Diep Tran

19h

Follow up thought: when you place Lee next to Cathy, you see 2 kinds of reaction to marginalization. Cathy thinks that because others hurt her, she must hurt others. Lee believes in doing good despite how he’s been abused. Really sums up the choices we have as people to injustice

Diep Tran@diepthought.bsky.social

Reminding everyone that if you loved Hoon Lee in East of Eden, he’s fantastic in Warrior, which is also set in San Francisco Chinatown in the 1800s and should not have been cancelled. One of my favorite portrayals of code switching onscreen

playbill.comBefore Star Wars, Kelly Marie Tran's Dream Was Musical Theatre; Now She's Finally On StageShe is currently starring in King of the Yees , playing its writer, Lauren Yee.

"What kind of fake Asian am I?" I talk to Lauren Yee about the long-awaited New York premiere of her play King of the Yees, and I talk to Kelly Marie Tran, who is playing Lauren Yee in King of the Yees. A deep conversation about being bad Asians ensued playbill.com/article/befo...

Watched WIDOW’S BAY in 4 nights. I love that it’s a showcase for how women, especially single women, hold a community together. Ruth is 85, helps people, and delivers bangers like “Life is a house of horrors.” Society wants to make older women expendable but WIDOW’S BAY shows they’re not

Not to mention Patricia who took down a serial killer by herself and Rosemary whose genealogy knowledge unlocked the whole thing. This is why it’s important for women to have hobbies that aren’t men or kids

playbill.com2,500 Show Up at Kennedy Center Protest to Prevent DemolitionThe protest was organized by Hands Off the Arts, made up of former Kennedy Center staff members.

21 Sept

I speak to the organizers of Friday's Hands Off protest at the Kennedy Center, who are a mix of artists and former Kennedy Center staffers. Theater kids, getting stuff done! playbill.com/article/2-50...

The scams are getting weird. I got an email from a BBC journalist asking to speak to me on their podcast. It was very in-depth, and seemed like they knew about me, my career, and theater. Until I saw the email address: worldbookauthorinterviewbbcwor@gmail.com. Wasn't even spelled right

hollywoodreporter.comInside the Fake Celebrity Podcast Scam Fooling HollywoodSeth Rudetsky thought Nikki Glaser wanted him on her podcast. Bruce Vilanch thought Terry Gross wanted him on hers. Both were targets of a hoax.

Anyway, podcast scams are a thing now. Beware fellow subject matter experts

playbill.comBroadway Artists Remember 9/11 and How Theatre Became 'a Life Force'Patti LuPone, Bernadette Peters, Betty Buckley, more reflect on the days after 9/11 and the 25th anniversary.

Had an emotionally heavy but productive week. First, talked to Patti LuPone on the phone for this feature, which also contains reflections from Susan Stroman (about The Producers resuming after 9/11), and the folks behind the "I Love New York Theatre" commercial playbill.com/article/broa...

playbill.comThe Creators of Come From Away Recall Living in NYC During 9/11, and How That Influenced Their MusicalFor the 25th anniversary of 9/11, Irene Sankoff and David Hein will be attending Come From Away at the World Trade Center and in Gander, Canada.

I also spoke to the creators of Come From Away, who told me in detail about what it was like to live in NYC during 9/11 and how it inspired them to get married a month later. A mixture of sad and heartwarming, like their musical playbill.com/article/the-...

Diep Tran reposted

Justin Jest

@justinjest.bsky.social

5 Sept

3 Sept

May we all, when we pass, be able to say, "I've done the best I could with my life."

Ellie Mae O'Hagan@elliemaeohagan.bsky.social

I love the dedication in My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinhem

playbill.comThis Student Production of Ragtime Was Cancelled. Then Broadway Chimed inStudents at the Youth Performing Arts School in Kentucky went viral last week.

1 Sept

Students at a performing arts high school in Louisville, Kentucky were told their production of Ragtime was cancelled. What happened next will melt your cynical heart as these students made the school district hear them playbill.com/article/this...

youtube.comYes, Dolly was Actually That GreatYouTube video by Lindsay Ellis

26 Aug

Sharing a great Dolly Parton quote, something I wish more people did instead of being defensive when they're wrong: "As soon as you realize that something is a problem, you should fix it. Don't be a dumbass." Fantastic Dolly retrospective by Lindsay Ellis www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJuK...

25 Aug

Me as a feminist after finishing this season of House of the Dragon

22 Aug

Just watched this new movie on Netflix called DON'T SAY GOOD LUCK. A girl is cast as Jenna in her high school production of Waitress and her mom (Melanie Lynskey) has cancer and her grandma is Bebe Neuwirth. 10/10 if you want a good cry and a very good rendition of "She Used to Be Mine"

22 Aug

The lowkey funniest part is you cannot license Waitress for school productions. But when that happens, I'm looking forward to seeing 15 year olds having a midlife crisis while wearing a fake pregnant belly at the Jimmy Awards

airtable.comAirtable | Everyone's app platformAirtable is a low-code platform for building collaborative apps. Customize your workflow, collaborate, and achieve ambitious outcomes. Get started for free.

5 Aug

Are you theater journalist who identifies as BIPOC or is a woman or is trans/non-binary? Apply here for the Edward Medina Prize for Excellence in Cultural Criticism and you might win $1,500. You'll even get judged by me! 😜 airtable.com/apppwm63kEhp...

5 Aug

Watching House of the Dragon this season, it is impressive how they created a show while (I wouldn’t call it good) is immensely watchable despite every character being a terrible human. I am only rooting for the dragons

29 July

With Odyssey and Hadestown leading the cinema box office, what a time to have Greek mythology as your special interest. It’s a reminder why these tales get told and retold, they truly hit different every time

29 July

Just spent 2.5 weeks in Japan, and I’m most struck by how intentional things seem to be there. From the excellent food to the traffic cones shaped like frogs that said “sorry,” things seemed designed to be functional and nice to be around. Can’t live in Japan but I can live with more intention

dctheaterarts.orgAt Arena Stage, artists and staff describe a workplace in crisisAs former Artistic Director Hana S. Sharif exits, starkly different perspectives emerge on what brought instability to DC’s premier regional theater.

8 July

Some eye opening reporting here with testimonies from staff members at Arena Stage. Kudos to @nicolehertvik.bsky.social and @rjritzel.bsky.social for these multifaceted investigations dctheaterarts.org/2026/07/05/a... www.notus.org/metro/arena-...

8 July

I think multiple things can be true: it is immensely more difficult to be a woman and a person of color in leadership, and sternness from a woman is commonly read as cruelty. But also, no one should be staying up until 4 AM and crying to make theater

playbill.comJon Norman Schneider Is Leading a Cast of 16 Asian-American Actors in Henry VI, Showing That Shakespeare Truly Is UniversalThis longtime stage actor had never done Shakespeare before, then NAATCO called him.

1 July

“Whenever I see an all-white cast in a play, I kind of get taken out. ‘This is still a thing that's happening?’ It just feels more honest when there are more people of color.” I talk to Jon Norman Schneider who is leading a wonderful all Asian production of Henry VI playbill.com/article/jon-...

1 July

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce getting married in NYC at MSG during July 4th and the World Cup, disrupting New Yorkers' commutes in the process, using NYC taxpayer dollars for NYPD presence...we gotta tax these billionaires more.

alheartley.substack.comFeature, Not a Bug: How Regional Theater Keeps Setting Leaders of Color Up to FailHana Sharif's resignation from Arena Stage raises more questions about the field's problem with keeping leaders of color and regional theater's financial structure.

“An excitement about a person of color in leadership … only then for those leaders to be handed a financial model that was unsustainable and really tough for them to succeed.” Really great analysis of why Hana Sharif left Arena Stage after just 3 years alheartley.substack.com/p/feature-no...

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It is worrying that artistic leaders at Americas big non profit theaters are leaving after only a few years, clearly burnt out from trying to keep organizations with a flawed business model alive. I blame no one for getting out of the nonprofit game. It’s tiring, thankless work w/ way too many cooks

playbill.comArtistic Director Hana S. Sharif Abruptly Departs Arena Stage After Opening TLC MusicalPlaybill has received a copy of Sharif’s resignation letter from the Washington, D.C. institution.

More context here: playbill.com/article/arti...

americantheatre.orgThe Turnover Recipe: Add New Voices and Audiences, StirWhat should we expect from the U.S. theatre’s field-wide changing of the guard? A new generation of leaders gives cause for cautious optimism.

Makes me think of something Hana told me years ago: “The expectation that we are the Avengers with our capes and superpowers, and we’re going to magically fix all of the deeply flawed structural issues of the American theatre is absolutely not realistic.” www.americantheatre.org/2019/04/09/t...

25 June

Considering that a vocal opposition party is essential in the fight against tyranny, it seems New Yorkers want leaders who will stand up to fascism. And the Democrats who are upset should ask themselves which side they are really on

25 June

Anyway it’s a good day in Mamdanistan.

23 June

My favorite genre of Jimmy Awards performers continues to be high schoolers channeling the souls of unhappily married middle aged people. Theater kids really grow up fast

24 June

My second favorite genre of Jimmy performers, kids gender bending roles in a way that puts MisCast to shame

24 June

My third favorite genre of Jimmy performers is kids portraying people having a mental breakdown. Channel that teenage angst kids!

23 June

Warriors vs Paddington, I'm already so stressed out about the 80th Tony Award

18 June

As an overachieving shortie, never thought I would relate to a 6'2'' basketball player. But seeing Jalen Brunson work so hard while being shorter than everyone else, I feel that. Love a (relatively) short king

playbill.comHow 3 Oscar-Winning Songwriters Wrote Pink’s Tony Awards Opening Number in Just 6 DaysBenj Pasek, Justin Paul, Mark Sonnenblick reveal who came up with the line "Gitchie gitchie Laurie Metcalf."

10 June

On Monday, I spoke to Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, Mark Sonnenblick about writing the Tonys opening number in 6 days, and whose demented brain came up with the line "Gitchie gitchie Laurie Metcalf." This really proves there's nothing like a good brainstorm

How did I spend my Tony Sunday? I went to dress rehearsal at Radio City at 9 AM, then oversaw Playbills Tony coverage in our office until 2AM. We published 31 articles yesterday (we did a lot of prep beforehand). And yes that means I did watch the Tonys in their entirety twice. Here’s my takeaway

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Great theater doesn’t give me answers or tells me what to do. It opens my mind and my perception, makes me feel something and jolts me out of my stasis. In a world of commodification and optimization, I love that this practical, inefficient artwork still has worshippers.

But I do think what can kill theater is capitalism. When the prerogative is to make money from it, it will eventually cost too much to make it because people, materials are expensive. In short, let’s advocate for arts funding so we can pay arts workers better and make it more accessible.

I truly think we need theater now. As Pink said, we go to the theater “to look at what the world is.” For me, the theater reminds me that when people come together, we can create something transcendent. It gives me hope and fuel as I navigate our flawed world.

playbill.comAli Louis Bourzgui Honors Arab Theatre Makers, Palestine Winning Featured Actor Tony Award for The Lost BoysThis is Bourzgui's first win and first nomination. Read his full speech here.

8 June

Not only can Ali Louis Bourzgui rock a mullet, he is brave, to say that Palestinians “deserve to live a fruitful life, a free life, a full life without occupation” on TV. And considering the angry comments we’ve received for even reporting on it, Ali said the right thing playbill.com/article/ali-...

8 June

Impressed with the very diplomatic awards split between Cats and Ragtime at the Tonys. The former got direction, choreography, costuming while Ragtime got 2 acting awards, sound design, and revival. Really shows how both shows captured voters hearts seemingly equally

playbill.comLiberation Wins Best Play at the 2026 Tony Awards; Bess Wohl Becomes 4th Woman to Win Best PlayThis marked Wohl's second Tony nomination and first win.

8 June

Did I cheer when this was announced? Hell yeah I did! 4 female Tony Award winners in 79 years is shameful, but it goes to show you how important it is to have producers who believe in representation—Liberation's lead producers are Daryl Roth (Indecent) and Rachel Sussman (Suffs).

Diep Tran@diepthought.bsky.social

Did you know that only 3 women have won the Tony Award for Best Play? And the last one was in 2009? I talked to Bess Wohl, the only woman nominated in the Best Play category this year, on how wild it is to still be having a gender parity conversation playbill.com/article/a-wo...

playbill.comA Woman Hasn't Won the Best Play Tony Award Since 2009; Bess Wohl Can Change ThatHer play Liberation is up for Best Play and shows that "women's stories can be universal."

Diep Tran reposted

Leah Gremlinberg ❌👑

@leahgreenberg.bsky.social

5 June

There are concentration camps in the United States in the year 2026. There are CONCENTRATION CAMPS in the United States in the year 2026. THERE ARE CONCENTRATION CAMPS IN THE UNITED STATES IN THE YEAR 2026.

playbill.comKennedy Center Has Until June 12 to Remove Trump's Name From Building, Says Internal MemoA federal judge ruled that Trump adding his name to the institution was unlawful.

5 June

Gotta take the small wins. playbill.com/article/kenn...

playbill.comA Woman Hasn't Won the Best Play Tony Award Since 2009; Bess Wohl Can Change ThatHer play Liberation is up for Best Play and shows that "women's stories can be universal."

3 June