Austin Pendleton News

Milan Stitt's drama THE RUNNER STUMBLES, presented by Retro Productions and The Bleecker Company, in association with The Arclight Theatre at The Arclight Theatre (152 West 71st Street) concludes its limited Off-Broadway run today, May 20. Peter Zinn, who helmed Retro Productions' revivals Michael Frayn's BENEFACTORS and Sally Nemeth's HOLY DAYS, directs.

Actor, playwright and director AUSTIN PENDLETON will be the recipient of the 2012 ACTIVE ARTS AWARD, it was announced today by Nathaniel Shaw, Artistic Director of The Active Theater. A ceremony will take place on Monday, June 4th at the Active Theater's Spring Gala at the Whaler Lounge at the Madison Towers Hotel (22 East 38th Street).

According to an Equity Audition notice, the Steppenwolf's production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf will begin previews on Broadway on September 27, 2012 in anticipation of its previously announced October 13, 2012 opening at a Shubert Theatre to be announced. Pam Mackinnon will continue to helm the project. Jerry Frankel, Jeffrey Richards Susan Q. Gallin and Mary Lu Roffe will produce.

Milan Stitt's drama THE RUNNER STUMBLES, presented by Retro Productions and The Bleecker Company, in association with The Arclight Theatre at The Arclight Theatre (152 West 71st Street) concludes its limited Off-Broadway run on Sunday, May 20. Peter Zinn, who helmed Retro Productions' revivals Michael Frayn's BENEFACTORS and Sally Nemeth's HOLY DAYS, directs.

For its seventh season Boston Midsummer Opera (BMO) presents the comic piece, Donizetti's Don Pasquale, playing at the Tsai Performance Center at Boston University for three performances only, July 25, 27, and 29. Obie Award winner/Tony Award nominee Austin Pendleton directs the fully staged and costumed production. Music director and nationally acclaimed conductor Susan Davenny Wyner leads the performances, which will be performed with orchestra and sung in English. Metropolitan Opera bass Ricardo Lugo will sing the role of Don Pasquale.

HERO Theatre has just announced that William H. Macy, star of Showtime's Shameless and Academy Award-nominated for Fargo, will star in a benefit reading of Tennessee Williams' "Small Craft Warnings", directed by John Levey. The presentation will take place in Los Angeles, Summer 2012. This will mark HERO Theatre's west coast premiere.

The York Shakespeare Company is pleased to present Sam Shepard's TRUE WEST, directed by Seth Duerr. True West will play a three-week limited engagement at Theatre 54 @ Shetler Studios (244 West 54th Street, 12th Floor). Performances begin Friday, June 8 and continue through Saturday, June 23. Opening Night is Saturday, June 9 (8 p.m.). $18 tickets are available at www.smarttix.com.

HERO Theatre announced today that the cast of the "King Lear" benefit staged reading starring Olympia Dukakis and directed by Austin Pendleton will include Louis Cancelmi (Sarah Kane's "Blasted" at Soho Rep), Lynn Cohen ("Sex and the City," Tina Howe's "Chasing Manet'), Dashiell Eaves ("Becky Shaw", "A Behanding In Spokane"), Paul Lazar (Classic Stage Company's "Three Sisters", "Silence of the Lambs") and George Morfogen ("Freud's Last Session", CSC's "Three Sisters", and HBO's "OZ"). The cast also includes Elisa Bocanegra, Seth Duerr, Korey Jackson, Albert Jones, Thomas Kopache, James Martinez, Desiree Matthews, Anya Migdal, Liam Mitchell and Bobby Plasencia.

Retro Productions and The Bleecker Company, in association with The Arclight Theatre, present Milan Stitt's drama THE RUNNER STUMBLES, with an Off-Broadway run opening tonight, May 3 at The Arclight Theatre (152 West 71st Street). Peter Zinn, who helmed Retro Productions' revivals Michael Frayn's BENEFACTORS and Sally Nemeth's HOLY DAYS, directs.

On the Square Productions presents Steven Bost's original piece THE MINERVAE this July in Athens Square Park in Astoria. This new production is part of OtSP's Astoria Free Theatre Project and will be presented to the public for free at all performances. The production will be directed by Stephen Kaliski. Creative team and cast will be announced in the coming weeks.

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director) kicks off the 10th anniversary of its Uptown Series with the world premiere of The Bad Guys, written by Alena Smith and directed by Hal Brooks. The Bad Guys will feature Michael Braun (War Horse), Roe Hartrampf (Unnatural Acts), James McMenamin (Suicide, Incorporated), Tobias Segal (The Miracle Worker) and Raviv Ullman (Russian Transport). Previews begin on May 22nd and opening night is Monday, June 4th.

Classic Stage Company, under the leadership of Artistic Director Brian Kulick, presents Christina Ricci and two-time Tony Award winner Bebe Neuwirth in the company's upcoming production of William Shakespeare's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. Directed by Tony Speciale, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM began performances Wednesday, March 28 and play a limited engagement through Sunday, May 6. BroadwayWorld brings you just-released production shots below!

Frog and Peach Theatre's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' will play from tonight, April 26 to May 20, 2012 at the West End Theater, 263 West 86th St.

Theater For The New City have announced an encore engagement of The Hive's critically-acclaimed gender-bender production of William Shakespeare's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S (QUEER) DREAM, directed by Matthew A.J. Gregory. A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S (QUEER) DREAM will play a limited engagement at the Johnson Theatre-Theatre for the New City (155 First Avenue, btw. 9th/10th) from Wednesday, April 25 through Saturday, May 19. Opening Night is Friday, April 27 (8 p.m.).

OBAMA IN NAPLES, written by Italian Claudio Angelini, is scheduled to play its world premier at the June Havoc Theatre April 25 to May 6.

Classic Stage Company, under the leadership of Artistic Director Brian Kulick and Executive Director Greg Reiner announced today that acclaimed/awarding winning actresses Judy Kuhn and Melissa Errico will star as Fosca and Clara in the company's new production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Tony Award-winning musical PASSION, to be directed by John Doyle (the Tony Award-winning revivals of Sondheim's Sweeney Todd and Company). PASSION is slated to begin performances in February, 2013. Additional casting will be announced in the coming weeks and months, as well as full creative team. PASSION opened on Broadway in May of 1994 and received the Tony Award that year for Best Musical.