Why We Theater
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Why We Theater
Social justice meets theatre in this podcast from Playbill’s former Executive Editor Ruthie Fierberg. Artists and experts unite for curated panels, using plays and musicals (Broadway, Off-Broadway, and works in development) as a jumping-off point to confront societal issues such as racism, colorism,...
Son Bölümler
36 bölüm
Why We Theater Now: April 2022
In this Season 2 finale, Ruthie recommends currently running Broadway and Off-Broadway shows that speak to Why We Theater.
Paradise Squar...
ADDRESSLESS meets Choose-Your-Own Activity
In this week’s mini-episode, Ruthie recommends books—some novels, some memoirs—and television episodes that tell stories about homelessness. Then, tak...
ADDRESSLESS and Homelessness
ADDRESSLESS: A Walk in Our Shoes played Off-Broadway at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater in February 2022 as a virtual, interactive production. The pla...
DAVID BYRNE’S AMERICAN UTOPIA meets The Prophet
Last week, American Utopia performer Tendayi Kuumba and experts Drs. Vinoo Alluri and Alejandro Lleras helped host Ruthie Fierberg take step back and...
DAVID BYRNE’S AMERICAN UTOPIA and Expanding Our Thinking to Solve Problems
You might think David Byrne’s American Utopia on Broadway is a concert. It’s not. Yet, it’s not exactly a play or a musical. It’s something else outsi...
Re-Release: IF I FORGET and American Jews, Anti-Semitism, and Tribalism
With the recent controversy surrounding Whoopi Goldberg and her remarks about the Holocaust, with the recent hostage situation at a Texas synagogue, w...
THE COLOR PURPLE meets Prayer for the French Republic
Continuing our discussion about the musical The Color Purple (which is also about to become a movie musical starring Fantasia Barrino, Danielle Brooks...
THE COLOR PURPLE and Generational Trauma
In all its forms, The Color Purple is a powerful account of generational trauma in the Black community. The novel by Alice Walker was published in 198...
SANCTUARY CITY Meets The Sun Is Also A Star
Pulitzer Prize winner Martyna Majok writes the story of high-schoolers B & G in Sanctuary City. As undocumented teens, the two lean on each other. Whe...
SANCTUARY CITY and U.S. Immigration Reform
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Martyna Majok debuted her new play, Sanctuary City, Off-Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop in the fall of 2021. T...
Why We Theater NOW: January 2022
It can be a challenge to make an episode of Why We Theater in time for you to see every show while it’s running. So here are some recommendations for...
THE KILLING OF KINGS meets The Prison Within
Building on our episodes about Nadira Simone’s The Killing of Kings, in this mini-episode, Ruthie recommends the documentary The Prison Within. The fi...
BONUS: THE KILLING OF KINGS continued with Esther Matthews
Building upon last week’s episode “THE KILLING OF KINGS and the Transition of Incarcerated Persons From Prison,” host Ruthie Fierberg speaks one-on-on...
THE KILLING OF KINGS and the Transition of Incarcerated Persons From Prison
Today we welcome artist Nadira Simone, who wrote the breath-stealing new play The Killing of Kings. The drama weaves a tapestry of Black families in A...
INTERSTATE Meets Multiple Recommendations
Authenticity was the heart of our last episode “INTERSTATE and Authentic Trans, Queer, and Asian-American Representation.” Our discussion included art...
INTERSTATE and Authentic Trans, Queer, and Asian-American Representation
Representation is the buzzword of the day. But mere presence means nothing if it isn’t accurate and genuine. Authentic representation in storytelling...
Why We Theater NOW: November 2021
Host Ruthie Fierberg recommends the most thought-provoking and moving pieces of New York theatre she’s seen to date. These plays and musicals bring to...
RINSE, REPEAT meets Brave Girl Eating
Harriet Brown’s memoir Brave Girl Eating: A Family’s Struggle With Anorexia is a must-read for anyone looking to better understand eating disorders af...
RINSE, REPEAT and Eating Disorders
Eating disorders affect 29 million Americans (9 percent of the population). Every 52 minutes, someone in the U.S. dies as a direct result of their eat...
WITNESS UGANDA meets The Good Doctor
Beloved medical drama THE GOOD DOCTOR has a lot to teach us. Beyond its premise—following the evolution of Dr. Shaun Murphy, a physician on the autism...
WITNESS UGANDA and Ethical Foreign Aid
Powerhouse theatre-writing duo Matt Gould and Griffin Matthews join us to talk about their moving and personal musical, Witness Uganda (previously kno...
OSLO meets Raya and the Last Dragon
Disney’s animated movie RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON (starring Awkwafina, Kelly Marie Tran, and more) resonates deeply on the themes we discussed last wee...
OSLO and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians in the Middle East erupted yet again in May 2021. The violence and fight for land and rights goes back...
Bonus EP: Bringing Theater Back Post-COVID
The audio version of Ruthie’s acclaimed Medium article: “What It Will Take for New York Theater to Come Back as the Industry and Community It Professe...
Bonus EP: "In the Heights" Exclusive Interviews!
Our BPN Podcasters bring you exclusive interviews with cast and creatives from In the Heights, in theaters on June 11 2021. Watch the video version of...
Season 1 Finale: Save the Arts and Arts Education
What is the current state of theatre? Right now, the theatre industry and the pipeline to it (a.k.a. arts education) needs change. What can you do to...
THE PROM and LGBTQIA+ Rights and the Well-Being of Our Queer Youth
Broadway’s THE PROM takes center stage in this raw discussion about LGBTQIA+ teens and the discrimination they often face. After opening on Broadway i...
IF I FORGET and American Jews, Anti-Semitism, and Tribalism
Steven Levenson (DEAR EVAN HANSEN Tony winner) talks about his Off-Broadway play IF I FORGET. Set in 2000, the play focuses on a Jewish family as thre...
Usual Girls and Femme Sex and Sexuality, Part Two
Ming Peiffer and our four experts return for more of the unfettered, vulnerable conversation about what it means to be femme and sexual, inspired by t...
Usual Girls and Femme Sex and Sexuality, Part One
The first of a critical two-part discussion, this episode focuses on Ming Peiffer’s USUAL GIRLS. The play premiered in 2018 at Roundabout Underground...
Soft Power and Democracy, U.S.-China Relations, and Asian-American Culture
David Henry Hwang, three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and Tony-winning playwright, and director Leigh Silverman join former policy director for Hillar...
Pipeline and Education Inequity and the School-to-Prison Pipeline
Tony nominee Dominique Morisseau (TV’s SHAMELESS, AIN’T TOO PROUD) discusses her groundbreaking play PIPELINE, named for the national crisis of the sc...
The Lifespan of a Fact and Truth in Journalism
Ira Glass, Tony nominee Leigh Silverman, and Barbara Brandon-Croft debate fake news and more, inspired by Broadway’s THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT. Based on...
Octet and Internet Addiction
Before Netflix’s THE SOCIAL DILEMMA, the 2019 musical OCTET tackled the harsh reality and trajectory of digital technology addiction and social media....
School Girls... and Colorism, Beauty, and Self-Esteem in Women, Girls, and Femmes
What is colorism, and how do we combat it? Who decides what is beautiful? Why are girls raised to compete with each other? Playwright Jocelyn Bioh and...
Welcome, to Why We Theater
Ayad Akhtar’s Pulitzer Prize–winning drama Disgraced changed Ruthie Fierberg’s life. In fact, it’s the whole reason this podcast exists. The play fuse...