David Henry Hwang News

Victory Gardens Theater, The League of Chicago Theatres, Silk Road Rising and Lifeline Theatre are collaborating on a new conversation series, Race and Representation in Chicago Theater, that will discuss the issues of race and representation in Chicago's theater community. The series, featuring panelists to include actors, playwrights and directors, will focus on the importance of cultivating, developing and producing work that "looks like Chicago," and will frame for both artists and audiences the importance of accurate representations in the work we experience together. Race and Representation in Chicago Theater comprises two events, Playing Race, to be hosted at Victory Gardens on Thursday, January 31 following the 7:30PM performance of Disconnect; and Building a Theatre of Inclusion: Perspectives on Asian American Casting and Producing, to be held at Silk Road Rising on Monday, February 18 at 7:00PM.

East West Players (EWP) the nation's largest producing organization of Asian American artistic work and the longest-running professional theatre of color in the country, has partnered with Multiracial Americans of Southern California (MASC) & the Vietnamese American Arts and Letters Association (VAALA) to present the World Premiere of the play CHRISTMAS IN HANOI.

From the Masters of family entertainment who brought you CATS and WILLY WONKA, Kelrik Productions will present the Central Coast Premiere production of the Disney musical, TARZAN, playing from February 16 - March 10.

Winning a Guthrie Theatre commission, and chosen for development by The Katselas Theatre Company's INKubator program, the West Coast Premiere of SEXSTING is the inaugural production for KTC's 2013 season. Opening at the popular Skylight Theatre Complex on February 23rd, the stellar cast includes Gregory Itzin (Tony, Drama Desk, and Emmy Award nominee), JD Cullum (Stones in His Pockets-Mark Taper Forum, Of Equal Measure-Kirk Douglas Theater), The Cripple of Inishmaan (Geffen Playhouse).

Even as his latest book attracts international attention, Pulitzer Prize-winner Lawrence Wright premieres his new play at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. A reporter renowned for his work with The New Yorker - and the bestselling author behind The Looming Tower and Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief - Wright is also the playwright who penned My Trip to al Qaeda and The Human Scale. Now he debuts a fictional play about the last days of legendary journalist Oriana Fallaci. Don't miss this sizzling new script, which is directed by Oskar Eustis, stars Concetta Tomei and Marjan Neshat, and features an incredible team of designers. The 65th world premiere presented by Berkeley Rep, Fallaci begins previews in the Roda Theatre on March 8, opens March 13, and runs through April 21. Below, watch a video of Artistic Director Tony Taccone introducing the play!

Even as his latest book attracts international attention, Pulitzer Prize-winner Lawrence Wright premieres his new play at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. A reporter renowned for his work with The New Yorker - and the bestselling author behind The Looming Tower and Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief - Wright is also the playwright who penned My Trip to al Qaeda and The Human Scale. Now he debuts a fictional play about the last days of legendary journalist Oriana Fallaci. Don't miss this sizzling new script, which is directed by Oskar Eustis, stars Concetta Tomei and Marjan Neshat, and features an incredible team of designers. The 65th world premiere presented by Berkeley Rep, Fallaci begins previews in the Roda Theatre on March 8, opens March 13, and runs through April 21.

Join L.A. Theatre Works (LATW) for an evening of Pride & Prejudice at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, January 25, 8:00 PM. The production features Jane Carr and Nicholas Hormann. Tickets, ranging from $55-$20, are available at the CCPA Ticket Office, by calling (562) 467-8818, or going to www.cerritoscenter.com. The $55 seats are sold out.

South Coast Repertory wraps up its current season with a fresh take on an American classic and a world premiere. The Fantasticks, the longest-running musical of all time, in a new setting by Amanda Dehnert, will be the final production of the season. SCR also will present the world premiere of Beau Willimon's The Parisian Woman as part of the 2013 Pacific Playwrights Festival.

Signature Theatre has announced that casting is confirmed and tickets are now on sale for THE DANCE AND THE RAILROAD written by David Henry Hwang and directed by May Adrales. All tickets for the initial run of the production are $25 as part of the Signature Ticket Initiative: A Generation of Access. The production runs February 5 through March 17, 2013 with a February 25 opening night in The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues).

East West Players (EWP), the nation's premier Asian American theatre, continues its 47th Anniversary season, themed Spirited Away, with the world premiere of CHRISTMAS IN HANOI, written by Eddie Borey and directed by Jeff Liu. The production features Joseph Daugherty (Brothers & Sisters, Young & The Restless, Days of Our Lives, Voices From Okinawa), Elyse Dinh (Spider-Man 2, Heartland), Michael Krawic (the X-Files, Bloodsport 4, Star Trek), Elizabeth Liang (The West Wing, Crimes of the Heart, The Clean House) and Long Nguyen (Seven Psychopaths, Journey From the Fall, CSI:NY)

The Alliance National Graduate Playwriting Competition continues to spotlight the best emerging playwrights with a full production for the competition winner and staged readings for four competition finalists. BIKE AMERICA, the ninth competition winner, will premiere on the Hertz Stage February 1 - 24, 2013. Opening night is February 6, 2013. BIKE AMERICA is written by Mike Lew from the Juilliard Drama Division and will be directed by Mortiz von Stuelpnagel.

As 2012 comes to a close, many Austin theater companies are putting together their 2013-2014 season. Given the incredible talent in this town and the large number of daring, courageous theater groups in the Austin area, here are my picks for 13 plays that I'd love to see produced in the 2013-2014 season.

Playwrights Foundation and the New York based company, The One-Minute Play Festival (OMPF) today announce their joint presentation of the Third Annual San Francisco One-Minute Play Festival, to be performed today, December 15 and the 16th, 2012.

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival continues to expand its ongoing commitment to the development and production of new work with five new commissions. American Revolutions: the United States History Cycle adds Ayad Akhtar, Kirsten Greenidge, Stephen Karam, Lisa Loomer and Karen Zacarias to its list of commissioned writers.

The Lyric Stage Company of Boston veers away from traditional Christmas fare and presents Tony and Obie Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang's CHINGLISH, his 2011 play about an American businessman trying to cash in on the growth potential in China. Miscommunication and mistranslation are the order of the day; bad for business, but good for laughs.

Five new plays (two fully staged workshop productions performed in repertory plus three staged readings) comprise Goodman Theatre's free 2012 New Stages Amplified in the Owen Theatre, a series that since 2004 has given audiences a first look at more than 50 new plays in development.