Dr. Maya Cantu
@mayamcantu.bsky.social
Greasepaint Puritan: Boston to 42nd Street in the Queer Backstage Novels of Bradford Ropes, University of Michigan Press ‘24; Drama, Bennington College. www.mayacantu.com/news
The Bradford Ropes backstage trilogy, including ‘42nd Street,’ has vanished from Amazon.
November 14, 2025 at 6:03 PM
The Bradford Ropes backstage trilogy, including ‘42nd Street,’ has vanished from Amazon.
Passed the time tonight with these two time-travelers.
November 12, 2025 at 3:00 AM
Passed the time tonight with these two time-travelers.
I was going to go as a Zombie Tradwife this Halloween, but it just ended up Valley of the Dolls.
October 31, 2025 at 8:13 PM
I was going to go as a Zombie Tradwife this Halloween, but it just ended up Valley of the Dolls.
As a teenager, I had the privilege of meeting Dana at the Ziegfeld Club in the late 1990s; she was so lovely and still so stylish.
October 28, 2025 at 11:08 PM
As a teenager, I had the privilege of meeting Dana at the Ziegfeld Club in the late 1990s; she was so lovely and still so stylish.
The revival of the 1980 ‘42nd Street’ with @suzietoot.bsky.social as Peggy Sawyer and @thebiancadelrio.bsky.social as Dorothy Brock.
October 27, 2025 at 4:08 PM
The revival of the 1980 ‘42nd Street’ with @suzietoot.bsky.social as Peggy Sawyer and @thebiancadelrio.bsky.social as Dorothy Brock.
Always audacious to musicalize this wildest of Wilder plays (my favorite of them) & not sure everything clicks here yet—but this surprisingly faithful version of ‘Skin of Our Teeth’ is a smart, engaging trip performed by a stellar cast; loved Ruthie Ann Miles as Mrs. A and Micaela Diamond as Sabina.
October 27, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Always audacious to musicalize this wildest of Wilder plays (my favorite of them) & not sure everything clicks here yet—but this surprisingly faithful version of ‘Skin of Our Teeth’ is a smart, engaging trip performed by a stellar cast; loved Ruthie Ann Miles as Mrs. A and Micaela Diamond as Sabina.
Astonishing prescience and moral vision in Sally Carson’s 1935 play (which she adapted from her 1934 novel) about the infiltration of Nazi ideology into family life. A chilling watch at the Mint, but also imbued with real human warmth and feeling.
October 24, 2025 at 11:56 AM
Astonishing prescience and moral vision in Sally Carson’s 1935 play (which she adapted from her 1934 novel) about the infiltration of Nazi ideology into family life. A chilling watch at the Mint, but also imbued with real human warmth and feeling.
Through the jumbled kaleidoscope of second-wave feminism, a jubilantly exploratory show about freedom and revolution: where those lines meet and where they diverge. I was happy to pack up my phone at the door and enjoy the dialectical fireworks in ‘Liberation.’
October 22, 2025 at 3:05 AM
Through the jumbled kaleidoscope of second-wave feminism, a jubilantly exploratory show about freedom and revolution: where those lines meet and where they diverge. I was happy to pack up my phone at the door and enjoy the dialectical fireworks in ‘Liberation.’
I have many thoughts about ‘Blue Moon,’ which I loved as a work of musical theater history, of cinema & a tonally true tragicomic valentine to the man F. Scott Fitzgerald called ‘the poet laureate of America.’ It’s a miracle this film got made & a gift that Linklater and team pulled it off so well.
October 21, 2025 at 9:46 PM
I have many thoughts about ‘Blue Moon,’ which I loved as a work of musical theater history, of cinema & a tonally true tragicomic valentine to the man F. Scott Fitzgerald called ‘the poet laureate of America.’ It’s a miracle this film got made & a gift that Linklater and team pulled it off so well.
Honestly wondering if Jennifer Lopez was the long-time ‘Lady in the Dark’ fan, via the Ginger Rogers film. ‘This is Me Now..A Love Story’ had J. Lo as a kind of Liza Elliott, alternating between the therapist’s couch and elaborate musical fantasy sequences.
October 16, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Honestly wondering if Jennifer Lopez was the long-time ‘Lady in the Dark’ fan, via the Ginger Rogers film. ‘This is Me Now..A Love Story’ had J. Lo as a kind of Liza Elliott, alternating between the therapist’s couch and elaborate musical fantasy sequences.
Found my source: November 19, 1970. ‘Yvonne De Carlo? Right on.’
October 15, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Found my source: November 19, 1970. ‘Yvonne De Carlo? Right on.’
A question that has been asked since the 1930s! According to her profile, nothing.
October 14, 2025 at 12:17 PM
A question that has been asked since the 1930s! According to her profile, nothing.
‘A New (Old) Look at Peggy Fears: Sapphic Showgirl, Broadway Producer, Queen of Fire Island:’ mayacantu.com/the-world-of....
October 13, 2025 at 7:35 PM
‘A New (Old) Look at Peggy Fears: Sapphic Showgirl, Broadway Producer, Queen of Fire Island:’ mayacantu.com/the-world-of....
One more thing…found at a sidewalk sale. I expect guest cameos from Jack Cassidy and Anne Baxter.
October 10, 2025 at 11:41 PM
One more thing…found at a sidewalk sale. I expect guest cameos from Jack Cassidy and Anne Baxter.
So glad to have seen the world premiere, 90 years in the making, of Zora Neale Hurston’s ‘Spunk’ at Yale Rep. Set in 1935 Florida, this show is lyrical, bawdy, ebullient, suspenseful and unpredictable—and its over two dozen reconstructed folk, blues & gospel songs electrically performed by the cast.
October 8, 2025 at 3:10 AM
So glad to have seen the world premiere, 90 years in the making, of Zora Neale Hurston’s ‘Spunk’ at Yale Rep. Set in 1935 Florida, this show is lyrical, bawdy, ebullient, suspenseful and unpredictable—and its over two dozen reconstructed folk, blues & gospel songs electrically performed by the cast.
I’ve been impelled to revive my World of Bradford Ropes research blog: on ‘Val Burton, Jewish Culture, and the First Gay Movie Musical (1930):’ mayacantu.com/the-world-of....
October 6, 2025 at 3:22 PM
I’ve been impelled to revive my World of Bradford Ropes research blog: on ‘Val Burton, Jewish Culture, and the First Gay Movie Musical (1930):’ mayacantu.com/the-world-of....
The brilliant Justine is one of my favorite Ziegfeld Girls.
October 2, 2025 at 5:35 PM
The brilliant Justine is one of my favorite Ziegfeld Girls.
Spotted on the Other Place: Elsa Maxwell 1929 (Marx-well?) costume party with Richard Rodgers as Zeppo, Justine Johnstone as Harpo, George Gershwin as #botd Groucho, and Jules Glaenzer as Chico.
October 2, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Spotted on the Other Place: Elsa Maxwell 1929 (Marx-well?) costume party with Richard Rodgers as Zeppo, Justine Johnstone as Harpo, George Gershwin as #botd Groucho, and Jules Glaenzer as Chico.
Not bonkers—and only one Erik and Christine—but the Yeston ‘Phantom’ is presented very appealingly (and sung sublimely) in this pro-shot South Korean production streaming on Kanopy: www.kanopy.com/en/product/p....
September 30, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Not bonkers—and only one Erik and Christine—but the Yeston ‘Phantom’ is presented very appealingly (and sung sublimely) in this pro-shot South Korean production streaming on Kanopy: www.kanopy.com/en/product/p....
First time at the Orpheum Theatre, for ‘Ginger Twinsies.’ Some storied Off-Broadway history on the walls!
September 22, 2025 at 10:57 PM
First time at the Orpheum Theatre, for ‘Ginger Twinsies.’ Some storied Off-Broadway history on the walls!
‘Syncopated Stages’ at the NYPL Performing Arts brilliantly shows the multiplicity, resilience and cyclicality of Black musical theater artistry, from origins at the African Grove Theatre to ‘A Strange Loop’ and Audra ‘Gypsy.’ A few favorite images from the exhibition!
September 18, 2025 at 7:47 PM
‘Syncopated Stages’ at the NYPL Performing Arts brilliantly shows the multiplicity, resilience and cyclicality of Black musical theater artistry, from origins at the African Grove Theatre to ‘A Strange Loop’ and Audra ‘Gypsy.’ A few favorite images from the exhibition!
I loved the conceptual twists and turns of this smart and timely meta-espionage musical. Part ‘The Producers’ and Monty Python, but also in the tradition of Newley and Bricusse, and Joan Littlewood.
September 18, 2025 at 3:26 AM
I loved the conceptual twists and turns of this smart and timely meta-espionage musical. Part ‘The Producers’ and Monty Python, but also in the tradition of Newley and Bricusse, and Joan Littlewood.
Always eager to see what new ingenuities will unfold on Goodspeed Opera House’s small jewel-box stage. It gave their 50th anniversary production of ‘A Chorus Line’ intense emotional intimacy and testament to the dancers’ virtuosity—& fascinating how an offstage pit enabled them to extend the line.
September 15, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Always eager to see what new ingenuities will unfold on Goodspeed Opera House’s small jewel-box stage. It gave their 50th anniversary production of ‘A Chorus Line’ intense emotional intimacy and testament to the dancers’ virtuosity—& fascinating how an offstage pit enabled them to extend the line.
It would have been magic to have Annie Lennox on the album, but Apple Music should probably fix the typo.
September 13, 2025 at 2:26 PM
It would have been magic to have Annie Lennox on the album, but Apple Music should probably fix the typo.