Craig Lucas News

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater will conclude its 15th Anniversary season with the world premiere of The Aliens, by Annie Baker (Circle Mirror Transformation, Body Awareness). Directed by Sam Gold (Circle Mirror Transformation, Rag and Bone), performances begin Wednesday, April 14th, 2010. Opening night is Thursday, April 22nd at 7pm. The show is scheduled to run through Sunday, May 23rd, 2010.

Acclaimed Off-Broadway theater company Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) has announced details for this year's special online Auction in connection with its annual Spring Gala Benefit.

Primary Stages closed its celebratory 25th Anniversary Season by proudly announcing the naming of its School of Theater in honor of founding board members Marvin and Anne Einhorn last week on April 16. BroadwayWorld was on hand for the ceremony. The school will now be officially known as Primary Stages Marvin and Anne Einhorn School of Performing Arts (ESPA). Twenty-five years after helping to found Primary Stages, Marvin and Anne Einhorn continue to serve the theater company and still report to duty each day at the Primary Stages office. They personify the renowned theater company's fierce and unwavering commitment to producing exciting work Off-Broadway.

The Flea Theater presents the World Premiere of PARENTS' EVENING, a two-hander by Bathsheba Doran. Directed by Flea Artistic Director Jim Simpson, the production stars Julianne Nicholson (Law & Order: Criminal Intent) and James Waterston (A.R. Gurney's Buffalo Gal).

Huntington Theatre Company has announced casting for its production of Craig Lucas' PRELUDE TO A KISS, which will run from May 14 through June 13.

The Huntington Theatre Company concludes its 28th season - a season of American stories - with the award-winning playwright Craig Lucas' modern classic Prelude to a Kiss. Peter and Rita are two young, happy lovers who are getting married. On their wedding day, an old man comes up to kiss the bride.

The women of Women's Project, the 32-year-old non-profit theater dedicated to producing plays written and directed by women, need 50 strong volunteers to help them get their rocks off on Friday, April 16, beginning at 10:00am and continuing until the deed is done.

Primary Stages closes its celebratory 25th Anniversary Season by proudly announcing the naming of its School of Theater in honor of founding board members Marvin and Anne Einhorn. The school will now be officially known as Primary Stages Marvin and Anne Einhorn School of Performing Arts (ESPA).

Bob Boyett and NETworks Presentations announce casting for the national tour of the Lincoln Center Theater production of Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein's prize-winning musical 'South Pacific,' directed by Bartlett Sher, opening June 2 at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre and playing through July 17, 2010. Previews begin May 27.

Bob Boyett and NETworks Presentations announce casting for the national tour of the Lincoln Center Theater production of Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein's prize-winning musical 'South Pacific,' directed by Bartlett Sher, opening June 2 at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre and playing through July 17, 2010. Previews begin May 27.

Thursday, April 15, 2010 is the date for the third presentation of the annual Greenfield Prize, a $30,000 commission for a new work of art in a designated category. This year's award goes to Sanford Biggers, the first visual artist to receive the Greenfield Prize since its inception in 2008.

The Hermitage Artist Retreat, administers of the annual $30,000 Greenfield Prize, is pleased to announce that the 2010 commission will be awarded to a visual artist on April 15, 2010. The honoree will be decided by a group of national experts selected by Dan Cameron, Director of Visual Arts at the Contemporary Arts Center of New Orleans and the founder of 'Prospect.1 New Orleans,' the largest biennial of international contemporary art ever organized in the United States. Cameron is one of the visual arts representatives on the Hermitage Artist Retreat National Artist Advisory Committee.

The women of Women's Project, the 32-year-old non-profit theater dedicated to producing plays written and directed by women, need 50 strong volunteers to help them get their rocks off on Friday, April 16, beginning at 10:00am and continuing until the deed is done.

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater will conclude its 15th Anniversary season with the world premiere of The Aliens, by Annie Baker (Circle Mirror Transformation, Body Awareness). Directed by Sam Gold (Circle Mirror Transformation, Rag and Bone), performances begin Wednesday, April 14th, 2010. Opening night is Thursday, April 22nd at 7pm. The show is scheduled to run through Sunday, May 23rd, 2010.

Women's Project, the 32-year-old non-profit theater dedicated to producing plays written and directed by women, and Cherry Lane Theatre, home to bold new voices, will present the world premiere of Sheila Callaghan's Lascivious Something directed by Daniella Topol and starring Rob Campbell, Dana Eskelson, Ronete Levenson and Elisabeth Waterston.

Rossini's rarely performed Armida has its Met premiere on April 12 with a gala performance of Mary Zimmerman's new production. Renowned soprano Renée Fleming stars as the mythological sorceress, Armida, one of the greatest virtuoso roles from the bel canto repertory. Fleming is joined by Lawrence Brownlee, who sings Armida's chief love interest, Rinaldo, and five more tenors in the roles of the crusader knights. José Manuel Zapata portrays Rinaldo's deadly rival Gernando.

Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) will close its production of the World Premiere of A COOL DIP IN THE BARREN SAHARAN CRICK, a new play by Kia Corthron (Breath, Boom at Playwrights Horizons/PH, Force Continuum) and directed by Obie Award winner Chay Yew (Durango at The Public), on April 11th.

The Barrow Group Theatre Company, the Drama Desk award-winning birthplace of this season's Broadway hit A Steady Rain, and last season's Off-Broadway hit The Temperamentals, continues their 23rd Anniversary Season with Scott Organ's PHOENIX, directed by TBG co-artistic director Seth Barrish.

Tony Award-nominee Jonathan Groff is set to perform two solo concerts at Joe's Pub on June 20th at 7:00pm and 9:30pm.

Ambroise Thomas's Hamlet returns to the Met stage for its first performances since 1897, with the powerful pairing of Simon Keenlyside in the title role and Marlis Petersen as Ophélie. Keenlyside's acclaimed interpretation of Hamlet in Geneva, London and Barcelona finally arrives in the United States, with a performance in the Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser production that was hailed by the British press as 'magnificent . . . sheer vocal genius.' Petersen, who steps in for Natalie Dessay, brings her haunting portrayal of Ophélie to the Met; she earned praise for the role during a 2006 run of Hamlet in Düsseldorf. Louis Langrée conducts a cast that includes Jennifer Larmore as Gertrude, Toby Spence in his Met debut as Laërte, and James Morris in the role of Claudius. Jane Archibald, in her Met debut, sings the role of Ophélie on April 5 and 9. The creative team is rounded out by Christian Fenouillat with set designs, Agostino Cavalca with costume designs, and Christophe Forey with lighting designs, all in their Met debuts. Performances run through April 9, with the March 27 matinee shown worldwide as part of The Met: Live in HD