Prominent lighting designer dies of cancer
Howell Binkley One of Broadway’s most renowned lighting designers, a two-time Tony Award winner who also received nominations for many other awards, died on Friday. Howell Binkley was 64. He succumbed to lung cancer at a hospital in Jacksonville, N.C., his wife, Joyce Storey, confirmed on Facebook. Binkley’s designs...
Musical wunderkind wows critics, audiences
Photo courtesy of Joshua Turchin Out of all of the instruments he plays, Joshua Turchin likes the piano best. By AARON KRAUSE Joshua Turchin plays a dozen or so instruments. In addition, he wrote the book and lyrics, and composed the music, to an original, award-winning, Broadway-bound musical which...
GableStage seeks to engage through multi-media
By AARON KRAUSE While GableStage has decided to cancel the remainder of its 2019-20 season of live theater due to COVID-19, the company’s current endeavor might offer snapshots of what theater could, at least partially, look like in a post-pandemic world. Specifically, to replace the remainder of the 2019-20 season,...
Obie winners include esteemed Black theater company
NBT founder Dr. Barbara Ann Teer NBT Artistic Director Jonathan McCrory NBT CEO Sade Lythcott One of the oldest Black theater companies in the country has received its first Obie Award. This is an honor recognizing excellence Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway. In fact, the Obie recognition came a...
Some of South Florida theater’s shining stars
Barbara Bradshaw (Photo by Steve Anthony) Kelley Shanley (Photo by Jason Nuttle) A theater production that a critic hailed as a “masterpiece,” a much-lauded performer, a nationally-renowned regional theater, and a performing arts...
Ohio teens performing ‘The Crucible’ safely and in person
Photo courtesy of Toledo Repertoire Theatre Two cast members from Toledo Repertoire Theatre’s Young Rep group rehearse a scene in person and with social distancing in mind. By AARON KRAUSE Several Toledo teenage thespians who are performing in person Arthur Miller’s classic, The Crucible, are viewing masks and social...
Inaugural ceremony honors Black theater artists
A new celebration honoring Black theater artists and contributors on Broadway and Off-Broadway will make its debut on Friday, June 19. It’s the day that Broadway Black, a multimedia organization which highlights Black theater artists’ achievements, will premiere the Antonyo Awards at 7 p.m. EST on June 19. You can...
In unsettling times like these, ‘Hairspray’ is a balm…and a call to action
Photo courtesy of Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre Tracy Turnblad (Adee David), center, introduces herself as the newest dancer on the “Corny Collins Show” in Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre’s production of Hairspray. I saw and reviewed the production at the Indianapolis theater last fall. By AARON KRAUSE My...
Artist and advocate during the AIDS crisis dies at 84
Larry Kramer Photo by David Shankbone via Wikimedia Commons Larry Kramer, a fiercely passionate playwright, screenwriter, and advocate whom many credited with jump-starting the response to the HIV/AIDS crisis in America, has died in Manhattan. He was 84 and less than a month from his 85th birthday. His husband,...