Goodman Theatre News

16th Street Theater announces MARIPOSA NOCTURNA: A Puppet Triptych conceived and created by Stephanie Diaz coming to North Berwyn Park District's 16th Street Theater, 6420 16th Street in Berwyn, for 3 special shows, this weekend, August 15, 16, 17.

Tickets go on sale tomorrow for the Goodman Theatre's annual holiday tradition, A Christmas Carol, now in its 37th year and directed by Artistic Associate Henry Wishcamper for the second time.

Stoneham Theatre opens its 15th season with Doubt, John Patrick Shanley's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, featuring Karen MacDonald and Gabriel Kuttner in the two lead roles. Performances run from September 11-28 at Stoneham Theatre, 395 Main Street in Stoneham.

Paper Mill Playhouse (Mark S. Hoebee-Producing Artistic Director, Todd Schmidt-Managing Director) is proud to open its 2014-2015 season with a Broadway-bound, world-class revival of Can-Can starring Kate Baldwin as Pistache and Jason Danieley as Aristide.

To kick off its 19th season, First Folio Theatre (Mayslake Peabody Estate, 31st St. & Rt. 83) is proud to present the World Premiere of the gothic drama THE GRAVEDIGGER, which previews October 1, opens October 4 and runs through November 2, 2014. The production is written by First Folio Artistic Associate Joseph Zettelmaier, who recently opened the World Premiere of his play Salvage at First Folio Theatre to sold-out audiences. Jeff Award nominee Alison C. Vesely (First Folio's A Moon for the Misbegotten) will direct. The cast is led by Craig Spidle (Brigadoon at The Goodman Theatre, Twelfth Night at First Folio Theatre, Fiddler on the Roof at Drury Lane Theatre) as 'Kurt' (The Gravedigger), Joshua Caroll as 'Anton' (The Monster), Simina Contras as 'Nadya' (A Gypsy), and Doug MacKechnie as 'Victor' (The Creator).

TimeLine Theatre Company is pleased to announce the expansion of its full-time staff with the addition of Dan McArdle as General Manager; the appointment of new Associate Artists, including Chicago-based and soon-to-be Broadway director Kimberly Senior; and the election of new leadership for its Board of Directors, including President John M. Sirek.

Firecat Projects, in conjunction with Steppenwolf Theatre, presents The Midnight City, written and performed by Tony Fitzpatrick with Stan Klein, Sept. 6-Oct. 19 in Steppenwolf's Garage Theatre, 1624 N Halsted.

The Geffen Playhouse announces the complete cast for the West Coast premiere of Choir Boy. This new production -- featuring gospel music -- will highlight several performers from the Manhattan Theatre Club run. Nicholas L. Ashe and Grantham Coleman will join the previously announced Jeremy Pope.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) announces today the casting and creative team for William Shakespeare's towering epic King Lear, directed by CSTFounder and Artistic Director Barbara Gaines and featuring Chicago theater legend Larry Yando in the title role. A wrenching story of love, loss and reconciliation, the unraveling of an imperious king has fascinated audiences for more than 400 years. Gaines brings audiences aKing Lear for our times, especially relevant as today's generation wrestles with the harrowing effects of aging on loved ones. King Lear opens Chicago Shakespeare's 2014/15 season in the Courtyard Theater, September 9-November 9, 2014.

The Old Globe today announced additional performances for the third production of the 2014 Summer Season, Ronald Harwood's comedy Quartet, directed by Richard Seer (Other Desert Cities, God of Carnage, The Last Romance). Harwood received an Academy Award for his screenplay of The Pianist and was nominated for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and The Dresser (also a hit on Broadway and the West End). By popular demand, it will now play through Sunday, August 31. Tickets for the extension will go on sale to the general public on Sunday, August 10 at 12:01 a.m.

Acclaimed Chicago actor Ronald Keaton performs his one-man show Churchill, based on the life and writings of one of the greatest leaders of the 20th Century. Experience the man who famously proclaimed, 'I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter...' Come hear Winston discuss his failures and his successes, his love of art, liquor, and women, and the bravery of Britain's finest hour.

Casting has been completed for the world premiere of Jordan Harrison's 'Marjorie Prime,' opening September 21, 2014, at the Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum. Directed by Obie Award-winner Les Waters, the profound and engaging new play begins previews September 10 at the Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum. Performances continue through October 19, 2014.

Skylight Theatre Company and Lower Depth Theatre Ensemble present the Los Angeles Premiere of Pulitzer Prize Finalist Bulrusher, written by Eisa Davis and directed by Nataki Garrett. The show opens on 8pm on August 23rd and 3pm August 24th. RECEPTION TO FOLLOW BOTH PERFORMANCES. Runs 8pm Fridays and Saturdays, 3pm Sundays through September 28, 2014 at the Skylight Theatre, 1816 1/2 N. Vermont, LA, 90027

Williamstown Theatre Festival opened The Visit, starring Broadway legend, Chita Rivera and Tony Award winner, Roger Rees. The production runs through August 17, 2014.

New York City Center's 2014-15 season features an exciting lineup of dance and musical theater that begins with the 11th season of City Center's acclaimed Fall for Dance Festival. The Festival features 24 acclaimed dance companies and artists from around the world, and will kick off in September with two free dance performances at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park in association with The Public Theater, followed by five unique programs at City Center in October. The Band Wagon, an Encores! Special Event starring Brian Stokes Mitchell, follows in November, and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, City Center's Principal Dance Company, returns for a month-long engagement in December.

Just when you thought Monday nights couldn't get any better, Barrel of Monkeys is partnering with some of Chicago's best performing arts companies and artists for its third iteration of CHICAGO'S WEIRD, GRANDMA, directed by Artistic Director Molly Brennan, playing Mondays at 8 pm from October 27 - December 1, 2014 at the Neo-Futurist Theater, 5153 N. Ashland Ave. in Chicago.

Broadway legend Chita Rivera makes her Williamstown Theatre Festival debut opposite Festival favorite and former Artistic Director Roger Rees in the newest incarnation of Kander and Ebb's THE VISIT, the musical based on the 1956 tragicomedy by Swiss playwright Friedrich Durrenmatt, with book by Terrence McNally. Director John Doyle has reimagined it as a one-act with a focus on the love story, and his collaboration with Choreographer Graciela Daniele results in a show that makes movement a vital component to convey elements of the narrative without words.

Producing Artistic Director Gwendolyn Whiteside and American Blues Theater, Chicago's second oldest Equity ensemble, are proud to announce the extension of American Blues Theater's Hank Williams: Lost Highway, by Randal Myler and Mark Harelik, directed by Damon Kiely, music director Malcolm Ruhl and starring Matthew Brumlow as "Hank Williams," through Sunday, September 28, at the Greenhouse Theater Center's Downstage Mainstage Theater, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave.

Lincoln Center Theater has announced that Ernest Abuba, Joel de la Fuente, Tsering Dorjee, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Takemi Kitamura, James Saito, Jon Norman Schneider, and Nami Yamamoto will comprise the cast of its upcoming production of Sarah Ruhl's new play THE OLDEST BOY. The play, to be directed by Rebecca Taichman, will begin previews Thursday, October 9 and open on Monday, November 3 in the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater (150 West 65 Street).

A great, big Broadway season is on its way, with fourteen productions already slated to open in the next few months. With several weeks until the craziness begins, there is still plenty of time to catch up on what's been going on at Broadway's already occupied theaters . BroadwayWorld will be profiling the hits of the Great White Way that continue to draw crowds after months, years, and (in some cases) decades. Meet the current cast of Broadway's ONCE below!