short king

On Monday, I spoke to Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, Mark Sonnenblick about writing the Tonys opening number in 6 days, and whose demented brain came up with the line "Gitchie gitchie Laurie Metcalf." This really proves there's nothing like a good brainstorm

How 3 Oscar-Winning Songwriters Wrote Pink’s Tony Awards Opening Number in Just 6 Days

Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, Mark Sonnenblick reveal who came up with the line "Gitchie gitchie Laurie Metcalf."

playbill.com

How did I spend my Tony Sunday? I went to dress rehearsal at Radio City at 9 AM, then oversaw Playbills Tony coverage in our office until 2AM. We published 31 articles yesterday (we did a lot of prep beforehand). And yes that means I did watch the Tonys in their entirety twice. Here’s my takeaway

Not only can Ali Louis Bourzgui rock a mullet, he is brave, to say that Palestinians “deserve to live a fruitful life, a free life, a full life without occupation” on TV. And considering the angry comments we’ve received for even reporting on it, Ali said the right thing playbill.com/article/ali-...

Ali Louis Bourzgui Honors Arab Theatre Makers, Palestine Winning Featured Actor Tony Award for The Lost Boys

This is Bourzgui's first win and first nomination. Read his full speech here.

playbill.com

Impressed with the very diplomatic awards split between Cats and Ragtime at the Tonys. The former got direction, choreography, costuming while Ragtime got 2 acting awards, sound design, and revival. Really shows how both shows captured voters hearts seemingly equally

Did I cheer when this was announced? Hell yeah I did! 4 female Tony Award winners in 79 years is shameful, but it goes to show you how important it is to have producers who believe in representation—Liberation's lead producers are Daryl Roth (Indecent) and Rachel Sussman (Suffs).

Liberation Wins Best Play at the 2026 Tony Awards; Bess Wohl Becomes 4th Woman to Win Best Play

This marked Wohl's second Tony nomination and first win.

playbill.com

Diep Tran@diepthought.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Did you know that only 3 women have won the Tony Award for Best Play? And the last one was in 2009? I talked to Bess Wohl, the only woman nominated in the Best Play category this year, on how wild it is to still be having a gender parity conversation playbill.com/article/a-wo...

There are concentration camps in the United States in the year 2026. There are CONCENTRATION CAMPS in the United States in the year 2026. THERE ARE CONCENTRATION CAMPS IN THE UNITED STATES IN THE YEAR 2026.

Gotta take the small wins. playbill.com/article/kenn...

Kennedy Center Has Until June 12 to Remove Trump's Name From Building, Says Internal Memo

A federal judge ruled that Trump adding his name to the institution was unlawful.

playbill.com

Did you know that only 3 women have won the Tony Award for Best Play? And the last one was in 2009? I talked to Bess Wohl, the only woman nominated in the Best Play category this year, on how wild it is to still be having a gender parity conversation playbill.com/article/a-wo...

A Woman Hasn't Won the Best Play Tony Award Since 2009; Bess Wohl Can Change That

Her play Liberation is up for Best Play and shows that "women's stories can be universal."

playbill.com

Having finished rewatching Mad Men, it’s much more enjoyable when you stop hoping for Don to change and begin marveling at how much the female characters do. And they find inner peace because they are forced to face themselves and don’t have the privilege of running away. Metaphor for society really

Devil Wears Prada 2 filmed down the street from my office, which is pretty funny considering how honestly it tackles the state of media today: metrics, needing to appease advertisers, quantity instead of quality in terms of output. The continued devaluation of the written word in favor of slop

“Once men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free. But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them.” Dune (1965) Frank Herbert

The only people upset that Lupita Nyong’o is playing Helen of Troy are the same people taking away voting rights and support locking up immigrants. In other words, it’s not a good faith argument and should be ridiculed. Lupita being the most beautiful woman in the world is a fact

Stuck at jury duty, waiting to see if they call my name. And I'm pretty sure I'm the only person in this courthouse watching clips from Cats: The Jellicle Ball

A bit of cheerleading for you: Even some gerrymandered seats are not 100% certain to go the way the GOP wants in a wave election. In the last five midterm elections, the incumbent's party lost 9, 13, 30, 40, and 63 seats. Do you know how many turnovers Democrats need to flip the House? Three.

Mark Harris@markharris.bsky.social · 4mo ago

More than anything, Republicans want Democrats to start to believe that it's hopeless so they won't bother to turn out. But the truth is that even the Virginia decision is not enough to prevent Democrats from taking the House if we have a wave election. But we have to have a wave election.

I need Cats: Jellicle Ball to release a cast album so I can run to "Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat: the remix" at the gym.

SCOTUS rules 6-3 against a majority Black district in LA represented by Black Rep Cleo Fields, holding that the district is a “racial gerrymander.” This is systemic white supremacy. Next Dem pres & Congress must expand the Court, impose term limits & prosecute corrupt justices. Complete overhaul.