Arena Stage News

THE NORMAL HEART closes this Sunday, July 29 at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. The production stars Broadway cast members Patrick Breen and Luke MacFarlane as well as Tom Berklund (Broadway's The Addams Family) as Craig Donner/Grady, Michael Berresse (Broadway's A Chorus Line) as Mickey Marcus, Christopher Dinolfo (Round House Theatre's Next Fall) as David, Christopher J. Hanke (Broadway's How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying) as Tommy Boatwright, Jon Levenson (understudy for Broadway's The Normal Heart) as Hiram Keebler/Examining Doctor, Nick Mennell (Broadway's A Free Man of Color) as Bruce Niles and John Procaccino (Lincoln Center Theater's Blood and Gifts) as Ben Weeks. BroadwayWorld brings you highlights from the production below!

Casting is now complete for the world premiere of TAIL! SPIN!, a 'hilarious and heartbreaking verbatim reenactment of the preposterous sex scandals that brought down Former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, Former U.S. Congressman Anthony Wiener of New York, Former U.S. Congressman Mark Foley of Florida, and Former U.S. Senator Larry Craig of Idaho.'

The New Group has announced complete casting for Francine Volpe's suspenseful drama The Good Mother. Darren Goldstein, Alfredo Narciso, Eric Nelsen and Bill Sage join Gretchen Mol (previously announced) in this world premiere directed by Scott Elliott. Previews for the play, which launches The New Group's 2012-13 season, begin October 29 in advance of an Official Opening Night on Thursday, November 15. A limited Off-Broadway engagement is slated through December 22 at The New Group @ Theatre Row (The Acorn Theatre / 410 West 42nd Street / Acorn Theatre).

Milwaukee Repertory Theater announced casting today for Gutenberg! The Musical, the first production in The Rep's 2012/13 season, and The Mountaintop, which opens this September.

Stage and screen star Sanaa Lathan (A Raisin in the Sun, Contagion) returns to the title role in Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage's By the Way, Meet Vera Stark for its West Coast premiere at the Geffen Playhouse. Lathan, who originated the character of Vera Stark in the critically acclaimed New York run, will once again take the stage as the 1930's era maid turned movie star, reunited with original cast member Kimberly Hebert Gregory (Spike Lee's Red Hook Summer) reprising her role as fellow aspiring African American actress Lottie. Broadway vet and Geffen alum Merle Dandridge (Spamalot, Rent, Aida) will take on the spicy role of Anna Mae, who fakes a Brazilian accent for a slice of fame, and former leading lady of ABC's Man Up, Amanda Detmer, will portray Gloria Mitchell, the white starlet dubbed "America's little sweetie pie" and Vera's first employer. Helmed by award-winning director Jo Bonney, the West Coast premiere cast also features Kevin Carroll (Paid in Full, Being John Malkovich), Spencer Garrett (Iron Man 3, Air Force One) and Geffen alum Mather Zickel (Extraordinary Chambers, Rachel Getting Married).

Cleveland Play House will originate a new production of the musical One Night With Janis Joplin based on the musical journey of one of rock 'n roll's greatest legends.

Coinciding with AIDS 2012, the biennial International AIDS Conference in D.C. July 22-27, 2012, Arena Stage hosted a special benefit performance of The Normal Heart along with the Washington AIDS Partnership Monday, July 23 at the Mead Center for American Theater. View photos below!

Tickets go on sale today, July 26 for "Elephant Room" at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. Bringing pure, unadulterated fun and transforming the space into a mystical place of wonder and amusement, "Elephant Room" runs August 22 through September 16, 2012. The opening is set for August 26.

There are only 7 more chances to see THE NORMAL HEART before it closes this Sunday, July 29. Don't miss this inspiring show that has audiences and critics raving.THE NORMAL HEART, ran a limited run on Broadway last year and is currently playing Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.

The Lower Depth Theatre Ensemble presents the West Coast premiere of ELMINA'S KITCHEN, written by award-winning playwright Kwame Kwei-Armah, directed by Gregg T. Daniel. This gut-wrenching drama is set in the notorious "Murder Mile" section of London's East End. ELMINA'S KITCHEN examines the bitter clash of values between three generations of black men and its effect on their family and community. The play runs August 11 through September 9. Fridays & Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 4pm. The Lost Studio, 130 S. La Brea, Los Angeles, Calif.

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) Artistic Director Carey Perloff announced today the casting for the West Coast premiere of The Normal Heart, Larry Kramer's landmark play focusing on the early years of the AIDS crisis in New York City in the 1980s. Directed by five-time Tony Award winner George C. Wolfe, The Normal Heart unfolds like a real-life political thriller as a tight-knit group of friends refuse to let doctors, politicians, and the press bury the truth about an epidemic ravaging the gay community behind a wall of silence. The Normal Heart performs a limited run September 13-October 7, 2012, at the American Conservatory Theater (415 Geary Street, San Francisco). Press night is Wednesday, September 19, at 8 p.m. The Normal Heart is presented in association with Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater in Washington, D.C., by special arrangement with Daryl Roth.

Olney Theatre Center continues its 2012 season with the hit musical, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS August 1 to August 26, 2012.

Tickets go on sale Thursday, July 26 for "Elephant Room" at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. Bringing pure, unadulterated fun and transforming the space into a mystical place of wonder and amusement, "Elephant Room" runs August 22 through September 16, 2012. The opening is set for August 26.

Ten Chimneys Foundation has announced the ten actors who will participate in the 2012 Lunt- Fontanne Fellowship Program, a widely acclaimed national program to serve the future of American theatre. Today, July 22-July 29, the Lunt-Fontanne Fellows will join Broadway legend Joel Grey for an intensive, weeklong master class and immersion experience at Ten Chimneys, the National Historic Landmark estate of Broadway legends Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in Genesee Depot, Wisconsin.

Ten Chimneys Foundation has announced that Washington, D.C. actors E. Faye Butler, Christopher Bloch, and Brad Oscar have been selected as 2012 Lunt-Fontanne Fellows.

Casa 0101 Theater, Josefina Lopez, Artistic Director, and The Center for Collaboration with the Arts at Whittier College will present "Lorca in a Green Dress," written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Nilo Cruz, under the direction of Jennifer Sage Holmes at Casa 0101 Theater, 2102 E. 1st Street (at St. Louis Street), Boyle Height, Calif., on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday at 5:00 p.m., tonight, July 20 - August 26, 2012.