George Street News

Broadway Producer Ken Davenport (author of the popular blog, The Producer's Perspective) announces The Davenport Song Writing Contest! 10 songs will be selected from submissions to be featured in a presentation evening and vie for the title of 'Best Song' as chosen by a panel of industry professionals. Finalists will receive a cash prize of $50 and the grand prize winner $500.

George Street Playhouse is currently presenting the world premiere production of Clever Little Lies, by Tony Award-winner Joe DiPietro. The show opened Nov. 22 and continues through Dec. 22 - check out a look back at opening night below!

American Repertory Ballet's 50th Annual Nutcracker production will come to State Theatre on Friday, December 21 and Saturday, December 22 at 1:00pm and 4:30pm. These performances feature Tchaikovsky's score played live by an orchestra under the direction of Maestro Michael Pratt, and vocals by the Princeton Girlchoir. In addition to ARB's 50th Nutcracker milestone, State Theatre is also celebrating its own 25th year.

The Vineyard Theatre world-premiere production of the musical THE LANDING - with book and lyrics by Greg Pierce, music by John Kander and directed by Walter Bobbie - will conclude its acclaimed run with a special VIP benefit reception for patrons following the final performance today, November 24 at 3 p.m. at The Vineyard. (108 E. 15 St.)

TheaterWorks will present the holiday World Premiere Christmas on the Rocks -- an offbeat collection of twisted holiday tales by multiple nationally known playwrights. These darkly humorous stories run December 3 through 22, 2013.

Tony and Emmy Award-winning actor David Hyde Pierce will return to the hysterically funny and affecting new play “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” this time directing the play which earned him his most recent Tony nomination. Christopher Durang's Tony-winning farce will be performed at the Center Theatre Group / Mark Taper Forum, January 29 through March 9, 2014, and will feature two Tony-nominated members of the Broadway cast.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA) presents War Is Over! (if you want it): Yoko Ono, the first major survey in Australia of legendary artist, musician and activist Yoko Ono, curated by MCA Chief Curator Rachel Kent. The title comes from a text work by Ono and her husband John Lennon that first appeared in 1969 across public billboards in twelve cities worldwide, including New York and London. The exhibition encompasses five decades of practice in diverse media including eight participatory works. Themes include loss, conflict, humanity and the desire for world peace.

The Vineyard Theatre world-premiere production of the musical THE LANDING - with book and lyrics by Greg Pierce, music by John Kander and directed by Walter Bobbie - will conclude its acclaimed run with a special VIP benefit reception for patrons following the final performance on Sunday, November 24 at 3 p.m. at The Vineyard. (108 E. 15 St.) A $200 VIP ticket includes premium seating for the show as well as a champagne toast with the musical's cast and creative team onstage after the performance. For reservations and information contact Julie Erhart at 212-353-3366 or jerhart@vineyardtheatre.org.

Asolo Repertory Theatre is proud to add I LOVED, I LOST, I MADE SPAGHETTI to its 2013-2014 season. Jacques Lamarre's saucy stage adaptation of Giulia Melucci's memoir will star Antoinette LaVecchia as Melucci, an Italian-American writer living in Brooklyn with an entertainingly unsuccessful love life. Previews for the show will be held May 18 and May 20, 2014 and the show will run from May 21 through June 15, 2014 in Asolo Rep's Cook Theatre.

Playwrights Horizons has announced initial casting for the New York premiere production of STAGE KISS, a new play marking the eagerly-awaited return of two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Sarah Ruhl(Dead Man's Cell Phone at PH; The Clean House, In the Next Room...) to the theater company. Directed by Rebecca Taichman (Milk Like Sugar at PH; the current Marie Antoinette, Orlando, The Scene, Luck of the Irish), the production will begin previews Friday evening, February 7 at 8PM with an Opening Night set for Sunday, March 2 at 7PM. The limited engagement will play through Sunday evening, March 23 at Playwrights Horizons' Mainstage Theater (416 West 42nd Street).

State Theatre in New Brunswick, NJ presents the national tour of an all new musical production inspired by the 2011 Tony-nominated Best Musical Revival, Godspell, for two performances today, November 10, 2013 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. A free Pre-Performance Insights lecture is available for each performance, one hour prior to show time at the United Methodist Church, located at 323 George Street. Tickets range from $35-75.

City Theatre will present a brand new production of the smash comedy 2 Pianos 4 Hands, a melodic adventure featuring music ranging from Bach to Billy Joel and Elton John. Co-written by Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt and directed by Tom Frey, 2 Pianos 4 Hands is a City Events special presentation that will run on City Theatre's Mainstage from November 30 to December 22, 2013, with an Opening Night performance on Friday, December 6 at 8pm.

State Theatre in New Brunswick, NJ presents the national tour of an all new musical production inspired by the 2011 Tony-nominated Best Musical Revival, Godspell, for two performances Sunday, November 10, 2013 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. A free Pre-Performance Insights lecture is available for each performance, one hour prior to show time at the United Methodist Church, located at 323 George Street. Tickets range from $35-75.

For one night only, Broadway favorite Ann Harada will once again become the outrageous, beloved and heavily accented therapist from Avenue Q to make her holiday fantasies come true with the fourth edition of Christmas Eve with Christmas Eve(#christmasevebcefa), a benefit for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS on Monday, December 2, 2013.

Watch out NJ, because I Hope they Serve Beer on Broadway by Tucker Max by Christopher Carter Sanderson is serving up the drinks along with the comedy to its audience.

If audiences today know the name of John Barrymore, it's most likely as the paternal grandfather of movie star Drew Barrymore. They may have a vague idea that he was a great actor from a family of great actors, but do they know he was also an infamous world-class drunk?

Writers in the New Play Program are drawn from across the country, including our affiliation with the National New Play Network, a nation-wide group of theatres dedicated to the development and production of new work. Teaching Artists in our Education Programs are professional artists working in their field in the New Jersey, New York, and Philadelphia metropolitan areas.

Watch out NJ, because I Hope they Serve Beer on Broadway by Tucker Max by Christopher Carter Sanderson is serving up the drinks along with the comedy to its audience.

Amas Musical Theatre (Donna Trinkoff/Artistic Producer) will present three free staged readings of "FRIDA" a new musical by Michael Aman and Dana P. Rowe, directed by Maria Torres. The readings will take place on Friday, October 25th at 6:00pm, and Saturday, October 26th at 3:00pm and 7:00pm at The Theatre at the 14th Street Y, 314 East 14th Street. Tickets are free and reservations are available via email at boxoffice@amasmusical.org or by calling 212-563-2565.

Applications are now being accepted for the January 2014 installment of the tri­annual CAP21 Writers Residency , focusing on new musicals. The CAP21 Writers Residency is offered by CAP21 as an opportunity for a concentrated time and place to be artistically productive in a focused atmosphere while remaining in NYC . It will take place for a 1­2 week period ( Jan 6th ­ 17 ) depending on the needs of the writers. During the length of the residency, selected writing teams are provided a beautiful studio space at CAP21 in New York City , complete with a piano and wireless internet , between the hours of 10am and 6pm , Monday through Friday .