Arena Stage News

The critically-acclaimed 50th anniversary Broadway revival of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? will play its final performance today, March 3rd at 3:00 PM. The production, which began performances on Thursday, September 27, 2012 and officially opened on Saturday, October 13, 2012, at the Booth Theatre (222 West 45th Street) will have played 159 performances.

The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize has announced 10 Finalists for its prestigious playwriting award, now celebrating its thirty-fifth year.

Katori Hall's Olivier Award-winning drama The Mountaintop comes to Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater following an acclaimed run at the Alley Theatre in Houston, where it was hailed by the Houston Chronicle as "fast and funny, profoundly poignant, remarkably real and shimmeringly surreal." Obie Award winner Robert O'Hara (Public Theater's Wild with Happy) makes his Arena Stage directorial debut with The Mountaintop, which is produced in association with the Alley Theatre and runs March 29-May 12, 2013 in the Kreeger Theater.

At BroadwayWorld we pride ourselves in showcasing content submitted by our regional contributors from all corners of the globe. Get all your theater news at a glance each Friday with 'Around BWW: Regional Highlights of the Week'! Scroll below for the most-read stories for the week of February 25!

The National Civil War Project, a radical multi-city, multi-year collaboration between four universities and five performing arts organizations to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War, launched today and includes the state theater and the flagship university of the state of Maryland. CENTERSTAGE in Baltimore and the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland are collaborating on this national project, commissioning several original theatrical productions and creating new arts-integrated academic programs. CENTERSTAGE and the Clarice Smith Center are one of four regional pairings participating in this national partnership.

Dallas Theater Center announced today the upcoming production of Neil Simon's classic American comedy, The Odd Couple, directed by DTC Artistic Director Kevin Moriarty. When two men with struggling relationships, neat and particular Felix Ungar and disheveled and rough-edged Oscar Madison, decide to live together, the results are funny and poignant. The Odd Couple opens with previews on Friday, March 15 and runs through Sunday, April 14 at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre in the AT&T Performing Arts Center.

Bringing together an outstanding, large cast with a world-class artistic team, Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd directs Aaron Sorkin's A Few Good Men. This epic production brings this captivating military courtroom drama to life. A Few Good Men runs tonight, March 1 through March 24, 2013, on the Hubbard Stage.

Big breaking news, first reported by the New York Times, that Tony-winner Idina Menzel will be returning to Broadway in a new musical, If/Then by NEXT TO NORMAL's Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey.

59E59 Theaters will welcome the US premiere of THE GIRL I LEFT BEHIND ME, written by Neil Bartlett and Jessica Walker, and directed by Mr. Bartlett to Brits Off Broadway. THE GIRL I LEFT BEHIND ME begins performances on Tuesday, April 30 for a limited engagement through Sunday, May 19. Press opening is Sunday, May 5 at 7:30 PM. The performance schedule is Tuesday - Thursday at 7:30 PM; Friday at 8:30 PM; 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 American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) and Harvard University are proud to announce their participation in The National Civil War Project, an ambitious multi-city, multi-year collaboration of four universities and five performing arts organizations to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War, which launched today in Washington, D.C. Inspired by noted choreographer Liz Lerman, The National Civil War Project will include the commissioning of original theatrical works as well as the creation of new arts-integrated academic programs.

Marin Theatre Company, in a co-production with Virginia Stage Company, will stage the regional premiere of Matthew Lopez's Civil War drama The Whipping Man in Mill Valley from March 28 to April 21, 2013. MTC's artistic director Jasson Minadakis directs the production. Featuring popular Bay Area actors L. Peter Callender, Nicholas Pelczar and Tobie Windham, as well as the design team from MTC's 2011 San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award nominated production of Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie, this co-production will rehearse and run at VSC in Norfolk, Virginia, from February 26 to March 17, 2013, before moving to MTC. Opening night at MTC is on Tuesday, April 2.

Actors' Playhouse presents Broadway's Tony Award-winning Best Musical In The Heights at the Miracle Theatre from March 7 - April 6, 2013.

Playwright Tommy Smith returns to The Flea and once again brings you to the brink with the New York Premiere of WHITE HOT. In her directorial debut, the production will be helmed by Flea Resident Director Courtney Ulrich starring The Bats, the resident acting company at The Flea. Previews begin April 26 with opening night slated for May 7.

Rep Stage, the professional Equity theatre in residence at Howard Community College (HCC), continues its 20th anniversary season with 'Home,' Samm-Art Williams' brilliantly inventive, lyrically expressive play that tells the coming-of-age story of a young black man, Cephus Miles, from rural North Carolina. From beginning to end - and through tragedy and triumph - Cephus never loses his joyful goodwill, his indomitable spirit, and the conviction that one day his quest for fulfillment with be rewarded. 'Home' stars returning Rep Stage actors Felicia Curry and Fatima Quander, as well as Rep newcomer Robert Lee Hardy in the role of Cephus Miles.

Arena Stage Artistic Director Molly Smith has announced 10 productions for the company's 2013/14 season, the fourth year in the Mead Center for American Theater. As a national center for the production, presentation, development and study of American theater, Arena Stage pursues a dynamic and diverse body of work with an upcoming season that showcases award-winning theater artists and projects.