Eric Bentley News

Phoenix Theatre Ensemble (PTE) announces that it will be presenting a freely adapted version of Luigi Pirandello's one-act play, The Man With a Flower in His Mouth for 4 performances only on Friday 9/12 @ 8:00 pm; Saturday 9/13 @ 3:00 pm and 8:00 pm and Sunday September 14 @ 3:00 pm at the Wild Project at 195 East 3rd Street (between Avenues A and B).

The Nora Theatre Company will present Lauren Gunderson's Emilie: La Marquise du Chatelet Defends Her Life Tonight. The piece will be the Boston acting debut for Lee Mikeska Gardner in the title role. Ms. Gardner was appointed Artistic Director of The Nora Theatre Company in November 2013 following a national search. The press performance is Monday, September 8 at 7:30PM.

The Ensemble for the Romantic Century (ERC) returns to Lenox, Massachusetts, for the second consecutive summer, with 12 performances of the fully staged theatrical concert, Beethoven Love Elegies. With a script drawn from Beethoven's letters and diaries and accounts by his contemporaries, interwoven with performances of some of his greatest music, this poignant, humorous, and emotionally intense production dramatizes Beethoven's young years in Vienna and his search for the perfect wife. Actor Kire Tosevski as Beethoven heads an outstanding company of five esteemed actors and four musicians (violinist Rachel Lee Priday, cellist Sebastian Bäverstam, pianist Eve Wolf, and baritone Chad Sloane).

The Ensemble for the Romantic Century (ERC) returns to Lenox, Massachusetts, for the second consecutive summer, with 12 performances of the fully staged theatrical concert, Beethoven Love Elegies. With a script drawn from Beethoven's letters and diaries and accounts by his contemporaries, interwoven with performances of some of his greatest music, this poignant, humorous, and emotionally intense production dramatizes Beethoven's young years in Vienna and his search for the perfect wife. Actor Kire Tosevski as Beethoven heads an outstanding company of five esteemed actors and four musicians (violinist Rachel Lee Priday, cellist Sebastian Bäverstam, pianist Eve Wolf, and baritone Chad Sloane).

Fresh off its recent Tchaikovsky production at BAM Fisher, the Ensemble of the Romantic Century (ERC) presents another fully staged theatrical concert interweaving drama and music about one of the most famous trials of the 19th century. Delivered by a top-caliber cast in an intimate setting, The Trial of Oscar Wilde focuses on the tragic shackling, public scrutiny, and subsequent imprisonment of the homosexual playwright/writer Oscar Wilde (1854-1900). A script based on Wilde's correspondence, plays, and short stories (performed by Broadway's Michael Halling as Oscar Wilde and esteemed Robert Ian Mackenzie as Lord Queensbury) provides a dramatic backdrop for chamber music by French and English composers from the late 19th and early 20th centuries including Chausson's masterful Concerto for violin, piano and string quartet, and works by Satie, Elgar, Faure and Franck in performances by the dynamic Amphion String Quartet, violinist Susie Park, pianist Max Barros and a romping barbershop quartet.

Fresh off its recent Tchaikovsky production at BAM Fisher, the Ensemble of the Romantic Century (ERC) presents another fully staged theatrical concert interweaving drama and music about one of the most famous trials of the 19th century. Delivered by a top-caliber cast in an intimate setting, The Trial of Oscar Wilde focuses on the tragic shackling, public scrutiny, and subsequent imprisonment of the homosexual playwright/writer Oscar Wilde (1854-1900). A script based on Wilde's correspondence, plays, and short stories (performed by Broadway's Michael Halling as Oscar Wilde and esteemed Robert Ian Mackenzie as Lord Queensbury) provides a dramatic backdrop for chamber music by French and English composers from the late 19th and early 20th centuries including Chausson's masterful Concerto for violin, piano and string quartet, and works by Satie, Elgar, Faure and Franck in performances by the dynamic Amphion String Quartet, violinist Susie Park, pianist Max Barros and a romping barbershop quartet.

Today Berkeley Repertory Theatre announced that it has added Richard Bean's internationally acclaimed smash hit One Man, Two Guvnors to its captivating collection of shows for the 2014-15 season. One Man, Two Guvnors is more than a sassy update of Carlo Goldoni's classic knee-slapper, A Servant of Two Masters. Set in 1960's Brighton, England, it's a brilliantly delicious mash-up of splendid comedy, British pantomime, and music-hall revues. The uproarious plot features a disarming and doltish Francis Henshall who finds himself trapped by farce into working for two bosses - who are connected in wildly improbable ways. He just has to keep them from discovering each other. Inspired insanity, high-low antics, and nimble wordplay ensue - all backed by live musicians paying homage to rockabilly and a certain Fab Four. Directed by David Ivers - artistic director of the Utah Shakespeare Festival - One Man, Two Guvnors is a riotous blast complete with a colorful cast of characters in a topsy-turvy world of love triangles and mistaken identities. It previews on Friday May 8, 2015, opens on May 15, 2015, and plays through Sunday June 21, 2015. The Theatre will announce one more subscription season production in the coming weeks.

Geva Theatre Center's 2014 Fielding Studio Series continues with the National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere of I and You by Lauren Gunderson. This production comes to Geva from the Olney Theatre in Maryland and is directed by Eleanor Holdridge. I and You begins performances on April 10 and runs in the Fielding Nextstage through April 27.

Celebrating its 13th season, the Ensemble of the Romantic Century (ERC) presents Tchaikovsky: None But the Lonely Heart at The Fishman Space in the new BAM Fisher. A fully staged theatrical concert blending striking music, powerful language and biography, Tchaikovsky: None But the Lonely Heart delves into the unconventional 16-year long relationship between one of the great composers of the 19th century and his patroness, Madame von Meck. Written by Eve Wolf and directed by Donald T. Sanders, this evening-length production seamlessly interweaves a dramatic script performed by actor Simon Fortin (Tchaikovsky) and actress Ariel Bock (Madame von Meck) of Shakespeare & Company with live chamber and vocal music performed by violinist Rachel Lee Priday, cellist Adrian Daurov, pianist Eve Wolf and tenor Blake Friedman. Featuring some of Tchaikovsky's epic pieces including Piano Trio in A Minor, Tchaikovsky: None But the Lonely Heart represents some of the composer's balletic works through dance both choreographed and performed by American Ballet Theatre dancer Daniel Mantei.

Olney Theatre Center, a Maryland destination for professional theater performance and education, will present the National New Play Network (NNPN) Rolling World Premiere of I And You by playwright Lauren Gunderson today, February 26 - March 23, 2014 in the Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab. Ms. Gunderson's play was just last week selected as a finalist for the prestigious Susan Smith Blackburn Award.

Olney Theatre Center, a Maryland destination for professional theater performance and education, will present the National New Play Network (NNPN) Rolling World Premiere of I And You by playwright Lauren Gunderson February 26 - March 23, 2014 in the Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab.

A trailblazing pioneer at the nexus of technology, a celebrated NASA mission scientist, and a digital media marketing visionary will take center stage at TheatreWorks Leading Ladies, an event celebrating the confluence of arts and innovation in Silicon Valley.

Celebrating its 13th season, the Ensemble of the Romantic Century (ERC) presents Tchaikovsky: None But the Lonely Heart at The Fishman Space in the new BAM Fisher. A fully staged theatrical concert blending striking music, powerful language and biography, Tchaikovsky: None But the Lonely Heart delves into the unconventional 16-year long relationship between one of the great composers of the 19th century and his patroness, Madame von Meck. Written by Eve Wolf and directed by Donald T. Sanders, this evening-length production seamlessly interweaves a dramatic script performed by actor Simon Fortin (Tchaikovsky) and actress Ariel Bock (Madame von Meck) of Shakespeare & Company with live chamber and vocal music performed by violinist Rachel Lee Priday, cellist Adrian Daurov, pianist Eve Wolf and tenor Blake Friedman. Featuring some of Tchaikovsky's epic pieces including Piano Trio in A Minor, Tchaikovsky: None But the Lonely Heart represents some of the composer's balletic works through dance both choreographed and performed by American Ballet Theatre dancer Daniel Mantei.

Singer Karyn Levitt, with pianist Eric Ostling, will perform Eric Bentley's Brecht-Eisler Song Book, a unique evening that features the songs of Austrian composer Hanns Eisler (1898-1962), set to poetry by Bertolt Brecht and other noted writers, in English versions by Eric Bentley, Monday February 3 at 7:30 PM at the Leonard Nimoy Thalia/Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway (entrance on 95th Street). Eric Bentley, now 97 years old, is the first translator into English of Brecht's plays and poems, introducing Brecht's work to American stages in the 1940's and 50's. Bentley has now unlocked Hanns Eisler's starkly beautiful songs, many set to poems by Brecht, to be performed by soprano Karyn Levitt, with whom he has worked closely since 2011.

'Blind Angels' by Dick Brukenfeld is a nail-biting drama in which a news reporter (inspired by Daniel Pearl) is taken prisoner by a group of cosmopolitan, integrated, successful, secular Muslims who are embarking on a terrorist attack. The twist is, he has long relationships with two of his three 'hosts'--one is his ex-fiancee and the other was his college roommate. They are playing an endgame scenario that dwarfs what any small fry terrorist has tried before and they need him to tell their story. Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave., will present the play's world premiere run February 6 to March 2, directed by Melissa Attebery.

Singer Karyn Levitt, with pianist Eric Ostling, will perform Eric Bentley's Brecht-Eisler Song Book, a unique evening that features the songs of Austrian composer Hanns Eisler (1898-1962), set to poetry by Bertolt Brecht and other noted writers, in English versions by Eric Bentley, Monday February 3 at 7:30 PM at the Leonard Nimoy Thalia/Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway (entrance on 95th Street). Eric Bentley is the first translator into English of Brecht's plays and poems, introducing Brecht's work to American stages in the 1940's and 50's. Now 97 years old, Bentley has searched for years to find the artist who could unlock Hanns Eisler's starkly beautiful songs for American audiences. He has found her in soprano Karyn Levitt, with whom he has worked closely since 2011.

A trailblazing pioneer at the nexus of technology, a celebrated NASA mission scientist, and a digital media marketing visionary will take center stage at TheatreWorks Leading Ladies, an event celebrating the confluence of arts and innovation in Silicon Valley.

Eric Bentley -- playwright, poet, drama critic, teacher, cabaret performer, and foremost authority on and translator of the works of Bertolt Brecht -- has been working with Soprano Karyn Levitt on his current creative venture: 'Eric Bentley's Brecht-Eisler Song Book', which is set for Symphony Space on February 3, 2014. Karyn Levitt first met Eric Bentley in September of 2011, just before his 95th birthday.

The 06 Ensemble is back combining art, entertainment and community service with the third installment of their critically acclaimed Bench Project. The Bench Project 3 will perform for one night only at the City Lights Theatre Company in San Jose on Monday, November 4th at 7:30 PM. For this Bench Project, admission will be five canned foods that will be used to help feed those in need of our support during the holiday season.

In MOTHER COURAGE AND HER CHILDREN, Olympia Dukakis delivers a searing performance in its title role. Dukakis is more than just a masterful actor, she delivers a Mother Courage who is strong, sassy and simply astonishing in her complexity. The entire ensemble of sixteen actors raises the reputation of Shakespeare & Company - already renowned for its lush, intelligible renditions of the Bard's greatest works - to new heights.