Willem Dafoe Adds Festival Programmer to His Résumé
The busy actor has stocked an International Theatre Festival at the Venice Biennale with heavy hitters—including the one that formed him, the Wooster Group.
Stories by Rob Weinert-Kendt
Rob Weinert-Kendt is editor-in-chief of American Theatre. He was the founding editor-in-chief of Back Stage West and writes about theatre for the New York Times, Time Out NY, and the Los Angeles Times. He studied film at USC and is a composer member of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop.
How the 2 Sides of Lisa D’Amour Are Fused in ‘Frozen Section’
Her new play at the Catastrophic Theatre draws on both the experimental sensibility of PearlDamour and on the unsettled naturalism of ‘Detroit.’
Editor’s Note: Our Still-Unfolding Story
Our 2025 Winter issue launches during uncertain times—but they are precedented.
a.k. payne’s ‘Furlough’s Paradise’ Wins Susan Smith Blackburn Prize
Their two-hander about cousins sharing grief and comparing plans for utopia is part of the writer’s growing body of work.
Jack O’Brien and André Bishop’s Final Duet at Lincoln Center Theater
With an intimate new staging of Ibsen’s thorny ‘Ghosts,’ the versatile director and seasoned producer, who’s nearing the end of his LCT tenure, are not going quietly.
New NEA Guidelines Require Compliance With Trump’s Anti-DEI, Anti-Trans Orders
Other updates include a cancellation of Challenge America grants and a new emphasis on patriotic ‘America250’ projects.
Jordan Harrison’s Emotional Sci-Fi
His new play ‘The Antiquities’ offers a kind of history of our post-human future, while a new collection of his plays suggests some common themes.
Maya Choldin Named Managing Director of New York Theatre Workshop
An arts administrator whose résumé spans Philly’s experimental ensemble Pig Iron and Canada’s mainstream Theatre Calgary, she’ll succeed Jeremy Blocker at the Off-Broadway powerhouse.
The Year’s 10 Most Popular Posts, and 10 That Deserve Another Look
It was a year of uncertainty and innovation, relevance and escapism, hate-reads and affirmations.
A Block From Shuttered Connelly, Wild Project Faces Possible Sale
It’s tough out there for Downtown NYC theatres, but one East Village venue is raising money to take control of their destiny.
