David Henry Hwang News

Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? opened last night, Saturday, October 13, 2012, at the Booth Theatre (222 West 45th Street), exactly 50 years to the day of the play's original Broadway opening on Saturday, October 13, 1962. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you coverage of the show's starry opening night arrivals, including director Pam MacKinnon, plus James Earl Jones, Andre De Shields, Jenna Fischer, Laura Osnes, Alan Alda, Tommy Tune, David Henry Hwang, T.R. Knight, John Leguizamo and more!

This October, at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, an ancient tale comes roaring back to life in a compelling new telling filled with contemporary wit and wisdom. The clash of swords and shields, the broken hearts and broken oaths, the bonds of friendship and family - An Iliad arises on a bare stage, told by an old man who's seen too much. Two-time Obie Award-winner Lisa Peterson directs a stunning show that stars Henry Woronicz, who masterfully captures the grief and glory of the battle for Troy.

The National Theatre Conference (NTC), an organization founded in 1925 that meets annually in New York to discuss relevant issues in today's theatre community and to celebrate outstanding achievement in the American theatre, has named the recipients of its 2012 awards. Broadway producer Elizabeth McCann has been named Person of the Year; the New Federal Theatre, under the direction of its founder, Woodie King, Jr., is the recipient of the Theatre of the Year Award; and playwright Dominique Morisseau has been selected as the winner of the Barrie and Bernice Stavis Playwright Award. All three will be presented with their awards and honored at the Players and at Signature Theatre during NTC's annual conference in New York October 26-28, 2012.

Alexis Marnel and Artists Collective for Social Change present the New York Off-Broadway premiere of Rock WILK's BROKE WIDE OPEN, a theatrical love letter to his hometown, New York City, and the story of his adoption, his fostering, and his complex search for his biological mother. Directed by Stephen Bishop Seely ("8 Million Protagonists") preview performances of BROKE WIDE OPEN begin October 6th prior to an official press opening of tonight, October 11th at The 45th Street Theatre (354 West 45th Street) in Manhattan.

The Tony Awards has just announced members of the 2012-13 Administration and Management Committees for next season's ceremony. The 2012-13 management committee will include: Mark Abrahams, Kristin Caskey, Ted Chapin, Sondra Gilman, James Higgins, Heather Hitchens, Paul Libin, William Ivey Long, Michael Price, Jane Safer, Charlotte St. Martin, Scott Sanders, Nick Scandalios, Thomas Viertel, Robert Wankel, and Barry Weissler.

East West Players (EWP), the nation's longest running professional theatre of color and the largest producer of Asian American artistic work, will lead a discussion on race politics in the American theatre on Monday, October 22, 2012 at 2:00 pm PDT/5:00 pm EDT at East West Players David Henry Hwang Theater in Little Tokyo Los Angeles.

East West Players (EWP), the nation's premier Asian American theatre, continues its 47th Anniversary season, themed Spirited Away, with the world premiere of TEA, WITH MUSIC. Book and lyrics are by acclaimed playwright Velina Hasu Houston, music by Nathan Wang and choreographed by Giovanni Ortega. This production is directed by Jon Lawrence Rivera. The musical features Joan Almedilla (Miss Saigon, Les Miserables), Tiffany-Marie Austin (Miss Saigon, A Little Night Music), Yumi Iwama (Our Town, South Pacific), Jennie Kwan (TV's California Dreams, Avenue Q), and Janet Song (Twelfth Night, Medea).

Hennepin Theatre Trust and Theater Latte Da announced today the launch of Broadway Re-Imagined, a new collaborative partnership taking a fresh look at Broadway and other musical theatre productions. The series kicks off in January 2013 with a co-production of Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida, imaginatively directed by Latte Da's acclaimed artistic director Peter Rothstein, at the historic Pantages Theatre, 710 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis.

Tonight, 9 October, the Alliance will celebrate its thirtieth anniversary and pay tribute to three extraordinary leaders and their commitment to the arts: Deepak Chopra, physician and author, Vishakha N. Desai, longtime president and CEO of the Asia Society; and Fred Ho, composer, musician, and activist. Actor, writer, and activist Christine Toy Johnson will also be recognized for her dedicated service and voluntarism with the 2012 Wai Look Award.

Two River Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Director John Dias and Managing Director Michael Hurst, continues its 2012-2013 Season with Ethan Lipton's No Place to Go, a musical composed by Ethan Lipton, Eben Levy, Ian M. Riggs, and Vito Dieterle and performed by Ethan Lipton & His Orchestra. The production is directed by Two River Associate Artist Leigh Silverman. Performances will begin tonight, October 6 and continue through Sunday, November 4.

The stars came out on Thursday as The Public Theater celebrated the completion of the $40 million revitalization of its downtown home at Astor Place with a special rededication ceremony. The event featured the "throwing out of the first lines" of Shakespeare by city officials and artists with ties to The Public, followed by a special performance from the cast of Hair, which had its world premiere at The Public when it opened in 1967.

Alexis Marnel and Artists Collective for Social Change present the New York Off-Broadway premiere of Rock WILK's BROKE WIDE OPEN, a theatrical love letter to his hometown, New York City, and the story of his adoption, his fostering, and his complex search for his biological mother. Directed by Stephen Bishop Seely ('8 Million Protagonists') preview performances of BROKE WIDE OPEN begin tonight, October 4th prior to an official press opening of Thursday, October 11th at The 45th Street Theatre (354 West 45th Street) in Manhattan.

We spoke to the talented (and thrilled) playwright to get his take on winning the award and how he's going to spend these next two years working on theatrical works.

On 9 October, the Alliance will celebrate its thirtieth anniversary and pay tribute to three extraordinary leaders and their commitment to the arts: Deepak Chopra, physician and author, Vishakha N. Desai, longtime president and CEO of the Asia Society; and Fred Ho, composer, musician, and activist. Actor, writer, and activist Christine Toy Johnson will also be recognized for her dedicated service and voluntarism with the 2012 Wai Look Award.

Two River Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Director John Dias and Managing Director Michael Hurst, continues its 2012-2013 Season with Ethan Lipton's No Place to Go, a musical composed by Ethan Lipton, Eben Levy, Ian M. Riggs, and Vito Dieterle and performed by Ethan Lipton & His Orchestra. The production is directed by Two River Associate Artist Leigh Silverman. Performances will begin on Saturday, October 6 and continue through Sunday, November 4.

Signature Theatre Company's (James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director) production of GOLDEN CHILD by David Henry Hwang and directed by Leigh Silverman is now in rehearsal. The production runs October 23 through December 2, 2012, with a November 13 opening night in The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues). Check out photos of the cast in rehearsal below!

This holiday season, Berkeley Repertory Theatre welcomes back a beloved artist for an alluring and hypnotic world-premiere production. Mary Zimmerman is mesmerizing. From Metamorphoses to The Arabian Nights, audiences have embraced her enchanting adaptations of epic tales. Now the Tony Award-winning director casts a spell with The White Snake, a classic romance from Chinese legend. As she falls for a charming young man, a snake spirit discovers what it means to be human. But a monk objects, and the bride must unveil her magical powers to save their love.

Goodman Theatre opens its 2012/2013 Season in the Owen Theatre with playwright, actor and poet Dael Orlandersmith's Black n Blue Boys/Broken Men, a co-commission with Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Directed by Chay Yew, Black n Blue Boys/Broken Men is Orlandersmith's solo-performed examination of humanity's capacity for hope and survival, rendered through the eyes of five men ages 11 to 50.

The new weekly web interview series "The Graham Show," hosted by Graham Douglass, premieres today, Friday, September 28. The inaugural episode features an interview with Tony Award-winning actor Christian Borle (Peter and the Starcatcher, "Smash"). Watch the episode below or at www.TheGrahamShow.com!

George Flanigen IV, award-winning music video director/producer and chairman of the board for the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, will launch the 2012-13 "Get Inforumed" music industry speaker series on Monday, Oct. 1 at 5 p.m. in Nunemaker Auditorium in Monroe Hall. The forum, which is part of the Department of Music Industry Studies at Loyola University New Orleans, is free and open to the public and will be streamed live online at http://www.cfmae.org/category/forums/.