Theatre History Podcast

In this week's Theatre History Podcast, Dr. Derek Miller joins us to talk about the origins and development of theatrical copyright.

How do you depict pregnancy when you're working with an all-male cast? Dr. Sara BT Thiel joins us to discuss this and other issues connected to pregnancy on the Stuart stage.

Could you make it as the manager of a New York City theatre in the 1840s? That's the question that Dr. Robert Davis's game and app Broadway:1849 poses to players. Robert joins us to talk about the rough-and-tumble world of New York's antebellum theatre.

Dr. Cobina Gillitt joins the Theatre History Podcast to introduce us to the work of Putu Wijaya and his Teater Mandiri and to explain how modern Indonesian theatre has developed amid the turmoil of its recent history.

How has the circus changed from its earliest origins to today? CarlosAlexis Cruz joins us to explain how acrobatics and storytelling have come to replace the big top and the three-ring circus.

How did Black theatre connect with the Civil Rights Movement? Dr. Julie Burrell of Cleveland State University joins the Theatre History Podcast to talk about William B. Branch's one-act play A Medal for Willie and the underappreciated radicalism of theatre in the 1950s.

Playwright Chantal Bilodeau joins us to discuss her essay "Why I'm Breaking Up with Aristotle," and how we need to explore new forms of storytelling in order to create theatre that engages with issues like climate change.

Dr. Kevin Clarke of the Operetta Research Center introduces us to Weimar-era operetta, which pushed artistic and social boundaries and is finally enjoying an artistic and scholarly reappraisal after decades of neglect.

Dr. Nora Williams joins us to talk about Measure (Still) for Measure, a devised theatre project in the US that revises Shakespeare's infamous "problem play" in order to engage with issues such as sexual consent.

Dr. Amy Cook of Stony Brook University joins us to discuss her new book, Building Character: The Art and Science of Casting.

Dr. Claudia Orenstein of Hunter College introduces us to the art of tolpavakoothu, a shadow puppet tradition from Kerala, in southern India.

Dr. David Nicol talks about his project to turn early modern theatre manager Philip Henslowe's "diary" into a daily blog.

Dr. Christian DuComb of Colgate University joins us to talk about Philadelphia's Mummers Parade and how the figure of the "Mummers wench" has its roots in the history of blackface minstrel shows.

Filmmaker Tracy Heather Strain talks about her new documentary Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart, which explores the life and work of playwright Lorraine Hansberry.

Dr. Noe Montez of Tufts University joins us to talk about how Argentina's theatre have dealt with the legacy of the country's period of military dictatorship.

Amy Meyer joins us to talk about acrobatic accidents in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as well as what they tell us about our appetite for risky entertainment.

Dr. Sharrell Luckett joins us to discuss her new book Black Acting Methods: Critical Approaches.

Dr. Erin Mee of New York University joins us for the second part of our series on Indian theatre. In this episode, she explains how modern Indian theatre developed in the decades before and after independence.

Dr. Erin Mee of New York University joins us to discuss kutiyattam, a style of theatre from southwestern India that brings ancient Sanskrit dramas to life.

Dr. Paul Walsh of the Yale School of Drama joins us to discuss his work translating Henrik Ibsen's An Enemy of the People for the opening production of the Yale Repertory Theatre's 52nd season.

A Theatre History Podcast announcement from Michael Lueger. 

Madeline Sayet joins us to talk about how she's producing Shakespeare's work with Native American artists to place them in a new, more diverse context.

David Coates talks about his research into amateur theatricals in the nineteenth century.

Dr. Eric Colleary, Cline Curator of Theater and Performing Arts at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin, introduces us to the treasures in the center's performing arts collections.

Dr. Stacy Wolf reveals the hidden feminist history of the Broadway musical in this discussion of her book Changed for Good.

Bryan Doerries, co-founder of Theater of War Productions, talks about how classical dramas from the ancient world can address society's pressing issues in the twenty-first century.

Dr. Matthew Sergi of the University of Toronto talks about medieval morality plays, and how performing them today gives us unexpected insights into our own world.

In this episode, Michael Lueger talks to author Eleanor Fitzsimons about Oscar Wilde and his working relationship with Sarah Bernhardt.

Dr. Joseph F. Stephenson of Abilene Christian University talks about The Dutch Lady, an anonymous Restoration-era play in the holdings of the Boston Public Library that he's both editing and helping to stage.

James White talks about restoring the Alexandra Palace, a massive entertainment complex built in the 1870s.

Michael Lueger talks with director and performer Seret Scott about her work with the Free Southern Theater.

Michael Lueger talks with curator Annemarie van Roessel about scenic designer Jo Mielziner’s work.

Dr. Esther Fernandez of Rice University talks about the Siglo de Oro Festival.

Anne G. Morgan, Literary Manager and Dramaturg at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center, talks about the Monte Cristo Cottage, Eugene O'Neill's childhood summer home, and the setting of two of his plays.

 Mike Lueger talks to Dr. Craig Baker from the University of Sydney about the history and layout of Nea Paphos, its hidden surprises, and the mysteries that he and his colleagues are still investigating.

Michael Lueger talks with Dr. William O. Beeman about the Iranian performance tradition known as ta'ziyeh.

Michael Lueger and Jack Viertel talk about The New Yorkers.

Michael Lueger talks with Dr. Steven (Siyuan) Liu about modern and contemporary Chinese theatre and performance.

Michael Lueger talks with Beth Mannion about plays depicting urban Ireland.

Michael Lueger talks with Dr. Paul Gagliardi about It Can’t Happen Here.

Michael Lueger talks with Dr. Mac Test about his new translation of La monja alfèrez, or The Lieutenant Nun.

Michael Lueger talks with George Drance about Pedro Calderon de la Barca.

A conversation with Alejandro Garcia-Reidy about discovering a previously-unknown work by Spanish Golden Age playwright Lope de Vega.

Michael Lueger and Jeremy Morris discuss Bert Williams.

Michael Lueger interviews Dr. Charlotte Canning on her new book and US theatre artists in the mid-twentieth century who shared their work abroad.

Michael Lueger talks with Dr. Anita Gonzalez about a website that reconstructs historical performances.

Michael Lueger talks with Dr. Kyna Hamill about her research into the background of the holiday carol "Jingle Bells."

Michael Lueger talks with Fiona Coffey about women theatre artists in Northern Ireland

Michael Lueger talks with David Mandelbaum about a new production of Sholem Asch’s God of Vengeance.

Michael Lueger talks with Adam Roberts about using music theory to better understand the nuances of musical theatre.

Michael Lueger talks with Brian Herrera about contemporary and historical conversations around casting Latinx characters and actors.

Michael Lueger talks with Dr. Gibson Cima of Georgetown University about Sizwe Banzi Is Dead, it’s collaborators, and it’s lasting impact on South African political theatre.

Michael Lueger talks with Dr. Susanne Shawyer of Elon University about the Democratic National Convention of 1968 and Theatre of Cruelty.

Michael Lueger talks with scholar and activist Jorge Huerta.

Michael Lueger kicks off a month of interviews about political theatre by talking with Amy Brady about the Federal Theatre Project.

Michael Lueger and Barbara Fuchs discuss the plays written during Spain’s theatrical Golden Age, and Barbara’s Diversifying the Classic project, which aims to bring them back into prominence for English-speaking audiences.

Michael Lueger talks with Joel Berkowitz about Yiddish theatre’s historical and present iterations.

Michael Lueger talks with director and librettist Joshua William Gelb about The Black Crook, considered by some to be the first musical.

Eric Swanson and Michael Lueger discuss actor Edwin Booth, the brother of Abraham Lincoln’s assassin.

Maya Cantu and Michael Lueger discuss how the musicals of the 1940s saw the emergence of a new figure: the “boss lady.”

Michael Lueger kicks off a new Theatre History podcast series with an interview with Max Shulman, discussing drugs in American theatre at the turn of the twentieth century.