Anna-Deavere Smith News

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts presents the West Coast premiere of A Coffin in Egypt, a new chamber opera in one act, based on the play, A Coffin in Egypt by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Horton Foote, for three performances only tonight, April 23 and April 25 and 27 in the Bram Goldsmith Theater.

Showtime has announced that Broadway vet Laura Benanti will appear in a recurring role in the hit medical drama comedy NURSE JACKIE.

The Playwrights Realm just announced the expansion of programming to include two productions as part of the 2014-2015 season. The two productions were announced at the theatre company's seventh annual 'Writers Block Party' on Monday, April 7, 2014. Scroll down for photos from the event!

Steinhardt Professor's original play will give voice to bullying today, April 10-13.

The monologues are derived from participants who range in age from 19-62, encompassing a wide array of ethnic, economic and social backgrounds. They hail from as far away as Washington State and as close by as Brooklyn.

On May 2nd, Flanders & Streb are convening Risky Talking #2: What Is A Risky Truth? Acclaimed novelist A.M. Homes and actress/dramatist Anna Deavere Smith will join action architect Elizabeth Streb and author/journalist Laura Flanders for more. Hear what they think, say what you think and watch out for the unique action moment created by the Streb team. The action and the conversation resume on Friday May 2nd from 7 to 9 pm. Admission is $10 or $20-you decide. There's even food!

In advance of its sixth season premiere, today SHOWTIME announced that it has picked up a seventh season of its signature comedy series NURSE JACKIE.

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts presents the West Coast premiere of A Coffin in Egypt, a new chamber opera in one act, based on the play, A Coffin in Egypt by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Horton Foote, for three performances only April 23, 25 and 27 in the Bram Goldsmith Theater. A Coffin in Egypt stars mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, one of opera's most beloved figures, whose formidable bravura has won her wide acclaim. Ricky Ian Gordon, the composer, has also composed The Grapes of Wrath, Rappahannock County, and Orpheus and Euridice. Leonard Foglia, librettist and director, directed Master Class on Broadway and Jake Heggie's Opera Last Acts.

Last night at Joe's Pub at The Public, Harvey Fierstein, who played a celebrated Tevye in the 2004 revival of Fiddler; Fiddler on the Roof co-creator Sheldon Harnick; original Broadway cast member Austin Pendleton; renowned Yiddish theatermaker Jenny Romaine; Taniesha Duggan, Director of Audience Engagement of Hartbeat Ensemble; andAlisa Solomon, author of Wonder of Wonders, discussed how successive generations of storytellers used Sholom-Alechem's characters to reflect changing concerns about family, identity, and more. Check out photos from the special event below!

The Public Theater will continue its Spring Public Forum series with an exciting new Public Forum Solo, SARAH LEWIS: PICTURES AND PROGRESS, on Monday, April 7 at 7:00 p.m. at Joe's Pub at The Public. Member tickets are on sale now. Single tickets, starting at $25, go on sale Wednesday, March 12 and can be purchased at (212) 967-7555, www.publictheater.org, or in person at the Taub Box Office at 425 Lafayette Street.

When sheltered Claudine meets starving artist Henry, she falls head over heels. But her mother, a tough-talking celebrity financial guru, has her doubts: Is Henry everything her daughter deserves or is he only after her money? Rich Girl, a modern day take on the classic play and film The Heiress, is a clever new comedy about women, men, mothers, and money – but not necessarily in that order.

Today, The Ground Floor: Berkeley Rep's Center for the Creation and Development of New Work announces that it has selected 18 projects from more than 30 innovative artists for its third Summer Residency Lab. This June, as part of an extraordinary laboratory for collaboration, some of the nation's most prominent and promising writers, directors, and composers will unite at the Theatre's campus in West Berkeley for an intense four-week period to live, dine, and create new plays together. Dozens more local and out-of-town actors and directors will join The Ground Floor process, bringing the number of artists involved close to 100.

Philadelphia Theatre Company's PTC@Play Festival of new work will host a special onstage conversation with PTC's artist-in-residence playwright/performer ANNA DEAVERE SMITH, and two evenings of staged readings by the winners of the Terrence McNally New Play Award, playwrights BILL CAIN and A. ZELL WILLIAMS, all at PTC's home, the Suzanne Roberts Theatre at Broad and Lombard Streets.

Philadelphia Theatre Company's PTC@Play Festival of new work will host a special onstage conversation with PTC's artist-in-residence playwright/performer ANNA DEAVERE SMITH, and two evenings of staged readings by the winners of the Terrence McNally New Play Award, playwrights BILL CAIN and A. ZELL WILLIAMS, all at PTC's home, the Suzanne Roberts Theatre at Broad and Lombard Streets.

Sharon Bush, Philanthropist & Founder/Chief Executive Officer of Teddy Share, Arianna Huffington, Chair, President & Editor-in-Chief of the Huffington Post Media Group, and Joan Vail Thorne, playwright and director, are Women's Project Theater's 2014 Women of Achievement who will be inducted at its 29th Annual Gala Celebration at the Mandarin Oriental, 80 Columbus Circle, Monday, March 10, at 6:00pm.

Each year, thousands of high school students apply to the National YoungArts Foundation (YoungArts), hoping for a chance to be mentored by some of the world's greatest artists. In ANNA DEAVERE SMITH: A YOUNGARTS MASTERCLASS, the latest edition of the two-time Emmy(R)-nominated show, the acclaimed actress and playwright challenges six young actors to use their life experiences and talents to create an original theater piece to be performed in San Francisco. Emphasizing the importance of mentorship in the arts, this behind-the-scenes look at the creative process debuts MONDAY, FEB. 17 (7:30-8:00 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.

Second Stage Theatre's production of THE HAPPIEST SONG PLAYS LAST, written by 2012 Pulitzer Prize winner Quiara Alegria Hudes and directed by Tony Award winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson, begins performances tonight, February 11.

Renowned actress and playwright Anna Deavere Smith and cellist Joshua Roman present Conversations On Grace, a two-part evening that features a public presentation of their work-in-progress play On Grace, followed by a moderated audience discussion. The event is set for tonight, January 21, 2014, at the Harris Theater.

Tonight, Tuesday, Jan. 21, the University of Chicago and the Harris Theater for Music and Dance will present On Grace, a work-in-progress staged performance conceived and created by renowned actress/playwright Anna Deavere Smith, in collaboration with cellist Joshua Roman. The performance will be directed by Leonard Foglia. The event is the culmination of Smith's 2014 Presidential Arts Fellowship at UChicago and the first formal collaborative arts partnership between UChicago and Harris Theater.