MEDIA RELEASE
Stop the presses!
Palace Theatre Arts Commons (PTAC) kicks off its 2025/26 London Community Players season with The Front Page: SCOOPED — a rollicking newsroom comedy that flips the script on gender and power.
First staged in 1928, The Front Page was celebrated for its razor-sharp wit and cynical take on the cutthroat world of journalism — a world historically dominated by men. PTAC’s version, adapted and directed by Dinah Watts, keeps the original’s hard-boiled Chicago newsroom intact but turns the casting inside out: women actors play the roles of men, as men.
This is not gender-swapping for laughs. It’s a deliberate artistic choice that asks: What happens when women inhabit roles traditionally written to embody power, bravado, and authority — without changing a word? How does the audience see these dynamics differently when spoken through women’s voices and bodies?
(Pictured: Scooped Director, Dinah Watts.)
This is not gender-swapping for laughs. It’s a deliberate artistic choice that asks: What happens when women inhabit roles traditionally written to embody power, bravado, and authority — without changing a word? How does the audience see these dynamics differently when spoken through women’s voices and bodies? “Our production is about more than reviving a classic,” says Watts. “It’s about reframing it. We’re holding up a mirror to the systems of authority and exclusion that shaped journalism in the 1920s — and asking what’s shifted, and what hasn’t, nearly a century later.”
The production is paired with a Beyond the Stage: PTAC Conversations panel titled Women in 2025: Perspectives in Art, Culture and Society, moderated by Dr. Nicole Kaniki, the discussion brings together artists, activists, and community leaders to reflect on gender equity, cultural representation, and the role of art in catalyzing change. The panel complements The Front Page: SCOOPED by interrogating the intersections of performance and lived reality, exploring both progress and persisting inequities.
“By pairing performance with dialogue, we’re deepening the experience for audiences,” says Melissa Parker, PTAC’s Executive Director. “This isn’t just about a night at the theatre — it’s about sparking conversations that matter.” Audiences of The Front Page: SCOOPED can expect a high-energy comedy filled with quick-fire dialogue, outrageous newsroom antics, and a satirical look at truth, politics, and the press — now layered with a contemporary examination of gender and voice.
OPENING NIGHT PRE-SHOW JAZZ:
Opening night of The Front Page: SCOOPED is about to be the bee’s knees, and we’re servin’ it up hot with some toe-tappin’ tunes from Rubin & the Scoops — a swell 4-piece jazz band straight outta the speakeasy spirit of the 20s & 30s.
Joel Jacobs keepin’ time on the skins
Peter Karle strummin’ the strings
Gianny Correa blowin’ sweet saxophone
Patrick Leduc layin’ down the bass line
Friday, September 26
Doors at 6:00 pm — come early for the hot jazz!
The Front Page: SCOOPED at 7:30 pm.
Stick around after for an opening night reception with the cast & crew!
Big thanks to the London Arts Council and London Community Foundation for backing this jam and keepin’ local music swingin’.
Event Details:
The Front Page: SCOOPED September 25 – October 5, 2025 David Long Stage, Palace Theatre Arts Commons 710 Dundas Street, London, ON
Tickets available now at palacetheatre.ca/the-front-page-scooped
For more information about the Palace Theatre Arts Commons and other shows and events, visit https://palacetheatre.ca/
The Beat Magazine 2025 