Carey Perloff News

The 5th Rough Reading of the season will be Bastiano or The Transfiguration of Raffi by  Carey Perloff, directed by Tony Taccone.Monday, February 11 at 7:30 PM, Roble Hall, Stanford University, Tuesday, February 12 at 7:00PM, Theater of Yugen (SF)

Dear Readers, it has been one crazy year with some amazing theater. You know it's true. We've had dead teens riding a roller coaster, demonic puppets, and an ageless guy with a picture of himself in his attic. And, of course, a hip-hop founding father sweeping through town. But let's not talk about the juggernaut when we have such amazing things right here that blew us all away. At least they blew me away. So, let's talk about what blew me away this past year and what I have chosen to give my BWW 2018 Seattle Critic's Choice Awards (Jay's Picks) to (not to mention all those honorable mentions since often I can't limit myself to just one).

The San Diego Theatre Critics Circle has announced the nominations for its 2018 Craig Noel Awards. Now in its 17th year, the Craig Noel Awards honor the achievements of professional theaters in San Diego County. The nominees are chosen by a nine-member body of professional critics who write for San Diego newspapers, magazines, online publications and blogs.

Now in the theater's 42nd year of presenting the holiday classic, this version of A Christmas Carol-adapted by Paul Walsh and Carey Perloff-stays true to the heart of Dickens's timeless story of redemption and brings a playful sensibility to his rich language.

Based on the sweeping, internationally best-selling novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns is the tale of the unlikely connection that blossoms between two Afghan women in war-torn Kabul. As rockets shriek down from the heavens, the friendship of Laila and Mariam develops into an iron-bound rapport, forged by their defiance of a life of senseless tyranny. Secrets, lies, and pacts are made in this harrowing yet ultimately beautiful piece about the true cost of sacrifice. The show played at Seattle Rep through November 10. Hear composer David Coulter talk about creating the music for this production in the interview below!

Dramatic Repertory Company (Keith Powell Beyland, Artistic Director) presents the Maine Premiere COCK (the cockfight play) by Mike Bartlett, directed by Keith Powell Beyland & Tess Van Horn, playing November 9 - 18, 2018. This premiere production will be presented at the Studio Theater at Portland Stage, 25A Forest Ave.

The hit comedy A Doll's House, Part 2 by Lucas Hnath, nominated for eight Tony Awards during its 2017 Broadway run, will premiere at George Street Playhouse's current venue, 103 College Farm Road in New Brunswick, NJ, featuring Kellie Overbey (Broadway's The Coast of Utopia) in the leading role of Nora Helmer.

New York Stage and Film is thrilled to announce that its annual Winter Gala will honor playwright and Emmy award-winning actress Patricia Wettig (F2M, 'Brothers and Sisters,' 'thirtysomething') and Executive Producer/director/actor Ken Olin ('This Is Us,' 'Alias,' 'Brothers & Sisters,' 'thirtysomething'), and, in recognition for her years of dedication to New York Stage and Film, Artistic Director Johanna Pfaelzer, who is stepping down from her post at the end of the 2019 Powerhouse Summer Season.

Featuring a lively cast of dozens, delightful music, gorgeous costumes, and those deliciously spooky ghosts, the Bay Area's favorite holiday tradition returns as American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) presents its celebrated production of the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol. Now in the theater's 42nd year of presenting the holiday classic, this version of A Christmas Carol-adapted by Paul Walsh and Carey Perloff-stays true to the heart of Dickens's timeless story of redemption and brings a playful sensibility to his rich language. A Christmas Carol runs December 6-29, 2018, at A.C.T.'s Geary Theater (415 Geary Street, San Francisco). Press night is Wednesday, December 12 at 7 p.m. Tickets (ranging in price from $10-$120) are available by calling the A.C.T. Box Office at 415-749-2228 or online at www.act-sf.org. Groups of 15 or more save up to 50% and enjoy free tickets for group leaders. For group sales, call 415-439-2424. Ticket prices are subject to change without notice.

Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino has announced key casting for the 2019 season, including Michael Blake as Othello and Amelia Sargisson as Desdemona in the season opener, Othello, one of Shakespeare's greatest and best-known tragedies.

Dear Readers, in the past you may have heard me refer to what I call "theatrical alchemy". It's where all the right elements seem to magically come together in just the right ways to form pure theatrical gold. Well, the Seattle Rep currently has a bunch of alchemists working with them with their joint production with the American Conservatory Theater and their presentation of "A Thousand Splendid Suns", a riveting tale filled with so much tragic beauty that you'll be left breathless.

New York Stage and Film announced today that Artistic Director Johanna Pfaelzer will be stepping down from her longtime leadership position with the organization to become the new Artistic Director of Berkeley Repertory Theatre beginning September 1, 2019.

Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino is pleased to announce the playbill for the 2019 season. Featuring 12 productions, it's built around a theme of Breaking Boundaries, which will also be explored through more than 150 thought-provoking and entertaining events at the Forum.

QUEENS, playing at the La Jolla Playhouse through July 29th is a timely and unflinching look at the often unseen side of the immigrant story.  It focuses on the lives of a handful of women trying to make their way in a secret basement dwelling in the borough of Queens, New York  

Irish Repertory Theatre will present the New York premiere of On Beckett. Conceived and performed by Tony Award winner Bill Irwin (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?), On Beckett explores the writings of Nobel Prize winner Samuel Beckett (Waiting for Godot, Endgame). On Beckett begins performances on September 26, 2018 at Irish Rep Theatre (132 West 22nd Street) on the Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage, with an opening night set for October 3, for a run through November 4, 2018.

La Jolla Playhouse announces the cast and creative team for its west coast premiere production of QUEENS, by Martyna Majok, winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play Cost of Living. Directed by Carey Perloff(Playhouse's The Orphan of Zhao), the show runs July 3 - 29 in the Playhouse's Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre.

San Francisco Playhouse (Artistic Director Bill English; Producing Director Susi Damilano) announced the three plays that will comprise its 2018-2019 Sandbox Series of world premieres: graveyard shift by Korde A. Tuttle, The White Girl's Guide to International Terrorism by Chelsea Marcantel, and The Fit by Carey Perloff. The plays will be presented at The Creativity Theater and A.C.T.'s Strand Theater.

Casting has been announced for the return ofAmerican Conservatory Theater's (A.C.T.) acclaimed theatrical adaptation of Khaled Hosseini's international best-selling novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns-performing at A.C.T.'s Geary Theater for a limited two-week engagement July 17-29, 2018 as part of a West Coast tour that includes runs at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre and Seattle Repertory Theatre. Set amid the war-torn streets of modern-day Kabul, A Thousand Splendid Suns is the epic story of three generations of Afghan women bound together by marriage, family, and a secret past. Strong-willed Laila, unmarried and pregnant, is forced to marry her older neighbor when her family and home are torn apart.

Incoming American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) Artistic Director Pam MacKinnon announced today that Eugene Ionesco's RHINOCEROS-translated by Derek Prouse and directed by two-time Tony Award winner Frank Galati-will be the final production of A.C.T.'s 2018-19 season.

La Jolla Playhouse announces the cast and creative team for its west coast premiere production of QUEENS, by Martyna Majok. Directed by Carey Perloff, the show runs July 3 - 29. The cast features Jolly Abraham (Off-Broadway's Cost of Living) as "Aamani/Yara," Leslie Fray (TV's Elementary) as "Pelagiya/Dragana," Rae Gray (TV'sFear the Walking Dead) as "Inna/Tanya," Brenda Meaney (Off-Broadway's Party Face) as "Renia," Melissa Miller (Roundabout Theatre's Tartuffe) as "Agata" and Xochitl Romero (Playhouse's Kill Local) as "Isabela/Glenys."