Broadway To Vegas

Copyright: May 24, 2020
By: Laura Deni
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SHAKESPEARE'S GLOBE THEATRE IN LONDON IN DANGER OF CLOSING: THE OLD VIC AND THE NATIONAL ALSO IN STRAITS: ARE THEY TOO IMPORTANT TO LET FAIL?

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London

Shakespeare himself couldn't have penned a more desperate tragedy - the iconic Globe theater in London is in dire straits, facing the risk of insolvency and closure due to the coronavirus pandemic, U.K. legislators have warned the government.

The venue has withstood other catastrophes - but the virus may be the killer.

In Christmas 1598 The Chamberlain's Men (who would become the King's Men under James I's patronage), and the company to which Shakespeare belonged, sought a drastic solution to their lack of a permanent playhouse. They leased a plot near the Rose, a rival theatre in Southwark, demolished their original theatre and carried its timbers over the river.

When The Globe was built in 1599, seven shareholders, including Shakespeare, funded the construction, becoming not just investors, but managers, too. These business dealings generated paperwork, some of which has survived, so we know a fair bit about Shakespeare's company colleagues. The managers, Richard and Cuthbert Burbage, and the other investors, who at various times, included John Hemmings, William Kemp, Augustine Phillips, Thomas Pope, Robert Armin, Henry Condell, and William Sly, according to Dr Will Tosh lecturer and research fellow at Shakespeare's Globe, London.

By early 1599 the new Globe Theatre was up and running and for 14 years it thrived, presenting many of Shakespeare’s greatest plays. In 1613, during a performance of Henry VIII, wadding from a stage cannon ignited the thatched roof and the theatre burned to the ground. The theatre was quickly rebuilt, this time with a tiled roof. The new structure remained the home for Shakespeare’s old company until the closure of all the theatres under England’s Puritan administration in 1642. No longer of use, it was demolished to make room for tenements in 1644.

The theatre industry was reestablished in 1660.

The current version, a replica of William Shakespeare’s original 1599 Elizabethan open-air venue, opened in 1997. It boasts the only thatched roof allowed in London since the Great Fire of 1666.

COVID-19 has proved to be a more serious threat that fire or religious damnation.

The Globe is just one of a number of U.K. cultural institutions in jeopardy as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown, according to a committee representing the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). See Broadway To Vegas column of May 17, 2020.

What makes the Globe's situation of international importance is that the venue is world famous, a major tourist attraction and many of its stagings have transferred to Broadway.

It is also at the Globe where texts of Hamlet were published - each a modernized, annotated version of one of the extant versions from Shakespeare's life. And another innovation was, in fact, that Ann Thompson, who's an emeritus professor of King's College, was the first female editor of Hamlet. That was in 2006, which scholars call "shocking."

The theater, located on the banks of the river Thames, temporarily closed its doors on March 18, when the world's theaters and cinemas began shutting due to the spreading pandemic.

In written evidence to the DCMS committee, the theater said the current closure had a devastating impact on its finances - cannot be viewed as much ado about nothing - and presents a great threat to its future.

Unlike many theatres in Britain the Globe receives no regular public funding, placing the Globe in a very precarious position financially.

Conservative MP Julian Knight, who chairs the committee, said in a letter to Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden that it would be a “tragedy” if the London theater were to shutter.

“Shakespeare’s Globe is a world-renowned institution and not only part of our national identity, but a leading example of the major contribution the arts make to our economy,” said Knight. “For this national treasure to succumb to COVID-19 would be a tragedy.”

He asked authorities to “step up now and find more funding to shore up our cultural landscape and safeguard our rich past while giving hope to those whose livelihoods depend upon it.”

Knight added that other theaters and venues are facing a “struggle for survival and an uncertain future” and that lifting the lockdown will not “automatically” mean things return to normal for the creative industries.

Arts organizations are entitled to government support such as the furlough program, which was last week extended for another four months, and loans.

The Globe's report stated that if it is unable to open its doors before September, it will require £5M ($6M) in urgent funding to avoid collapse.

“Without emergency funding and the continuation of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, we will spend down our reserves and become insolvent,” Shakespeare’s Globe said in presenting evidence to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee.

“We are a model for the non-subsidized arts sector that is well-run, well-managed and financially resilient, but in the face of a crisis such as this one, there is no mechanism to help us. This has been financially devastating and could even be terminal,” Shakespeare’s Globe said.

“As an organization that contributes so much to the UK’s cultural life, that delivers public benefit, and that stewards one of the most important, recognized and well-loved buildings in the country, we would hope that we have earned the right to be supported in return through this crisis.”

Shakespeare’s Globe was founded by Sam Wanamaker in 1997 and has played host to some big-name performances. Sir Ian McKellen, Christopher Plummer, Dame Judi Dench, Jude Law, Ralph Fiennes and David Tenn.

Last week on BBC Radio the Globe’s artistic director, Michelle Terry, said that the theater has been forced to “balance between surviving and serving” the community.

“A little bit like every freelancer, it’s very hand to mouth. We’re completely dependent on income from ticket sales and everything — retail, education workshops,” she said.

“So when that income stops we have the few reserves we’ve got in the bank — it’s sort of like whatever savings you’ve got — that’s how long you’ll last, really.”

Also clinging to financial tenterhooks is the famed 1,067 capacity Old Vic.

Tony Award winner Matthew Warchus

Old Vic theatre is in 'seriously perilous' position, Matthew Warchus told The Guardian. Covid-19 crisis draining theatre’s reserves, warned the Tony Award winning artistic director, who announced new community programs and streamed shows in an attempt to generate funds.

Warchus said that the Old Vic is one of a group of organizations, including Shakespeare’s Globe, the Royal Academy and the Royal Albert Hall, that have “significant cultural presence but, unusually, no government funding”. The theatre is a charity that relies entirely on ticket sales, sponsorship and donations. It has some reserve funds but according to Warchus it is a matter of “a small number of months” before those are used up and there is “no safety net” after that.

How long its reserves will last is “the big question we talk about nearly every day”, Warchus was quoted as saying, and depends partly on how much further the government’s furlough plan is extended. Eighty per cent of the organization’s staff are currently furloughed and the program has kept the theatre from “falling to pieces”, he explained.

Warchus’s staff, who have all taken a 20% pay cut, “are working harder than they have ever worked,” he stressed.

Warchus and other industry professionals have been pooling their brain power, though conceding that, in the new age of social distancing, efforts are challenging.

“We are all puzzling away, thinking hard about how we can respond to this situation and what our creative input can be. There are some bright people on those calls. We are mostly stumped because our hands are tied behind our backs: if you can’t bring performers and creatives together, with an audience, you’re incredibly limited.”

Warchus stressed that experiencing live theatre has a “significant healing power” and can play an important role in improving mental health and enabling empathy. “At a time of crisis, theatre could be doing enormous good and yet this particular crisis means theatres can’t be open.” When the lockdown begins to ease, theatres are widely expected to be among the last venues to open up, but Warchus believes cultural institutions such as his 1,000-seat venue will be essential “to help rebuild and reintegrate society” after we have endured a lengthy period of isolation.

Last week the theatre announced a major program of new work entitled Your Old Vic, which includes education and training resources, activities for children, advice for emerging artists and community schemes, including a pen pal initiative, connecting primary school children with older people.

“One of the most exciting things about being an artistic director is seeing schoolchildren lining up outside about to have their first taste of theatre,” he said. “But I’m also really conscious of how important theatre is for older people.” The scheme, which is part of this year’s Great Get Together celebration in memory of Jo Cox, was inspired by Old Vic carol concerts given by older people and schoolchildren together. Participants will get to know each other and stay in touch via emails and phone calls as well as letters.

The Old Vic operates in an unusual way for a non-commercial theatre in that it has no Arts Council support. Instead it is completely dependent on philanthropic donations, sponsorship and ticket sales, the venue posted.

. "We will continue to think of ways we can still connect with you all, our extended Old Vic family, and come back to you soon with more. It is unthinkable that the creativity and brilliance of our artists and those incredible people who uphold this 202-year-old institution every day will be diminished by this unprecedented situation. We will fight hard to keep it here, for you, for us all."

The Georgian architecture venue by architect Rudolphe Cabanel has also commissioned Booker prize-winning author Bernardine Evaristo to write a new monologue about the NHS and the theatre is developing a wider artistic celebration of the NHS in 2021. It will soon be sharing “a handful” of its archive productions for free online, starting with its popular adaptation of Patrick Ness’s book A Monster Calls, streamed online.

It has postponed upcoming productions including Amy Herzog’s eagerly anticipated play 4000 Miles, which was due to give the film star Timothée Chalamet his London stage debut opposite Eileen Atkins. That production is ready to mount, emphasied Warchus, and will be staged “as soon as we possibly can”, but he acknowledged that it was unlikely to occur this year. The theatre’s next scheduled production is a return of its popular version of A Christmas Carol, adapted by Jack Thorne, which has had three runs at the Old Vic and has also been staged on Broadway. It is currently set to open November. 21, 2020.

Warchus who took over as artistic director from Kevin Spacey, late last year extended his tenure as artistic director for an additional three years to oversee its redevelopment. He is married to American actress Lauren Ward, who originated her Tony nominated role of Miss Honey in the Stratford-upon-Avon, London, and Broadway productions of Matilda the Musical. Parents of three, Ward and Warchus met when he directed her in the 2001 revival of Follies on Broadway.

Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group declared the cancellation and postponement of 27 productions, from The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway and the West End to Sunset Boulevard in Japan, represented an annual box office loss of £320m and a loss of £12.5m in income.

However, not even public funded theatres are immune to the ravenges of COVID-19.

National Theatre of which Meghan Markle as the Duchess of Sussex serves as patron, will remain closed until September; major job cuts will take place unless Government provides support.

The Royal National Theatre, commonly known as the National Theatre, is one of the United Kingdom's most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues.

Officials have declared that it had lost more than 75% of its income as a result of the impact of the Covid-19 crisis. 30 percent of its staff will find themselves unemployed unless the government ponies up some money.

The NT’s joint chief executives, Lisa Burger and Rufus Norris, said: “Over half our annual expenditure is on people, and while in the short term we have used our limited cash reserves and support from the UK government’s coronavirus job retention scheme [CJRS], a significant financial gap remains. We are calling for additional urgent government support for the theatre sector, including the NT, to mitigate the loss of vital talent and infrastructure.”

Philippa Childs, the head of the Bectu union, which represents workers in the media and entertainment industries, said the NT’s warning was premature and that it was trying to “pre-empt” the government’s future plans for the CJRS.

“This is devastating news for all staff at the National Theatre and the wider theatre industry,” she said. “Bectu believes that this decision is premature and the NT should continue to use the CJRS rather than pre-empting further decisions regarding the scheme from the chancellor.”

In a statement Childs called for the government to provide clarity on how the CJRS would operate in the future to “stop employers taking such serious decisions”.

The NT’s warning comes a few weeks after Norris said the institution was “haemorrhaging” money. “I’m a natural optimist and I’m concerned because I don’t feel optimistic,” he told the Guardian in late April. “Unless there is a real and concerted drive to uphold the cultural industries in this country, it will be devastating. There is no point pretending otherwise.”

Daily Telegraph, heavy weight producer Sonia Friedman said that without an “urgent government rescue package” 70% of British performing arts companies would be out of business before the end of 2020.

“All the performing arts – theatre, dance, opera, comedy, theatre in education, Christmas pantomime, community shows – are facing the real possibility of complete obliteration. I know it sounds melodramatic. It beggars belief – but it is a statement of fact,” wrote the producer, whose hits include The Book of Mormon and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

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ART AND ABOUT

GRAMMY MUSEUM ANNOUNCES PEGGY LEE 100TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION ON MAY 26

Peggy Lee circa 1950

includes online panel discussion and birthday toast with Holly Foster Wells, Peggy Lee's granddaughter and president of Peggy Lee Associates, LLC; Dr. Tish Oney, author of Peggy Lee: A Century Of Song; moderator Scott Goldman; and artists who were inspired by Lee including Eric Burton of The Black Pumas, Billie Eilish, and k.d. lang.

The Grammy Museum announces Peggy Lee 100th Birthday Celebration in honor of the centennial anniversary of one of the 20th century's most important musical influences in the world of jazz and popular music. To commemorate the occasion and Lee's life, music and legacy, the Grammy Museum will host a pre-taped panel discussion and birthday toast as well as a virtual exhibit that will display Lee's career milestones and accomplishments from the 1930s through the early 2000s with a variety of never-before-seen rare artifacts.

The Museum has been releasing virtual archival exhibits since its closure in light of COVID-19, but this marks the Museum's first exhibit opening digitally and later slated to open in the physical Museum at L.A. Live in spring 2021.

The panel discussion and virtual exhibit will be available at the Museum's Digital Museum.

THE NATIONAL WWI MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL in Kansas City, MO will reopen to its members on Monday, June 1 and to the general public on Tuesday, June 2.

“We have monitored the COVID-19 situation closely during the past few months and, in accordance with guidance from public health officials at the local, state and federal levels, we are ready to reopen America’s official WWI Museum and Memorial,” said Dr. Matthew Naylor, National WWI Museum and Memorial President and CEO. “We’ve spent considerable time developing a comprehensive reopening plan that allows for people to visit one of the world’s great museums and memorials in a safe and welcoming environment.”

Upon reopening, several elements of the Museum and Memorial will be adjusted to account for guidelines established by public health officials. Among those items:

Guests may visit the Museum during one of two timed sessions each day (10 a.m. - 1 p.m. & 2-5 p.m.) to maintain limited occupancy levels and provide for additional cleaning between sessions.

Guests are strongly encouraged to buy tickets online in advance to guarantee entrance due to limited occupancy levels.

The organization has increased the frequency of cleaning using CDC-rated disposable products, installed hand sanitizing stations throughout the complex and adopted “no-touch” measures such as hands-free door openers and touch-free waste containers. Staff and volunteers will wear face masks at all times in public spaces. In conjunction with city regulations, guests are encouraged, but not required to wear facemasks.

While the Main Gallery, Exhibit Hall, Memory Hall and Wylie Gallery are available, some areas will be unavailable such as the Liberty Memorial Tower and the Edward Jones Research Center. Some amenities such as checking of coats/backpacks and complimentary use of wheelchairs/scooters will be unavailable.

“The experience of walking through the Museum, seeing the exhibitions and spending time looking though the materials and information we offer will remind visitors about the passion, strength and resilience humankind is capable of,” Naylor said. “The world was devastated by the Great War, compounded by the pandemic of 1918, yet re-emerged. We can look to the past to gain an understanding that we have the capacity to get through this and quite possibly emerge stronger than before.”

When the Museum opens, it also marks the debut of two new special exhibitions: 100 Years of Collecting and 100 Years of Collecting – Art. The Museum and Memorial began collecting directly from the First World War in 1920 and has amassed the most comprehensive Great War collection in the world. In a tremendous stroke of foresight, the organization’s founders determined that the collection should be inclusive of every nation that actively participated in the war. 100 Years of Collecting provides a window to examine incredibly diverse objects and documents, as well as the opportunity to see how this monumental collection came to fruition. 100 Years of Collecting – Art examines striking works related to the First World War, including pieces from the U.S., Germany, France and the U.K. Both exhibitions are open through March 7, 2021 and are included with general admission.

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SWEET CHARITY

MoMA PS1 BENEFIT: ONLINE takes place Wednesday, May 27, 8:30 p.m. The vnue will host an internet variety show with live performances and music to honor two very special supporters of MoMA PS1. "Take a break from WFH, and WERK from home during this participatory cyberspace sitcom. The dress code is webcam glam, so come dressed in your wi-finest."

Honoring Dr. Nicole R. Fleetwood author and guest curator of Marking Time: Art in the Age of Mass Incarceration and Taryn Simon multidisciplinary artist and new member of MoMA PS1's Board of Directors.

Featuring Elliott Jerome Brown Jr., Becky Akinyode, DeVonn Francis, Meriem Bennani, Tourmaline, Skype Williams and DJ Young Wavy Fox.

Live Performances by Nick Hakim and Moses Sumney.

Hosts: Theresa Chromati, Angela Dimayuga, Milton Dixon, Dozie Kanu, Kelsey Lu, Kyle Luu, Lynette Nylander, Precious Okoyomon, Antwaun Sargent and Corey Stokes.

This event is free, but donations are encouraged. Donattions benefit the Innocence Project, the Prison Watch Program of the American Friends Service Committee, and MoMA PS1.

THE FILM AND TV CHARITY UK organization, in addressing mental health issues acerbated by virus isolation has "created a safe space where you can express your thoughts and concerns openly and anonymously. We've made this online mental health community, delivered by Big White Wall, free and accessible for anyone who works behind the scenes in our industry.

"Whatever's on your mind, you can seek the advice of both your peers, in and out of the industry, as well as professionally–trained Wall Guides who monitor and support the community.

You can also access a range of fantastic guided self-help courses that cover a range of subjects to help managing your mental wellbeing. Helping you stay connected and healthy.

Remember, if you need to talk, our friendly team are always here to talk about anything big or small, 24/7."

SPREADING THE WORD

SHAKESPEARE HOUR LIVE is the the Shakespeare Theatre Company of Washington, DC's ongoing online tour through every corner of the Shakespeare universe. Each week, Artistic Director Simon Godwin and Resident Dramaturg Drew Lichtenberg examine the world of Shakespeare and and our own by discussing two plays from the Shakespearean canon which speak to each other thematically, dramaturgically, and historically.

On May 27, Michael Urie will discuss identity and ambiguity in Twelfth Night and As You Like It.

JERRY HERMAN: YOU I LIKE presented by 92Y Lyrics & Lyricists announces a free, limited online release May 24 – 30 - the online premiere marking Mame’s Broadway 0pening on May 24, 1966, where it ran for over 1,500 performances.

The release features Quentin Earl Darrington, Cady Huffman, Bryonha Marie Parham, Andrea Ross and Ryan Vona.

Conceived and Music Directed by Andy Einhorn -Cady Huffman, Director. Andy Einhorn, piano and conductor. Chad Smith, woodwinds. Jeremy Miloszewicz, trumpet. Scott Kuney, guitar. Mark Vanderpoel, bass. Perry Cavari, drums.

John Kelly, Lighting Design. Dan Scully, Projection Design. Lori Wekselblatt, Production Stage Manager. Telsey + Company, Casting.

From Hello, Dolly! and Mame to La Cage aux Folles, no one has written “showtunes” with as much exuberance as Jerry Herman whose musicals offer an optimistic approach to the human condition, finding common ground with his audience by showing us that the differences between us are, in fact, what unite us. Herman himself was part of L&L’s fourth season, appearing on the 92Y stage in November 1974.

Conceived and music directed by Andy Einhorn, Jerry Herman: You I Like was originally performed on 92Y’s stage in February 2020, not long after Herman’s passing. Einhorn explored themes that are commonly found in his work: love, family, home, and optimism, through such songs as “Time Heals Everything,” “I Am What I Am,” “It’s Today” and “I’ll Be Here Tomorrow.”

“These themes are who Jerry Herman was as both an artist and as a man,” comments Einhorn, who continues, “Jerry Herman was joy personified. He wrote shows that sparked joy, brought out positivity in the face of adversity, granted his characters second chances, and reinforced the love of family and life. He left a piece of himself in everything he wrote, and may these treasures bring some joy and comfort to everyone during these uncertain and challenging times.”

IRISH REP INTRODUCES THEIR FIRST ONLINE SEASON which will kick off on Wednesday, May 27 with The Gifts You Gave to the Dark, a World Premiere production written by Darren Murphy specifically for digital media in reaction to the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis.

We will then host a special online celebration on June 8: The Irish (Rep)…and How We Got That Way featuring a screening of the 1998 Irish Rep World Premiere production of Frank McCourt’s The Irish…and How They Got That Way.

Finally, following the success of Molly Sweeney, the season will feature three of our most beloved recent productions reimagined for the screen and filmed remotely as part of A Performance on Screen: Yes! Reflections of Molly Bloom starring Aedín Moloney, The Weir by Conor McPherson, and Love, Noël: The Songs and Letters of Noël Coward starring Steve Ross and KT Sullivan.

All performances are free, with a donation suggested if you can afford it.

EATING ON THE STREETS two of the main drags in downtown Las Vegas - California Avenue and 6th Street - are being turned into Dine Out Downtown - an al fresco dining spot.

Much the way New York's Times Square has been closed to traffic and turned into a foot tourist location, the Vegas streets will be closed to traffic from 11 am - 9 pm so that - daily - pop up tent pavilions covering eating tables and chairs can be erected. Patrons can purchase food at nearby eateries. carry their disposable plates to one of the tables and enjoy.

City staff clean and disinfect tables after each use.

THE MUSIC MAN IN CONVERSATION Deaf and hearing artists will collaborate on an unprecedented production of Meredith Willson’s The Music Man next season at the Olney Theater in Olney, MD. that puts the importance of theatre’s role in making community centerstage.

Though opening night is over a year away, much work has already been done. Learn about it in this pre-production conversation. May 30, 2020 Live-streaming on their website, YouTube channel, and Facebook page.

WOLF TRAP IN VIENNA, VIRGINIA for the first time in their nearly 50-year history, has cancelled their summer concert season. Performances at the Filene Center and Children's Theatre-in-the-Woods, scheduled to take place through September, are cancelled due to the on-going Covid-19 pandemic..

LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE

George Bernard Shaw, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 1880s to his death and beyond. A few of his famous sayings:

Youth is wasted on the young.

We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.

Do not try to live for ever. You will not succeed.

If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance.

Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same.

He knows nothing; and he thinks he knows everything. That points clearly to a political career.

Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.

A fashion is nothing but an induced epidemic.

England and America are two countries separated by a common language.

Hell is full of musical amateurs.

A love affair should always be a honeymoon. And the only way to make sure of that is to keep changing the man; for the same man can never keep it up.

If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they’ll kill you.

And, some funnies from comedian Wayne Alan who also owns the Historic North Theatre and complex in Danville, VA.

During these trying times a man developed a few bad, some would say strange eating habits. He told the doctor. "All day long I lie in bed and eat yeast and car wax. Doc, what will happen to me?" "Eventually," said the doctor, "you will rise and shine."

Now that some of the pressure is being taken off of hospitals, they are returning to performing elective surgeries. A sign on a cosmetic surgery clinics says: "If life gives you lemons, a simple operation can give you melons."

The best doctor in the world is the veterinarian. He can't ask his patients what is the matter - he's got to just know. - Will Rogers

A proctologist had been in practice for 20 years and had settled into a very comfortable life with his future very secure. So, he decided to fulfill his REAL dream and become an auto mechanic. Having entered mechanic school, the former physician received the results of his first test back with a score of 200%. Confused, he asked the teacher why his score was so high. "Well", said the teacher, "The first part was taking the engine apart and you did that perfectly, so you got 50%. The second was to put it back together again and you did it perfectly and got another 50%. The other 100% was for doing it through the tailpipe."

Statistically.... 9 out of 10 injections are in vein.

PMS jokes aren't funny; period.

I once heard a joke about amnesia, but I forgot how it goes.

OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY

THE QUOTIDIAN THEATRE COMPANY the resident theater at The Writer's Center in Bethesda, MD has announced it will be closing is closing after 23 years.

Part of their announcement states:

"As you know, our production of Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts, which was to have taken place this spring, had to be cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. We will not attempt to re-mount it. We have offered our season subscribers several options for the tickets which they had purchased in advance for Ghosts.

"We do intend, however, to present the final show of the 2019-20 season, Horton Foote’s The Day Emily Married, most likely in the spring of 2021. This will be the last Quotidian production. During those twenty-three years, we have achieved much – though certainly not all – of what we set out to do, and have had a great deal of satisfaction in doing it. A decision like this doesn’t come all at once, nor even in a single season. The crisis at hand might be reason enough, but we have also had to assimilate the financial setbacks resulting from our truncated 2019 season, when we moved to the Randolph Road Theater for a single production, then back to the renovated Writer’s Center.

"We are also gratified that Quotidian has been, for so many, the kind of theater where you could linger in the lobby after a show, catch the actors or the director on their way out (whether they knew them personally or not) and feel free to talk about what you had just seen. Be assured, the benefits of these exchanges were mutual.

"We will miss that. We will miss all of it. Above all, we will miss you."

ALLEY THEATRE in Houston, Texas announced it has reduced its season and staff amid a $7M slashed budget.

The virus shutdown has forced the company to reduce its budget for 2020-21 from $20 million to $13 million - an unprecedented amount for the area.

49 of its 121 staff members will be laid off, and remaining employees will take salary cuts. Laid off staff will be paid through June 30 and will receive severance based on years worked at the company.

Five plays will be produced in the 774-seat Hubbard Theatre, plus A Christmas Carol, instead of the usual eight. No shows will take place in the 296-seat Neuhaus Theatre.

NEVADA UNEMPLOYMENT RATE AT 28.2% IS THE HIGHEST IN THE NATION That situation also rivals the Great Depression. A significant part of the issue is that Las Vegas is dependent upon tourism which hires service industry workers. More than 122,200 individuals employed in the state’s leisure and hospitality industry lost their jobs in April, or about 36.1 percent of the sector labor force.

A large segment of service industry employees are poorly educated. paid minimum wage or slightly above, have no employable backup skills, speak English as a second language and, in many cases, with an accent so thick that it is difficult to communicate. Many have an entitlement attitude.

Many working in a position where tips are received are quick learners when it comes to sizing up customers as to how much one might expect as a tip and are experts in flirting and schmoozing with customers to increase that gratuity.

When Las Vegas resorts begin to slowly reopen on or about June 4 anywhere from 1 to 10% of their employees will be called back to work.

The rest will remain laid off.

For businesses which have already reopened, some employers have discovered that their employees don't want to return to their old jobs because they receive more collecting unemployment than they do working - an average of $25 per hour versus minimum wage or slightly above.

Not until a proven effective vaccine is readily available will foreign tourists return to Sin City. Likewise, week-end visitors from California don't want to worry about getting ill. Besides, California has numerous casinos - Pala Casino, Spa & Resort, Harrah’s Resort Southern California; Valley View Casino & Hotel; Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa; Spotlight 29 Casino; Tortoise Rock Casino; and the Agua Caliente Casinos in Rancho Mirage and Palm Springs to name just a few.

And, who has money? Remember all those who said they couldn't afford to pay rent or make their house payments? People lining up for hours to collect free food from food banks. If those good people suddenly produce gambling money, that's a red flag. For those who currently have discretionary income - will they want to spent it on gambling in a city which, at the moment, isn't electrifying?

For Las Vegas, recovery will take effort and time.

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THE OREGON SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL has announced that David Schmitz will become its fourth executive director in fall 2020. Schmitz succeeds Cynthia Rider, who held the position from 2013 through 2018, and Paul Christy, who became acting executive director in January 2019 and has been leading the Festival’s transition throughout the executive search period. Schmitz has worked at Steppenwolf Theatre for the past 15 years, serving in the role of Director of Finance and Administration, General Manager, Managing Director, and currently as Executive Director.

As the executive director of OSF, Schmitz will provide shared leadership with Artistic Director Nataki Garrett, enhance the role of philanthropy in the organization’s success, support ongoing artistic and education programming and impact, while overseeing all administrative functions, including development, marketing, facilities, and operations.

Schmitz’s experience as an actor, designer, and director gives him a unique perspective into the artistic world and informs his approach to administration. During his tenure, Steppenwolf produced over 115 plays, which included the transfer of more than 20 productions to Broadway, regionally, and internationally, and was recognized as a Top Small Workplace by the Wall Street Journal.Schmitz is a founding member of Enrich Chicago (an organization working to end racism in the arts in Chicago) and was an initial participant in the Theatre Communications Group’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Institute.

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This is not your typical, totally boring textbook.

In the pages of How To Earn A Living As A Freelance Writer (the first to be lied to and the last to be paid) you'll find sex, celebrities, violence, threats, unethical editors, scummy managers and lawyers, treacherous press agents, sex discrimination; as well as a how-to for earning money by writing down words.

FINAL OVATION

MICHAEL KEENAN actor, director, producer, and professor at the University of Southern California School of Dramatic Arts, passed away on April 30th at the Motion Picture & Television Fund in Woodland Hills, California. He was 80.

Keenan played roles in the three Star Trek spinoffs Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager.

Keenan, a faculty member at the University of Southern California School of Dramatic Arts for over 25 years.

A noted actor and director, Keenan directed at institutions around the country, including the Old Globe Theatre, The Pasadena Playhouse, the Asolo State Theatre, Occidental College, and the Tiffany Theater. His acting credits included more than 100 productions at such theatres as South Coast Repertory, Seattle Repertory Theatre, the San Diego Shakespeare Festival, the Ahmanson Theatre, the Mark Taper Forum, and Taper, Too. On Broadway, he appeared in Sir Peter Hall’s Tony Award-nominated revival of Amadeus with David Suchet. His numerous television roles included the recurring role of Mayor Bill Pugen on Picket Fences

Survivors include his sisters-in-law Diana, Sally and Jan and their children Kathleen, Paul, Kevin Keenan, Colleen, Margaret, Jeffry, Eileen and Elizabeth.

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