Donald Margulies News

The Geffen Playhouse's annual fundraiser Backstage at the Geffen is always an evening full of surprises for the audience, but this year Producing Director Gil Cates got a surprise of his own. Unbeknownst to him, the board of the directors unanimously voted to name the organization's main stage the Gil Cates Theater at the Geffen Playhouse, an honor that actress and longtime supporter of the theater Rita Wilson announced at yesterday's event.

TIME STANDS STILL, the acclaimed play by Donald Margulies (Collected Stories), must end its twice extended engagement at Manhattan Theatre Club's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street) Saturday, March 27 following the 8 PM performance. On that date, the production will have played 27 preview performances and 68 regular performances.

A world premiere adaptation of Jane Austen's romantic comedy Emma by Artistic Director Michael Bloom will end its run at the Cleveland Play House on March 21st.

In a recent interview with the New York Times, Broadway star Alicia Silverstone says her conversion of veganism helped usher in her change from campy films such as Scooby Doo to making the move to the stage.

Taproot Theatre continues its 34th season in March with the regional premiere of Brooklyn Boy by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Donald Margulies. As Margulies' newest play receives rave reviews on Broadway, Seattle audiences are in for a treat as his comedic and heartfelt play about middle aged novelist Eric Weiss comes to the Northwest for the first time. In Brooklyn Boy, Eric finally starts to come of age-a couple decades too late. He's finally made it big with a best seller and a shot at a Hollywood film, but then an inconvenient phone call brings him back to the Brooklyn neighborhood he grew up in and happily left behind. Witty and deeply touching, this story of growing up, coming home and making sense of it all is sure to warm your heart. Directed by associate artistic director Karen Lund, Brooklyn Boy opens tonight, March 19, and runs through April 17.

Tisa Chang, Artistic Producing Director of Pan Asian Repertory Theatre continues its 33rd season with CHING CHONG CHINAMAN, a satirical new comedy by Lauren Yee directed by May Adrales.

Casting has been completed for the upcoming performance of THE CHERRY SISTERS REVISITED, which will play as a part of the Humana Festival at the Actors Theatre of Louisville. The production will feature music by Michael Friedman, commissioned by the theatre.

Several Broadway stars are set for the upcoming Primary Stages Concert series, including Charles Busch, Mario Cantone, Penny Fuller, Julie Halston, Jamie deRoy, Gregg Edelman, and Karen Mason. The performances will take place in April and May over a one week span that will take place at the 59E59 Theatre.

The 34th annual Humana Festival of New American Plays, made possible by a generous grant from The Humana Foundation, will continue with The Method Gun, created by Austin?based theatre troupe Rude Mechs and written by Kirk Lynn. The Method Gun is a play about the ecstasy and excesses of performing, the dangers of public intimacy, and the incompatibility of truth on stage and6 sanity in real life.

Laura Linney will will be one of many recipients of the Common Wealth Award of Distinguished Service at a ceremony on April 24th.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sigourney Weaver will be joining Alicia Silverstone on the big screen in the upcoming Amy Heckerling project Vamps.

SIN, a mystical comedy, based on Isaac Bashevis Singer's short story 'The Unseen,' adapted by Mark Altman, will have it's world premiere at the Baruch Performing Arts Center's Rose Nagelberg Theatre (55 Lexington Avenue at 25th Street).

As we move beyond the Ides of March, a number of our California Central Coast theatre and live entertainment venues are taking a bit of a break as they prepare to open new shows in the near future - but there are still plenty of options to satisfy most any entertainment taste and budget!

Casting has been completed for the upcoming performance of THE CHERRY SISTERS REVISITED, which will play as a part of the Humana Festival at the Actors Theatre of Louisville. The production will feature music by Michael Friedman, commissioned by the theatre.

The cast of The Manhattan Theatre Club's Broadway-bound COLLECTED STORIES met with the press last week. Rehearsals for the production began on March 3, in preparation for a Wednesday, April 27 opening night at MTC's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. The production will start previews on Friday, April 9. COLLECTED STORIES stars Tony Award winner Linda Lavin (THE TALE OF THE ALLERGIST'S WIFE, THE NEW CENTURY) and Golden Globe nominee Sarah Paulson ('Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,' THE GLASS MENAGERIE on Broadway).

On Sunday, March 28, Jordan Roth, President of Jujamcyn Theaters, continues his multi-evening 92nd Street Y conversation series, 'Broadway Talks,' with Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning actress Laura Linney. Among other topics, Roth and Linney will discuss her current role in Time Stands Still, at the 92nd Street Y (1395 Lexington Avenue at 92nd Street). The event will take place at 7:30pm.

As we come to the second week of March, some of our California Central Coast theatre and live entertainment venues have just closed or will soon be closing their current performance runs, while a couple are preparing to open new shows - rarely a dull moment when it comes to theatre opportunities in these parts!

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 an innovative new translation and adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's classic play ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE, directed by K. Lorrel Manning, and adapted by Manning and TBG Artistic Director Seth Barrish.

The 34th annual Humana Festival of New American Plays, made possible by a generous grant from the Humana Foundation, will continue with the two full?length plays Ground, beginning performances March 2 and Phoenix beginning performances March 5. Both plays run through March 28.

Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) in association with Long Wharf Theatre presents Tennessee Williams' play The Glass Menagerie, directed by Gordon Edelstein with Patch Darragh (Tom Wingfield), two-time Tony® Award winner Judith Ivey (Amanda Wingfield), Keira Keeley (Laura Wingfield).