Alabama Shakespeare Festival News

University of Washington faculty member Valerie Curtis-Newton, Head of MFA Performance and Directing, directs the second-year Professional Actor Training Program (PATP) students as they tackle the complex characters of Lanford Wilson's Fifth of July. This is the second show in the 2013-2014 season and it offers the School of Drama students an opportunity to experience the challenges associated with taking on meaty ensemble acting roles.

Casting was recently announced for the first public reading of NOTHING BUT TRASH, a satire of 1950's teen-angst films and gay pulp fiction, produced by Theater For The New City (Crystal Field, Executive Director), written by and starring Andy Halliday(of Charles Busch's Theatre-In-Limbo), with direction by G.R. Johnson (Bounce and Thunder, Seven11.2005). The reading, which is free and open to the public, takes place today, October 28th at 7:30pm in midtown Manhattan.

Roundabout Theatre Company has announced that Dinner with Friends by Pulitzer Prize winnerDonald Margulies, directed by Tony Award winner Pam MacKinnon will open on February 13, 2014. The cast will include Jeremy Shamos as 'Gabe,' Darren Pettie as 'Tom', Marin Hinkle as 'Karen,' and Maria Dizzia as 'Beth.'

Orlando Shakespeare Theater in Partnership with UCF is thrilled to present the epic theatrical event The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Parts I and II. Written by David Edgar and adapted from the novel by Charles Dickens, the production is produced in Collaboration with Theatre UCF. Co-directed by Artistic Director Jim Helsinger and Theatre UCF Chair/Artistic Director Christopher Niess, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Parts I & II is presented in rotating repertory from January 22 to March 9, 2014 at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center in Loch Haven Park. Tickets ($17-$40) are available by calling (407) 447-1700, online at http://orlandoshakes.org, or in person at 812 East Rollins St., Orlando, FL 32803. Dinner and hotel packages are also available at http://www.orlandoshakes.org/nickleby.

Charles Newell, Artistic Director of Court Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, is the 2013 recipient of The Zelda Fichandler Award, an award to recognize an outstanding director or choreographer who is transforming the regional arts landscape through imaginative, brave work in theatre. The $5,000 award, given by Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation, heralds both accomplishment to date and promise for the future, and lauds deep commitment to a community.

Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF), the not-for-profit foundation of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), announces that Artistic Director Charles Newell of Court Theatre is the recipient of the 2013 Zelda Fichandler Award, which recognizes an outstanding director or choreographer who is transforming the regional arts landscape through singular creativity and artistry in theatre. The award heralds accomplishment to date and promise for the future, artistic vision, and deep commitment to a region outside of New York. It carries an unrestricted grant of $5000 to the individual recipient. The award will be presented to Mr. Newell on Monday, November 4, 2013 at a reception at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.

Court Theatre Artistic Director Charles Newell and Executive Director Stephen J. Albert present the remount of the Theatre's critically acclaimed production of An Iliad starring Timothy Edward Kane, adapted from Fagles' translation of Homer's Iliad by Lisa Peterson and Denis O'Hare, and directed by Artistic Director Charles Newell. The production will run November 13 - December 8, 2013 at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Avenue. Press Opening is Saturday, November 16, 2013 at 8 PM.

The Theatre @ Boston Court announces PLAY/ground, the annual New Play Festival November 9-10, 2013 at Boston Court Performing Arts Center in Pasadena, CA. Literary Managers Aaron Henne and Emilie Beck, in concert with Artistic Directors Jessica Kubzansky and Michael Michetti, have selected four plays to be presented as staged readings in the Marjorie Branson Performance Space.

Casting has been announced for the first public reading of NOTHING BUT TRASH, a satire of 1950's teen-angst films and gay pulp fiction, produced by Theater For The New City (Crystal Field, Executive Director), written by and starring Andy Halliday(of Charles Busch's Theatre-In-Limbo), with direction by G.R. Johnson (Bounce and Thunder, Seven11.2005). The reading, which is free and open to the public, will take place on Monday, October 28th at 7:30pm in midtown Manhattan.

Directed by five-time Tony Award winner Susan Stroman (Contact, The Producers, The Scottsboro Boys), with music and lyrics by Grammy and Tony Award nominee Andrew Lippa (The Wild Party, The Addams Family), and a book by Grammy and BAFTA Award nominee John August (Frankenweenie, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), Big Fish opened on Broadway on Sunday, October 6, 2013 at the Neil Simon Theatre (250 West 52nd Street). Scroll down to learn more about the cast!

Wildly clever and a bit naughty, brimming with wordplay and swordplay, David Ives' English-language adaptation of Pierre Corneille's The Liar is next up at Antaeus. Casey Stangl directs the Los Angeles premiere of this delightfully ingenious and irreverent update of a classic French romp at the Antaeus Theater in NoHo. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

From the author of Ella: Off the Record comes Mrs. Mannerly by Jeffrey Hatcher. The irreverent and clever comedy will run at TheaterWorks in Downtown Hartford, tonight, October 11 through November 17, 2013.

Orlando Shakespeare Theater in Partnership with UCF sends chills down Central Florida audiences' spines with Dracula: The Journal of Jonathan Harker. Adapted from Bram Stoker's novel by Orlando Shakes Artistic Director Jim Helsinger and directed by Michael Carleton, Dracula: The Journal of Jonathan Harker begins tonight, October 9 and runs through November 10, 2013 at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center in Loch Haven Park.

In celebration of the 75th anniversary of Thornton Wilder's great dramatic homage to small-town American life and the greater universal experience of life, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey presents Our Town beginning October 17th and continuing through November 17th at the F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre, 36 Madison Ave. (at Lancaster Road) in Madison. Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased by calling the Box Office at973-408-5600 or by visiting www.ShakespeareNJ.org. Performances are Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays at 7:30 p.m.; Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.; and Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. Individual tickets range from $35 to $70; student rush tickets are available 30 minutes prior to curtain for $15.

Gulfshore Playhouse kicks off their tenth anniversary year with the sexiest, funniest, most acclaimed new Broadway Play, Venus in Fur, playing tonight, October 4th through October 20th.

Dallas Theater Center has announced the regional premiere of Clybourne Park, running in rotating rep with A Raisin in the Sun, to launch the theater's 55th season. Clybourne Park will be directed by DTC Associate Artistic Director Joel Ferrell. Clybourne Park begins with a Pay-What-You-Can performance tonight, October 4 and runs through Sunday, October 27 at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre in the AT&T Performing Arts Center.

I Came to Look for You on Tuesday makes its world premiere, directed by Reagan, September 26 - October 13 at La MaMa's First Floor Theater (74A East 4th Street). Days and times of performances will be announced soon. As of mid-August, tickets, which are $18, will be available at www.lamama.org and 212.475.7710, and in person at La MaMa's main box office (74A East 4th Street).

59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer) welcomes Centenary Stage Company with the NYC premiere of THE ENGLISH BRIDE, written by Lucile Lichtblau and directed by Carl Wallnau. THE ENGLISH BRIDE begins performances on Wednesday, October 23 for a limited engagement through Sunday, November 17. Press opening is Wednesday, October 30 at 7:30 PM. The performance schedule is Tuesday - Thursday at 7:30 PM; Friday at 8:30 PM; and Saturday at 2:30 PM & 8:30 PM; and Sunday at 3:30 PM & 7:30 PM. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues). Tickets are $25 ($17.50 for 59E59 Members). To purchase tickets, call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or go to www.59e59.org.

The Twin Cities theater community bestowed on Jeffrey Hatcher, nationally-renowned playwright, the Lifetime Achievement Award, and performer, director and playwright Ricardo Vasquez the Emerging Artist Award at the 9th annual Ivey Awards. The celebration, held Monday, September 23, at the Historic State Theatre in downtown Minneapolis, honors and showcases the work of professional theater companies and artists over the past year.

From the author of Ella: Off the Record comes Mrs. Mannerly by Jeffrey Hatcher. The irreverent and clever comedy will run at TheaterWorks in Downtown Hartford, October 11 through November 17, 2013.