Welcome to The Scene, your bi-weekly round-up of theatre news you may have missed.
As the FIFA World Cup blazes towards the final match next weekend, everyone seems to be talking sports. So, this issue of The Scene is dedicated to everything from lay-ups to ad-libs, scoreboards to scores. In The Big Idea, we’re arguing that Theatre Is a Team Sport. In Shows You Should Know, we’re highlighting Candrice Jones’ Flex, a dramatic comedy about the 1998 Lady Train High School basketball team. And in the Spotlight, we’ve got Slam Dunks for the Stage: Plays and Musicals About Sports. Of course, we’ll also keep you up to date on the latest theatre news, including updates from Broadway, the UK and American regional theatres.
Warm-ups are over and the whistle’s been blown. Let‘s dive into the wondrous world of theatre. This is The Scene.
Chicago by the Numbers – and All That Jazz by Jonah de Forest, Broadway.com | Breaking down Chicago on Broadway by the numbers, from custom wigs to thousands of roses. Read...
Remembering Reba McEntire’s Broadway Star Turn 25 Years Later by Adam Tamburin, Axios Nashville | McEntire replaced Bernadette Peters in Irving Berlin’s Annie Get Your Gun, ending her run in July 2001. Read...
Superman and Heated Rivalry Alums Head to Broadway in Three Days of Rain by Michael Paulson, The New York Times | A winter revival of the Richard Greenberg drama will star David Corenswet, Yvonne Strahovski and François Arnaud. Read…
An insight into the Broadway musical production of The Outsiders by Madeline Ng, L.A. Times | The year three cast of The Outsiders continues bringing the Tony Award-winning musical to Broadway. Read…
Check out Taylor Louderman as Nellie Forbush in Rodgers & Hammerstein‘s South Pacific at the Muny in St. Louis!
Shawn Hann Named 2026 Stephen Schwartz Musical Theatre Teacher of the Year by Logan Culwell-Block, Playbill | Hann is director of theatre at Colorado’s Denver School of the Arts. Read…
Lineup Revealed for NAMT’s 38th Annual Festival of New Musicals by Meg Masseron, Playbill | Eight new musicals will get developmental presentations at New World Stages this October. Read…
Jennifer Nettles on Her New Musical Giulia: The Poison Queen of Palermo & Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Advice by Melinda Newman, Billboard | The musical opened off-Broadway on June 28. Read…
At your school, are theatre and sports at opposite ends of a spectrum? Do the “theatre kids” and the “sports kids” interact, or do they avoid each other at all costs? Or have you somehow achieved that miraculous balance in which some of the show kids are the sports kids?
Whatever your situation, you can’t deny that theatre and sports are often presented in opposition. As rivals. As either/or.
But theatre programs and sports programs have so much in common. In many ways, theatre is a sport. Think about it. In theatre, we learn…
Teamwork: Cast and crew, like athletes, work as a collective whole to achieve a common purpose.
Family/Community: Everyone involved in a production feels like part of the team or family, forging new bonds and strengthening existing ones.
Purpose: Theatre kids, like sports kids, develop a sense of drive and intention as they work towards a clearly defined goal.
Discipline: Promptness, attention to detail, time management and self-control are all crucial elements of both theatre and sports.
Humility: Okay, we may not think of actors as being humble, but even star players have to accept criticism, acknowledge their shortcomings, and respect the work of their peers.
Self-Confidence: Conversely, even the shyest member of the team can gain self-assurance by overcoming obstacles and meeting new objectives.
Fitness: Performers may get a challenging physical workout, especially if the show is a dance-heavy musical. Or maybe they’re just getting up and moving instead of sitting on their couch or at a desk. Either way, they’re making strides towards better health.
Skills Building: In sports, you may gain specific ball-handling, strength or balance skills. For actors, those skills may involve diction, projection, memorization or even juggling and acrobatics. Meanwhile, the crew develops valuable technical skills like software proficiency or knowledge of equipment and terminology.
Communication: Everyone in the cast or crew needs to hone those crucial communication skills to collaborate. Like a sports team, they need to communicate clearly with one another – but they also need to convey ideas clearly to their audience.
Leadership/Mentorship: Dance captain or team captain, it’s the same assignment: Learn to guide others by example and instruction, without tyranny.
Enthusiasm: Like athletes, theatre makers are inspired and energized by doing what they love. This passion for a single discipline can carry over to every aspect of their lives.
Of course, theatre and sports are not identical. In fact, theatre has one great advantage that organized sports lack:
In basketball, football or baseball, your team can do its very best. Every member of the squad can work with purpose, dedication and skill, you can give it your all, and you can still lose. There’s always another team out there doing their very best, and maybe this time they’ll have a better night.
But in theatre, there is no opposing team. There are no cheerleaders for the other side. There are no rival fans just waiting for you to mess up. There is only the audience, a collection of friends, family and strangers who are all rooting for you to knock it out of the park. To complete that pass. To score that goal. Everyone out there is pulling for the same team.
In theatre, if we all work together with confidence, discipline, skill, humility and teamwork, we cannot lose. We can’t tie. We can’t forfeit.
In theatre, if we do our best, we can only be champions.
Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 6w
In keeping with our sports theme, here’s a dynamic play – featuring an all-female cast – about a high school women’s basketball team.
The pressure is on for the 1998 Lady Train High School basketball team. On top of a battle to bring home the championship trophy, it is also college scouting season. But the team’s performance on the court is tested as it ruptures under the weight of its own infighting, and the once-tight players begin to focus on their individual futures. What does it mean to be a Black girl on the brink of freedom and womanhood in a small town in the South? Does honoring your own wants mean sacrificing your friends, family and team? This funny and frank play about getting a full-court press from life will have audiences cheering.
The Best Plays of the Century Part Six: The Years 2010/11 by Sarah Crompton and Alex Wood, WhatsOnStage | This episode of the WhatsOnStage Podcast explores plays about climate catastrophe and the success of the Royal Court under Dominic Cooke. Read…
Jesse Tyler Ferguson to Reprise Stage Role as Truman Capote in London Run of Tru by Lily Ford, The Hollywood Reporter | The Modern Family star said he is “thrilled” to bring the production to the U.K. following its successful stint in New York. Read…
Full Cast Joining Josh O’Connor in Golden Boy Revival at the Almeida by Tanyel Gumushan, WhatsOnStage | Golden Boy will play in London from 9 September to 31 October 2026. Read…
Want more sports? Here’s a great collection of sports-themed plays and musicals, courtesy of Breaking Character.
Whether you’re a sports fanatic or content to stick to the stage, these shows will make you want to join the team. Faithful to the sports they represent, these fierce theatrical works dynamically examine identity, community and loyalty.
Here are a few highlights from the article:
Bleachers by Noah Haidle (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 2w, 2m + ensemble)
It’s high school football season in America! While the team plays under the bright lights, four tuba players stuck in the back row wrestle with everything that doesn’t fit into a halftime show: ambition, grief, friendship, faith, love and the strange cruelty of small-town “normal.” Equal parts marching band comedy and raw confession, this funny, ferocious and flexible play is built for schools and young actors to adapt, using your own school’s name, mascot, fight song and rivals.
Glory by Tracey Power (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 4w, 1m)
In 1933, four friends set out to prove to Canada that hockey isn’t just a sport for men. But with the Great Depression weighing heavily on the nation and political tensions rising in Europe, can they overcome the odds, and people’s expectations, to forge their own path to glory?
The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 10w)
Left quad. Right quad. Lunge. A girls indoor soccer team warms up. From the safety of their suburban stretch circle, the team navigates big questions and wages tiny battles with all the vim and vigor of a pack of adolescent warriors. A portrait of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for nine American girls who just want to score some goals.
For more ideas, check out the full article: Slam Dunks for the Stage: Shows About Sports.
Ed Begley Jr. and Hayden Begley Will Star in Benefit Performance of David Auburn’s Proof in Los Angeles by Meg Masseron, Playbill | The acclaimed play will be staged at North Hollywood’s El Portal Theatre, benefiting the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Read…
Tony Yazbeck, Ben Jacoby, Alysha Umphress, More Cast in City of Angels at Ogunquit Playhouse by Andrew Gans, Playbill | Hunter Foster will direct the Tony-winning musical by Larry Gelbart, Cy Coleman and David Zippel. Read…
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.