Bryan Fonseca, founder of the Phoenix Theatre, dies from coronavirus complications
Fonseca, who had been the creative force behind the Phoenix for 35 years, left in 2018 and founded the Fonseca Theatre Co. on the city’s near-west side.
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Memory Bank: Livery demolished to make way for Circle Theatre
The Wood Livery Stable had been a fixture in the southeast quadrant of Monument Circle from 1834 until it moved in 1915. The spot was then demolished to make room for the Circle Theatre.
Footlite Musicals launches $30K campaign to maintain theater while stage is dark
The all-volunteer group says it needs $30,000 to cover expenses before it’s back up and running in September, when it will stage the ABBA jukebox musical “Mamma Mia!”
Q&A: Wendy Meaden on using masks to communicate
Meaden is currently working with former Indianapolis artist Michael Brown on a textbook, “Masks Inside Out,” that’s expected to publish late this year.
Westfield approves $300,000 for downtown theater project
Main Street Productions plans to build the 6,800-square-foot theater at 220 N. Union Street, moving the Westfield Playhouse from its current theater on State Road 32 in Eagletown to downtown.
IRT raises curtain on $18.5M fundraising campaign
The campaign already has collected $17 million in commitments from donors, officials said. About two-thirds of the ultimate goal is earmarked for beefing up the theater company’s endowment.
Footlite Musicals takes a walk on the homicide side with steamy ‘Murder Ballad’
Since 1956, Footlite Musicals has built a reputation as a theater for all with volunteer productions of classic musicals. But while Footlite’s bread and butter might be works by the likes of Rodgers & Hammerstein, it has also introduced audiences to many shows unlikely to be seen on other area stages. “Priscilla Queen of the […]
$9.2M Riverside Park amphitheater could be a ‘game-changer’
A towering limestone monument to a long-ago Indianapolis mayor will be transformed into a performance venue at Riverside Park, thanks in part to a Lilly Endowment Inc. grant.
How two Hollywood actors bought the farm and built careers in the Midwest
Two of Indy’s leading actors gave up lucrative careers in movies, TV and commercials to make a new life for themselves in central Indiana.
EXPLORE: Spooky productions take stage for the creepy season
Stages around the city are tilting toward the terrifying and dabbling in the macabre at this haunted time of year.
Indy’s theater companies launch season in their own ways
First impressions matter—in life and at the box office. The first show of a theater’s season can define not only expectations, but also fortunes.
After exit from Phoenix, Fonseca launching theater group on west side
The River West Theater Company plans to stage its productions in the Indy Convergence arts space and feature repertoire that focuses on black, Latin American, Middle Eastern and Asian communities.
Phoenix Theatre founder leaving after 35 years as main artistic force
Bryan Fonseca’s stunning departure comes in the midst of a major transition for the theater, which just moved into a newly built, $11 million downtown facility on Illinois Street.
Local group converting former Phoenix Theatre building into condos
Plans for the historic structure in the downtown Chatham Arch neighborhood call for three condominiums priced at roughly $1.1 million each. Work is set to begin early next month.
KENNEDY: Feminist theater is here. Are we ready?
There is a new, distinctive addition to our local theater scene: Summit Performance aspires to produce “top quality theatre exploring the lives and experiences of women.”
How will the latest show at Actors Theatre of Indiana end? That’s up to the crowd.
Most musicals come complete with a beginning, a middle and an ending. “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” has the first two but—instead of a single denouement—offers endings, plural.
Theatre on the Square has new name, management
The struggling venue, which has been on Mass Ave since 1993 and features a 120-seat theater and a 60-seat, cabaret-style theater, closed its doors after the IndyFringe Festival in August.
Phoenix Theatre seeking $2M naming rights sponsor for new home
In a somewhat unusual move, the theater is making a public plea for a naming rights sponsor with a specific price tag.
3-year grant brought playwright to IRT; 20 years later, he’s still around
Kansas-native James Still first came to Indianapolis in 1991, to take part in a playwriting symposium. He later landed the role of playwright-in-residence and has had 20 plays produced here.
Community theater group losing Clay Terrace performance venue
The group has been putting on plays at a space in Carmel’s Clay Terrace shopping center for more than eight years, thanks in large part to the largesse of the landlord. Now it needs to find a new home.