The Theatre History Podcast

Episode 112: Serving up "Titus Andronicus" with Jesse Berger and Red Bull Theater

09 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

If you know the name of any theatre from Shakespeare's time, it's probably the Globe. But it's another theatre from that era – the Red Bull - that'...

Episode 111: Warning: Armed Women! (w/ Dr. Sarah Burdett)

02 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

At the height of the French Revolution, a new fear gripped many people in England: Armed women. Scenes like the storming of the Bastille and riots ov...

Episode 110: Scrolling TikTok on Broadway w/ Dr. Trevor Boffone

16 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

TikTok might not seem like a natural fit with Broadway – or, for that matter, with the subject of theatre history. As our guest today writes, "an en...

Episode 109: Going "Beyond Ridiculous" with Dr. Ken Elliott

23 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The 1980s might not seem like a decade conducive to the emergence of a groundbreaking gay theatre. However, amidst the AIDS pandemic and a homophobic...

Episode 108: "Stirring Up Sheffield" with Tedd George

12 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the 1960s, the English city of Sheffield began work on a new theatre. The new venue, called the Crucible, became an important landmark in the deve...

Episode 107: Tracing the Rise of the Professional Scenic Designer w/ Dr. David Bisaha

29 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How did scenic designer become a job that people could pursue in the theatre? Dr. David Bisaha joins us to talk about his book, American Scenic Desig...

Episode 106: Staging Latinx Shakespeares with Dr. Carla Della Gatta

15 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Carla Della Gatta joins us to talk about Latinx Shakespeare productions and her book Latinx Shakespeares: Staging U.S. Intercultural Theater.

Episode 105: The Archive of Performances of Greek and Roman Drama with Professor Fiona Macintosh

21 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Ancient Greek and Roman drama has influenced theatre for millennia, and playwrights and other artists from around the world continue to draw inspirati...

Episode 104: Elise Harris Helps Us Look Into "Sidney Brustein's Window"

24 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Lorraine Hansberry's play "The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window" is often forgotten, or dismissed as an inferior play that fell victim to the playwrig...

Episode 103: Special Guest Episode! Peter Schmitz and Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia present "Jasper Deeter and the Hedgerow Theatre"

17 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It's a special guest episode, featuring Peter Schmitz and his podcast "Adventures in Theatre History: Philadelphia." Peter tells the story of Jasper D...

Episode 102: Celebrity Pregnancy on the 18th-century London Stage with Dr. Chelsea Phillips

01 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The eighteenth century was obsessed with celebrities, and, like our own time, the fans of the 1700s were fascinated by famous actress' pregnancies. Dr...

Episode 101: Visiting the Museum of Broadway with Ben West

24 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Broadway has a long and complex history, and in November of 2022 a new museum is opening that will allow visitors to explore that history. Curator Ben...

Episode 100: Examining Robert E. Sherwood's "There Shall Be No Night" with Dr. Thomas F. Connolly

19 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

For anyone who's been following the news in 2022, a play about an Eastern European country's heroic resistance in the face of Russian invasion might s...

Episode 99: Exploding the Canon with Classix

03 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Classix project is working to, as they put it, "explode the classical canon through an exploration of Black performance history and dramatic works...

Episode 98: Marking 100 Years of "Abie's Irish Rose" with Eric Grode

13 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It was the biggest hit on Broadway one hundred years ago – and yet it's largely forgotten today. Eric Grode joins us to talk about his recent New Yo...

Episode 97 - Discovering Kunqu with Dr. Dongshin Chang

06 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kunqu is one of the cultural treasures of Chinese theatre. Today we're fortunate to be joined by Dr. Dongshin Chang, an expert on the art form. Dongsh...

Episode 96: The End of Her Own Rainbow: Dr. Kim F. Hall Introduces Us to the Life and Work of Ntozake Shange

01 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The recent Tony-nominated Broadway revival of Ntozake Shange's for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf reflects a growi...

Episode 95 - Going Beyond Shakespeare with Rob Crighton

23 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Shakespeare looms large over both the American and British theatre scenes. But his outsize influence means that we've long neglected a dizzying array ...

Episode 94: A Theatre for the Oppressed? Dr. Amy Richlin on Slavery and Plautus

10 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The ancient Roman comedies of Plautus have inspired playwrights from Shakespeare to Sondheim. But they've also been seen as grim reminders of the ofte...

Episode 93: Brava! American Women Make Theater, with Dr. Melissa Barton

25 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The roles played by women in theatre in the United States have been varied, from playwrights and performers to critics and members of the audience. No...

Episode 92: Lady Romeo: Learning About 19th-Century Actress Charlotte Cushman with Tana Wojczuk

11 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Charlotte Cushman was a fascinating figure in 19th-century American theatre: in addition to being the first female celebrity actress on the American s...

Episode 91: Passing into History: Dr. Megan Sanborn Jones on Pageants and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

04 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Performance has always been a key part of the spiritual life of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. One of the most notable Mormon theatr...

Episode 90: Reappraising the Legacy of Ernie McClintock with Dr. Ibby Cizmar

28 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Developing approaches to theatre that fit the needs and experiences of performers of color, particularly Black artists, has long been a pressing conce...

Episode 89 - The History of Method Acting with Isaac Butler

14 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How did "Method" acting come to be? Isaac Butler joins us to talk about the history of this acting style and his book The Method: How the Twentieth Ce...

Episode 88 - Learning About the History - and Future - of Stand-up Comedy with Dr. Rachel Blackburn

07 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Stand-up comedy has long been associated with White men. But, as Dr. Rachel Blackburn explains in this episode, there's a long history of women of col...

Episode 87: Hearing the Voices of Women in Yiddish Theatre with Dr. Alyssa Quint and Amanda Miryem-Khaye Seigel

21 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Yiddish theatre has a long and rich history. But all too often that history focuses on the prominent men who found success on the stage. Now two s...

Episode 86: Introducing the University of Pittsburgh's August Wilson Archive With Dr. Sandra Shannon and Bill Daw

14 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Playwright August Wilson's legacy has loomed ever larger over American theatre in the years since his death in 2005. In 2020, the University of Pittsb...

Episode 85 - Reading the Manuscripts of the Negro Units of the Federal Theatre Project with Dr. Kate Dossett

07 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The so-called "Negro Units" of the Federal Theatre Project are often remembered for productions involving White artists such as Orson Welles. But, as ...

Episode 84: Imagining a New Federal Theatre Project with Corinna Schulenberg and Dr. Elizabeth A. Osborne

01 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The devastation wrought by the covid-19 pandemic has left us all questioning what we should be working towards as we pick up the pieces and try to bui...

Episode 83: Transcribing the Federal Theatre Project with Morgen Stevens-Garmon

24 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Federal Theatre Project was a landmark of American theatre history whose influence has far outlived its brief existence in the 1930s. There's prob...

Episode 82: Where the Courtroom Meets the Stage: Dr. Luke McDonagh on Copyright and Drama

17 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The connection between theatre and the law is a deep one that goes back thousands of years. Dr. Luke McDonagh has been tracing this connection in the ...

Episode 81: "Simultaneously Unhinged and Fantastical in Every Possible Way": Margaret Hall Introduces Us to the History of Theatrical Merchandise

23 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

If you've been to a Broadway show, you've probably seen the merchandise booth. You may even have bought a t-shirt, or a magnet for your fridge. But wh...

Episode 80: Rediscovering Lost Plays with Dr. David McInnis

16 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We know that over half of the plays produced during Shakespeare's time have since been lost. What might we discover about that era if we knew what tho...

Episode 79: Exploring Nuyorican Feminist Performance with Dr. Patricia Herrera

09 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

There are many theatrical movements and institutions that have been marginalized in histories of the American theatre. But there are also individuals ...

Episode 78: Peter Schmitz's Adventures in Theatre History

21 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How do we recover and retell the stories of theatrical performance from ages past? That's a question that Peter Schmitz is exploring with his podcast ...

Episode 77: Exploring the Imitations of Gertrude Hoffmann with Dr. Sunny Stalter-Pace

07 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Imitation" is often a dirty word in the arts, but dancer and performer Gertrude Hoffmann was a genius at borrowing and recreating elements of other a...

Episode 76: Voyage to the Planet of the Grapes with Pete Marino

31 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Learn how Peter Michael Marino is drawing on the Victorian-era tradition of toy theatre to create a new theatrical epic based on the classic sci-fi mo...

Episode 75: "Our Town" in the 21st Century: Howard Sherman's "Another Day's Begun"

17 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Our Town is one of the classics of the American stage, but how well do we really know this play? Howard Sherman joins us to discuss his new book, Ano...

Episode 74: Discovering Teresa Deevy with Drs. Una Kealy and Kate McCarthy

10 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Teresa Deevy was one of the most frequently-produced Irish playwrights of the 1930s, bringing her unique experience as a Deaf woman playwright in a pa...

Episode 73: Introducing the Theatre 2020 Collection with Dr. Eric Colleary

26 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Learn how Dr. Eric Colleary and his colleagues at the Harry Ransom Center are documenting how the tumultuous events of 2020 affected theatre.

Episode 70: Restoring An Alternate Version of Shakespeare's Works

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Who can forget the timeless moments in Shakespeare's plays, such as Hamlet's encounter with the Ghost, Beatrice and Benedick's playful sparring, or th...

Episode 69: Tracing the Origins of the Freak Show with Dr. Matt DiCintio

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Popular culture has largely forgotten about the freak show – or has it? The display of so-called "freaks," human beings with bodies that were percei...

Episode 68: Learning About Mary Ann Yates with Dr. Elaine McGirr

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Mary Ann Yates is the best actress whom you've never heard of. That's how Dr. Elaine McGirr characterizes this fascinating woman, who rose to stardom ...

Episode 67: Dr. Derek Miller on the History of Performance and Copyright

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

If you've ever tried to get permission to perform a play, you've probably encountered some issues having to do with theatrical copyright. But where di...

Episode 66: Dr. Sara B.T. Thiel on Pregnancy on the Stage in Early Modern English Drama

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

How do you depict pregnancy onstage when your cast is all-male? That was one of a number of problems that English playwrights and performers faced in ...

Episode 65: Playing Around with Nineteenth-Century Theatre in Dr. Robert Davis's Broadway 1849

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Robert Davis has been studying the world of nineteenth-century theatre in New York City for much of his career, but he's recently engaged with tha...

Episode 64: Learning About Modern Indonesian Theatre with Dr. Cobina Gillitt

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

When people think of Indonesia's performing arts, traditions such as the shadow puppets of wayang kulit and the dance-drama of Bali often come to mi...

Episode 63: After the Big Top: Carlos Alexis Cruz on the Evolution of Modern Circus

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The classic circus, featuring performing animals in three rings under the big top, has passed away. What's taken its place? That's the question that C...

Episode 62: Theatre and Civil Rights: Dr. Julie Burrell on the Importance of A Medal for Willie

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

How did African American theatre and the struggle for civil rights intersect? For many critics in the 1950s and '60s, they didn't, at least not in a m...

Episode 61: Chantal Bilodeau on "Breaking Up with Aristotle" and Finding New Ways to Tell Stories Onstage

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Back in 2016, playwright Chantal Bilodeau announced that she was breaking up with Aristotle. In addition to her work writing plays, Chantal is also a ...

Episode 60: Lost Worlds and "Pansexual Extravaganzas": Rediscovering Weimar Operetta with Dr. Kevin Clarke

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

When we think of operetta, words like "edgy" and "sexy" rarely come to mind. Dr. Kevin Clarke is hoping to change that through his work with the Opere...

Episode 59: Taking Shakespeare's Measure in the Twenty-First Century: Dr. Nora Williams and Measure (Still) for Measure

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Shakespeare's Measure for Measure has long had a reputation as a "problem play." Structurally, it's a comedy, but because its plot goes to some dark...

Episode 58: What We Think About When We Think About Casting: Dr. Amy Cook's Building Character: The Art and Science of Casting

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Theatre nerds spend a lot of time obsessing over casting choices: who's going to play this classic role in the latest revival of a Broadway musical? H...

Episode 57: Dr. Claudia Orenstein on the Evolving Art of Tolpavakoothu

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Tolpavakoothu is a traditional form of shadow puppetry from Kerala, in southern India. Like many similar performance traditions, tolpavakoothu faces a...

Episode 56: How to Succeed in (Early Modern Show) Business: Dr. David Nicol's Philip Henslowe Blog

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What was the business of theatre like in Shakespeare's time? We don't have many records, but one fascinating document has survived: a book of accounts...

Episode 55: Examining the Controversial History of the "Mummers Wench" with Dr. Christian DuComb

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We know that the history of theatre and performance contains plenty of insensitive, even offensive, tropes and stereotypes. We also tend to think of o...

Episode 54: Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart: Tracy Heather Strain Shows Us a Different Side of Lorraine Hansberry

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Lorraine Hansberry's reputation will always be inextricably bound up with her best-known work, A Raisin in the Sun. But who was the woman behind this...

Episode 53: Rediscovering Sheridan's Smash Hit Pizarro with Dr. Selena Couture & Dr. Alex Dick

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We know Richard Brinsley Sheridan as the comic playwright responsible for The Rivals and The School for Scandal. However, one of his most important...

Episode 52: Remembering Argentina's Traumatic Past Through Theatre with Dr. Noe Montez

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

History can be a contentious subject, especially when it comes to determining how and what we remember. That's especially true in Argentina, which is ...

Episode 51: Death-Defying Acts with Amy Meyer

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Would you watch a pregnant woman attempt to walk a tightrope without a safety net? Many people in London decided to do just that in 1863, and their cu...

Episode 50: Opening Up New Approaches to Acting with Dr. Sharrell D. Luckett

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

How do you train an actor? The answer to that question has changed over the course of theatrical history, but at least within the last century or so, ...

Episode 49: Dr. Erin Mee on Modern and Contemporary Indian Theatre

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In our previous episode, we spoke with Dr. Erin Mee of New York University about kutiyattam, a style of theatre from southwest India that brings ancie...

Episode 48: Learning About Kutiyattam with Dr. Erin Mee

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

How can a play whose script covers less than ten pages take weeks to perform? That's just one of the many questions we delve into when we explore the ...

Episode 47: Translating An Enemy of the People with Dr. Paul Walsh

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Environmental catastrophe. Political conflict. The ugly breakdown of a society that had previously seemed harmonious and peaceful. Henrik Ibsen's An ...

Episode 46: Reimagining Shakespeare's Legacy with Madeline Sayet

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

William Shakespeare's plays continue to be some of the most frequently-produced works on our stages. While his dominance allows new generations to enj...

Episode 45: Rethinking Amateur Theatricals with David Coates

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Community theatre, school plays, and other examples of performances by non-professional actors don't often don't get a lot of respect or scholarly att...

Episode 44: Exploring the Performing Arts Collections at the Harry Ransom Center with Dr. Eric Colleary

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The Harry Ransom Center, a world-renowned research library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, holds many treasures. Its performing arts ...

Episode 43: Being Melodramatic with the Staging Napoleonic Theatre Project

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Nowadays, when someone accuses you of being "melodramatic," it's got a pejorative connotation, and usually means you're acting in an overly emotional ...

Episode 42: From "West Side Story" to "Wicked": Dr. Stacy Wolf on Feminism & the Broadway Musical

01 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Are Broadway musicals feminist? It's a fair question, given that many classic examples of the genre evince their fair share of outdated attitudes rega...

Episode 41: Bryan Doerries and Theater of War Productions Use Classical Drama to Address Today's Problems

01 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The characters and events of ancient Greek drama might seem remote from our present-day concerns, but Bryan Doerries and Theater of War Productions do...

Episode 40: Dr. José A. Pérez Díez & Dr. Matthew Steggle Introduce the Oxford Marston

01 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

John Marston was a controversial early modern English playwright and poet with a nose for trouble, but he's relatively obscure in comparison with some...

Episode 39: Dr. Matthew Sergi and the Surprising Truth About Morality Plays

01 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The phrase "morality play" often comes off as pejorative today; it's a phrase that we use when we want to dismiss something as dull and didactic. But ...

Episode 38: Eleanor Fitzsimons on Oscar Wilde, Sarah Bernhardt, and the Troubled History of "Salomé"

01 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Most of us know Oscar Wilde for his sparkling, witty comedy The Importance of Being Earnest. But he also wrote tragedies, most notably the scandalous...

Episode 37: Examining the Diary of Nineteenth Century Actor Harry Watkins with Dr. Amy Hughes, Dr. Naomi Stubbs, and Dr. Scott D. Dexter

01 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What was it like to be a working actor in the United States in the nineteenth century? The diary of Harry Watkins—who made a living acting, playwri...

Episode 36: Editing and Staging The Dutch Lady with Dr. Joseph F. Stephenson

01 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Since the 1870s, a mysterious play manuscript has sat in the Boston Public Library, largely ignored except by the library's dedicated staff. Dr. Joe S...

Episode 35: Get Thee to a Nunnery: Learning About Medieval Convent Drama with Dr. Elisabeth Dutton, Dr. Olivia Robinson, Dr. Matthew Cheung Salisbury, and Aurèlie Blanc

01 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Many medieval convents were major centers of dramatic activity, with nuns and other members of their communities frequently participating in plays and...

Episode 34: Dr. Mary Chinery and Dr. Laura Rattray on Edith Wharton's "The Shadow of a Doubt"

01 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Did you know that novelist Edith Wharton was also a playwright? Dr. Mary Chinery and Dr. Laura Rattray join us this week to talk about her work for th...

Episode 33: Rediscovering the Victorian Theatre at the Alexandra Palace with James White

01 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

When it opened in the 1870s, the Alexandra Palace, or "Ally Pally," was a massive entertainment complex, meant to serve as "the People's Palace." Over...

Episode 32: Seret Scott Looks Back on the Free Southern Theater

01 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The Free Southern Theater was one of the most important activist theatres in the United States, bringing politically- and socially-engaged theatre to ...

Episode 31: Exploring the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts's New Jo Mielziner Acquisitions with Annemarie van Roessel

01 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Few, if any, stage designers have had the impact of Jo Mielziner, who designed the sets for the original productions of Death of a Salesman, A Stree...

Episode 30: Dr. Esther Fernandez Introduces us to the Siglo de Oro Festival at Chamizal

01 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

For over forty years, artists and scholars have gathered at Chamizal National Memorial to perform, study, and celebrate works from the Siglo de Oro, t...

Episode 29: Short Day's Introduction to Monte Cristo Cottage with Anne G. Morgan

01 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Monte Cristo Cottage has gone down in theatrical history as the setting for Eugene O'Neill's masterpiece, Long Day's Journey Into Night, as well as h...

Episode 28: Digging up Nea Paphos with Dr. Craig Barker

01 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

For over twenty years, teams from the University of Sydney have been excavating Nea Paphos, a splendid ancient theatre on the southwestern coast of Cy...

Episode 27: Learning About Ta'ziyeh with Dr. William O. Beeman

01 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Long before Western-style theatre came to what is now Iran, a unique performance tradition had already developed that fused song, movement, and religi...

Episode 26: Jack Viertel Introduces the New York City Center Encores! Revival of "The New Yorkers"

01 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The New Yorkers, a risqué collaboration between New Yorker cartoonist Peter Arno, Cole Porter, and Herbert Fields, hasn't been seen onstage since i...

Episode 25: Exploring Modern Chinese Theatre with Dr. Steven (Siyuan) Liu

01 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Western theatre tends to get most of our attention, but practically every culture has its own rich and vibrant performance tradition. Our guest Dr. St...

Episode 24: Exploring Plays About Urban Ireland with Dr. Elizabeth Mannion

01 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Most stereotypes of Ireland have more to do with idyllic rural scenes than busy city life. But, as Beth Mannion points out in her book, The Urban Pla...

Episode 23: Is It Happening Here? Dr. Paul Gagliardi on the Return of the Federal Theatre Project's "It Can't Happen Here"

01 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Sinclair Lewis's 1935 novel It Can't Happen Here tells the story of a fictional populist who rises to power and establishes a Fascist regime in the ...

Episode 22: Dr. Mac Test's New Translation of "La monja alfèrez"

01 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Spain's New World colonies might be the last place that you'd expect to find a cross-dressing nun. However, a famous memoir from the 17th century, chr...

Episode 21: Director George Drance on "Calderon's Two Dreams"

01 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Pedro Calderon de la Barca's Life Is a Dream is one of the best-known plays from Spain's "Siglo de Oro," or Golden Age, in the 17th century. However...

Episode 20: Rediscovering the Lost Lope de Vega Play Mujeres y Criados with Dr. Alejandro Garcia-Reidy

01 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

You might think it's virtually impossible to discover new work by a playwright who's been dead for nearly 400 years, but that's just what Alejandro Ga...

Episode 19: Jeremy Morris on His New Play About Vaudeville Performer Bert Williams, The Top of Bravery

01 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Bert Williams was one of the most important African-American performers in the history of the American stage. He became one of the first African-Ameri...

Episode 18: Dr. Charlotte Canning on Internationalism and US Theatre

01 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We tend to think of the middle of the twentieth century as a litany of horrors, from the trenches of the First World War and the atrocities of the Sec...

Episode 17: Dr. Anita Gonzalez Introduces Listeners to 19thcenturyacts.com

26 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This podcast keeps returning to the question of how we can reconstruct theatrical performances from bygone days. For the last few years, the website 1...

Episode 16: Exploring the Surprising—and Disturbing—Origins of "Jingle Bells" with Dr. Kyna Hamill

24 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We all know the classic Christmas song "Jingle Bells" —or at least we think that we do. Dr. Kyna Hamill of Boston University has been looking into t...

Episode 15: Dr. Fiona Coffey on Women in Northern Irish Theatre During The Troubles

24 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

When we think of Irish theatre, we tend to think primarily of playwrights and theatre companies from the Republic of Ireland, not northern part of the...

Episode 14: David Mandelbaum Talks About New Yiddish Rep's Revival of God of Vengeance

24 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Sholem Asch's God of Vengeance is a provocative classic of the Yiddish stage, and it's recently come back into the public eye, with an upcoming revi...

Episode 13: Staging a Medieval Play in the 21st Century with Kyle A. Thomas and Dr. Carol Symes

24 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Of all the various eras of theatrical history, the Middle Ages might seem like one of the least immediately relevant to the concerns of the 21st centu...

Episode 12: Music Theory and Musicals with Adam Roberts

24 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

How can we better understand musicals through music theory? Adam Roberts talks about how we can grasp nuances of character and theme in classical musi...

Episode 11: "You Don't Read Latino": Discussing the History of Latinx Casting with Dr. Brian Eugenio Herrera

24 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The recent success of Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton has led to some casting controversies as regional theatres mount productions of his previous hit...