Chicago Shakespeare Theater News

The Old Globe's presentation of Kiss Me, Kate, the classic musical comedy featuring a book by Sam and Bella Spewack and an iconic score by Cole Porter, begins tonight, July 1, on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center.

The Old Globe presents William Shakespeare's delightful and romantic Twelfth Night, directed by Rebecca Taichman, whose production of the time-traveling Time and the Conways fascinated audiences last April, as part of the 2015 Summer Shakespeare Festival. The Old Globe engagement runs through July 26, 2015, with opening night tonight, June 27 at 8:00 p.m., in the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre.

The complete cast and creative team have been announced for The Old Globe's presentation of Kiss Me, Kate, the classic musical comedy featuring a book by Sam and Bella Spewack and an iconic score by Cole Porter.

Dorset Theatre Festival will stage Katie Forgette's Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Jersey Lily, a delightfully funny and exciting take on the famous detective story that weaves together threads of history and literature including the great Sherlock Holmes himself, his trusted friend Watson, the sinister Moriarty, the glamorous Lillie Langtry, and even Oscar Wilde. The production will be directed by Margarett Perry and will run from July 9th through the 25th. 'There is a reason that Sherlock is such a popular figure in literature as well as on stage and in film,' says Artistic Director Dina Janis. 'These mysteries are engaging throughout and always very satisfying. This piece in particular is so clever and entertaining.' The Case of the Jersey Lily places literature's favorite genius detective right in the middle of a blackmail scheme that connects the famous actress Lillie Langtry, celebrated playwright Oscar Wilde (just finishing work on his new play, The Importance of Being Forthright), criminal mastermind James Moriarty and Queen Victoria herself.

Over 20 talented youth and their friends/families filled the Pheasant Run Mainstage Theater for Fox Valley Rep's 3rd Annual GOT TALENT? Contest on Saturday, June 13, 2015.  It was an afternoon of acoustic guitar, original rap music, classic musical theater renditions, and an abundance of energy from participants between the ages of 8 and 18.

The Gift Theatre artistic director Michael Patrick Thornton announces the world premiere of smart, exhilarating new play Body & Blood by Gift Co-Founder and playwright, William Nedved and directed by Marti Lyons, who previously directed Bethany last season and recently directed Thornton in Lookingglass' Title and Deed. Body & Blood features Gift ensemble members Lynda Newton (The Royal Society of Antarctica) and Gabe Franken (Thinner Than Water) with guest artists Cyd Blakewell (Griffin Theatre Company's Balm in Gilead), Stephen Spencer (Remy Bumppo's Our Class) and Nicholas Harazin (Chicago Shakespeare Theater's Macbeth).

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) celebrated Shakespeare's vibrant legacy with GALA 2015 on Monday, June 8 at the Theater's home on Navy Pier, raising $1.2 million for Chicago Shakespeare in Urban Communities initiatives. Three hundred and fifty of Chicago's civic, corporate and cultural leaders attended the event benefiting CST's award-winning engagement programs including Team Shakespeare education initiatives and Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks. The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the fifth annual Spirit of Shakespeare Awards to this year's Civic Honoree, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) and ITW Vice Chairman David Parry and his wife Ros Parry, and Artistic Honorees, Simon Callow and Phylicia Rash?d.

Actors Theatre of Louisville's Artistic Director Les Waters and Managing Director Jennifer Bielstein announce that the theatre is the recipient of a major grant awarded from The Roy Cockrum Foundation in support of the theatre's prestigious Apprentice/Intern Company. The award will support grants over the next ten years for each apprentice and intern during the nine-month program, and provides year-round employment for the program's leadership. The Apprentice/Intern Company offers total immersion into the world of a major American regional theatre and a unique combination of performance, training, observation and networking.

Peninsula Players Theatre, America's Oldest Professional Resident Summer Theatre and Door County's theatrical icon, presents its 80th season, running tonight, June 16 through October 18, 2015.

California Shakespeare Theater continues its 2015 season with Pulitzer-Prize winning playwright Nilo Cruz's powerfully-penned adaptation of Life Is a Dream, Pedro Calderon de la Barca's epic tale of love, power, and destiny, Life Is a Dream. Directed by Magic Theatre's Artistic Director Loretta Greco in her Cal Shakes debut, Life Is a Dream plays at the Bruns Amphitheater from July 8 through August 2.

The Gift Theatre artistic director Michael Patrick Thornton presents the World Premiere of Body & Blood, the smart, exhilarating new play by Gift Co-Founder and playwright William Nedved, directed by Marti Lyons, who recently directed Thornton in Lookingglass' Title and Deed. Body & Blood features The Gift ensemble members Lynda Newton (The Royal Society of Antarctica) and Gabriel Franken (Thinner Than Water) with guest artists Cyd Blakewell (Griffin Theatre Company's Balm in Gilead), Stephen Spencer (Remy Bumppo's Our Class) and Nicholas Harazin (Chicago Shakespeare Theater's Macbeth). Body & Blood runs tonight, June 11 - August 9 at The Gift Theatre, 4802 N. Milwaukee Avenue. Press opening is Monday, June 15 at 7:30pm.

Back by citywide demand! Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks returns this summer and brings a brand-new production of Shakespeare's Greatest Hits to 18 neighborhood parks throughout the city, FREE FOR ALL, July 17-August 16, 2015. Scroll down for an updated performance schedule!

Murder, musical mayhem and a madcap mystery will be on stage when Philadelphia Theatre Company presents the killer musical MURDER FOR TWO, running tonight, June 6-28 at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre (Broad and Lombard Streets).

The Off-Broadway hit Murder for Two opens tonight (June 3) in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater.  The production has now been extended through Sunday, August 2.

Overflowing with Rock n' Roll, romance, and mistaken identities, the Elvis fueled Broadway Musical, ALL SHOOK UP, rides into Theatre at the Center, July 16th through August 16th with a press opening on Sunday July 19th at 7 p.m. at 1040 Ridge Road in Munster, IN. Jeff Award-winning Artistic Director Bill Pullinsi joins forces with Jeff Award-winning Choreographer Danny Herman to co-direct the well-tuned, hot-rod musical, which continues Theatre at the Center's spectacular 25th Anniversary 2015 season. With a book by Tony Award-winning Joe DiPietro, nostalgic songs and sensational dance numbers, the hilarious musical will have audiences of all ages jumpin' out of their blue suede shoes!

Here's an Updated List of the Twenty-One Illinois Theaters Donating Tickets as Prizes for BroadwayWorld Chicago's 2015 Tony Awards Viewing Party. And You're Invited!

The North Carolina Symphony, led by conductor Stuart Chafetz, will perform some of the greatest hits from the 1980s as part of its 2015 Rex Healthcare Summerfest Series at Cary's Booth Amphitheatre on Saturday, June 6, at 7:30 p.m. Joining Chafetz will be vocalists Joe Cassidy and Nicole Parker.

The First National Tour of Matilda the Musical, produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company and The Dodgers, launches tonight, May 29, with an official tour opening set for June 7, 2015 at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles.

In this taut 2013 theatrical adaptation of Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela's award winning-book, the apartheid regime's most notorious assassin and head of its death squad, Eugene de Kock (played by Matthew Marsh), sits opposite psychologist Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela (played Noma Dumezweni) in Pretoria Central Prison in 1997. Gobodo-Madikizela is a member of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission determined to understand his actions. She questions de Kock, who is sentenced to two life terms plus 212 years for crimes against humanity, murder, conspiracy to murder, attempted murder, assault, kidnapping, illegal possession of firearms, and fraud.

The Old Globe today announced the complete cast and creative team for the West Coast premiere of an exciting new American play, Rich Girl, by acclaimed playwright Victoria Stewart, continuing the Globe's 80th Anniversary festivities as part of the Balboa Park Centennial Celebration. Rich Girl will be directed by James Vasquez (Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show), and will play May 23 - June 21, 2015, in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center.