The idea for TotalTheater sprang from a hard-copy publication founded by Lefkowitz in the early 1990s, "This Week ON STAGE." The journal collected theater reviews and listings from across the country and around the world.  By the middle of the decade, the journal was size was expanded but also converted into a monthly, "This Month ON STAGE."

With the extraordinary rise of the internet and the dissemination of information online, it made sense to move the idea of "This Month ON STAGE" from print to the web.  With the help of designer George Nevrodis and his company, PresentMedia, TotalTheater.com debuted in 2000. The website took the idea of the journals - gathering theater reviews and articles from across the globe - and added other features, such as lists of long-running shows and an encyclopedic search function for New York theater.

Because of time and budget limitations, that enormous scope was scaled back by the time TotalTheater underwent its major redesign in 2008, but the reinvigorated site also gained speed, ease of use and a more focused purpose.  By then, TotalTheater.com had also become the portal for two other projects, "Performing Arts Insider" theater journal and the radio program, "Dave's Gone By."

Currently co-published by theater critic and teacher Richmond Shepard and TotalTheater founder Lefkowitz, Performing Arts Insider is an industry journal founded in 1944 as a way to keep  arts and media professionals informed about New York theater. Each issue contains comprehensive information about virtually every production currently playing on, off and off-off-Broadway.  Contact information for writers, producers, performers and designers makes PAI an invaluable industry guide (more info: performingartsinsider.com).   

Hosted by Lefkowitz, Dave's Gone By began airing weekly on Long Island, NY's WGBB AM in October 2002.  A mix of talk-radio, humor, arts coverage, music and skits, the show found a loyal audience during its more than six years on the New York airwaves and internet.  In summer 2009, with TotalTheater's move to Northern Colorado, the program began airing as a web-only podcast (and streaming-audio file) at davesgoneby.org.  After a two-month hiatus, late August 2009 brought the 315th episode, which inaugurated the fall season.  (Please note that nearly every previous episode of the program is available, free, as a podcast or streaming-audiio file, in the archives section of davesgoneby.org.) 

So please enjoy surfing and searching TotalTheater.com, whether you're hoping to enjoy a radio program, find subscription information about Performing Arts Insider, or are curious to read a review of a new play or musical.

TotalTheater.com is always looking for good new theater critics and writers, so if you think you have a fresh perspective and an interesting style, please contact us at: Editorial, TotalTheater, P.O. Box 31, Greeley, CO 80632 or email paipress_at_aol.com.  Be sure to provide urls for published samples and/or paste your stories, as text, into the body of the email (no attachments, please).  Please note that we are especially looking for writers from overseas and from major American cities where we currently have too little coverage (e.g., Chicago, Boston, Houston, Atlanta). 

For other questions, comments and suggestions, please contact us at paipress_at_aol.com.  We look forward to your thoughts, your feedback and, of course, your continued readership.

David Lefkowitz

co-publisher,

December 2009