ATW NewsClips - Mid-West, Southwest and Mountain Print

Chicago Tribune Theater Loop Blog

Clapp is new head of League of Chicago Theaters
Deborah L. Clapp, a former executive of the Goodman Theatre, is the new interim executive director of the League of Chicago Theatres. She's also been an arts consultant and, currently, is interim managing director of the Chicago Children's Theatre. Clapp...

Chicago Sun-Times

Getting funky with the Bard is sweet inspiration onstage
Make no mistake about it: "Funk It Up About Nothin'," the new "ad-rap-tation" by the Q brothers (the same creative pairing that was behind that goofy hit "The Bomb-itty of Errors"), will never be a substitute for "Much Ado About Nothing," ...

Time Out Chicago Blog

Ragtime’s back
The Chicago Tribune is reporting that the now-infamously cancelled Ragtime—the inclusion of the "n-word" made antsy PC officials at the Wilmette Park District pull the plug on it in a PR move as loud and as damaging as Howard Dean’s 3rd-place victory yelp—has found a new home. A home where the proprietors understand the historical context of “the n-word.”

Minneapolis Star-Tribune

Whoa Nelly! 'Little House' breaks box-office records
The upcoming stage production based on the Laura Ingalls Wilder book set a new single-day sales record on the day tickets became available to the public.

Encore Michigan

Purple Rose rustles up a goodtime comedy
Stop me if you've heard this story before: A notorious murderer and bank robber is gut shot, hogtied and left for dead under the blazing Oklahoma sun, when along comes a guitar-carrying singing cowboy to save the day. Or, at the very least, to irritate the dying man so thoroughly that he begs for a quick and painless mercy-killing. ...

No lie: Big summer laughs at the Network
Summers at Performance Network in recent years have brought area theatergoers a tasty serving of critically-acclaimed hits fresh from Broadway. The fact that each featured story lines and characters that challenged some patrons' comfort zones only sweetened the season for those of us who enjoy an occasional night of edgy, thought-provoking theater. ...

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Renovation of Hanna Theatre gets $1 million Kresge Foundation grant
The $19.2 million campaign to renovate PlayhouseSquare's historic Hanna Theatre in downtown Cleveland got a major boost Tuesday - a $1 million gift, and an implicit seal of approval, from a big charitable foundation.

Denver Post

Current shows: July 4 weekend schedule changes