Sun-Times Fires Hedy Weiss
The Chicago Sun-Times has let go of chief theater critic Hedy Weiss after 34 years at the paper, according to media critic Robert Feder. Always a polarizing figure, Weiss had come under fire recently for reviews and reporting that many in the theater community considered to be racist in nature....
PerformInk’s Most Read Stories of 2017
After the dam broke in the summer of 2016 with the closing of Profiles Theater, 2017 was, not surprisingly, peppered with the outing of abuses of power. Amidst a revolutionary nationwide reckoning, Chicago theater has been the theater industry’s example, both of abusers, and of a community coming together to...
Hedy Weiss Responds to IN THE HEIGHTS Casting Controversy
Now, on a Huffington Post piece titled Why White Actors Should Not Be Cast In Latinx Roles—On Broadway Or Off, Weiss has made her first response to the casting issue in the comments section, saying “Do you think Jonathan Pryce should be banned from playing Shylock because he is not Jewish? Do you think you should only recruit murderers in Cook County jail to play Macbeth? It is called acting.”
2016 Merritt Awards Honor Chicago Designers and Technicians
Nationally-known Sound Designer and Composer Michael Bodeen will receive the 2016 Merritt Award. The Michael Merritt Award, a national award unique in its emphasis on excellence in both design and collaboration, is presented annually to a scenic, costume, lighting, sound, or other media designer.