Ars Nova News

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University, under the leadership of Artistic Director Diane Paulus, presents Dave Malloy's musical adaptation of an excerpt from Leo Tolstoy's monumental novelWar and Peace, directed by Rachel Chavkin, with choreography by Sam Pinkleton. Check out a behind the scenes look at the making of the show below!

As part of the eleventh edition of the COIL festival, Performance Space 122 and The Chocolate Factory present I Understand Everything Better, by recent Bessie Award Winner David Neumann. I Understand Everything Better is a deeply personal reflection on the consciousness of dying and interrupted narratives within the context of a cataclysmic storm. Combining personal narratives, traditional Japanese Noh theater and Neumann's virtuosic movement and humor, collaborators Tei Blow and Sibyl Kempson unite with Neumann to reveal the shimmer of attention to realms unseen, the concurrence of unrelated events and the body as evidence of a will having to let go.

The Public Theater announced today that after three years of successful programming and community engagement, PUBLIC WORKS will grow on both a local and national level. Three new community partners join PUBLIC WORKS 2016, which will include Casita Maria Center for Arts and Education (Bronx), Military Resilience Project (all boroughs), and Center for Family Life in Sunset Park (Brooklyn), who join Public Works partners Brownsville Recreation Center (Brooklyn), DreamYard Project (Bronx), and The Fortune Society (Queens), in addition to alumni partners Domestic Workers United (all boroughs, including Staten Island) and Children's Aid Society (Manhattan), as additional community partner organizations.

Chicago's Halcyon Theatre announces casting for the Chicago Premiere of Estrella Cruz [the junkyard queen] by Charise Castro Smith. Directed by Tony Adams, Halcyon's Artistic Director, the company continues its 10th Anniversary season with this contemporary satirical twist on the classic Greek myth of Persephone and her journey to the underworld. The cast of Estrella Cruz features Johnny Garcia, Robert N. Isaac, Noe Jara, Tamika Lechee Morales, Kelly Opalko, and Allyce Torres. Estrella Cruz [the junkyard queen] runs January 21 - February 27 at Halcyon Theatre, in residence at Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, 3253 W. Wilson Avenue. The official opening night performance is Thursday, January 28, at 8pm; the running time is approx. 70 minutes.

The Meeting* hosted by Justin Sayre, the acclaimed comedy/variety show, will return to OASIS (298 Eleventh Street, San Francisco CA) on Saturday, December 12 at 7:00 PM after two packed shows earlier this year.

The first national tour of THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY opens at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre tonight, December 10, 2015, and plays through January 17, 2016. 

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University, under the leadership of Artistic Director Diane Paulus, presents Dave Malloy's musical adaptation of an excerpt from Leo Tolstoy's monumental novelWar and Peace, directed by Rachel Chavkin, with choreography by Sam Pinkleton. Check out a first look at the cast in action below!

La MaMa presents Pioneers Go East Collective's production of HILDEGARD (vision), an intimate and immersive performance installation inspired by the life and work of visionary nun Hildegard Von Bingen, written by Abby Felder and directed by Gian Marco Lo Forte with sound design/composition by John Sully, and choreography by Ellen Fisher,  December 3 - 20th at LaMaMa, 74A East 4th Street in Manhattan with opening on Sunday, December 6th.

Clinton Hill cultural hub and OBIE award-winner JACK launches its winter/spring 2016 season with an a cappella opera set in Zimbabwe by composer Tanyaradzwa Tawengwa, a weekend of curated works by Modesto "Flako" Jimenez, the premiere of the dirty and bracing play Tom & Eliza, by Celine Song, the English-language premiere of Argentinian playwright Rafael Spregelburd's SPAM, The Geneva Project by Jennifer Harrison Newman, Antonio Ramos' Thirsty Mind, love and starvation sitting in a lonely tree and an exploration in minimalist/pop art performance by the No Face Performance Group.  JACK also engineers the return of Walter Dundervill's ARENA (which had two sold-out runs at JACK in 2014 and 2015). 

2016 at Ars Nova (Jason Eagan, Artistic Director; Renee Blinkwolt, Managing Director) will include two Off-Broadway productions: the world premiere of The Wildness, Sky-Pony's Rock Fairy Tale directed by Tony-nominee Sam Buntrock, written by and featuring Brooklyn-based band Sky-Pony, fronted by Lauren Worsham (Drama Desk Award winner and Tony nominee) with songs penned by Kyle Jarrow (Obie Award winner) and presented in collaboration with The Play Company; and the New York premiere of Underground Railroad Game created and performed by Jennifer Kidwell and Scott Sheppard in association with Lightning Rod Special; SHOWGASM XXL, a one-night-only 'gasm so big it won't fit in the Ars Nova building, hosted by John Early and featuring Ars Nova All Stars as well as celebrity guests to be announced; and ANT Fest, a new adventure every night with the next wave of Ars Nova's breakthrough artists during four nonstop weeks of wild comedy, music and theater mash-ups.

Starsky + Cox - the couple named 'Psychics to the Stars' by Vanity Fair, known for their international best- selling book Sextrology - will bring a special Yule installment of their Starring show - You Better Watch Out to Joe's Pub at The Public Theater on Sunday, December 20 at 7:00 PM for the winter solstice.

Vineyard Theatre's 2015-2016 season opens tonight, December 3, with the new musical comedy GIGANTIC at The Acorn Theatre at Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street).

Coming off of their Obie Award winning production of A Beautiful Day in November on the Banks of the Great Lakes at City Center in January and the critically acclaimed Heartbreak at The Bushwick Starr in May, New Georges announces their final production of 2015, the World Premiere of HOW TO GET INTO BUILDINGS by Trish Harnetiaux (If You Can Get to Buffalo with Incubator Arts Project) at The Brick (579 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn; www.bricktheater.com) as part of The Brick's Resident Artist program, tonight, December 3-19.

The Meeting* hosted by Justin Sayre, the acclaimed comedy/variety show, will return to JOE'S PUB at The Public Theater for two shows - Sunday, December 20 at 9:30 PM and Monday, December 21 at 7:00 PM - for the Seventh Annual Holiday Spectacular. The Meeting* has been called 'delicious and delightfully droll' by The New York Post and 'hilarious and sardonic' by The Village Voice. A story for Slate.com called the evening 'so deliciously icy that it left me shivering with fear and delight.' The 2014-2015 season sold out after a New York Times 'Arts & Leisure' piece ran last fall. Special guests for the Holiday Spectacular will be announced. Tracy Stark serves as the show's Music Director.

?Marin Theatre Company and The San Francisco Foundation are thrilled to announce that Rachel Bonds, is being honored with the 2015 Rella Lossy Award for her play Swimmers, which will get its World Premiere on the MTC mainstage in March, 2016.

This December the playwright producing collective Orbiter 3 will present the world premiere of Emma Goidel's A Knee That Can Bend. Over the past two years Goidel has risen to the forefront of emerging American playwrights, working with and being recognized by organizations such as Ars Nova, the Kilroys, Labyrinth Theater Company and the Playwrights Realm. A Knee That Can Bend will mark her full-length theatre debut.

Yale Repertory Theatre presents the world premiere of PEERLESS by Jiehae Park, directed by Margot Bordelon, November 27-December 19 at Yale Repertory Theatre (1120 Chapel Street). Opening Night is Thursday, December 3. The cast of PEERLESS includes Teresa Avia Lim, Christopher Livingston, Caroline Neff, JD Taylor, and Tiffany Villarin.

   Lincoln Center Theater (under the direction of Producing Artistic Director Andre Bishop) has announced that McKinley Belcher III, Khris Davis, Montego Glover, John Lavelle, and Clarke Peters will be featured in its upcoming production of THE ROYALE, a new play by Marco Ramirez, directed by Rachel Chavkin, which begins performances Thursday, February 11 at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater (150 West 65 Street).   Opening night is Monday, March 7. 

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University, under the leadership of Artistic Director Diane Paulus, is pleased to present Dave Malloy's musical adaptation of an excerpt from Leo Tolstoy's monumental novel War and Peace, directed by Rachel Chavkin, with choreography by Sam Pinkleton.  Check out a first look at rehearsals below!