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Here are a few posts from last week's Greenpage that might be worth your time...

Pondering the Pittsburgh Public-CLO merger

wesa.fm: In February 1946, Pittsburgh’s Civic Light Opera Association announced its very first season, which began with an outdoor show at old Pitt Stadium. The group — created with help from department store heir Edgar J. Kaufmann, and staging fare like “Brigadoon” and “On The Town” — proved popular enough that the Civic Arena was originally built to house its shows. The CLO moved Downtown to the Benedum Center in 1988, and has been there since.

 

UK Theatremakers Petition for New Video Design Category at the Olivier Awards

www.broadwayworld.com: UK desigers have come together to call for a new category at the Olivier Awards acknowledging Video Design. A petition has been signed by over 100 artsist in the UK theatre community.

 

Nominations announced for the first-ever Broadway Ensemble Awards

www.broadwaynews.com: The Broadway Ensemble Awards are presented by the musical theater education nonprofit Stage Door Miracles Inc. The nonprofit is headed by Stepp Stewart, a choreographer, Emmy-nominated producer and ensemble member from the 1994 original Broadway production of “Jelly’s Last Jam,” the 1996 revival of “Applause” and the 1997 revival of “Dreamgirls.”

 

World’s fair update – March 2026

InPark Magazine: For over 150 years, world’s fairs were where the future made its debut. The Eiffel Tower rose for Paris 1889. The television age began at New York 1939. Touchscreens appeared at Knoxville 1982. These events were once the world’s most ambitious stage for national identity, technological optimism, and architectural spectacle.

 

Why Are We Obsessed With Antigone?

The New York Times: Antigone, an ancient Greek play, is being adapted in several theaters across New York City. Our critic Helen Shaw explains why Sophocles’s anti-heroine is such a relevant figure today.

 

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Pittsburgh Power Outage Shuts Down Opening Night of 'Eureka Day' at City Theatre

onstagepittsburgh.com: First there was light, and there was none. And then there was light again. And then none. And then it was light again. By that time, unfortunately, City Theatre had zapped enough electric power that it was impossible for the opening night of Eureka Day to go on. Managing Director James McNeel and Artistic Director Clare Drobot announced to the crowded lobby that a show would be added Tuesday, and ticket-holders would receive emails about that and other options.

 

The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park Offers In-Suite Broadway Shows

robbreport.com: The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park has just lifted the curtain on a new personalized Broadway experience that brings the razzle and dazzle of the stage straight to your suite. The aptly named Curtain Call package includes a private concert during which two acclaimed Broadway artists will belt out your favorite show tunes.

 

What Do Indie Bookstores and Off-Broadway Theater Have in Common?

The Hat: One of the 27 objects in Ed Schmidt’s interactive one-person play Edward, now playing at bookstores around New York, is a beat-up copy of The Catcher in the Rye. Edward, whose life is narrated through a series of his belongings, was a high-school English teacher. Over the course of the evening, several objects — an Arthur Miller playbill, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, a hotel ashtray — demonstrate, in his words, “the vital role that reading literature plays in the development of a well-rounded life.”

 

Shaunda McDill: Facing Pittsburgh Public Theater's Future With Uncertainty, Pride, and Hope

onstagepittsburgh.com Pittsburgh Public Theater’s 51st season is drawing to a close with Eboni Smith’s Primary Trust, described by the committee that awarded the play the Pulitzer Prize for Drama as, “A simple and elegantly crafted story of an emotionally damaged man who finds a new job, new friends, and a new sense of worth.”

 

Out from the shadows, Chicago’s non-Equity stage managers take a turn in the spotlight

Chicago Sun-Times: Last year, Kyle Aschbrenner had to have a talk with his charges after one of them drew a penis on a bulletin board. “I had to tell everyone to sit down and be like, ‘While I find this very funny, I have to tell you guys not to do stuff like this,’” Aschbrenner recalled. Aschbrenner doesn’t run after-school detention at a high school for misfits. He’s a non-Equity stage manager — perhaps the most stressful, complex, occasionally absurd, and underappreciated job in Chicago theater.

 

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Pittsburgh Public Theater and CLO to vote on consolidating operations

90.5 WESA: Beset by financial troubles, the boards of Pittsburgh Public Theater and the Pittsburgh CLO are set to vote this month on whether to consolidate as a brand-new organization. The new entity, as yet unnamed, would produce both the new and classic musicals CLO now stages and the new and classic plays currently mounted by the Public.

 

Consumer Advocates, Policy Groups, and Lawmakers Slam Proposed Live Nation–Ticketmaster Settlement

TicketNews: The reported settlement between the Trump Department of Justice and Live Nation Entertainment over the company’s alleged monopoly in live entertainment is drawing sharp criticism from consumer advocates, policy organizations, and lawmakers who argue the proposed agreement would allow the Ticketmaster parent company to maintain its dominant grip on the industry, providing limited relief for consumers or competitors in the space.

 

Floridian Theatremakers Fight Back Against State and Local Governments in Arts Funding Battle

HowlRound Theatre Commons: In 2025, political ideals clashed with the arts across the United States. The overhaul of the Kennedy Center was just one of several battles. Unfortunately, the blueprint of incoming change has emerged from none other than the Sunshine State, Florida. As a born and raised Floridian theatremaker, I’ve seen Florida make headlines in ideological battles for my whole life. Floridian artists live in a unique ecosystem of political polarization, the climate crisis, a constantly growing population, and a rich state history.

 

Kansas theatre students tell lawmakers: arts funding matters

www.wibw.com: More than 400 high school thespians from across Kansas visited the Statehouse Wednesday to urge lawmakers to prioritize arts funding, marking the 10th year Kansas Thespians have made the trip to the Capitol. Students representing 35 schools traveled from communities including Kansas City and Wichita to take part in the annual advocacy effort during Theatre in Our Schools Month.

 

AI-generated art can’t be copyrighted after Supreme Court declines to review the rule

The Verge: The US Supreme Court has declined to hear a case over whether AI-generated art can obtain a copyright, as reported earlier by Reuters. The Monday decision comes after Stephen Thaler, a computer scientist from Missouri, appealed a court’s decision to uphold a ruling that found AI-generated art can’t be copyrighted.

 

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The Bafta film awards are going greener – but some climate problems are hiding off camera

theconversation.com: The Bafta film awards are brilliant at making film feel like it matters. The clothes, the cameras, the applause, the shared cultural moment. That spectacle is the point. But it also has a climate shadow. Not just from the night itself, but from the behaviour it effectively rewards and normalises in the weeks around it.

 

Actor Awards' Stunt Ensemble Categories Announce Performance Nominees

variety.com: The Annual Actor Awards Presented by SAG-AFTRA has announced the complete list of stunt performers and coordinators nominated for Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in motion pictures and television series.

 

‘You know when you’ve hit it – it’s a transformation’: Ruth E Carter on building the bold world of Sinners

Movies | The Guardian: Ruth E Carter’s costumes were a crucial part of establishing the identities of the two identical twins, both played by Michael B Jordan, in multi-Oscar-nominated Sinners. Particularly the hats. One brother, Stack, wore a red fedora. The other brother, Smoke, wore a blue newsboy flat cap.

 

New DMV theater organization Playing Against stages readings to fight fascism

DC Theater Arts: Kevin O’Connell and Jill Goodrich are a husband-and-wife team and both members of the DC theater community. Jill has been doing community theater since the 4th grade, and Kevin is a dramaturg and the former artistic director of Perisphere Theatre. Now, the duo heads Playing Against, a small volunteer organization that —- to quote the organization’s Facebook page — “produces staged readings of plays that repudiate, ridicule, or otherwise resist His Magasty.” Each reading presents a play that tackles the topic of authoritarianism and raises funds for a civil liberties group.

 

Is everyone capable of creativity? Yes

Fast Company: We have a complicated relationship with creativity. Intuitively, we understand its value—the ability to produce new ideas and novel innovation. Instinctively, we know that it presents opportunities for marketplace advancements. When we think of some of the most revered organizations in modern times, like the Apples and Disneys of the world, we point to their creative contributions and their impact.

 

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The end of experimentation with AI agents

Fast Company: For the last several years, enterprises have treated AI as something to test. A pilot here, a proof of concept there. That era is ending. According to new global DeepL research, a survey of 5,000 global executives on the impact of AI agents reshaping business, 69% expect AI agents to fundamentally change how their companies operate in 2026. Nearly half anticipate major transformation, while another quarter say that change is already underway.

 

Baftas racial slur controversy: what should the BBC have done?

theconversation.com: At the 2026 Bafta awards, big wins for independent British film I Swear and American horror film Sinners were overshadowed by a regrettable moment. Activist John Davidson said the N-word – arguably the most offensive slur in the English language due to the centuries of violence and oppression it carries – while Sinners’ stars Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting an award.

 

Martha Graham Took Classic Ballet and Turned It Into Modern Dance. It’s Still Moving Us 100 Years Later

www.smithsonianmag.com: This past fall, in a sunlit studio in Manhattan’s West village, the Martha Graham Dance Company was rehearsing a production of Cave of the Heart, a fiery one-act ballet created in 1946.

 

Peta calls for pork-free menus as Peppa Pig show rolls into Grimsby

Children's theatre | The Guardian: Campaigners are calling on theatre bosses to stop serving bacon, sausages and ham in their cafes – at least while Peppa Pig and her family are performing in the same building. Grimsby Auditorium in Lincolnshire said this week it would remove pork from the menu when Peppa Pig’s Big Family Show opens next month, after a request from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta UK). The campaign group is sending the venue vegan ham as an alternative.

 

Groups sue National Park Service over signage removal

www.archpaper.com: Multiple parties are suing the National Park Service (NPS) and U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) over the recent removals of signage commemorating the country’s history of slavery, Civil Rights Movement, Indigenous history, and struggle for women’s and LGBTQIA+ equality.

 

Worth a Look

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When a Stage Director Trades Broadway for the Olympics

Playbill: Directing a new musical on Broadway is not an easy task. Even leaving artistry aside, one has to wrangle hundreds of people and show elements, from cast to backstage crew to large and often mechanical sets and costumes and props—all of which need to be unified under a distinct and engaging directorial vision.

 

Kennedy Center Unions Challenge Trump's 'Revitalization' Plans

Parade: The labor unions representing staff at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., have broken their silence regarding Donald Trump’s recent announcement concerning the facility’s future.

 

From Broadway to EPCOT: A Theatre Fan’s Guide to Festival of the Arts

Disney Parks Blog: I think everyone has that one childhood moment or memory that made them fall in love with Disney. Mine began with Disney on Broadway. Aladdin was one of the first shows that ignited my lifelong passion for theatre and storytelling, which led me to attend college and live in New York City, work on Broadway, and now be here as part of the Disney Parks Blog team.

 

Haiti’s Hand-Painted Winter Olympics Uniforms Are a ‘Story of Resistance’

news.artnet.com: Just weeks before the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Milan on February 6, Olympic officials blocked Haiti’s plan to feature a painting of revolutionary leader Toussaint Louverture on its team uniforms, prompting a race against time that culminated in a radically altered, hand-painted redesign—the first in the games’ 100-year history.

 

With virtual characters in real life, 'An Ark' experiments with mixed-reality performance

NPR: One of the first plays written for mixed reality recently opened in New York. "An Ark" is about the joys and terrors of being human, and it's all-British cast includes acting royalty Ian McKellen. But if you go to a performance, you will discover that Mr. McKellen and his fellow actors are not actually in the theater with you.

 

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‘An Unbelievable Mess’: Artists Are Stymied by Trump Travel Bans

The New York Times: The travel bans — along with escalating costs and delays in the always-fraught visa application process — represent a looming crisis for the American performing arts sector, as many overseas musicians, theater companies and others face new and seemingly insurmountable obstacles to travel. Some, assessing the risks, are electing to avoid coming here altogether, according to talent agents and the American promoters and producers who are now contemplating holes in their calendars.

 

Seized, subverted, shuttered: a year in Trump’s assault on the Kennedy Center

US news | The Guardian: The Brentano String Quartet had finished their performance when a special guest dropped in backstage: the US supreme court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. “We thanked her for everything she had done for our country,” recalls violinist Mark Steinberg. “It was a nice moment.”

 

Relational Dynamics in Theatrical Partnerships

AMERICAN THEATRE: In this moment of collective upheaval, the existing hierarchies within theatrical practice are reaching their shelf life and it’s time to unearth alternatives. It’s becoming difficult to build deep and meaningful relationships when resources are scarce and we’re all fighting for the same donors, investors, and audiences.

 

A Look at Black Broadway, 1820 – 2026

New York Theater: For every well-known showcase of Black Broadway – “Porgy and Bess,” 1935; “A Raisin in the Sun” 1959; last year’s “Purpose,” winner of both the Tony and Pulitzer — there are little-remembered milestones ranging over the past two centuries. The gallery below, in honor of Black History Month (which several federal agencies now have banned employees from celebrating), samples the history of theater by, for and with Black Americans, taken from collections at the New York Public Library, the Library of Congress, and the Museum of the City of New York

 

Shakespeare and Italy

Folger Shakespeare Library: The Milan Cortina 2026 Olympics got us thinking about Shakespeare and Italy. Shakespeare’s plays are well stocked with merchants of Venice, gentlemen of Verona, and other Italian characters. One-third of his plays are based, or partially based, in Italy. Florence, Milan, Padua, Rome, Sicily, Venice, Verona—these Italian settings play a crucial part in his plots, making them characters in their own right.

 

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Celebrating Black History Month

IATSE: As we observe Black History Month, we reaffirm a simple truth: Black history is American history! The story of our nation and of the labor movement cannot be told without the contributions, sacrifices, and leadership of Black workers who fought to expand opportunity, dignity, and democracy for all.

 

An Open Letter to Richard Grenell

by Emil J Kang: You said something on PBS NewsHour that I want to take seriously: “We cannot have arts institutions that lose money.” You are responding to real pressures. I’ve spent thirty years in this sector. I’ve sat in rooms where we discussed debt reserves, union contracts, and ticket revenue that could not cover costs. I’ve felt the anxiety you’re responding to. It’s real. But the conclusion you’ve drawn from it reflects a misunderstanding of what you’ve inherited.

 

Kennedy Center was always in the political spotlight but not like this

Los Angeles Times: Last Tuesday, Philip Glass withdrew the delayed premiere in June of his latest symphony, No. 15. Originally meant to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 2022, it is a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, but the composer decided the values of the current Kennedy Center were “in direct conflict to the message of the symphony,” which is inspired by Lincoln’s 1838 Lyceum Address.

 

Judge Kacsmaryk Compares Drag To Blackface, Allows College Campus Drag Ban In Texas

www.erininthemorning.com: On Saturday, Jan. 17, far-right judge Matthew Kacsmaryk issued one of his most extreme rulings yet, finding that West Texas A&M can ban drag performances on campus. In reaching that conclusion, Kacsmaryk discarded long-standing First Amendment precedent and made demeaning assertions about drag itself, including a comparison to “blackface.”

 

To cry or not to cry: how moving the audience to tears can backfire

theconversation.com: “One must have a heart of stone not to read about the death of little Nell without laughing” was Oscar Wilde’s notorious response to the emotional onslaught of Charles Dickens’s 1841 novel, The Old Curiosity Shop. Having watched two films in two weeks about the death of a child, it offers a clue as to why I cried in only one.

 

Worth a Look

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City Theatre will not merge with Pittsburgh CLO, Pittsburgh Public Theater

triblive.com: Last August, three major local theater companies — City Theatre, Pittsburgh Public Theater and Pittsburgh CLO — announced they were considering the possibility of a merger. Today, the companies revealed that such a union is not in the cards — or, at least, not for all three.

 

Trump Offers Bonds to Hollywood While Again Threatening Tariffs

variety.com: President Trump renewed his threat to tariff films made overseas on Monday, but also suggested that he would offer “low-interest bonds” to help stimulate domestic production. In an interview with the New York Post, the president did not explain his proposal but indicated he is still considering the decline in production.

 

Met Opera director and designers order names stripped from 'Carmen'

AP News: In a dispute of operatic proportions, the production team of Bizet’s “Carmen” at the Metropolitan Opera ordered their names stripped from programs over a restaging decision, and the company intends to bring back sets of a retired 2009 version.

 

It’s ICE Out of Minnesota Day, and Twin Cities Theatres Are Part of It

AMERICAN THEATRE: As people in Minneapolis and nationwide grieve the murder of Renee Nicole Good, and both activists and ordinary citizens struggle to resist and recover from targeted raids by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of Somali, Southeast Asian, and Latine immigrants in the Twin Cities, advocacy is coming in many forms, including the artistic.

 

Five Fronts in Trump’s Culture War

The New York Times: In his first term, President Trump took issue with some actors, arts funding and the media. In his second, he has hit the accelerator. Changing what Americans see and hear at their national museums, their performance spaces and on television is now at the core of his agenda. Mr. Trump views it as an effort to return to a lost vision of national greatness, one that seeks to “remind Americans of our extraordinary heritage.” Critics regard it as a nostalgic, reductive whitewashing. Here are five areas where the Trump administration has tried to reshape American culture.

 

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Williamstown Theatre Festival Cancels Summer 2026 Programming

Playbill: Massachusetts' Williamstown Theatre Festival will not present programming in summer 2026. The summer theatre company will resume in 2027. The company says it will use the intervening time "to activate a new phase of artistic research, development, and year-round engagement," aimed at creating a sustainable model of newly year-round programming, with the annual summer Festival as a cornerstone.

 

New President of NYC Musicians' Union on Broadway Strike, AI and More

www.hollywoodreporter.com: Dan Point has taken over the leadership of the American Federation of Musicians Local 802, the union for Broadway and New York City musicians, months after the union was set to go on strike.

 

Enter ‘Stage Right:’ Central Ohio home to nation’s only conservative theater company

NBC4 WCMH-TV: If all the world’s a stage, Robert Cooperman feels half of it is missing its spotlight. “Artists will look at society or an issue in our culture and say, ‘I don’t like that,’ and they might write a play about it. … Why can’t people who are more conservative do that?” Cooperman said. “When we do it, it’s considered political. And when the other side does it, it’s considered art.”

 

Statutory Damages: The Fuel of Copyright-based Censorship

Electronic Frontier Foundation: Imagine every post online came with a bounty of up to $150,000 paid to anyone who finds it violates opaque government rules—all out of the pocket of the platform. Smaller sites could be snuffed out, and big platforms would avoid crippling liability by aggressively blocking, taking down, and penalizing speech that even possibly violates these rules. In turn, users would self-censor, and opportunists would turn accusations into a profitable business.

 

Metropolitan Opera Announces Layoffs, Salary Cuts & Postponement of a New Production

OperaWire: The company’s General manager Peter Gelb told the New York Times that he was forced to take these steps due to concerns with the Saudi Arabia deal, under which the Saudis agreed to subsidize the Met in exchange for the company performing at the Royal Diriyah Opera House near Riyadh three weeks each winter. He added that although he remained confident that the deal would happen, his decision to make cuts was due to concerns about the future of the Saudi arrangement.