Industry Pro Newsletter: IATSE Takes on the Kennedy Center — and Touring Theatre's Crisis in the UK Deepens
by Alex Freeman - May 11, 2026
This week's theater news spans awards season milestones, legal disputes, labor tensions, and the business challenges facing the art form on both sides of the Atlantic. The 2026 Tony nominations are in — with Schmigadoon! and The Lost Boys leading the pack. Voting is also now open for BroadwayWorld's own Theater Fans' Choice Awards. On a more turbulent note, a fire at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre has shuttered The Book of Mormon through at least May 17, a second lawsuit has been filed against the producers of Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, and IATSE is accusing the Kennedy Center of using its upcoming temporary closure as cover to permanently eliminate union jobs. Regionally, The Naples Players have secured a multi-year grant to expand paid apprenticeships for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. And internationally, The Stage examines whether the UK touring sector — where the number of touring plays has fallen 64% since 2019 — can find a path forward through its mounting financial and structural pressures.
Fox Cities P.A.C. Reveals 2026-27 Season Lineup
by Stephi Wild - Mar 17, 2026
The Fox Cities Performing Arts Center has announced its lineup for the 2026-27 season, featuring a variety of Broadway hits and cultural performances. The season will kick off with the acclaimed musical HAMILTON, followed by other notable productions such as WICKED and THE LION KING. This announcement highlights the center's commitment to bringing diverse and high-quality entertainment to the region. The full season schedule and additional show details are available for those interested in atten
Review: BRIGHT STAR Takes Center Stage at Manatee Players
by Drew Eberhard - Mar 9, 2026
Bright Star is a Bluegrass/Folk musical written and composed by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell. Its tale is set in the vast landscape of North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains between the years 1945-46, and features flashbacks to the year 1923. The pair produced a Grammy-winning album in 2013 entitled Love Has Come For You, in which the musical is inspired by its lyric-scape and the true story of the Iron Mountain Baby.
Did You Know That Zombies Owe Their Popularity to Broadway?
by Howard Sherman - Oct 31, 2025
The concept of the zombie in popular culture owes its legacy not to Night of the Living Dead or The Walking Dead, but to a long-forgotten Broadway play entitled, simply, Zombie, which ran for all of three weeks back in 1932.
Meet the Broadway Icons of Taylor Swift’s ‘The Life of a Showgirl’
by Jennifer Ashley Tepper - Oct 7, 2025
Taylor Swift’s new album The Life of a Showgirl dropped on October 3rd, and it includes plenty of references—some explicit and some ambiguous—to real showgirls throughout history. Many of these women have a Broadway past worth exploring that adds new context to Swift’s songs.
Review: THE LAND OF THE LIVING, starring Juliet Stevenson
by Debbie Gilpin - Sep 19, 2025
'Was what I did 'wrong'?' In 1945 Germany, Ruth is part of a UN relief programme which is seeking to reunite displaced people with their families - she’s passionate about the work, and is certain that what she’s doing is for the best. But in London 45 years later, she’s not so sure.
Lost Broadway Theaters Still Standing... Continued!
by Jennifer Ashley Tepper - Sep 28, 2025
Multiple lost Broadway theaters intersect with the Hammerstein family. This follows since Oscar Hammerstein I was a theater owner and builder. In addition to Hammerstein’s which was named after him and is now the Ed Sullivan, and the New Victory which he originally built, there is also the Hammerstein Ballroom. Read more here!
Gershwin’s PORGY AND BESS Gets Brazilian-made, Black-led Revival at Theatro Municipal of São Paulo
by Claudio Erlichman - Sep 8, 2025
Porgy and Bess is a famous 'folk opera' created by George Gershwin, with a libretto by DuBose Heyward and lyrics by DuBose and Ira Gershwin. The work chronicles the life of a Black community on Catfish Row in Charleston and is known for its fusion of operatic elements with American folk music, jazz, and blues. The story focuses on the love between Porgy, a disabled beggar, and Bess, a woman seeking a better life.
Lost Broadway Theaters That Are Still Standing
by Jennifer Ashley Tepper - Sep 21, 2025
Broadway currently boasts 41 theaters. This number has always been ever-changing—since even before the first time the word “Broadway” was used to describe professional theater in New York.
15 Broadway Musicals with Multiple Movie Adaptations
by Josh Sharpe - Jul 19, 2025
For years, Broadway musicals have spawned multiple film adaptations, from the early days of cinema to Steven Spielberg's remake of West Side Story. Take a look at our list of 15 musicals that have danced their way to the screen more than once!