Anton Chekhov News

Classic Stage Company, under the leadership of Artistic Director Brian Kulick and Executive Director Greg Reiner, will present its popular First Look Festival, a series of one-night only staged readings, this year focusing on the remarkable work of playwright Caryl Churchill, whose plays have provoked, captivated and astounded audiences since she burst onto the scene in the late 1960s.

Actor Sharif Atkins ('White Collar,' 'Hawaii,' 'ER') will star as Clay in the co-production of 'Dutchman' by LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka) by Dr. Barbara Ann Teer's National Black Theatre (NBT) and The Classical Theatre of Harlem (CTH). The two theater companies are mounting the production 50 years after the March 1964 world premiere of the play at the Cherry Lane Theatre and in tribute to the late theater great Baraka, who died on January 9. Ambien Mitchell stars opposite Atkins as Lula and Lorenzo Scott joins the cast as the Conductor. Previews of the Carl Cofield-directed show begin on April 30 and run through May 2, and performances run from May 3 through May 23 at National Black Theatre in Harlem.

The Hypocrites are pleased to announce their 2014-15 Season, beginning in August 2014 with the world premiere of ALL OUR TRAGIC, an unparalleled twelve-hour theatrical adaptation that combines all 32 surviving Greek tragedies into a single epic narrative, adapted and directed by Founding Artistic Director Sean Graney*. Audiences may experience ALL OUR TRAGIC at a single twelve-hour marathon performance (with ample breaks for food and beverage) or through shorter installments spread over multiple weekends.

Following the successful, award-winning 2013 co-production of Detroit '67 written by Dominique Morisseau, Dr. Barbara Ann Teer's National Black Theatre (NBT) and The Classical Theatre of Harlem (CTH) officially announce their second co-production. The famed Harlem arts institutions will produce the 50th Anniversary revival of 'Dutchman' by LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka) from April 30 to May 23, 2014. Carl Cofield will direct the revival.

Vermont's award-winning Weston Playhouse Theatre Company has announced its 2014 season of shows - a summer of Broadway blockbusters and exciting new works. Highlights include the world premiere of Paul Gordon's rock musical Analog and Vinyl directed by Michael Berresse, Christopher Lloyd and Campbell Scott in Annie Baker's Uncle Vanya, and Obie winner Dael Orlandersmith in her one-woman Stoop Stories.

Trinity Rep and The Providence Athenaeum invite the public to attend a free salon conversation inspired by Trinity Rep's world premiere Veronica Meadows. Girl Power: The Girl Detective in American Literature and Her Impact on American Culture, a conversation moderated by the Athenaeum's Christina Bevilacqua between Brown University cultural historian Susan Smulyan and playwright Stephen Thorne, takes place Monday, April 7 at 7:00PM in Trinity Rep's Dowling Theater. This event is free and open to the public.

Three-time Writers Guild of America Award-winning screenwriter and playwright John PiRoman, 62, who split his writing career between the theatre and television, died of natural causes at his home in Miami, FL on March 11, according to his brother Raphael PiRoman.

Kate Burton, accomplished Chekhovian actress, plays onstage mother to her son Morgan Ritchie in the Huntington Theatre Company's production of THE SEAGULL, featuring an ensemble of local favorites and Broadway veterans. Director Maria Aitken leads a stellar team of designers to create magic at the BU Theatre.

Woodie King Jr's New Federal Theatre continues its 44th season with the second play of 'The Ed Bullins Project' dedicated to the pioneer of the Black Arts Movement and one of America's most important and influential playwrights: The Fabulous Miss Marie, first produced in 1971 at the New Lafayette Theatre in Harlem will begin performances April 17th and continue through May 18th, with opening night set for May 1st. Woodie King Jr directs a cast that features Tony and Drama Desk Award winner Tonya Pinkins and Roscoe Orman ('Sesame Street') along with Toccarra Cash, Michael Chenevert, Ugo Chukwu, Aaliyah Habeeb, Beethovan Oden, G. Alverez Reid, Ashley C. Turner, and Brittany N. Williams.

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike puts the dysfunctional in family as it opened on Friday March 21 at the Kansas City Repertory Theatre. Written by Christopher Durang the play directed by Eric Rosen, Artistic Director for the KC Rep, is a co-production with Baltimore's Center Stage. One audience member stated, "It is so natural that you no longer feel like you're watching a play, but rather become a member of the family."

Parson's Nose Theater (PNT) presents Anton Chekhov's masterpiece with their usual comedic twist in this weekend's Readers' Theater Series production of The Seagull: A Tragicomedy.

American Players Theatre (APT) announces its 35th Season, June 7 to November 9, 2014, a diverse lineup spanning from Shakespeare to Mamet and helmed by recently appointed Artistic Director Brenda DeVita-the company's first new artistic director in over 20 years. DeVita's season includes the first David Mamet production of the company's history, American Buffalo, and her staging of Joan Didion's memoir The Year of Magical Thinking in APT's intimate 200-seat Touchstone Theatre, alongside such classics as Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing and Romeo and Juliet in APT's flagship 1148-seat outdoor amphitheater Up the Hill.

Master of Absurd Comedy Christopher Durang blends the characters and themes from Anton Chekhov's dramas in the hilarious Tony Award-winner Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike running today, March 21 - April 20 at Philadelphia Theatre Company's Suzanne Roberts Theatre (Broad and Lombard Streets). Directed by James J. Christy, the ensemble features Grace Gonglewski, Deirdre Madigan, Kianne Muschett , Clare O'Malley, Alex Shaw, and Kraig Swartz.

Arden Theatre Company presents the world premiere of a new translation of Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov, translated by Curt Columbus, directed by Terrence J. Nolen. The production appears on the Arden's F. Otto Haas Stage from today, March 20 through April 20, 2014 at 40 N. 2nd Street in Philadelphia.

Classic Stage Company, under the leadership of Artistic Director Brian Kulick and Executive Director Greg Reiner, will present its 2014 Annual Gala, MUSICAL MASTERWORKS, Monday evening, May 12 at the Hudson Theatre at the Millennium Broadway Hotel (145 West 44th Street). Tony Award-winner and CSC Associate Director John Doyle will helm an evening of memorable numbers from iconic American musicals-a rich and vital heritage that CSC has begun to explore with last season's critically-acclaimed production of Passion and the upcoming production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Allegro.

On Tuesday, March 18, 2014, Asolo Repertory Theatre announced its 2014-2015 season and the third season of its ambitious five-year American Character Project, an in-depth exploration of the soul of this country's people, past and present. Producing Artistic Director Michael Donald Edwards and FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training Director/Asolo Rep Associate Artistic Director Rep Greg Leaming presented both season line-ups to more than 350 patrons in Asolo Rep's Mertz Theatre.

People's Light & Theatre has announced its 40th Anniversary Season that celebrates the passion and artistry that created and sustained our company. The season includes one world premiere, two regional premieres, and one Philadelphia premiere. Nationally acclaimed artists Mary McDonnell, David Strathairn, and Victor Williams will join longtime company members and various newcomers on our stages. They will perform iconic works by August Wilson, Anton Chekhov, and Neil Simon, new plays by Bruce Graham, Bill Cain, and Jessica Dickey, and our new holiday panto by Pete Pryor and Samantha Bellomo. We will transport audiences to Merlin's Middle Ages, Ranyevskaya's changing Russia, 19th & 21st Century Gettysburg, and Lou's Bar in today's South Philly.