Fabian Obispo News

Charles Dickens gigantic novel put on stage is a challenging experience.

The 'play that changed American theater forever' (New York Times) comes to Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater for the first time ever this spring.

Director Tazewell Thompson, handling a tale that is heavy on narrative, guides the pliable ensemble to a performance that is dynamic, touching, amusing, lively and filled with gothic foreshadowing. Every sequence unfolds a new delight, from slapstick action to nuanced characterization to the most hilarious rendition of Hamlet it has ever been my privilege to witness. Script, direction, casting, performance and tech are each remarkable renditions of their kind. The beautiful language is retained, but made perfectly clear by action and diction. Additionally, it's heartily funny.

Victory Gardens Theater concludes its 41st season with Midwest Premiere of The House That Will Not Stand by Ensemble Playwright Marcus Gardley, directed by Artistic Director Chay Yew. The House That Will Not Stand runs June 10 - July 10, 2016, with the press performance on Friday, June 17, 2016 at 7:30 pm at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue.

HOUSE RULES, a new play by A. Rey Pamatmat, will be given its NY premiere by the award-winning Asian-American Off-Broadway MA-YI THEATER COMPANY at HERE (145 Sixth Avenue, NYC), with previews set to begin March 25 prior to its official opening night on April 1. HOUSE RULES is directed by Ralph B. Peña. This limited-engagement will conclude on April 16, 2016. 

Classic Stage Company, under the leadership of Artistic Director Brian Kulick and Managing Director Jeff Griffin, presents DOCTOR FAUSTUS, adapted by David Bridel and Andrei Belgrader from the play by Christopher Marlowe, starring Chris Noth ('Law & Order,' 'Sex and the City,' 'The Good Wife'), and directed by Andrei Belgrader (CSC's production of The Cherry Orchard). Previews will began June 2 with an official opening tonight, June 18 at CSC (136 East 13th Street). Performances have been extended through Sunday, July 12.

Classic Stage Company, under the leadership of Artistic Director Brian Kulick and Managing Director Jeff Griffin, has announced that its upcoming production of DOCTOR FAUSTUS, adapted by David Bridel and Andrei Belgrader from the play by Christopher Marlowe, starring Chris Noth ("Law & Order," "Sex and the City," "The Good Wife"), directed by Andrei Belgrader (CSC's production of The Cherry Orchard) will extend through Sunday, July 12.  Previews will now begin Tuesday, June 2 with an official opening Thursday, June 18 at CSC (136 East 13th Street).   Joining Noth in the cast are Tony Award nominee and "The Good Wife" co-star Zach Grenier as Mephistopheles, Jeffrey Binder, Ken Cheeseman, Carmen M. Herlihy, Walker Jones, Marina Lazzaretto, Geoffrey Owens and Lucas Caleb Rooney. 

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) Artistic Director Carey Perloff announced today that renowned playwright Caryl Churchill's internationally acclaimed new work, Love and Information, will make its West Coast debut as the inaugural production at A.C.T.'s new Strand Theater, completing the line-up for the 2014-15 season.

The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park launches the third world premiere of its 2013-14 season, Anna Ziegler's humorous and heartbreaking memory play, A DELICATE SHIP, March 22 through April 20 in the Thompson Shelterhouse Theatre.

Tazewell Thompson's world premiere drama Mary T. & Lizzy K. throws open the doors to the Lincoln White House at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. As one woman's skilled hands work overtime, creating the most beautiful garments of her career, the other's reality continues to slip ever further from her grasp. Old wounds and new recriminations explode in this riveting drama about loss, love and the importance of promises, both kept and broken. BroadwayWorld has highlights of the production below.

Mary T. & Lizzy K. stitches together an insider's look at the unique friendship between Mary Todd Lincoln and her talented dressmaker, the successful freed slave Elizabeth 'Lizzy' Keckly. Written and directed by Thompson, Mary T. & Lizzy K. runs now through April 28, 2013 in the Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle at Arena Stage. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Mary T. & Lizzy K. stars D.C.-area actress Kathryn Kelley (Round House Theatre's Next Fall) as Mary Todd Lincoln and Sameerah Luqmaan-Harris (Urban Stage's ReEntry) as Elizabeth Keckly. They are joined by noted local actors Thomas Adrian Simpson (last seen at Arena Stage as Col. Pickering in My Fair Lady) as Abraham Lincoln and Joy Jones (Studio Theatre's Invisible Man) as Ivy.

Broadway stars Ali Ewoldt ('Les Miserables,' 'West Side Story') and Adam Jacobs ('Les Miserables,' 'The Lion King') rehearse with Filipino-American composer Fabian Obispo for their upcoming concert at The Town Hall, A HEART FULL OF LOVE, on Saturday, February 23, 2013 at 8 p.m.

Broadway's "Les Miserables" alums Adam Jacobs and Ali Ewoldt; musical theater writer Sam Carner ("Unlock'd," "Island Song"); concert producers Elton Lugay and Jona Jane Tajonera; and members of the singing group Broadway Barkada met the press last Wednesday evening at The Ugly Kitchen in the East Village to talk about their concert "A Heart Full of Love," starring Jacobs and Ewoldt, at The Town Hall (123 W 43rd St.) next Saturday, February 23 at 8 p.m.

Mary T. & Lizzy K. stars D.C.-area actress Kathryn Kelley (Round House Theatre's Next Fall) as Mary Todd Lincoln and Sameerah Luqmaan-Harris (Urban Stage's ReEntry) as Elizabeth Keckly. They are joined by noted local actors Thomas Adrian Simpson (last seen at Arena Stage as Col. Pickering in My Fair Lady) as Abraham Lincoln and Joy Jones (Studio Theatre's Invisible Man) as Ivy.

MCC THEATER (Robert LuPone, Bernard Telsey, William Cantler, Artistic Directors; Blake West, Executive Director) begins previews today for the world premiere production of Don't Go Gentle by Stephen Belber and directed by Lucie Tiberghien, who also directed Belber's play Geometry of Fire at the Rattlestick Theater.

Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park announces their production of SPEAKING IN TONGUES by Andrew Bovell.

The Shakespeare Theatre Company welcomes former STC Associate Director PJ Paparelli who will direct and put a new twist on Shakespeare's earliest romantic comedy, The Two Gentlemen of Verona.

Unlike any TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA you have ever seen

Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park announces their production of SPEAKING IN TONGUES by Andrew Bovell.