Gilbert Cates News

Hershey Felder in Abe Lincoln's Piano will have its world premiere in the Gil Cates Theater at the Geffen Playhouse as a limited fifteen-performance engagement starting tonight, January 3, 2014.

Next year's eagerly awaited 'Backstage at the Geffen' will honor The Walt Disney Studios Chairman, Alan F. Horn, with the Distinction in Service Award and multi-talented entertainer Steve Martin with the Distinction in Theater Award at the ninth annual fundraiser

Stage industry veteran Andy Perez has been ap pointed press director of the Geffen Playhouse. Perez oversees publicity, social media, and external communication for one of the area's most known regional theaters. Perez was formerly was tour publicist for Cavalia, the Montreal based touring production, West Coast regional public relations manager for Feld Entertainment, Inc., and a publicist for Radio City Entertainment leading publicity campaigns for five consecutively running productions of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular in Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, Branson, and Myrtle Beach.

Hershey Felder in Abe Lincoln's Piano will have its world premiere in the Gil Cates Theater at the Geffen Playhouse as a limited fifteen-performance engagement starting January 3, 2014.

Tony nominee Neil LaBute's world premiere adaptation of August Strindberg's Miss Julie, starring Tony nominee Lily Rabe (American Horror Story, Merchant of Venice), Broadway actress Laura Heisler (Lucille Lortel and Drama League nominee) and Logan Marshall-Green (Julie Taymor's Across the Universe) opens in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse tonight, May 1 and runs through June 2, 2013. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Tony nominee Neil LaBute's world premiere adaptation of August Strindberg's Miss Julie, starring Tony nominee Lily Rabe (American Horror Story, Merchant of Venice), Broadway actress Laura Heisler (Lucille Lortel and Drama League nominee) and Logan Marshall-Green (Julie Taymor's Across the Universe) opens in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse on May 1 and runs through June 2, 2013. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Ron Eldard (Justified, ER), Freddy Rodriguez (Rico in Six Feet Under) and Bill Smitrovich (Drew Thatcher in Life Goes On) are set to appear in American Buffalo, a revival of David Mamet's American classic.

Ron Eldard (Justified, ER), Freddy Rodriguez (Rico in Six Feet Under) and Bill Smitrovich (Drew Thatcher in Life Goes On) are set to appear in American Buffalo, a revival of David Mamet's American classic.

James Van Der Beek, best known for his starring roles on Dawson's Creek and in Varsity Blues and who currently can be seen on ABC's Don't Trust the B-in Apartment 23, appears in the American premiere production of Joanna Murray-Smith's The Gift at the Geffen Playhouse. Joining Van Der Beek is Golden Globe and Emmy award winner Kathy Baker (Picket Fences, Edward Scissorshands, All the King's Men) as well as acclaimed stage and screen actors Chris Mulkey (First Blood, Southland, Twin Peaks) and Jaime Ray Newman (Eastwick, Catch Me If You Can). Helmed by international powerhouse director/actor Maria Aitken, The Gift is currently in previews in the Gil Cates Theater at the Geffen Playhouse, and officially opens on Wednesday, February 6, 2013. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast onstage below!

Early in 2012, an unlikely series of events led two of the world's most gifted sleight-of-hand artists, Derek DelGaudio (2011 Close-Up Magician of the Year) and Helder Guimarães (2011 Parlour Magician of the Year), to share a stage. Now, due to continued high demand for tickets, DelGaudio and Guimarães' Nothing to Hide, directed by Neil Patrick Harris, has been extended a third time now through February 24, 2013 in the intimate Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse.

Early in 2012, an unlikely series of events led two of the world's most gifted sleight-of-hand artists, Derek DelGaudio (2011 Close-Up Magician of the Year) and Helder Guimarães (2011 Parlour Magician of the Year), to share a stage. Now, due to continued high demand for tickets, DelGaudio and Guimarães' Nothing to Hide directed by Neil Patrick Harris has been extended a second time now through February 3, 2013 in the intimate Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse.

Earlier this year, an unlikely series of events led two of the world's most gifted sleight-of-hand artists, Derek DelGaudio (2011 Close-Up Magician of the Year) and Helder Guimarães (2011 Parlour Magician of the Year), to share a stage. Fresh from sold-out performances at the Magic Castle, DelGaudio and Guimarães have joined forces with director Neil Patrick Harris to present Nothing to Hide, a unique and unprecedented theatrical event. Abandoning the antiquated notions of a traditional magic show, Nothing to Hide takes the audience on an imaginary journey through a series of diverse and engaging vignettes brought to life solely from the words and hands of the two masterful magicians. Get a first look at the pair onstage in the photos below!

Earlier this year, an unlikely series of events led two of the world's most gifted sleight-of-hand artists, Derek DelGaudio (2011 Close-Up Magician of the Year) and Helder Guimarães (2011 Parlour Magician of the Year), to share a stage. Fresh from sold-out performances at the Magic Castle, DelGaudio and Guimarães have joined forces with director Neil Patrick Harris to present Nothing to Hide, a unique and unprecedented theatrical event.

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Donald Margulies' Coney Island Christmas started previews at the Geffen November 20 with a scheduled opening set for November 28. This work, commissioned by the Geffen, will honor past artistic director Gilbert Cates, who passed away last year, and promises to be very special. Margulies, who is renowned also for Dinner with Friends, Time Stands Still, Collected Stories, Sight Unseen and Brooklyn Boy among other plays, recently sat down to chat about the play, playwriting and the writers who have influenced his work. Margulies most definitely agrees that with the recent devastation to Coney Island by hurricane Sandy, audiences will look at his new play from a slightly different angle.

Earlier this year, an unlikely series of events led two of the world's most gifted sleight-of-hand artists, Derek DelGaudio (2011 Close-Up Magician of the Year) and Helder Guimarães (2011 Parlour Magician of the Year), to share a stage. Fresh from sold-out performances at the Magic Castle, DelGaudio and Guimarães have joined forces with director Neil Patrick Harris to present Nothing to Hide, a unique and unprecedented theatrical event.

Thomas Sadoski, a Tony nominee for his work in reasons to be pretty and who currently stars in HBO's The Newsroom, is set to appear in the world premiere production of Michael Golamco's Build in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse.

Stage and screen star Sanaa Lathan (A Raisin in the Sun, Contagion) returns to the title role in Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage's By the Way, Meet Vera Stark for its West Coast premiere at the Geffen Playhouse. Lathan, who originated the character of Vera Stark in the critically acclaimed New York run, once again takes the stage as the 1930's era maid turned movie star, reunited with original cast member Kimberly Hebert Gregory (Spike Lee's Red Hook Summer) reprising her role as fellow aspiring African American actress Lottie. By the Way, Meet Vera Stark opened at the Gil Cates Theater at the Geffen Playhouse on September 26, 2012. Check out photos of the stars at opening night below!

Stage and screen star Sanaa Lathan (A Raisin in the Sun, Contagion) returns to the title role in Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage's By the Way, Meet Vera Stark for its West Coast premiere at the Geffen Playhouse. Lathan, who originated the character of Vera Stark in the critically acclaimed New York run, will once again take the stage as the 1930's era maid turned movie star, reunited with original cast member Kimberly Hebert Gregory (Spike Lee's Red Hook Summer) reprising her role as fellow aspiring African American actress Lottie. Get a first look at the stars onstage below!

Thomas Sadoski, a Tony nominee for his work in reasons to be pretty and who currently stars in HBO's The Newsroom, is set to appear in the world premiere production of Michael Golamco's Build in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse.

The world premiere of Mona Golabek in The Pianist of Willesden Lane has been extended for the final time in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse (with performances now running through September 15, 2012) before hitting the road for a national tour.