Arts & Theater
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Shakespeare is Overrated — OnStage Blog
Kendra Robinson left the following comment which intrigued me. “Shakespeare is overrated. Don’t get me wrong, I love Shakespeare’s shows, but seeing his work as the gold standard is highly problematic. His shows are frequently racist, sexist, and offer minimal opportunities for any actors who aren’t able-bodied white men. And gender-blind multi-racial casting doesn’t fix that. So when theatre institutions…
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Bring Back Overtures — OnStage Blog
However, for some reason, over the past couple of decades, the overture has begun to fade away. I don’t know if directors wanted immediacy or producers worried about pacing. Maybe in an age of shrinking attention spans, the idea of sitting still through a three-minute orchestral introduction suddenly felt indulgent. But it feels like we lost something deeply necessary: anticipation.…
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Did “Newsies” Really Need Katherine Plumber? — OnStage Blog
by Chris Peterson I threw on the Newsies pro-shot the other night. You know the one, with Jeremy Jordan as Jack Kelly, Kara Lindsay as Katherine Plumber, and a cast of dancers so good they make leaping across scaffolding look like light cardio. I have seen it plenty of times, but this rewatch got me thinking again. For all its…
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Why “Who I’d Be” from Shrek the Musical Is One of the Best Act One Closers…Ever — OnStage Blog
What makes it brilliant is that it earns its emotion. The first act of Shrek has been all quips and quests and fairy-tale gags, so when this moment lands, it feels like a deep breath the show’s been waiting to take. The humor drops away, and for the first time, we see the ache underneath. Shrek isn’t just lonely—he’s aware…
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If You Audition Non-Union, You’re the Villain — OnStage Blog
Broadway performer, Ashley Wool (How to Dance in Ohio), made the following comment which I found really interesting. “Nobody should be auditioning for non-Equity national tours of currently or recently-running Broadway shows in the year 2025 when it has NEVER been easier to join Equity. If you can do Broadway-caliber work and they’re charging Broadway-adjacent ticket prices, and you’re CHOOSING…
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Trans-Inclusive Casting Requires Musical Flexibility — OnStage Blog
Noah Webster submitted this, and it got me thinking, “If musical directors really wanna be trans-inclusive in their casting, they’ve gotta be willing to adjust vocal parts at least a little.” I will say this up front. I am not a music composition expert. I do not read scores fluently and I have never orchestrated a show. But I have…
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Stories Miss the Adult Version of Toxic Femininity — OnStage Blog
Nick Lopez wrote, “Toxic femininity is real in the adult world and it’s time to start putting it in stories outside of the stereotypical high school culture.” At first I wasn’t exactly sure what he meant. We all know the phrase “toxic masculinity,” which gets dissected constantly, but “toxic femininity” is less mainstream. And when it does pop up, it…
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Queer Tragedy, Queer Joy, and the Space Between — OnStage Blog
Stephen Callum Bryum left an interesting comment. “Is it time to stop over-producing queer tragedy and instead produce queer joy?” Over the past few decades, the queer plays that have risen highest in the theatrical canon tend to carry a lot of weight. The Laramie Project, Angels in America, The Inheritance, Fun Home—these works are monumental, memorializing trauma and forcing…
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Fat Characters & Actors Deserve Better — OnStage Blog
Noah Webster wrote the following: “There need to be more roles written for fat actors that don’t also lock fat actors out of playing other roles in the show. E.g. Tracy in Hairspray, Nadia in Bare, and Martha in Heathers are good roles—but the way that their stories center around fatphobia and, specifically, the contrast of their fatness/perceived “ugliness” compared…
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“Some Things Are Meant to Be”
That stillness, the calm acceptance in Beth’s voice, is what makes the song devastating. We expect tragedy to roar, but here it whispers. And in that whisper is something unshakably true. Sometimes the people we love most are the ones who teach us how to let go. There are plenty of great musical theatre songs about death, but most of…
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