Contemporary Stage News

Heartbreaking. Gutsy. Intensely riveting. These are some of the words I jotted down in the dark---while simultaneously wiping tears streaming down my face---during the Southern California Regional Premiere of the Tony Award-winning musical NEXT TO NORMAL, now playing at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts for a limited run ending June 23. The winner of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, this thought-provoking, emotionally-heavy musical play---which features music by Tom Kitt and book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey---has now been revived locally in a top-notch, Broadway-caliber staging that truly impresses from beginning to end.

Following the critically acclaimed run of SPORTS PLAY by Nobel Prize winner Elfriede Jelinek, which coincided with the London 2012 Olympics, Just a Must is reviving the play for two nights only at the Camden People's Theatre (13-14 July 2013) before embarking on an international tour to three continents. Click below for a sneak peek at the production!

Following the critically acclaimed run of SPORTS PLAY by Nobel Prize winner Elfriede Jelinek, which coincided with the London 2012 Olympics, Just a Must is reviving the play for two nights only at the Camden People's Theatre (13-14 July 2013) before embarking on an international tour to three continents.

An incessantly ringing cell phone in a quiet cafe. A stranger at the next table who has had enough. And a dead man, with a lot of loose ends. Richard Israeldirects Dead Man's Cell Phone, a wildly imaginative and off-center romantic comedy by MacArthur 'Genius' Grant recipient Sarah Ruhl, opening tonight, June 7 at International City Theatre (ICT) in the Long Beach Performing Arts Center. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the production below!

An incessantly ringing cell phone in a quiet cafe. A stranger at the next table who has had enough. And a dead man, with a lot of loose ends. Richard Israel directs Dead Man's Cell Phone, a wildly imaginative and off-center romantic comedy by MacArthur "Genius" Grant recipient Sarah Ruhl, opening on June 7 at International City Theatre (ICT) in the Long Beach Performing Arts Center. Two low-priced previews take place on June 5 and 6.

Internationally renowned artist Hiroshi Sugimoto and acclaimed kyogen actor Mansai Nomura create a site-specific version of Sanbaso, one of the oldest dance pieces in the highly stylized stage art traditions of noh and kyogen, which date back more than six hundred years. With its origins in an ancient ritual ceremony, Sanbaso is a prayer to the gods for a bountiful harvest and is traditionally performed by a kyogen actor.

Japan Society, as part of its Fall 2012/Spring 2013 Performing Arts Season, proudly presents Macbeth, a production of Shakespeare's play directed by and starring internationally acclaimed traditional kyogen actor and one of Japan's most celebrated stage, film and television stars, Mansai Nomura. This production of Macbeth plays two performances only at Japan Society (333 East 47th Street): Saturday, March 23 at 7:30pm and Sunday, March 24 at 5:00pm.

Theater Latte Da announced today casting for its upcoming production of The Light in the Piazza, book by Craig Lucas, music and lyrics by Adam Guettel, which will be presented at the Ordway McKnight Theatre March 14 - April 7, 2013.

The classic tale of two young lovers and feuding families, William Shakespeare's ROMEO & JULIET comes to the Denver Center Theatre Company's (DCTC) Stage Theatre tonight, January 25 - February 24.

The classic tale of two young lovers and feuding families, William Shakespeare's ROMEO & JULIET comes to the Denver Center Theatre Company's (DCTC) Stage Theatre January 25 - February 24.

Quintessence Theatre Group continues its third season of progressive classical theatre with Gogol's THE DIARY OF A MADMAN, directed by Alexander Burns. THE DIARY OF A MADMAN will begin previews on Wednesday, February 13 at 7pm and open on Saturday, February 16 at 8pm at the Sedgwick Theater, 7137 Germantown Ave in Mt. Airy, Philadelphia, 19119. To purchase tickets, visit www.QuintessenceTheatre.org or call 1.877.238.5596.

Dance New Amsterdam(DNA) welcomes back 2011 - 2012 RAW Directions artists Elke Luyten and Kira Alker, as well as DNA faculty member Kendra Portier, joining for the first of two SPLICE series this season. The series provides a collaborative performance setting that juxtaposes contemporary artists that share a common thread, however subtle or tangential. Luyten and Alker's Studies of Inertia is a world premiere encompassing Inertia, Part I, which was performed as part of DNA's last season's RAW Directions program. After almost a decade of extensive work with choreographers such as David Dorfman, DNA gives Portier the spotlight for her world premiere of Beautiful Weather for an Air Raid.

Compleat Female Stage Beauty, written by Jeffrey Hatcher, directed by Dave Bisaha, will play the Henry Heymann Theatre, Stephen Foster Memorial, 4200 Fifth Ave in Pittsburgh, tonight, November 8 - November 18, 2012.

Compleat Female Stage Beauty, written by Jeffrey Hatcher, directed by Dave Bisaha, will play the Henry Heymann Theatre, Stephen Foster Memorial, 4200 Fifth Ave in Pittsburgh, November 8 - November 18, 2012.

Dance New Amsterdam(DNA) welcomes back 2011 - 2012 RAW Directions artists Elke Luyten and Kira Alker, as well as DNA faculty member Kendra Portier, joining for the first of two SPLICE series this season. The series provides a collaborative performance setting that juxtaposes contemporary artists that share a common thread, however subtle or tangential. Luyten and Alker's Studies of Inertia is a world premiere encompassing Inertia, Part I, which was performed as part of DNA's last season's RAW Directions program. After almost a decade of extensive work with choreographers such as David Dorfman, DNA gives Portier the spotlight for her world premiere of Beautiful Weather for an Air Raid. Six performances will run over two weekends, November 30 - December 1 and December 7 - 8. All shows are at 7:30 p.m., with additional Saturday matinees at 3:00 p.m.

Elegant and evil, DRACULA stalks the Courthouse Center for the Arts in a contemporary stage production adapted by Geoffrey Hitch and directed by Richard Ericson. Performances begin Thursday, October 10th and sprint toward a week of special Halloween shows. Closely based on the original novel by Bram Stoker, this DRACULA is not for the faint of heart; and those afraid of the dark, must have faith that it's darkest before the light.