TDF Stages Archive
An online theatre magazine
Read about NYC’s best theatre and dance productions and watch video interviews with innovative artists
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Making a Joyful Political Noise
Behind the Scene Whether protesting climate change, racial injustice, or overconsumption, Reverend Billy and his Church of Stop Shopping do it in glorious song — It's going to be a very busy Thanksgiving weekend for the Talen family. For the holiday, Bill Talen, better known as political performance artivist Reverend Billy; his partner and longtime […]
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You Can Write Their Musical (Every Night)
“When you look at YouTube and the culture of social media, you see how the rest of society is now a ‘creator.’ We expect to take professional level photos on our phones, so why not empower the audience to create a musical on the spot?” So says improv artist Mike Descoteaux. That’s why his show Blank! The Musical allows the audience to create every single element of the full-fledged musical they se
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How Many Times Would You Forgive Someone?
Playwrights Heidi Schreck on the moral questions in Grand Concourse — After I saw Heidi Schreck's play Grand Concourse , I made a mistake. The show left me uncomfortable, so I thought that meant I didn't like it. But I realized I was wrong: The play, which is at Playwrights Horizons through November 30, is […]
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Why Alessandro Nivola Loves “The Elephant Man”
Building Character Performers Broadway Welcome to Building Character, our ongoing look at performers and how they create their roles When director Scott Ellis called Alessandro Nivola back in 2012 about playing the part of moralistic Victorian doctor Frederick Treves in a mounting of The Elephant Man at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, the actor knew he […]
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This Play Truly Sees the Suburbs
It seems inevitable that at some point in a playwright's career, the imagination will be tugged homeward toward the people, places, and conflicts responsible for shaping the writer. Look at Eugene O'Neill's plays set in Connecticut, August Wilson's in Pittsburgh, Horton Foote's in Texas. Mat Smart, who was born and raised in Naperville, IL, thirty-five […]
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Did You Notice the Tiny Fireflies?
Designers By MARK BLANKENSHIP There's no way to see the entire set of Lost Lake . A slightly surreal cabin in the woods, it's packed with so many objects that it would take hours to absorb them all. And besides, some elements are only visible to the actors—props and pictures tucked behind curtains or just […]
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What Do You Think About Straight White Men?
Off-Broadway By MARK BLANKENSHIP When you hear about a play called Straight White Men , what do you think it's going to be? Which cultural and political assumptions do you think it's going to challenge? Which audience members do you think it's going to unsettle? Whatever you're thinking, you're right: That's exactly what Young Jean […]
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How Do You Make Two People Look Like One Person?
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Yes, This Child Has Lived Before
Playwrights Sarah Ruhl's new play The Oldest Boy may be filled with a sense of cosmic mystery, but there's one question that's not mysterious at all. When the show begins, an American mother is visited by a pair of Buddhist monks who believe her three year-old son, Tenzin, is the reincarnation of their beloved teacher. […]