Celia Wren

1 week ago | washingtonpost.com | Celia Wren

Can puppets make you feel empathy? (washingtonpost.com) Can puppets make you feel empathy? By Celia Wren 2025050212014200 In a world where cruelty can flourish, maybe we need more puppets. They're a "Trojan horse for empathy," says Alex Vernon, half of the Baltimore-based puppet and filmmaking company Alex and Olmsted. To watch a puppet is to feel for it, says Sarah Olmsted Thomas, the troupe's other mastermind.

2 weeks ago | americantheatre.org | Celia Wren

To be a farmer is to be close to nature. Also, sometimes, to musicals. “I tend to blast Hamilton while I’m on the tractor,” confessed Norah Lake, owner and head farmer at Sweetland Farm in Norwich, Vermont, speaking near a cluster of John Deere equipment one chilly afternoon earlier this year.

3 weeks ago | americantheatre.org | Celia Wren

In the singing land that is the musical theatre, orchestrators are too unsung. These showbiz pros do much to give a musical a distinctive sound and feel, and yet—the Tony Award for orchestrators notwithstanding—they often dwell in the shadow of composers, directors, and other creatives. As the 2024-25 season draws to a close, American Theatre brought together two of these under-recognized artists with very different backgrounds and sounds. Both are currently represented on Broadway with hits.

3 weeks ago | washingtonpost.com | Celia Wren

A colorful new Alice ballet, with an enormous Jabberwocky puppet (washingtonpost.com) A colorful new Alice ballet, with an enormous Jabberwocky puppet By Celia Wren 2025041809001500 The dragon-like Jabberwocky is curled up in a corner, but Wonderland is in frabjous spirits in this Washington Ballet rehearsal room.

1 month ago | washingtonpost.com | Celia Wren

A teen sleepover play that’s endearing but not dreamy (washingtonpost.com) A teen sleepover play that’s endearing but not dreamy By Celia Wren 2025033122120100 Growing up can mean learning to trust your own opinions. Opinions like: Braces on boys are cute. Informed by her besties that orthodontic work does not beautify, a British 16-year-old named Shan disagrees, standing by her admiration for a crush. "When he smiles it actually sparkles," she points out.