Rick Pender has signed a contract with the publisher Rowman & Littlefield to assemble The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia, a comprehensive reference volume about America’s foremost composer-lyricist. It will include biographical information, summaries of Sondheim’s many shows, details of original productions, profiles of collaborators, performers, and directors, and...
Utah Theatre Bloggers Association (UTBA) held its first fundraiser as a non-profit organization on November 28 (Giving Tuesday). UTBA is the “home” of two ATCA members, Russell Warne and Maren Scriven, and posts over 150 reviews per year. We invite ATCA members to support theatre criticism...
Ernie Schier (1918-99), ATCA co-founder, director of the National Critics Institute, “Schier of the Inquirer,” dramaturg and mentor, was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame on Nov. 13, along with an induction class of actors Audra McDonald, Marin Mazzie and Matthew Broderick, playwrights Tina Howe and Arthur Kopit and producersOskar Eustis andDaryl Roth. Ernie’s induction...
Joel lost his battle with ALS on November 7 in the presence of his family. Joel was an enthusiastic proponent of theatre at each level — amateur and professional, big or small. He founded the website DC Metro Theater Arts which gave an outlet to dozens of...
Member Angelica Jensen has let us know the sad news that her husband of thirty years died last month. The following is excerpted from his obituary: “Robert ‘Bob’ Brown was born in New York City on January 16, 1930. He passed away peacefully on September 9, 2017,...
Wei-Huan Chen of the Houston Chronicle was recently recognized for his work covering “Nixon in China.” According to the jury committee, “The HGO production employed the use of yellowface and stereotypical representations of Chinese people. Wei’s writing on the controversial aspects was a departure from traditional opera coverage in...
The Society of Professional Journalists Florida Pro announced winners of the 23rd annual Sunshine State Awards to recognize quality journalism in the best tradition of our profession for the calendar year of 2016. ATCA member and Foundation President Jay Handelman earned first place in Beat Reporting – Arts for...
On the cusp of 96, member Irene Backalenick (nytheaterscene.com) writes: “I no longer get to theater as often as I once did, though I still occasionally review. I have, however, turned to a new genre - poetry - and have recently had my first two books of...
Charles is the founder of Berkshire Fine Arts which covers all aspects of the arts in the Berkshires. Last week he published Gloucester Poems: Nugents of Rockport. Charles writes, “The project started in the 1980s during an annual commute from Palm Beach to Mom’s home in Gloucester. What...
Rick received a first place award in the Greater Cincinnati Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists presentation of their 2017 Excellence in Journalism awards. The category was “Written Communication – Best Arts/Entertainment Critique.” It was in recognition of a collection of his “Curtain Call” columns for...