Curtain Call: We See You, White American Theater provides proceedings
We See You, White American Theater
Broadway: Seven months after the release of the letter titled We See You, White American Theater an accountability report was presented with over 100 theatre organization responses. The report states that these organizations have responded to the BIPOC demands of the theatre community. The collective also included a list of predominantly white institutions including training programs, talent organizations, PR forces, and union locals that have taken action for more inclusion with action plans.
Among the listed are the New York Theatre Workshop, Goodman Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, The Yale School of Drama, and William Morris Endeavor, among others. The original letter was published in June 2020 with over 300 signatures from Black, Indigenous, and people of color workers in the industry. The collective released demands on July 8th for the Broadway League’s response, which was confirmed unresponsive to both the demands and outreach from the allied groups.
In another effort to set in motion new initiatives, the company Level Forward will premiere Arts Action Sessions with fragments from two well-known Broadway shows. Actors and scenes from Slave Play and Jagged Little Pill will film excerpts that will be intertwined with discussions from cast members and professionals aligned with the themes and creative exercises. The culmination of the exercises will be creative ones that put the content of each discussion into action.
Joaquina Kalukango and Jakeem Dante Powell, from Slave Play, were featured from February 24th to the 26th alongside artEquity member Carmen Morgan in a three-day session titled The Black Toolbox of Empowerment, while Lauren Patten, Celia Rose Gooding, and Kathryn Gallagher will all represent Jagged Little Pill in several sessions in March. These will delve into LGBTQIA+, identities, advocacy, consent, and allyship in partnership with the Joyful Heart Foundation. Level Forward is a company that showcases on-stage and on-screen works in order to extend the influence of these projects while aiming for both financial and social value from the results.
The Drama League will continue to honor the accomplishments of the Theater community. The award ceremony is set to premiere on May 21st in a pre-recorded presentation that will be streamed. The nominations will shift their focus from live theatre to digital productions and honor the organizations that made an impact during the COVID-19 pandemic. The League will also present a DirectorFest in 2021, which will honor stage directing and the Director’s Project 2020-21 class of New York and recipients of the Classical Fellowship.
The 2020 Drama League Awards were announced June 18th in an online ceremony, with Moulin Rouge!, The Inheritance, and Little Shop of Horrors as standouts of the evening. Honorees included director Marianne Elliot, James Lapine, and actor Terrence McNally. Additional information on both events for this year will be released at a later date.
PLAYBILL
Off-Broadway: Jason Michael Webb is set to direct a streaming version of The Last 5 Years. The musical will be presented via Out of the Box Theatrics and Holmdel Theatre Company starting March 15th. Nasia Thomas and Nicholas Edward will bring to life the popular couple from the Jason Robert Brown musical, which will also be musically directed by Webb.
The Last 5 Years tells the story of a couple and the ups and downs that shape their relationship. The distinct structure of the show makes it for an interesting watch as Cathy’s events are presented backward in contrast to Jaime who tells the story in chronological order. The production was originally scheduled to premiere February 11 through the 25th at the Holmdel Theatre Company in New Jersey.
Another project to add to the digital season realm is Shadow/land. Directed by Candis C. Jones, serves as the first part of a 10-play cycle that examines the ongoing effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans by presenting the story of Ruth, who convinces her mother to sell the city’s first air-conditioned dancehall and hotel for Black people named Shadowland. The play was written by Erika Dickerson-Despanza, who is a Public Theater Tow Foundation Playwright-in-Residence, and will be presented as an audio play. The production will also feature the talents of Te’Era Coleman, Lizan Mitchell, and Lance E. Nichols, among others.
Shadow/land will feature music from Delfeayo Marsalis and a sound design by Palmer Hefferan. The play will be available on April 13th for free on-demand streaming on Public Play Now and other podcast platforms. The service is currently streaming the production of Romeo y Julieta with Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o.
International: EGOT winner Whoopi Goldberg has announced she is departing the London cast of Sister Act The Musical. The actress was set to play the role of Deloris Van Cartier in the musical after creating and portraying the character in the 1992 film. The production was set to premiere in summer 2021 but has since been postponed until July 19th through August 28, 2022, at the Eventim Apollo.
It was confirmed that the role of Van Cartier had been reworked for the production in order to depict the character a little older. Goldberg stated that even though she is disappointed with the turn of events, she will continue to work with her producing partners in order to continue arranging all aspects of the production. The musical is set to feature Jennifer Saunders as Mother Superior under Bill Buckhurst’s direction though more casting is set to be announced at a later date.
Lambert Jackson Productions will stream a filmed production of BKLYN- The Musical, directed by Dean Johnson. The production will be filmed at the Ugly Duck space in the U.K. and will feature the talents of Emma Kingston, Marisha Wallace, Jamie Muscato, and Newtion Matthews, among others. The musical will run from March 22 through April 4 via the Stream.Theatre website.
BKLYN- The Musical tells the story of five homeless musicians who band together to change their neighborhood beneath the Brooklyn Bridge. A Broadway production premiered in 2004 under Jeff Calhoun’s direction with Eden Espinosa, Karen Olivo, and Ramona Keller. With a book by Mark Schoenfeld and Barri McPherson, the production will also count with musical director Leo Munby and video editor Sam Diaz.
