WELCOME to this week’s #TheatreClique Round Up... my emphatically irregular newsletter dedicated to clicking on some of this week’s most interesting, intriguing & noteworthy writing about drama, theatre & performance (at least, so says me)…
This Week's #TheatreClique-ing:
For this week’s opener, I lift the next installment in Daniel Mertzlufft’s remarkable genre-building rise to musical theatre notoriety. Mertzlufft is the emerging musical theatre writer whose “Grocery Store Musical” went viral in early October and who also contributed to #Ratousical (or the collaboratively authored TikTok musical version of the animated film Ratatouille, which has now more than fifty million views). Here, Mertztlufft experiences what might be the TikTok equivalent of a Broadway debut, thanks to the team at The Late Show with James Corden…
now turning to this week’s theatre clicks…
the performance “Ivanka Vacuuming” irks its namesake • Helen Shaw plots the recipe for CircleJerk’s success • Variety’s Gordon Cox considers the ways live theatre presentation is being transformed by the opportunities and obstacles of the pandemic • Tallahassee’s Essential Theatrical Associates explores how the digital turn aligns with ETA’s longstanding mission to diversify theatre’s offerings and audiences • Leonard Madrid seizes upon the moment to make some magic at Central New Mexico Community College…
Carla Della Gatta talks to Classic Stage Company about bilingual and multilingual adaptations of classic theater • pathbreaking casting director Victor Vazquez speaks to Backstage • NewYorkSocialDiary shares five decades of offstage images from photographer Jill Krementz • Joe Reid profiles the multi-faceted career (and far-reaching impact) of Debbie Allen…
at the Latinx Project, Yollotl Lopez and Deborah Paredez consider the enduring appeal of Selena in anticipation of the new Netflix series • Ramy Youssef is among those honored for contributions to the accurate portrayal and employment of people with disabilities at the 2020 Media Access Awards • Ashley Wool — an autistic actress — evaluates the controversy surrounding Sia’s music • the hiring of a white male narrator for audio version of essay by a Black woman scholar stirs immediate outrage (and an awkward apology) • Mickey Guyton is first Black woman to receive Grammy nomination for best solo country performance • NYTimes profiles the advocacy and organizing being done by Untitled Latinx Project • Netflix expands (and invests) in my hometown…
BONUS: Lynne Rosenberg stars in this very funny Thanksgiving-themed mini-musical by Rob Shapiro for Fault Line Theatre…
...and this week in Fornésiana: a remarkable cast of Chicago actors comes together for a “virtual enhanced” staged reading presentation of María Irene Fornés play, Fefu and Her Friends as a benefit to support Season of Concern’s longstanding work to “provide emergency financial assistance to Chicago theater makers for health related concerns” • the streaming of a recorded performance premieres Saturday, December 5 @ 7pC (with a live talkback to follow); 24-hour streaming windows open nightly through Wednesday, December 9 • purchase tickets HERE.
Adventures in Remote Theatre-going:
Wherein I highlight some of my personal priority destinations for the upcoming week.
In addition to the presentation of Fefu mentioned above, I’m looking forward to…
the launch of Jose Solís’s upcoming series of cultural salons on Thursday, 12/3, at 830pE • register to attend HERE…
What StinkyLulu Says This Week:
Wherein I offer a brief overview of this week’s podcast episode.
StinkyLulu Says will likely be mostly quiet at least until the beginning of February (or thereabouts).
On This TheatreCliquer's Dance Card:
Wherein I shamelessly promote my own upcoming public events or other appearances.
The approaching end of the academic semester seems to have brought the The Profe Herrera Roadshow to a possibly brief hiatus as well…
“Definition Check” & “Voices from Behind Academentia's Paywall” & “Encourage Your Institutional Library to BUY THIS BOOK” will return in upcoming newsletters…
But by way of closing out this holiday weekend, I offer this virtual video reunion of some familiar (to me at least) voices and faces of the Chattertocks, perhaps my favorite of the many a capella singing groups singing in arches, residential hall lounges and makeshift stages during my college years...
Until next week, dear #TheatreClique, please share this newsletters with those friends, colleagues and students who might appreciate the opportunity to encounter the many voices gathered in each week’s newsletter. Errors and oversights published in the newsletter will be corrected in the archival versions. And, in the meantime, keep clicking those links — good writing needs good readers and our theatre clicks count!