Dragging Out the Ghost Light

Spring doesn’t officially arrive this year until week after next but the spring theater season is already here, with new shows opening almost every day. And I’m already running behind as I try to see as many of them as I can in addition to tending to the other obligations in my life. That's left me too little time to write my regular weekly post. So I am—reluctantly—turning on the ghost light that theaters set up when they’re temporarily empty. But I’m hoping that it won’t be here for too long. 

Turning on the Ghost Light

It’s been a while since I last turned on the ghost light that theaters use when they’re temporarily empty but I’m doing it now. That's mainly because I’ve been running around seeing so many shows (while trying to squeeze in the demands of the rest of my life) that I simply haven’t found the time to write about any of them this week. But if you’re still interested in reading something theater-related by me, I hope you’ll check out the story I wrote for TDF Stages about Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven, the new Stephen Adly Guirgis play that will make its world premiere next week. You can find it by clicking here.

Taking Time Out for A Quick Intermission

There's no regular post today because, as the GIF above illustrates, I'm running out for a quick intermission while my husband K and I take some time off for a little vacation. But I decided against putting out the ghost light I usually use when I'm taking a break because (1) this GIF is more fun and (2) I'm leaving behind some other things I've done for you to read and listen to while I'm away.

For starters, Slave Play, the provocative meditation on race and sex, is moving to Broadway in September and I got to do a Q&A for BroadwayDirect with its playwright Jeremy O. Harris and its director Robert O'Hara. You can read our conversation by clicking here.

I also interviewed the playwright Winter Miller about her moving new drama No One is Forgotten, which is playing at the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater through next weekend. It chronicles the struggle for survival by two women held in captivity in a small cell in an unidentified land. You can hear our discussion about it—and Miller's frank views about the way theater treats female playwrights—by clicking here.

And finally, I've added a bunch of interesting stories from a variety of sources to the B&Me Flipboard magazine, which you can find by clicking here.

I hope you enjoy all of them and I hope you'll come back to read the reviews of some of the many shows I'm panning to see and write about next week.

Back in the Hole...

Life has gotten away from me again.  In my role as a diligent awards nominator (and in preparation for a live reunion episode of "Theater Talk-click here to read more about that) I'm seeing four shows this weekend, plus working! So I've slipped back in the hole with no time to write more than this before I run out the door...

Forced to Turn on the Ghost Light

Yes, I'm dragging out the ghost light yet again. The reasons are the familiar ones: seeing shows non-stop (as a new awards nominator, I'm now averaging five a week and the busiest part of the season hasn't even started yet) and trying to keep up with an also unusually full schedule at my day job and refusing to take any more time away from my endlessly patient husband K. Luckily for me, my pals at BroadwayRadio's "This Week on Broadway" have invited me to join them this Sunday to talk about some of the shows I've been seeing. I hope you'll give us a listen, which you can do when you click here any time from Sunday afternoon on.

A (Brief) Break From Regular Programming

Yep; I've slipped back into a hole that’s going to keep me from doing a regular post today. But this isn't a disagreeable hole. I fell into it by (1) reading two fascinating books about 19th century theater for a review I've been asked to write, (2) celebrating my wedding anniversary with my adored husband K and (3) appearing on a panel with my BroadwayRadio colleagues at this year's BroadwayCon on the morning this is posted. But things should settle down next week. I've got some shows lined up to see and am already looking forward to sharing my thoughts about them with you. So hope to see you again then.

Taking Time Out to Celebrate My Other Love

As regular readers of this blog know, I'm crazy about my husband K. I also really appreciate his patience in allowing me to take up so much of my time with theater. We're just a third of the way through this month and I've already seen six shows; reviewed two of them in last week's blog post; recorded two interviews for Stagecraft, my Broadway Radio podcast series of conversations with playwrights (you can check all of them out by clicking here);  moderated a panel for the American Theater Critics Association's conference last weekend; had a story about inclusive casting published in the November issue of "American Theatre" magazine (which you can read by clicking here)  and posted a whole bunch of great stuff to the Broadway & Me magazine on Flipboard (which you can see by clicking here). And we're not even talking about my day job. So I hope you'll understand why there will be no post today cause I'm taking this weekend off to celebrate my special K.

Turning on The Fall Ghost Light

It happens almost every fall and this year, it’s even more intense than usual. There are so many shows opening that seeing them on top of making plans to celebrate the birthdays of my niece, my sister and my beloved, and very patient, husband K; teaching my course and running the arts journalism program at the newly-named Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism; and, this year, preparing to moderate a panel for the annual conference of the American Theatre Critics Association is making it hard for me to find time to write about any of the shows I’ve seen. So, I’m turning on the ghost light that theaters use to signal when they’re temporarily empty. But I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I’ll be able to write again soon cause there’s a lot of good stuff going on right now.  And I do have time to say this: go see some of it.

Today's Ghost Light is a Birthday Candle

There's no post today because I'm taking time off to celebrate my birthday this weekend. The celebrations include a repeat visit to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child with my theatergoing buddy Bill (click here to read my earlier review) hanging out with my sister and nieces, hearing jazz and enjoying a fancy dinner with my beloved husband K.  But I'll be back next week, a year older but still crazy about theater and eager to share what I've seen and think about it with you guys.

Taking Time Out, Sort Of...

No show reviews this week.  And no real good excuse for not doing one, except that the weather is suddenly beautiful and I feel like kicking back and taking it easy. But I haven't been entirely slothful. As you may have heard, I (along with the terrific theater writer Jeremy Gerard) have been named a contributor to Broadway News and my first column was posted Thursday morning.  You can check it out here.

Later that day, my husband K and I went to the Outer Critics Circle Awards dinner. Since the winners are announced before the ceremony, the honorees come prepared with great speeches. Norbert Leo Butz, a winner for his delightful turn as Alfred P. Doolittle in Lincoln Center Theater's revival of My Fair Lady, should probably get another award for getting things off to an hilarious start by thanking a litany of pain relievers for their support in making his high-energy dance numbers possible. Others gave speeches that were also funny, heartwarming but, most of all, genuine in their appreciation for the recognition—and for being able to do what they love. You can find out more about the ceremony here.

And then this morning, BroadwayRadio posted the latest episode of my Stagecraft podcast in which I talk to playwrights about their shows currently running both on and off Broadway.  My guest this week is Clare Barron, whose play Dance Nation has been drawing raves and has been extended at Playwrights Horizons through July 1. Barron is just as entertaining and irreverent as her play is and you can hear what she has to say by clicking here.

I'll return to regular posting next week.  In the meantime, hope you both enjoy the holiday weekend and take a little time out to remember and appreciate its true significance as a time to honor those who gave their lives for this country, whose principles, particularly in the most challenging times, are worth defending.

An Ironic Intermission

The irony is that I've been seeing so many shows lately that I've fallen behind on just about everything else and so find that I don't have the time to tell you about them. I'm hoping to climb out of this hole soon—and I'm hoping you'll be there when I do.

Turning on the Ghost Light and Heading West...

No post this week because my husband K and I have gone off on a quick vacation to the west coast.  But the theater season is kicking into high gear and I'll be back next week.  In the meantime, I hope you'll check out the piece I did for The National Book Review on "The World Only Spins Forward: The Ascent of Angels in America," a terrific oral history about the Tony Kushner masterpiece, whose first Broadway revival opens March 21.  And you can find my book review by clicking here.

Turning on the Ghost Light, Again

It's been a month since I've turned on the ghost light that theaters use when they're empty and that I use to signal that there will be no regular post today. And I'm not happy about doing it cause I've been going to the theater almost non-stop since then and so there's plenty to talk about. But that's part of the problem. Between running to the theater,  finishing up the school semester, preparing my Stagecraft podcast interviews with playwrights and book writers of some recent shows (you can find them by clicking here) and realizing that Christmas is (gulp!) just nine days away, I haven't been able to find the time to write a decent post for today. However, I will be talking about some of the shows I've seen when I join my pals at This Week on Broadway this Sunday. I hope you'll join us and I hope you'll return here once I've gotten my act back together.

Too Pooped to Turn on the Ghost Light

No post today. And I'm too pooped to even turn on the ghost light that usually indicates I'm taking a break. Here's why: Over the past week, I've:

•taped my first episode of TheatreTalk (it's scheduled to air on public TV stations across the country the week of Dec. 4— and will later be available online at theatertalk.org/)

•recorded another session of "Stagecraft," my BroadwayRadio podcast, which this week features a conversation with Rajiv Joseph that you can find at bit.ly/stagecraftpodcast)

•set up two more "Stagecraft" interviews

•seen three thought-provoking shows

•attended an out-of-town memorial service for one of my mentors

•edited stories for the journalism class I teach

•shopped for, cooked and hosted (along with my always-supportive husband K) our extended family's annual Thanksgiving dinner

I'm exhausted just typing that list. So I'm taking time out to recuperate.  But I'll be back next week and I hope you will be too.