Folger Theatre News

In this irreverent, contemporary, and wickedly funny 'sort of adaptation' of Chekhov's The Seagull, award-winning playwright Aaron Posner stages a timeless battle between young and old, past and present, in search of the true meaning of it all.

Artistic Director Molly Smith tackles a unique, in-the-round staging of Bertolt Brecht's powerhouse anti-war play Mother Courage and Her Children at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Iconic stage and screen actress and Academy Award nominee Kathleen Turner returns to Arena Stage following her sold-out run of Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins to make her professional singing debut as the tough-as-nails matriarch Mother Courage-a single mother determined to keep her family alive and her business afloat during war. Mother Courage and Her Children runs through March 9, 2014 in the Fichandler Stage. BroadwayWorld has a first look at opening night below!

Upcoming Equity Auditions from Sunday, February 9, 2014.

Best for ages 5-10, Cinderella: the Remix runs in Imagination Stage's Annette M. and Theodore N. Lerner Family Theatre April 9-May 25, 2014. Tickets start at $10, and may be purchased online at www.imaginationstage.org, at the Imagination Stage box office, or via phone at 301-280-1660. Group rates are available.

Two additional performances for the world premiere of Measure for Measure at The New Victory Theater have been added on Thursday, March 6 at 7pm and Thursday, March 13 at 7pm for a total of 21 performances (14 public performances).

According to the news, on the same day that a giant horde of sea hawks from Seattle, Washington, pulverized an equally as large but not quite as majestic army of broncos from Colorado in East Rutherford, New Jersey, another battle was being waged in the Folger Shakespeare Theatre. This battle, however, was between Richard III and the rest of the world.

Center Stage announces this week casting for the upcoming production of William Shakespeare's beloved romantic adventure, Twelfth Night. Under the direction of Center Stage Associate Artistic Director Gavin Witt, the production begins rehearsals this week, preview performances start March 5, and the show runs through April 6.

Artistic Director Molly Smith tackles a unique, in-the-round staging of Bertolt Brecht's powerhouse anti-war play Mother Courage and Her Children at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Iconic stage and screen actress and Academy Award nominee Kathleen Turner returns to Arena Stage following her sold-out run of Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins to make her professional singing debut as the tough-as-nails matriarch Mother Courage-a single mother determined to keep her family alive and her business afloat during war. Mother Courage and Her Children runs tonight, January 31-March 9, 2014 in the Fichandler Stage. BroadwayWorld has a look at Turner and the cast below!

Berkeley Repertory Theatre announces the world premiere of The House that will not Stand, a historical comedic drama commissioned from award-winning poet-playwright and Oakland native Marcus Gardley. Sensuous, witty, heartbreaking, and uplifting - The House that will not Stand unearths a story about free women of color in 1836 New Orleans, where black Creole women entered into common-law marriages with affluent white men. When her wealthy lover mysteriously dies, Beartrice Albans' foundation of security hangs precariously by a thread. She is left to fend for her three unwed daughters in a world where freedom must be carefully negotiated. Told in a rich and lyrical river of words, this new play was developed through The Ground Floor: Berkeley Rep's Center for the Creation and Development of New Work. It's helmed by Patricia McGregor, whose many credits include the celebrated production of Spunk at California Shakespeare Theater. The House that will not Stand begins previews on Berkeley Rep's intimate Thrust Stage today, January 31, opens on Wednesday, February 5 and runs through Sunday, March 16, 2014.

CEW Productions, the producers of the hit off-broadway musical Mama and her boys will present a staged reading of Stopgap, a new play by Danielle Mohlman.

The quintessential portrait of maniacal ambition and lust for power is on stage in William Shakespeare's epic history play Richard III at Folger Theatre. Robert Richmond

The Smith Center for the Performing Arts has added an additional week of performances for the world premiere of a reimagined version of "THE TEMPEST" due to popular ticket demand, which will now play April 6-20. The Smith Center's first ever co-production, "THE TEMPEST" is produced by the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.), adapted and directed by Aaron Posner and Teller from the play by William Shakespeare, with magic by Teller, music by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan and movement by Matt Kent of Pilobolus. "THE TEMPEST" performances will take place at The Smith Center's Donald W. Reynolds Symphony Park in a 500-seat climate-controlled tent, where no seat is more than 60 feet from the stage. Performances are scheduled Tuesday-Sunday at 8 p.m. with additional matinees at 2:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets for all performances begin at $35 and are on sale now at The Smith Center box office, online at www.TheSmithCenter.com or by phone at (702) 749-2000.

Lynne Meadow (Artistic Director), Barry Grove (Executive Producer), and Mandy Greenfield (Artistic Producer) are pleased to announce complete casting for the upcoming world premiere production of TALES FROM RED VIENNA, the new play by David Grimm (Measure for Pleasure), directed by Kate Whoriskey (Ruined at MTC).

Artistic Director Molly Smith tackles a unique, in-the-round staging of Bertolt Brecht's powerhouse anti-war play Mother Courage and Her Children at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Iconic stage and screen actress and Academy Award nominee Kathleen Turner returns to Arena Stage following her sold-out run of Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins to make her professional singing debut as the tough-as-nails matriarch Mother Courage-a single mother determined to keep her family alive and her business afloat during war. Mother Courage and Her Children runs January 31-March 9, 2014 in the Fichandler Stage. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at Turner and the cast below!

Click below to watch a time-lapse video of the transformation of Folger Theatre into an in-the-round venue for the very first time for the production of RICHARD III! The video also features interviews with director Robert Richmond and actor Drew Cortese. Check it out!

A young painter must reconcile his remarkable artistic gifts with the austerity and singular devotion required by his faith. Stephen Sachs directs the Los Angeles premiere of Aaron Posner's award-winning stage adaptation of Chaim Potok's acclaimed novel, My Name is Asher Lev, opening Feb. 22 at the Fountain Theatre.

2013 was an incredible year of theater!

Following the amazing discovery of the remains of King Richard III, Folger Shakespeare Library will present a special lecture featuring geneticist Turi King and fieldwork director Mathew Morris, both part of the Greyfriars Project that discovered Richard's body. King and Morris will shed light on the archaeological dig and subsequent verification by DNA research on Wednesday, February 5 at 7:30pm. Buried for centuries, Richard's body was discovered in September 2012 beneath a parking lot in Leicester, England.