The Fourth Wall

Fresh creative strategies and showbusiness insights—every Friday

Latest Posts

The Big IdeasThe Big Ideas
What We Do For Love: A Chorus Line at 50

What We Do For Love: A Chorus Line at 50

On legacy, sacrifice, and the questions we're brave enough to ask.

Matt Rodin
The Big IdeasThe Big Ideas
Why Critics Are No Longer Kings

Why Critics Are No Longer Kings

The shift from critic-led to creator-driven isn’t coming. It’s here.

Matt Rodin
The Big IdeasThe Big Ideas
What Young Artists Are Really Asking Right Now

What Young Artists Are Really Asking Right Now

On press, presence, and becoming more than a follower count.

Matt Rodin
The Big IdeasThe Big Ideas
What We Do For Love: A Chorus Line at 50

What We Do For Love: A Chorus Line at 50

On legacy, sacrifice, and the questions we're brave enough to ask.

Matt Rodin
The Big IdeasThe Big Ideas
Why Critics Are No Longer Kings

Why Critics Are No Longer Kings

The shift from critic-led to creator-driven isn’t coming. It’s here.

Matt Rodin
The Big IdeasThe Big Ideas
What Young Artists Are Really Asking Right Now

What Young Artists Are Really Asking Right Now

On press, presence, and becoming more than a follower count.

Matt Rodin
What's the Story?What's the Story?
The Jimmy Awards: From Cult-Favorite to Cultural Force

The Jimmy Awards: From Cult-Favorite to Cultural Force

How a scrappy digital team turned a niche event into a national phenomenon.

Matt Rodin
The Big IdeasThe Big Ideas
What Theater Knows About America

What Theater Knows About America

On myth, machinery, and the stubborn act of making something better.

Matt Rodin
The Big IdeasThe Big Ideas
The Opposite of War Isn't Peace...

The Opposite of War Isn't Peace...

...it’s creation. Reflections on the ache, the fog, and why making still matters.

Matt Rodin
A Quick Intermission

A Quick Intermission

26 weeks in, it's time to stretch our legs.

Matt Rodin
Awards SeasonAwards Season
What This Season Got Right—and What Comes Next

What This Season Got Right—and What Comes Next

Theater finally embraced the internet. Now comes the harder part.

Matt Rodin
Awards SeasonAwards Season
What The Tonys Mean to Us

What The Tonys Mean to Us

A look at how Broadway’s biggest night lands differently, depending on where you’re standing.

Matt Rodin
What's the Story?What's the Story?
Broadway is Done with Patti Lupone

Broadway is Done with Patti Lupone

A painful moment, a bigger pattern, and a few questions we need to ask.

Matt Rodin
The Gen Z-ification of Theater

The Gen Z-ification of Theater

What three different plays from this season can teach us about how to bring in younger audiences

Matt Rodin
What's the Story?What's the Story?
The Politics of Performance 🇫🇷

The Politics of Performance 🇫🇷

Inside the Les Mis boycott and what it reveals about the relationship between theater and politics today

Matt Rodin