“Dicks: The Musical,” courtesy A24. It’s becoming increasingly challenging to get an original idea greenlit in Hollywood these days; some might say downright impossible. The musical theater world is facing similar challenges. It’s generally safer for a producer to back a jukebox musical full of already lovable hit songs…

Lauren Chanel and the North American Touring Company of “Jagged Little Pill.” Photo by Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade. Dillon Klena wasn’t even born when Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 1995. But now he’s part of a new generation of young performers…

“Hadestown” North American Tour, courtesy T Charles Erickson. Renaissance composer Claudio Monteverdi was on to something when he premiered L’Orfeo in 1607, which many consider to be the first great opera. L’Orfeo recounts the ancient Greek tale of Orpheus, a superbly gifted musician, who ventures into the underworld to…