A couple of weeks ago, theater leaders from across the country authored a statement asking colleagues to reexamine their casting policies in light of recent incidents in which white actors were cast to portray people of color. Since that time, nearly 800 theater artists have signed and there is a working group actively discussing next steps so that we can end this pervasive practice. Because, as managing director of Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Chad Bauman signed the petition, he withdrew from publishing this commentary in American Theatre Magazine. It is reposted from his blog with Bauman's permission.

In 1921, Czech playwright Karel Capek wrote a seminal science fiction work set in contemporary time entitled Rossum’s Universal Robots. It introduced chilling possibilities of an out-of-control future. In it was coined the very word robot (robota in Czech). Mac Rogers’s revision updates that work by a generation to include the rise of Hitler and World War II.

Since April, 2017 the superstar pianist, Lang Lang, has been recovering from an injury to his left arm. In a scheduling coup he returned to performing last night during Opening Night of the BSO's 2018 season at Tanglewood., He was adored by the audience which was rewarded by sublime encore of Copin. Andris Nelsons conducted an evening of Mozart and Tchaikovsky.

For Forty years, Shakespeare & Company have proved to the locals what theater is about. Benefactors, galore, turned out in droves to help the theater company that gives back to the community. An achievement focus about Michael A. Miller was the highlight of the evening that benefited from music from some of the members of the Silkroad Ensemble. A sit-down dinner followed by a local DJ followed.

We have posted an opinion piece "End of The Royal Family of Broadway: NY Times Review Spikes Barrington Stage Production." That evoked an e mail from playwrite Mark St. Germain which is posted with his permission. In his view the attack on a developing musical is not an isolated incident. Under its current policies the Times is now inflicting more harm than doing good for regional theatre.

The traditional James Taylor July 4th Concert was like a high school reunion. Fans returned to see JT and his All-Star Band at Tanglewood. Yet again he was knee high on the Fourth of July and as corny as Kansas in August.

For 95 minutes, Ellen Fairey explores current social issues and angst from gender identity to aging and loneliness, cultural appropriation, men in crisis and the #metoo movement. This takes place in mid-2017 in a second-floor Wrigleyville apartment above an alley where all sorts of shit happens.

Knot an Opera is an amusing and provocative presentation by Freshly Squeezed Opera. The company is committed to genre pushing new works of the highest caliber that explore the depths of the opera form.

The Williamstown Theatre Festival started its 2018 season with two new plays on June 26/27, both billed as World Premieres. 'The Closet,' a comedy or farce, is presented on the main stage and 'The Sound Inside,' a two person drama, fills Nikos Stage. Mary-Louise Parker plays the protagonist, Bella Baird, and Will Hochman is Christopher Dunn, her 'curious' student.

Elevator Repair Service is presenting Kate Scelsa's Everyone's Fine with Virginia Woolf. This production at the Abrons Art Center is a re-construction of Martha in Edward Albee's play. Director and company founder John Collins takes us seamlessly back into the world of Albee, Tennessee Williams and Samuel Beckett to deliver an hilarious and scathing 21st century production.

Recalling seeing Pilobolus over the years one readily recognized its DNA but with the realization of how it has evolved and remained fresh. Just when you think that you know what Pilobolus is about, with a tool kit and vetted skill set, they do something different. You are challenged to revise and update assumptions as an audience or critic.

In a tersely worded press release, offering no explanation, the Berkshire Museum announces parting ways with its controversial director, Van Shields. He was hired in 2011 and presided over the decline and potential extincton of the museum. His strategy to sell key works from the permanent collection and launch his New Vision was met with protest and global media attention. Some will praise him for "saving" the museum and endowing its future. For others he leaves behind a pariah shunned by other museums. His departure and potenial board restructuring are essential as the museum mends fences and fine tunes drastic plans for renovations and gimmicky reinstallatons.

Museo de las Americas, begun in 1992 as one room in a cabinet shop, now occupies a 12,000 sq. ft. building in the heart of Denver's Santa Fe Art District.

A special concert with an unparalleled talent at her peak. Audra McDonald captivated the audience at Tanglewood with her voice, charm, wit and humor. A mother, storyteller and musical ambassador, McDonald prevailed at the nearly full house in Lenox, Massachusetts.

When the performance is as admirably enjoyable as this one is, even a “Music Man” without a commanding Music Man is worth making a real effort to see.

When the ICA opened its new home on the edge of Boston Harbor its fatal flaw was immediately obvious. While praised for dramatic design with development of surrounding towers it was soon hemmed in with no space for expansion. In a bold move it has now reached across the harbor to fast changing East Boston. A former factory has been reconfigured as Watershed. It combines generous exhibiton space with opportunities for meetings, education, and community programming. A long time community activist Frank Conte covers the launch which opens with free admission on July 4.

I'm Gonna Pray For You So Hard mixes absurdism, tragedy and pathos. Halley Feiffer's two-hander receives a mostly strong production at suburban Miami's GableStage. A strong pair of actors triumph in riveting production.

The Sea of Common Catastrophe by Jeff Becker is playing at Irondale, a dramatic and inviting space on South Oxford Street in Brooklyn. Becker was inspired by Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ short story and invites the audience to suspend disbelief and immerse themselves in the beautiful images and dance of the performers. The words of Marquez and poet Jessica Henricksen are spoken in snippets as lights dance and the waters of the ocean swirl around. This is immersion theater at its best.

Gift’s Hamlet is staged with a predominantly African American cast and yet the play isn’t about racism…. or is it? It’s not explicitly, yet it reminds us that it’s only in recent years that African Americans have routinely been cast in classic roles. (And diversity in casting is still a serious and divisive issue in the theater community.)

The Fuller Craft Museum is one the few specifically craft museums in the United States. Ranging from the traditional to the high tech, its appealing and thoughtful current exhibit showcases a wonderful assemblage of diverse Japanese utensils and accessories used in domestic as well as professional kitchens.

AstonRep Theatre Company marks the anniversary with a stirring production of The Laramie Project by Moises Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project. It’s a documentary-style play that gives voice to members of the Laramie community—a roster of more than 60 citizens played by 12 actors.

Jonathan Spector’s world premiere Good, Better, Best, Bested depicts one night in the lives of a cluster of people in Las Vegas. With a serio-comic look at situations profound and mundane, the play is provocative, engaging, and well produced.

The very talented playwright Ayad Akhtar has combined multiple viewpoints with a political thriller to create the compelling The Invisible Hand now getting an excellent production at TheaterWorks in Hartford through Sunday, June 24.

As with any Albee play, one can spend hours dissecting the lines and the characters. Glenda Jackson and Laurie Metcalf won Tony's for their preformances.

It is now in the Midlands of Ireland. A bitter middle aged woman drifts in and out of the multi-layered consciousnesses. She is dying. Ireland's emerging premier female playwright Marina Carr invites us into attend her last moments.