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Broadway in Trying Times: Join Us for Conversation and Song Theater in Trying Times: Join Us for Conversation and Song
(about 2 months later)
A virus. A lockdown. A city in crisis. A nation inflamed. [RSVP for the “Suffragist” episode of Offstage, on Aug. 13 at 7 p.m. Eastern.]
And against that backdrop, Broadway — one of New York City’s most recognizable industries and powerful economic engines — shuttered indefinitely. A century ago, women won the right to vote in the United States. But that victory came only after a long-fought battle, and that battle is the subject of a new musical, “Suffragist,” now being developed by the songwriter Shaina Taub.
How to reflect this unsettling moment, and provide insight and entertainment to readers who have largely been confined to their homes, was the challenge in creating the debut installment of “Offstage,” a New York Times streaming series about the theater world on pause. On Aug. 13, Taub, accompanied by members of the show’s creative team and cast, will talk with New York Times journalists about the show’s pandemic-interrupted journey, and will share songs from the work in progress.
First, at 7 p.m. Eastern on June 11, the critic-at-large Wesley Morris will hold a conversation with four African-American artists who had shows in the 2019-20 season: the director Kenny Leon (“A Soldier’s Play”); the actress Celia Rose Gooding (“Jagged Little Pill”) and co-stars Adrienne Warren and Daniel J. Watts (“Tina: The Tina Turner Musical”). The topic: What it’s like to be black on Broadway, and how the nation’s biggest stages should change. The musical, set mostly in Washington, D.C., from 1913 to 1920, explores disagreements over political strategy between two of the movement’s leaders, Carrie Chapman Catt and Alice Paul. Taub, who is simultaneously collaborating with Elton John on the music for a stage adaptation of “The Devil Wears Prada,” is playing Paul; the cast in development includes the Tony winner Nikki M. James (as Ida B. Wells) and the Tony nominees Jenn Colella (as Catt) and Phillipa Soo (as Inez Milholland).
On those stages this season: a gender-bent revival of Stephen Sondheim’s “Company”; shows set to the songbooks of Bob Dylan and Alanis Morissette; “Moulin Rouge! The Musical”; and the girl-power extravaganza “Six,” which was 90 minutes from opening before Broadway closed down. The show, supported by the commercial producers Jill Furman (“Hamilton”) and Rachel Sussman, was expecting to have a first production at the nonprofit Public Theater in New York this fall; that production was postponed by the pandemic. The creative team is hoping that the show will be staged at the Public at some point when theaters reopen.
Dramatically, there was “Slave Play,” perhaps the season’s most provocative production; and “The Sound Inside,” an intense character study that gave Mary-Louise Parker one of her finest roles. The streaming “Suffragist” event is the second episode of Offstage, a New York Times series about theater-making during the pandemic. This episode will feature performances of two songs from the show, and discussions about both women’s suffrage and musical theater.
[Jenna Wortham and Wesley Morris, hosts of the “Still Processing” podcast, will reunite to unpack the reckonings of the past few weeks. R.S.V.P. to join their live conversation, this Friday, June 12 at 4 P.M. E.T.] Members of the creative team — Taub, who is writing the book, music and lyrics; Leigh Silverman, who is directing and Mimi Lien, the set designer — will talk about the developmental process with Veronica Chambers, a narrative projects editor at The Times who is an author of “Finish the Fight!,” a history of the American suffrage movement for middle-grade readers. And members of the show’s cast — Taub, James, Colella and Kuhoo Verma (who plays Doris Stevens) — will discuss the particular challenges facing actors during this moment with Michael Paulson, the theater reporter at The Times.
Following the conversation are the special performances: join the Times critics Ben Brantley and Jesse Green; the theater reporter Michael Paulson; and the editors Aisha Harris and Nicole Herrington as they present highlights from those shows and more. You can RSVP for the free event here.
There will be song, dance and discussion — a chance to meet Sonya Tayeh, who choreographed “Moulin Rouge!,” and Jeremy O. Harris, who authored “Slave Play.” You’ll hear from Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, and learn how artists stay creative in lockdown. The first episode of Offstage, which streamed on June 11, began with a conversation about racial justice, moderated by Times critic-at-large Wesley Morris, with four Black artists who worked on Broadway last season: the director Kenny Leon (“A Soldier’s Play”); the actress Celia Rose Gooding (“Jagged Little Pill”); and co-stars Adrienne Warren and Daniel J. Watts (“Tina: The Tina Turner Musical”).
R.S.V.P. for this event. The second part of the episode, introduced by Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick and moderated by a team of Times culture journalists, featured performances by Mary-Louise Parker (“The Sound Inside"), Elizabeth Stanley (“Jagged Little Pill”), Mare Winningham (“Girl From the North Country”) and the casts of “Company” and “Six,” as well as interviews with Sonya Tayeh, who choreographed “Moulin Rouge!,” and Jeremy O. Harris, the author of “Slave Play.”
You can watch it here:
[Join the conversation on Twitter using #NYToffstage. |Sign up for The New York Times Events newsletter and Theater Update newsletter. | Subscribe to Times Events on YouTube.][Join the conversation on Twitter using #NYToffstage. |Sign up for The New York Times Events newsletter and Theater Update newsletter. | Subscribe to Times Events on YouTube.]