Folger Theatre News

?The UofSC Department of Theatre and Dance will host Gravedigger's Tale, an interactive retelling of William Shakespeare's Hamlet, April 21-23 at Longstreet Theatre. 

George Street Playhouse today announced the cast of Aaron Posner's MY NAME IS ASHER LEV, which runs April 12 through May 1 at the New Brunswick theatre. Miles G. Jackson (4000 Miles) will portray the titular Jewish artist Asher Lev, who must be a painter despite his faith and the will of his family. Bob Ari (Frost/Nixon, GSP's Red) and Lena Kaminsky (Law & Order, GSP's The Pillowman) both return to George Street to round out the cast.  MY NAME IS ASHER LEV will be directed by George Street Playhouse Director of Education and Outreach, Jim Jack.

The wonderfully inventive and wildly hilarious Reduced Shakespeare Company® (RSC) returns to Folger Theatre for the eagerly anticipated world premiere of William Shakespeare's Long Lost First Play (abridged). The RSC will bring their signature style (dubbed "intellectual vaudeville" by The New York Times) of witty wordplay and physical finesse to the Folger for a limited engagement from April 21 through May 8, 2016. William Shakespeare's Long Lost First Play (abridged), stars RSC members Reed Martin, Teddy Spencer, and Austin Tichenor. The play is written and directed by Mr. Martin and Mr. Tichenor, co-directors of RSC. Tickets are available online at www.folger.edu/theatre or by calling the Folger Box Office at (202) 544-7077.

Updated this week! Check out upcoming Equity Auditions from Sunday, February 28, 2016 for both productions in your area and around the country including what/when/where and how to audition!

The Pearl Theatre Company is pleased to present the New York premiere of Stupid Fu**ing Bird, Aaron Posner's award-winning wry riff on Anton Chekhov's masterpiece The Seagull. Directed by Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival's Artistic Director Davis McCallum, the production, running March 15-May 8, scoops up Chekhov's tale of unrequited love, missed opportunities, and misplaced dreams and sets it down squarely in the bustle of 21st century life. With its rebellious title evoking Constantine's subversive play-within-a-play from the original, it captures the heartbreaking humor of the tale while playing as brilliantly with dramatic form as Chekhov himself once did.

Maryland Ensemble Theatre (MET) is proud to present the funny and moving Stupid f**king Bird. The show which is "sort of" adapted from Chekhov's The Seagull by Aaron Posner will be helmed by Gerard Stropnicky. The play runs at MET for four weeks beginning February 12. Check out production shots photos below!

Arena Stage announces casting for the final production of the 2015/16 season, Ayad Akhtar's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Disgraced. Director Timothy Douglas (Arena's King Hedley II) tackles this emotionally-charged play by Akhtar, author of the novel 'American Dervish' and currently the most produced playwright in the United States. Hailed as 'emotionally shattering, a smart and provocative work of unusual daring that should be seen by anyone who cares about serious theater' by Newsday, Disgraced runs April 22-May 29, 2016 in the Kreeger Theater.

Robert Schenkkan's Tony Award-winning drama All the Way, about President Lyndon Baines Johnson's impassioned struggle to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, makes its Washington, D.C. debut at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Kyle Donnelly, who has directed more than 20 productions at Arena Stage, returns to helm this "sure-fire, action packed hit" (Huffington Post) about a country still reeling from the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the man tasked with calming the storm. Hailed as a "sensational night of theater" (NPR), All the Way runs April 1-May 8, 2016 in the Fichandler Stage.

Nobody's quite sure of the birthdate of the greatest writer in the English language, but everyone is pretty sure William Shakespeare died in 1616, making this the 400th anniversary of his death, or as Michael Witmore, director of the Folger Shakespeare Library calls it, 'the fifth century of his afterlife.'

The heavens appear to open above the Minneapolis audience when a cloud filled sky hovers over the stage in the' Guthrie Theater's Wurtele Thrust Stage this winter. Artistic debuts abound in the company's glorious new production of William Shakespeare's Pericles, named one of the Washington Post's 2015 top ten productions in American theater. The production arrives in association with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and The Folger Theatre where incoming Artistic Director Joseph Haj transports the city to this ancient tale placed on and around the Mediterranean Sea where redemption washes like water over Shakespeare's heroes and heroines at the story's end.

Tonight, before a gathering of theatre artists and patrons, theatreWashington announced the nominees for the 2016 Helen Hayes Awards, drawn from 202 eligible productions presented in the 2015 calendar year. Scroll down for the full list of nominees!

Kicking off Folger Theatre's 2016 commemoration of 400 years of William Shakespeare is one of his most beloved comedies, A Midsummer Night's Dream. On stage from January 26 through March 6, 2016, this hilarious and heartfelt celebration of the follies and foibles of human beings is directed by four-time Helen Hayes Award-winner Aaron Posner. It is performed by an all-star cast, including Holly Twyford as Bottom, Eric Hissom as Oberon, Caroline Stefanie Clay as Titania, and Erin Weaver as a mischievous Puck. Tickets are available online at www.folger.edu/theatre or by calling the Folger Box Office at (202) 544-7077.

Maryland Ensemble Theatre (MET) is proud to present the funny and moving Stupid f**king Bird. The show which is "sort of" adapted from Chekhov's The Seagull by Aaron Posner will be helmed by Gerard Stropnicky. The play will run at MET for four weeks beginning February 12.

Yale Repertory Theatre presents the world premiere of THE MOORS by Jen Silverman, directed by Jackson Gay, beginning tonight, January 29, where it will run through February 20 at Yale Repertory Theatre (1120 Chapel Street). Opening Night is Thursday, February 4.

Anthony Giardina's Off-Broadway smash hit THE CITY OF CONVERSATION, about a Georgetown political hostess, makes its Washington, D.C. debut at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater beginning tonight, January 29. Following his direction of the 2014 world premiere at Lincoln Center Theater, Tony Award winner Doug Hughes returns to direct this political drama spanning three decades, from Carter's presidency through the Reagan era and ending with Obama's inauguration. THE CITY OF CONVERSATION runs through March 6, 2016 in the Fichandler Stage.

The multi award-winning NoHo Arts Center Ensemble (NoHo ACE) is thrilled to present a world premiere play, SissyBoy, written and performed by James Mellon and directed by Kevin Bailey. SissyBoy will begin previews on Friday, February 5 at 8pm; will open on Friday, February 12 at 8pm and run for eleven performances through Sunday, March 6, 2016 at the NoHo Arts Center, 11136 Magnolia Blvd. (at Lankershim Blvd.) in North Hollywood.

New Repertory Theatre announces the NEXT REP BLACK BOX FESTIVAL SPOTLIGHT SYMPOSIUM SERIES, January 24-February 18, 2016 in the Black Box Theater at the Arsenal Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown, MA.

Theater J presents the Tony Award-nominated THE SISTERS ROSENSWEIG by Wendy Wasserstein, which plays now through February 21, 2016. This heartfelt comedy follows the three Rosensweig sisters who are different as can be - a no-nonsense international banker, a kvelling mother of four and a bohemian world-traveling journalist. When the three hilariously reunite at Sara's London home for her 54th birthday celebration, a barrage of suitors and unexpected revelations make for one remarkable weekend. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Yale Repertory Theatre presents the world premiere of THE MOORS by Jen Silverman, directed by Jackson Gay, January 29-February 20 at Yale Repertory Theatre (1120 Chapel Street). Opening Night is Thursday, February 4.

Special performances, a touring exhibit and educational services are all featured in 2016.