TDF Stages Archive
An online theatre magazine
Read about NYC’s best theatre and dance productions and watch video interviews with innovative artists
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The Unexpected King of Cartoon Music
Chances are you’re familiar with Raymond Scott’s music… you just don’t know it. The 20th-century American electronic music pioneer composed many of what became animation’s most infamous tunes, even though he didn’t write them with Bugs Bunny in mind. Director Jon Levin was humming one of Scott’s melodies, “Powerhouse,” when a friend described how, despite […]
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Turning an Elevator into an Entire World
Two days into rehearsals for Lift at 59E59, director John Marshall III got stuck in an elevator. Most people entombed in a metal box might feel alarmed, claustrophobic, or at the very least, concerned. Instead, Marshall was thrilled. “I think the people running the building probably thought I was crazy,” he says. “I’m like, ‘Don’t […]
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The Rhythm of Grief
By RAVEN SNOOK Though not a tuner, brownsville song (b-side for tray) has a musical sensibility. Hip-hop frequently blares from the speakers, and the characters deliver impassioned speeches that often sound more like lyrics than lines. In fact, the searing soliloquy that opens Kimber Lee’s new drama at LCT3’s Claire Tow Theater features a chilling […]
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WATCH: Meet Mint Theater Company
Get to know Mint Theater Company, which breathes new life into lost or neglected plays.
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This Caftan Tells a Hundred Stories
Cynthia Nixon’s caftan is a fabulous fashion statement, yes, but it’s also an emblem of how costumes enhance the storytelling in Roundabout’s current Broadway revival of The Real Thing. The caftan—a glorious black-and-white number with a paint-splatter pattern and matching shirt underneath—operates on several layers at once. For one thing, it tells us something important […]
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He’s Singing About His Home
tweets about theatre at @PataphysicalSci . Follow TDF at @TDFNYC .
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The Twyla Tharp Ballet We Nearly Lost
Susan Reiter covers dance for TDF Stages.
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His Rage Is My Rage Too
By ROB WEINERT-KENDT — Welcome to Building Character, our ongoing look at performers and how they create their roles It’s clearly been a very bad day. Amir (Hari Dhillon) doesn’t so much enter his dusk-lit apartment as storm it, quickly loosening his tight corporate-lawyer tie and pouring himself a stiff drink. His wife Emily (Gretchen […]
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What Exactly Is Queens-Style Dance?
In dance reputation terms, Manhattan has made its mark with stalwart institutions like American Ballet Theatre and Lincoln Center, as well as 1960s-bred, avant-garde downtown companies. Brooklyn’s dancescape is known for Mark Morris, BAM, and even more experimental flavors. But do audiences ever think of—or even recognize—what could be called “Queens-style” dance? Karesia Batan thought […]