Curt Columbus News

Strawdog Theatre Company continues their 21st season with Curt Columbus' translation of Anton Chekhov's classic 'Cherry Orchard' (note this translation doesn't have 'The' in the title); directed by Strawdog Artistic Associate Kimberly Senior. Chekhov's dark comedy follows the aristocratic Gayev family as they return to their beloved orchard estate, desperate to save it from foreclosure. 'Cherry Orchard' was the last play written by Chekhov, whose esteemed canon includes 'Uncle Vanya,' 'The Seagull' and 'Three Sisters.' 'Cherry Orchard' runs about two hours with one intermission, and includes free admittance to Strawdog Late Night following the Friday and Saturday shows (Late Night schedule available on www.strawdog.org).

Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre celebrates thirteen years of theatrical excellence next year with six mainstage productions and the return of the popular Storytellers Series. The 2009 season runs May-September with a special family friendly December production in time for the holidays. The organization has snagged the rights to produce one of the very first regional productions of Tom Stoppard's recent Broadway sensation Rock'n'Roll, and will present the play as the opener of the 2009 season, 'New and Ideal.' The season continues with the naughty-yet-sophisticated wit of Joe Orton's What the Butler Saw, the moral uncertainty of John Patrick Shanley's Doubt, the unbridled enthusiasm of Alan Bennett's students in The History Boys, and two classics of modern literature, Crime and Punishment and Jane Eyre, in phenomenal new adaptations for the stage. The Storytellers Series returns with Prague Spring: Three comedies about life under Communism by Vaclav Havel.

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT written by Fyodor Dostoevsky and adapted by Marilyn Campbell and Curt Columbus, directed by Sharon Ott. A gripping adaptation of the novel staged by Obie Award-winning director Sharon Ott. Designed by Christopher Barreca (sets), Lydia Tanji (costumes), Stephen Strawbridge (lights), and Cliff Caruthers (sound) Starring J.R. Horne, Delia MacDougall, and Tyler Pierce

The Brown University Literary Arts Program and the Brown/Trinity Repertory Consortium are pleased to announce the first installment of the 27th annual NEW PLAYS FESTIVAL.

Emmy-nominated Paul Anthony Stewart stars as Raskolnikov in a gripping 90-minute adaptation of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment at The Cleveland Play House. In addition to numerous New York and regional theatre roles, Stewart, who was nominated for his recurring role on 'Guiding Light,' recently appeared on Broadway in the revivals of Fiddler on the Roof and Cyrano - The Musical. Performed with only three actors, the adaptation of Crime and Punishment by Marilyn Campbell and Cut Columbus is being helmed by the acclaimed director of the 2005 Play House production of I Am My Own Wife, Anders Cato. Crime and Punishment begins in the Drury Theatre at The Cleveland Play House on Friday, February 27 and runs through Sunday, March 22, 2009. Tickets are on sale now at The Cleveland Play House box office by calling 216.795.7000 ext 4 or online at www.clevelandplayhouse.com. Crime and Punishment is presented in promotional partnership with National City and Baker & Hostetler.

The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle has announced its nominations and special awards for excellence in Los Angeles and Orange County theatre for the year 2008. The 40th Annual Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards ceremony will take place on Monday, March 16 at the El Portal Theatre, thanks to the generous donation of the El Portal's management. The theatre is located at 5269 Lankershim Blvd in North Hollywood. Tickets are $40; $5 off if purchased in advance via PayPal. The doors open at 6:30 p.m. for a catered reception (with no-host bar) and silent auction. The show commences at 7:30 p.m. Tickets to the Awards show can be reserved from the LADCC's website, at www.ladramacriticscircle.com

Strawdog Theatre Company continues their 21st season with Curt Columbus' translation of Anton Chekhov's classic 'Cherry Orchard' (note this translation doesn't have 'The' in the title); directed by Strawdog Artistic Associate Kimberly Senior. Chekhov's dark comedy follows the aristocratic Gayev family as they return to their beloved orchard estate, desperate to save it from foreclosure. 'Cherry Orchard' was the last play written by Chekhov, whose esteemed canon includes 'Uncle Vanya,' 'The Seagull' and 'Three Sisters.' 'Cherry Orchard' runs about two hours with one intermission, and includes free admittance to Strawdog Late Night following the Friday and Saturday shows (Late Night schedule available on www.strawdog.org).

Intiman Theatre, under the leadership of Artistic Director Bartlett Sher and Managing Director Brian Colburn, announces that Abe Lincoln in Illinois will conclude its 2009 season - the year of the Lincoln Bicentennial - under the direction of Sheila Daniels, Intiman's Associate Director. Robert E. Sherwood's epic play, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, will launch Intiman's second American Cycle, a series of large-cast plays and free community programs. Through great plays and conversations at Intiman and throughout the Puget Sound region, the American Cycle bring artists and audiences together to share the issues and hopes we feel in our community and as citizens of our country at this moment in its history.

In her 13 years as artistic director of Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Sharon Ott led the company to new artistic heights, national prestige, and a well-deserved Tony Award. Now, after a 12-year absence, she returns with a gripping production of Fyodor Dostoevsky's classic Crime and Punishment. The scene of this Crime is Berkeley Rep's intimate Thrust Stage, where Ott earned her reputation as a dazzling director. The show begins previews on February 27, opens March 4, and closes March 29. Its executive producers are John and Helen Meyer and Richard H. Rubin and H. Marcia Smolens, with production sponsorship from the Bernard Osher Foundation. BART and Wells Fargo are the season sponsors for Berkeley Rep's 41st year of fearless theatre.

$20 Tickets will be available in every performance of every show

Berkeley Repertory Theatre celebrates the New Year with a new film, new books, a popular CD, more venues for its touring shows, and two world premieres here at home. In 2008, the Theatre moved a musical to Broadway with its original cast intact and repeatedly broke box-office records in Berkeley with a series of spectacular solo shows. That sounds like a tough act to follow, but the future looks bright for this Tony Award-winning company:

Adam Bock's play, directed by Curt Columbus, is meant to be unsettling. It is, mostly, unsatisfying.

Strawdog Theatre Company?s annual holiday benefit, ?Strawdog Yuletacular 2008,? will feature a retro-style variety show with comedic sketches, a holiday cooking demonstration, a raffle and silent auction, and live, big-band style music provided by Strawdog?s guest band, The Jenn Rhoads Project.

Strawdog Theatre Company?s annual holiday benefit, ?Strawdog Yuletacular 2008,? will feature a retro-style variety show with comedic sketches, a holiday cooking demonstration, a raffle and silent auction, and live, big-band style music provided by Strawdog?s guest band, The Jenn Rhoads Project.

Hold on tight, because Victory Gardens Theater's smash hit winter musical The Snow Queen - conceived by Chicago folk music legend Michael Smith, Tony Award-winning director Frank Galati, and master puppeteer Blair Thomas & Co - is sledding back into town for her third season as Chicago's #1 alternative to traditional holiday fare.

Intiman Theatre announces the addition of Shakespeare's Othello, directed by Artistic Director Bartlett Sher, to its 2009 schedule. This will be Sher's first production of Shakespeare's tragedy and his fourth production of a Shakespeare play at Intiman, where he has been Artistic Director since 2000.

The Cleveland Play House will present the following productions throughout their 2008-09 season:

Trinity Rep opens its 2008-2009 theater season with an all-hands-on-deck retelling of a true 'Greek Tragedy'.

Strawdog Theatre Company kicks off their 21st season with Karel Čapek's science fiction drama R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots), directed by Strawdog Artistic Associate Shade Murray. Set in the 1920s at the island factory of Rossum's Universal Robots, 'R.U.R.' follows a team of scientists who have created the model to factory-produce the world's first robotic workforce.

Strawdog Theatre Company kicks off their 21st season with Karel Čapek's science fiction drama 'R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots),' directed by Strawdog Artistic Associate Shade Murray. Set in the 1920s at the island factory of Rossum's Universal Robots, 'R.U.R.' follows a team of scientists who have created the model to factory-produce the world's first robotic workforce.