Lauren Gunderson News

This week’s headlines span Hollywood honors, cultural policy shifts, and major institutional developments on both sides of the Atlantic. From SAG Award winners including Jessie Buckley to casting victories at the Artios Awards, recognition is front and center. At the same time, leadership and funding decisions are shaping the landscape at institutions like the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Young Vic, and Shakespeare's Globe. Add in Laura Linney’s call to support community theater and a first look at Mary Poppins in Japan, and it’s a week defined by both celebration and change across the performing arts.

Violet Surprise Theatre will tour THE REVOLUTIONISTS by Lauren Gunderson in intimate venues beginning in March 2026. Directed by Iris Sowlat, the production explores the French Revolution through the stories of four historical women.

Good morning from a very snowy New York City! Under a blizzard warning, Broadway canceled their evening shows Sunday with matinees wrapping up with enough time for everyone to make it home before the snow really started coming down. This week we share a few exclusives with you - first Situation unveiled a new leadership survey on the future of live events, and we sat down with the Washington National Opera to learn how they are moving forward after splitting with the Kennedy Center. We’ve also got Tony Awards eligibility updates and a look at funding concerns both in the US and the UK.

The Modern Classics Theatre Company of Long Island will present the premiere of Lauren Gunderson's The Revolutionists. Modern Classics is a professional theatrical company located at the BACCA Arts Center in Lindenhurst.

From Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS distributing $3.2 million to food programs nationwide to financial updates and future plans at 54 Below, the theater community continues to navigate challenges while supporting artists and audiences alike. We also look ahead to key dates for the Lucille Lortel Awards, explore a Stage Mag spotlight on THE SOUND INSIDE at Capital Stage, and share a moving PBS feature on Ukrainian theater uplifting children during wartime.

Rise and shine, BroadwayWorld! It is February 10, 2026 and it's time to catch up on all of the theatrical happenings you may have missed in the last 24 hours.

This week’s newsletter brings together stories of accountability, advocacy, and adaptation across the theatre world. We cover artists and organizations responding to public scrutiny, including Lauren Gunderson’s statement following her appearance in the Epstein files and the Washington Post’s elimination of its chief theater critic role. Elsewhere, new initiatives and events push forward, from Broadway Bares gearing up for its next benefit and Katharine Quinn launching a Broadway-focused marketing agency to Broadway showtunes finding new life on the ice. The issue also examines ongoing debates over access, transparency, and infrastructure, from Equity’s dispute with Spotlight in the UK to closed-door discussions about Portland’s Keller Auditorium.

Rise and shine, BroadwayWorld! It is February 5, 2026 and it's time to catch up on all of the theatrical happenings you may have missed in the last 24 hours.

The Book of Will is a contemporary play by American playwright Lauren Gunderson, first premiering in January 2017 at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. It went on to win the 2018 Harold and Mimi Steinberg / American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award, recognising it as one of the most significant new American plays of its year.

With the Justice Department's recent release of the Epstein Files, certain individuals have been implicated in the 3.5 million emails that were made public on Janury 30. One of them in the theatre community was playwright Lauren Gunderson, who is named 9 times in the files.

Centenary Stage Company’s NEXTstage Repertory will present Peter Pan and Wendy by Lauren Gunderson, running February 5–15 in the Little Theatre at 400 Jefferson Street, Hackettstown, NJ.

Lauren Gunderson’s fascinating play, ‘anthropology,’ presented by The Players at Barker Playhouse, is foremost a drama with plenty of humor and social commentary that examines the arguable benefits of AI and whether ultimately it does more harm than good.

I had never been to the Dome at Exploration Place, and I want to tell you that seeing Silent Sky in this setting was magical. The breathtaking 180 degree projections, by Jordan Slusher, wrapped around and hugged the actors and the audience, immersing us completely in the world of the play. What an excellent idea for this site specific performance!

ICTRep (Wichita Repertory Theater) continues its 2025-26 season with SILENT SKY by Lauren Gunderson, in partnership with Exploration Place. The play opens Thursday, January 22, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. and will be performed in Exploration Place’s Dome Theater.

Centenary Stage Company’s NEXTstage Repertory will present Peter Pan and Wendy by Lauren Gunderson, running February 5–15 in the Little Theatre at 400 Jefferson Street,.

Carlsbad Playreaders has announced its 2026 season, featuring a wide-ranging lineup of staged readings that includes classic comedies, contemporary favorites, musical theatre, and bold new works.

City Theatre’s recently completed production of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, written by Lauren Gunderson and directed by Kaja Dunn, set box office sales records following its run.

At a time when many are feeling a fractured sense of community, Capital Stage has brought Lauren Gunderson’s story about human connection to the stage. Under Imani Mitchell’s direction, I AND YOU becomes an anthem for friendship, trust, and embracing vulnerability.

Over two hundred and fifty years after fighting the British for independence, we’re absolutely gaga over Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon’s delightful Christmas at Pemberley series and its spot on depictions of Regency England.

  TheatreWorks Silicon Valley is returning to the world of Jane Austen with the heartwarming holiday tale filled with music Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley, written by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon and directed by Giovanna Sardelli. See photos!