Ars Nova News

Manhattan Theatre Club's American premiere of THE LION, the new musical written and performed by 2013 ASCAP Cole Porter Songwriting Award winner Benjamin Scheuer, and directed by Sean Daniels is now in rehearsal. The five-week limited engagement for THE LION will begin previews on Tuesday, June 10 and open Thursday, June 26 as the second production of MTC's 2013-2014 season of The Studio at Stage II - Harold and Mimi Steinberg New Play Series at New York City Center - Stage II (131 West 55th Street).

As part of its Production Residencies program, FringeArts will host local theater ensemble The Berserker Residents for three weeks this June. From June 2 - 22, artists Justin Jain, David Johnson and Bradley K. Wrenn will revisit their 2013 Fringe Festival hit The Talkback, deconstructing and reworking three aspects of the piece in preparation for its upcoming presentation at the 2014 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the largest arts festival in the world. Free public showings will take place each Sunday of the residency (June 8, 8 p.m.; June 15, 7 p.m.; and June 22, 7 p.m.), offering audiences the opportunity to see the work as it develops and evolves. This program is funded by the Independence Foundation.

Building on Slant Theatre Project's success with last season's The Steadfast, the company presents The Cloud, a world premiere mistaken-identity comedy written by playwright/comedian Matt Moses. Wes Grantom (Eager to Lose, The Steadfast) directs a cast of four including Teddy Bergman* (B'way: Peter and the Starcatcher, Off-B'way: Sex Lives of Our Parents), Mikaela Feely-Lehmann* (B'way: Cyrano de Bergerac), Ryan King* (Now Or Later at Huntington Theatre, The Intelligent Design Of Jenny Chow at the Atlantic Theater Company), and Polly Lee* (Marie Antoinette at Yale Rep, Wasps at Studio 42). Scroll down for a first look at the cast in action!

In Episode 214, award-winning musical theatre writer Joel B. New sat down with David Hudson, an actor, writer, producer, and voice-over artist.

The fourth annual 'Night Of A Thousand Judys' - presented by The Meeting* hosted by Justin Sayre - has announced a new round of stars, including Sierra Boggess (The Phantom of the Opera), Austin Scarlett ('Project Runway'), Karen Wyman (celebrated 60s pop singer), Alison Fraser (two-time Tony Award nominee), Jackie Hoffman (Hairspray) and Aaron Weinstein (acclaimed jazz violinist).

Coming up this week, 54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz and beyond. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.54Below.com or call (646) 476-3551.

Building on Slant Theatre Project's success with last season's The Steadfast, the company has announced the full cast for The Cloud, a world premiere mistaken-identity comedy written by playwright/comedian Matt Moses. Wes Grantom (Eager to Lose, The Steadfast) directs a cast of four including Teddy Bergman* (B'way: Peter and the Starcatcher, Off-B'way: Sex Lives of Our Parents), Mikaela Feely-Lehmann* (B'way: Cyrano de Bergerac), Ryan King* (Now Or Later at Huntington Theatre, The Intelligent Design Of Jenny Chow at the Atlantic Theater Company), and Polly Lee* (Marie Antoinette at Yale Rep, Wasps at Studio 42). *Member, Actors' Equity Association. AEA Showcase.

Ars Nova (Jason Eagan, Artistic Director; Renee Blinkwolt, Managing Director) proudly announces the lineup for its 7th Annual ANT Fest. This year's festival of All New Talent runs from June 2 - 28, featuring fresh new work from some of New York's most exciting emerging artists. From epic rock opera to sexy shadow puppetry, 2014's ANT Fest heats up Ars Nova this summer with four weeks of comedy, music, theater and a fusion of all three you won't see anywhere else.

After a critically acclaimed and extended run in 2013, Award-winning Pipeline Theatre Company will present an encore engagement of CLOWN BAR by Adam Szymkowicz, with music & additional lyrics by Adam Overett. Originally announced to return to its original venue, the production will instead transfer to longtime clown haunt The Box beginning June 14. Opening is slated for June 21.

New Georges will present World Premiere productions by Kate Benson (2014 Clubbed Thumb Biennial Commission winner), Krista Knight (Salamander Leviathan at Joe's Pub; Clementine and the Cyber Ducks at Incubator Arts Project), and Caroline V. McGraw (2013 Page 73 Playwriting Fellow) as part of The New Georges Jam On Toast, a brand-new festival featuring work by The New Georges Jam, a 'performance gym' for early-career female playwrights and directors founded in 2010 by Lucy Alibar, Jess Chayes, and Portia Krieger.

Lesser America will present the World Premiere of Lucas Kavner's (Fish Eye with Colt Coeur/HERE Arts Center; Love Money at Ars Nova) Carnival Kids, June 5-28 at TBG Theatre (312 West 36th Street between 8th and 9th Avenue).

If we are what we eat, what are we? What is America's food culture, and where is it heading? And ultimately, how does food connect us?

The seventh installment of BC Beat on Monday, May 19th highlights award winning choreographers and performers from television, film and Broadway who have created and performed in some of the year's most anticipated productions.

The National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) announces nine awards granted from their National Fund for New Musicals, a major funding program to support NAMT member not-for-profit theatres in their collaborations with writers to create, develop and produce new musicals. Now in its sixth year, the Fund will provide grants totaling $35,500 to nine organizations across the country.

The Bard SummerScape festival is proud to present the world premiere of Love in the Wars, an adaptation of Heinrich von Kleist's romantic drama Penthesilea by the Booker Prize-winning novelist John Banville. Starring Obie Award-winner Birgit Huppuch and One Life to Live's Chris Stack, Bard's premiere production is by Ken Rus Schmoll, the Obie Award-winning director. Representing a fresh, playful and earthy take on Kleist's original, Love in the Wars will be presented in two previews and eight performances between July 10 and 20 in Theater Two of the Fisher Center - designed byFrank Gehry and celebrated since its opening as a major architectural landmark - on Bard's glorious Hudson Valley campus

The Meeting* hosted by Justin Sayre, the acclaimed comedy/variety show, will continue its engagement at JOE'S PUB at The Public Theater on Sunday, May 18 at 9:30 PM with a celebration of the pop diva Janet Jackson. After a highly-successful season at 54 Below, The Meeting* has returned to its downtown roots this year with shows through May. The Meeting* has been called "delicious and delightfully droll" by The New York Post, and "hilarious and sardonic" by The Village Voice. A recent story for Slate.com called the evening "so deliciously icy that it left me shivering with fear and delight." The May show will feature special guests Cole Escola, Nadia Quinn of "Summer & Eve" and John Early, with others to be announced.

Ordinary Days, an acclaimed new musical by Adam Gwon, brings Round House's 2013/2014 season to a harmonious close as it makes its area premiere. Signature Theatre's Matthew Gardiner makes his Round House directing debut with this Off-Broadway hit by one of musical theater's most exciting new composers. Ordinary Days runs at Round House Theatre Bethesda from May 28 thru June 22. Opening night is Monday, June 2, 2014.

PFP's Gay Play Weekend includes a dynamic musical about a tragedy in gay history, and a historical drama about Michelangelo. You will also see a murder mystery which takes place at a party where everyone is dressed as Joan Crawford, a fun piece about gay dating today, and a drama about abuse and healing. These are the themes of the five finalists in Pride Films and Plays' 2014 Gay Play and Musical Contest.