Goodman Theatre News

Danai Gurira's powerful new play, "The Convert," which was commissioned by Center Theatre Group, will be presented at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, April 17 through May 19, 2012. The opening is scheduled for April 19. The world premiere production of "The Convert," a co-production with McCarter Theatre Center and Goodman Theatre, is directed by Emily Mann.

The Old Globe today announced principal casting for the Globe's 2012 Shakespeare Festival. Craig Noel Award winner Jay Whittaker returns to the Festival for his third consecutive season to appear in the title role of William Shakespeare's Richard III. He will also appear as Oliver in Shakespeare's As You Like It. Also returning to the Festival are Craig Noel Award winner Robert Foxworth and Adrian Sparks, who will take to the courtroom floor as titanic lawyers Henry Drummond and Matthew Harrison Brady, respectively, in the Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee classic Inherit the Wind. Foxworth, an Old Globe Associate Artist, will also play Lord Hastings in Richard III, and Sparks will play Lord Mayor of London in Richard III and Corin in As You Like It. Festival veteran Dana Green will star as Rosalind, and Dan Amboyer, new to the Festival stage, will play Orlando, the object of her affections, in As You Like It. Green will also play Queen Elizabeth in Richard III. Amboyer will also be featured as Bertram Cates in Inherit the Wind and the Earl of Richmond in Richard III. Festival newcomer Jacques C. Smith will play Jacques in As You Like It, the Duke of Buckingham in Richard III and Mr. Meeker in Inherit the Wind. Adrian Noble returns for his third outing as Artistic Director of the Shakespeare Festival and will helm As You Like It and Inherit the Wind. Renowned British director Lindsay Posner makes his debut at the Globe with his production of Richard III. Noble recently directed the World Premiere stage version of The King's Speech, which is currently touring England, and Posner's hit revival of Noises Off is currently playing at London's Old Vic and will transfer to the West End in March. The 2012 Shakespeare Festival, performed in repertory in the outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, runs June 3 - Sept. 30, 2012.

South Bend Civic Theatre opens its 2012 season on a high note with the Midwest premiere of Blue, directed by special guest Ron OJ Parson, running January 20th - February 6th. Written by Charles Randolph-Wright with original music by Grammy winner Nona Hendryx, Blue tells the story of the well-to-do Clark family in all their dysfunctional glory. A clan whose success is built on a thriving funeral home business, the Clark family is a bundle of contradictions: diligent hard-working Samuel maintaining the family business; his mother Tillie, as downhome and brutally honest as they come; his sons, Sam and Reuben, trying to find their own way out of the mess; and ruling the roost is his wife Peggy, whose aspirations for class and style push the family bonds to the breaking point. Her only refuge in the turmoil is the music of her idol Blue Williams, who haunts the play with his voice and presence, turning music into memory and who holds the key to the problems of the family.

The Sundance Institute Theatre Program today announced the seven artists selected for its 2012 Playwrights Retreat at Ucross Foundation which takes place from February 6 through 24, 2012.

If you're looking for a quick roundup of this week's events, look no further: here are some of the best articles the week had to offer!

Acclaimed playwright Danai Gurira (In The Continuum) returns to Chicago with her newest work, The Convert, directed by Emily Mann.

Goodman Theatre has added two performances of Race by David Mamet, directed by Resident Director Chuck Smith.

La Jolla Playhouse presents American Night: The Ballad of Juan José, written by Richard Montoya (Zorro in Hell) for Culture Clash, developed by Culture Clash and Jo Bonney (The Seven, Adoration of the Old Woman), directed by Jo Bonney. A co-production with Center Theatre Group and originally commissioned and produced by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, American Night: The Ballad of Juan José will run January 27 - February 26, 2012 in the Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre.

Artistic Director Robert Falls just announced the cast for his major revival of Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh at Goodman Theatre running April 21 - June 10, 2012 in the Goodman's Albert Theatre. As previously announced, Falls' production features Tony Award-winning stage and screen stars Nathan Lane as Theodore "Hickey" Hickman, and Brian Dennehy as Larry Slade. Tickets for The Iceman Cometh go on sale this Friday, February 3 at 12 noon (CST) by web and telephone; call 312.443.3800 or visit GoodmanTheatre.org. The current ticket price range ($53- $119) is subject to change.

Steppenwolf for Young Adults concludes its 2011/12 season with fml: how Carson McCullers saved my life, a world premiere by Sarah Gubbins, directed by Joanie Schultz, playing February 28 - March 18, 2012 in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St.

Running February 1-26, Caroline, or Change will be performed in the Archbold Theatre at Syracuse Stage, 820 East Genesee Street.

Superb cast demands a visit to the Arena Stage

Chicago Academy for the Arts presents "Showcase". Tomorrow's artists in dance, musical theater, visual arts, theater, media arts (filmmaking and writing) and music take center stage in Chicago Academy for the Arts' (CAA) Showcase Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012 at the Goodman Theatre's Owen Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St.

Running February 1-26, Caroline, or Change will be performed in the Archbold Theatre at Syracuse Stage, 820 East Genesee Street.

Quintessence Theatre Group continues its second season with Jean Anouilh's 1943 adaptation of Sophocles' ANTIGONE, in a translation by Jeremy Sams, directed by Alexander Burns.

CHINGLISH, the new comedy which was named by TIME Magazine as the #1 new American play of 2011, will play its final performance on today. It will have played 128 performances.

Philadelphia actor Dan Schiff, recently seen on The Media Theatre stage as Max in The Sound of Music, returns to Delaware County's only professional music theatre in the musical Wings. He plays two roles in the Jeffrey Lunden adaptation of Arthur Kopit's play about an aviatrix who suffers a stroke and must rediscover her inner spirit through rehabilitation.

Director/Producer Andy Lowe and Chinese Pirate Productions teams with the 10th Avenue Theatre and the San Diego Chinese Center for their joint presentation of GOLDEN CHILD, by David Henry Hwang.