Austin Pendleton News

The Episcopal Actors' Guild's annual celebration of new work continues with a staged reading of Man in the Moon by Mark Karafin. The reading will be held tonight, March 20 in Guild Hall at 7:00 pm, and followed by a reception. Past Barbour Award winners include Ian August (Donna Orbits the Moon), Lynn Rosen (Apple Cove), and Laura Eason (40 Days).

Last night at Joe's Pub at The Public, Harvey Fierstein, who played a celebrated Tevye in the 2004 revival of Fiddler; Fiddler on the Roof co-creator Sheldon Harnick; original Broadway cast member Austin Pendleton; renowned Yiddish theatermaker Jenny Romaine; Taniesha Duggan, Director of Audience Engagement of Hartbeat Ensemble; andAlisa Solomon, author of Wonder of Wonders, discussed how successive generations of storytellers used Sholom-Alechem's characters to reflect changing concerns about family, identity, and more. Check out photos from the special event below!

vTalkback dates with director Austin Pendleton and Jen Danby have been confirmed for tonight, March 14 and March 16 & 22nd. The March 16th talkback will be led by Sissy Gamache of The Sissy Gamache Show.

The Episcopal Actors' Guild's annual celebration of new work continues with a staged reading of Man in the Moon by Mark Karafin. The reading will be held on Thursday, March 20 in Guild Hall at 7:00 pm, and followed by a reception. Past Barbour Award winners include Ian August (Donna Orbits the Moon), Lynn Rosen (Apple Cove), and Laura Eason (40 Days).

Acclaimed playwright/director Young Jean Lee returns to the Wexner Center for the Arts, April 10-13 for the world premiere of STRAIGHT WHITE MEN, a provocative new work presented with an all-star cast (Austin Pendleton, Scott Shepherd, Pete Simpson, and James Stanley) and finalized through the support of the Wexner Center Residency Award program.

This week, March 10-19, Joe's Pub at the Public will feature Rory O'Malley, Shannon McNally, Lera Lynn, Benjamin Walker, Mortality Play, Joey Arias Experience, An Evening with Irving Berlin, Justin Vivian Bond, Flamenco Festival 2014, Martha Graham Cracker, Sarah Kay, Banda Magda String Orchestra, Lo Jo, The Meeting with Justin Sayre, Public Forum: Tevye and Chava, Mike Daisey, Winged Victory for the Sullen, John Cameron Mitchell & Holly Hunter, and Paul Loren. Scroll down for details!

The Public Theater will continue its Spring Public Forum series with an exciting new Public Forum Solo, SARAH LEWIS: PICTURES AND PROGRESS, on Monday, April 7 at 7:00 p.m. at Joe's Pub at The Public. Member tickets are on sale now. Single tickets, starting at $25, go on sale Wednesday, March 12 and can be purchased at (212) 967-7555, www.publictheater.org, or in person at the Taub Box Office at 425 Lafayette Street.

Just last night, Theater for the New City paid tribute to the playwright and theater critic Mario Fratti (whose adaptation of the Federico Fellini film 8 ½ became the Broadway musical NINE) at the 11th annual LOVE 'N COURAGE benefit at the National Arts Club (15 Gramercy Park South) in New York City. An annual evening to benefit TNC's Emerging Playwrights Program, this year's LOVE 'N COURAGE event featured appearances by Liliane Montevecchi, Oscar winner F. Murray Abraham, two-time Tony winner Tammy Grimes accompanied by Alex Rybeck, singer Anna Bergman accompanied by William Hicks, Austin Pendleton, Katharine Cullison, cabaret star KT Sullivan, Inma Heredia, Human Kinetics Movement Arts, Rachel Klein Dance Company, Jocab Merrick Storms, the Yip Harburg Foundation Rainbow Troupe, and Michael-David Gordon and TNC's Street Theater Company. BroadwayWorld was there for the special night and you can check out photos from the performances below!

Just last night, Theater for the New City paid tribute to the playwright and theater critic Mario Fratti (whose adaptation of the Federico Fellini film 8 ½ became the Broadway musical NINE) at the 11th annual LOVE 'N COURAGE benefit at the National Arts Club (15 Gramercy Park South) in New York City. An annual evening to benefit TNC's Emerging Playwrights Program, this year's LOVE 'N COURAGE event featured appearances by Liliane Montevecchi, Oscar winner F. Murray Abraham, two-time Tony winner Tammy Grimes accompanied by Alex Rybeck, singer Anna Bergman accompanied by William Hicks, Austin Pendleton, Katharine Cullison, cabaret star KT Sullivan, Inma Heredia, Human Kinetics Movement Arts, Rachel Klein Dance Company, Jocab Merrick Storms, the Yip Harburg Foundation Rainbow Troupe, and Michael-David Gordon and TNC's Street Theater Company. BroadwayWorld was there for the special night and you can check out photo coverage below!

Alley Theatre presents the world premiere of a new comedy by Theresa Rebeck, Fool. In Rebeck's new comedy, two kings get together and place a wager on their fools - a jester competition, and the funniest one gets to keep his head. Two evil minions have a lot to say about this, but not as much as the kitchen wench. And what's the queen been up to all night? A dramatical comical farcical tragical play about power, love and laughter, set in a medieval kitchen. Adult Language, Adult Situations, Beheadings.

59E59 Theaters has announced the NYC premiere of GIDION'S KNOT, written by Johnna Adams and directed by Austin Pendleton. GIDION'S KNOT begins performances tonight, February 20 for a limited engagement through Sunday, March 9. Press opening is Wednesday, February 26 at 7:30 PM.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company's Chicago-premiere production of Russian Transport by Erika Sheffer begins tonight, February 16, 2014. Ensemble member Yasen Peyankov directs a cast of five featuring ensemble members Tim Hopper, Mariann Mayberry and Alan Wilder with Aaron Himelstein and Melanie Neilan. This 'thoughtful, well-written domestic drama with something original to say about immigrant families living by old world values in a new world culture' (Variety) received its world-premiere production Off-Broadway at The New Group in 2012. Russian Transport began previews February 6, 2014 (opening night is February 16; press performances are February 15 at 3pm and February 18 at 7:30pm) and runs through May 11, 2014 in Steppenwolf's Upstairs Theatre (1650 N Halsted St).

Sharon Tate in Heaven is a one woman odyssey about model and actress Sharon Tate. Sharon did some television work and made six films, her last with Orson Welles, and was on her way to international stardom. She met director Roman Polanski in 1967 when she was hired to play the lead in his film The Fearless Vampire Killers, fell madly in love, and married him. Two years later while pregnant with his child, a boy, she and four others were savagely killed by members of the Charles Manson 'family' in August 1969 when Manson, a frustrated musician who wanted to get revenge on the Establishment that rejected him, and with paranoid delusions about a Helter Skelter race war he wanted to start, set it in motion. At the home Sharon and Roman rented on Cielo Drive in Benedict Canyon, Sharon passed before being able to say goodbye to her husband or loved ones. In this one woman show, written and performed by Jen Danby (The Blonde Bombshell Project: Marilyn Monroe), and inspired by research into books, pictures, interviews, films, virtual explorations, and more, Sharon Tate is interviewed in Heaven moments after her death to talk about her life, acting, and love, as a Valentine message to her husband. At the juncture of an American Tragedy that is cultural memory, this is the story of the real Sharon Tate and it is a Love Story. Tickets on sale now at SharonTate.brownpapertickets.com

New York Shakespeare Exchange, creator of the viral smash The Sonnet Project, is excited to announce the dates and artists for their 2014 ShakesBEER, NYC's Original Shakespearean Pub Crawl. Over the course of 2014, their new repertory ensemble of 18 actors will rotate through a total of 10 raucous Saturday afternoons spent enjoying Shakespeare and cocktails.

Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd announces the cast and creative team for the world premiere of a new comedy by Theresa Rebeck, Fool. In Rebeck's new comedy, two kings get together and place a wager on their fools - a jester competition, and the funniest one gets to keep his head. Two evil minions have a lot to say about this, but not as much as the kitchen wench. And what's the queen been up to all night? A dramatical comical farcical tragical play about power, love and laughter, set in a medieval kitchen. Adult Language, Adult Situations, Beheadings.

The Public Theater announced today that single tickets are now on sale for the 2014 spring season, beginning on February 18 with ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA, the exciting international collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company and GableStage in Miami. Edited and directed by MacArthur Fellow Tarell Alvin McCraney, ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA will run through Sunday, March 23, with an official press opening on Wednesday, March 5 in the Anspacher Theater.

Liliane Montevecchi - the celebrated actress best-known for her Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning performance in the musical NINE - will lead the line-up for theatre artists paying tribute to the playwright and theater critic Mario Fratti (whose adaptation of the Federico Fellini film 8 ½ became the Broadway musical NINE), when Theater for the New City presents its 11th annual LOVE 'N COURAGE benefit on Monday, February 24 at 6 pm at the National Arts Club (15 Gramercy Park South) in New York City.

Shining East Productions presents The Sun Shines East, based on a true story written by Corinne Chateau* about an adoptive mother's struggle to break through deep personal barriers and international politics to bring home her daughter. Pat Golden directs a cast of 5 including Karen Christie-Ward*, Tara Gadomski*, Mary Francina Golden*, Bristol Pomeroy, and Amy Staats*. Fourteen performances will be held at the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theatre, 10 West 64th Street, in New York City from tonight, January 31-February 16, 2014.

59E59 Theaters has announced the NYC premiere of GIDION'S KNOT, written by Johnna Adams and directed by Austin Pendleton. GIDION'S KNOT begins performances on Thursday, February 20 for a limited engagement through Sunday, March 9. Press opening is Wednesday, February 26 at 7:30 PM. The performance schedule is Tuesday - Thursday at 7:30 PM; Friday - Saturday at 8:30 PM; and Sunday at 3:30 PM. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues).