Free speech groups are condemning the abrupt cancellation by Florida administrators of a high school student production of Paula Vogel’s play “Indecent,” which explores a flashpoint in Jewish and queer theatrical history.

The world also said goodbye to U.S. Rep. John Lewis, a lion of the civil rights movement who died in July. Other former political figures who died this year include Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak, New York Mayor David Dinkins, Arizona Gov. Here is a roll call of some influential figures who died in 2020 (cause of death cited for younger people, if available):___JANUARY___David Stern, 77. The guitarist who supplied the scratching, seething sound that fueled the highly influential British punk band Gang of Four. He fused African rhythms with funk to become one of the most influential musicians in world dance music.

NEW YORK – Broadway theaters may be dark, but there will be plenty of new online productions of some of classic plays this fall with some starry self-isolating actors, including Matthew Broderick, Morgan Freeman, Patti LuPone, Laura Linney and David Alan Grier. Producer Jeffrey Richards on Wednesday unveiled a weekly play run of livestreamed works to benefit The Actors Fund. They will stream on Broadway’s Best Shows and ticket buyers can access the events through TodayTix starting at $5. David Mamet’s ”Race" is up on Oct. 29, starring David Alan Grier and Ed O’Neill. Mamet’s “Boston Marriage” is slated for Nov. 12 with Patti LuPone and Rebecca Pidgeon.

FILE - This June 18, 2012 file photo shows actress Shirley Knight at the "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" premiere in New York. Knight, the Kansas-born actress who was nominated for two Oscars early in her career and went on to play an astonishing variety of roles in movies, TV and the stage, has died. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)LOS ANGELES – Shirley Knight, the Kansas-born actress who was nominated for two Oscars early in her career and went on to play an astonishing variety of roles in movies, TV and the stage, has died. Knight passed away Wednesday at her daughter's home in San Marcos, Texas, according to her daughter Kaitlin Hopkins. Her TV career began in the mid-1950s, not the 1980s.