In Playbill On-Line's ongoing effort to expand coverage of theatre people, events and issues, we have engaged experienced correspondents to report from three of the most dynamic theatre communities in the United States: Chicago, Southern California and Seattle.
Please meet our correspondents, whose bylines you have already begun seeing in our U.S. Theatre News area. Their dispatches will carry local datelines. If you have tips about breaking or developing stories, you can post them to the correspondents directly, or to Managing Editor Robert Viagas in New York.
In Chicago: Lawrence Bommer -- Bommer is a regular theater critic for the Chicago Tribune and The Reader and is theater editor for Windy City Times. He also contributes regularly to Chicago Footlites Magazine and is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association. Check out his story The Chicago Follies: Strange Theatrical Events of 1997
In Southern California: Willard Manus -- Manus has been writing about theatre in Southern California since 1980. His reviews and features have appeared in many of the region's publications, including The Century City News, the L.A. Daily News, L.A. Weekly and The Outlook. He's also written for This Month On Stage, The New York Times and The Chicago Tribune. His novels include "Mott the Hoople," and his plays include Walt -- Sweet Bird of Freedom and The Love Boutique. Manus is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. He also writes about movies and jazz. He lives in Beverly Hills. Check out his story Three New Theatres To Open This Year in L.A.
In Seattle: David-Edward Hughes -- Hughes has been covering Seattle theatre for six years, starting with Twist Weekly and Intermission. His features and news stories have appeared in Backstage West, Eastside Week and Seattle Gay News. On the other side of the footlights, he wrote the book and some songs for the comedy revue Broadway Maladies at Re-bar Cabaret in 1995, and music and lyrics for As Christina's World Turns, presented by Music Theatre Works at the 1994 Seattle Fringe Theatre Festival. Before that, he was located in Hawaii. Check out his story Vic/Vic Postpones Again in Seattle
