Jessica Jahn News

Reviving important but neglected operas is one of the ways the Bard SummerScape festival in New York's Annandale-on-Hudson has established itself, and this year's immersion in "Schubert and His World" - culminating in the 25th-anniversary season of the Bard Music Festival - is no exception. To enrich its exploration of the roots of Austro-German Romanticism, Bard presents Euryanthe (1823) by Schubert's contemporary Carl Maria von Weber, marking the opera's first American revival in 100 years. Headlined by Ellie Dehn, Bard's original staging is by Kevin Newbury, creator of SummerScape's production of Richard Strauss's Die Liebe der Danae. Euryanthe's five performances (July 25, 27 & 30; August 1 & 3) feature the festival's resident American Symphony Orchestra under the leadership of music director Leon Botstein, who also leads semi-staged performances of Schubert's own seldom-heard opera Fierrabras starring Joseph Kaiser, best known for his leading role in Kenneth Branagh's film adaptation of The Magic Flute, on August 17, and of a double-bill of rarities - Schubert's one-act Singspiel Die Verschworenen and Franz von Suppe's operetta Franz Schubert - on August 10.

Cherry Lane Theatre Artistic Director Angelina Fiordellisi and Rattlestick Playwrights Theater Artistic Director David Van Asselt and Managing Director Brian Long have announced that previews of the world premiere of Charles Fuller's One Night… directed by Clinton Turner Davis, have been postponed, and will now begin Wednesday, November 6, at the Cherry Lane Theatre, 38 Commerce Street. Opening night is set for Wednesday, November 20, at 7pm; the production is now scheduled to run through December 15.

Cherry Lane Theatre Artistic Director Angelina Fiordellisi and Rattlestick Playwrights Theater Artistic Director David Van Asselt and Managing Director Brian Long have announced that previews of the world premiere of Charles Fuller's One Night...directed by Clinton Turner Davis, have been postponed, and will now beginWednesday, November 6, at the Cherry Lane Theatre, 38 Commerce Street. Opening night is set for Wednesday, November 20, at 7pm; the production is now scheduled to run through December 15.

Angelina Fiordellisi, Founding Artistic Director of Cherry Lane Theatre, announces the following productions for the company's 2013-14 season:

The Glimmerglass Festival, Central New York's opera and musical theater company, has announced its 2014 season.

The Glimmerglass Festival, Central New York's opera and musical theater company, has announced its 2014 season.

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director) extends the world premiere of The Tutors, written by Erica Lipez and directed byThomas Kail through June 23rd. The Tutors opened on Wednesday, June 5 and is presented at Second Stage Theatre's uptown home, the McGinn/Cazale Theatre on Broadway at 76th Street. Tickets are $30-$35 and can be purchased by calling the Second Stage Theatre Box Office at 212-246-4422 or online at www.2ST.com.

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director) kicks off the 2013 Uptown Series with the world premiere of The Tutors, written by Erica Lipez and directed by Thomas Kail. The Tutors will feature Louis Ozawa Changchien ( Second Stage's Warrior Class), Matt Dellapina (The Dream Of The Burning Boy), Aubrey Dollar ('Guiding Light'), Keith Nobbs (Lombardi) and Chris Perfetti (Picnic). Previews begin on May 22nd and opening night is Wednesday, June 5th.

This April, the company dubbed "the People's Opera" will return to the venue known as "the People's Theater" for the first time since 1965, when New York City Opera returns to New York City Center, its original home. The residency includes new productions of Gioachino Rossini's Moses in Egypt, conducted by Jayce Ogren and directed by Michael Counts (April 14-20); and Jacques Offenbach's La Perichole, conducted by Emmanuel Plasson and directed by Christopher Alden (April 21-27).

Thomas Kail's athletic and inventively theatrical directing chops (In The Heights, Lombardi, Magic/Bird) prove a perfect match for Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens' Caribbean story-theatre musical Once On This Island. The beguiling new production gracing the Paper Mill stage is full of vibrant performances and colorful stagecraft.

More than 20 years after its premiere, Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens have re-invented their first musical with Tony-nominated director Thomas Kail (In the Heights, Lombardi, Magic/Bird), choreographer Bradley Rapier (So You Think You Can Dance, Jesus Christ Superstar) and new orchestrations by music director Lynne Shankel (Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Altar Boyz). Once On This Island just opened last night, June 3, and runs through Sunday, June 24, 2012.

Paper Mill Playhouse just announced full casting for the Millburn, New Jersey, theater's production of Once On This Island (book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, music by Stephen Flaherty). More than 20 years after its premiere, Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens are re-inventing their first musical with Tony-nominated director Thomas Kail (In the Heights, Lombardi, Magic/Bird), choreographer Bradley Rapier (So You Think You Can Dance, Jesus Christ Superstar) and new orchestrations by music director Lynne Shankel (Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Altar Boyz). Once On This Island begins performances on Wednesday, May 30, 2012, and runs through Sunday, June 24, 2012. Once On This Island is proudly sponsored by Bank of America. The official press opening is scheduled for Sunday, June 3, 2012.

New York City Opera remains true to its roots with today's 2012-13 season announcement, presenting New York City audiences with new artists and productions, ranging from rarely heard opera bouffe and bel canto opera to edgier contemporary fare. Through three-year alliances with two theaters - BAM in Brooklyn and New York City Center in midtown Manhattan - the company offers four brand new productions from leading directors Jay Scheib, Sam Buntrock, Michael Counts, and Christopher Alden, plus a fall showcase of the celebrated VOX program in conjunction with OPERA America's New Works Forum.

Paper Mill Playhouse has just announced that American Idol finalist Syesha Mercado has been cast as Ti Moune in the Millburn, New Jersey, theater's production of Once On This Island (book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, music by Stephen Flaherty). More than 20 years after its premiere, Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens are re-inventing their first musical with Tony-nominated director Thomas Kail (In the Heights, Lombardi, Magic/Bird) and choreographer Bradley Rapier (So You Think You Can Dance). Once On This Island begins performances on Wednesday, May 30, 2012, and runs through Sunday, June 24, 2012. Complete casting will be announced at a later date. Once On This Island is proudly sponsored by Bank of America.

Tickets for JUDITH OF BETHULIA sold out just prior to show's first performance on Friday, March 30. This is the first time in the theatre's forty-year history that a show has sold out its entire run prior to the start of performances and marks the second consecutive sold out run for Busch at Theater for the New City.

Theater for the New City has announced complete casting for Charles Busch's new comedy JUDITH OF BETHULIA. The play, starring Busch, and directed by Carl Andress (The Divine Sister; Die, Mommie, Die!) will play a limited engagement of 24 performances from Friday, March 30 through Saturday, April 28 at Theater for the New City's Cino Theater (155 First Avenue).

Theater for the New City has just announced that Jennifer Cody (Shrek, The Pajama Game) will play the role of 'Naomi' in Charles Busch's new comedy JUDITH OF BETHULIA. The play, starring Busch, and directed by Carl Andress (The Divine Sister; Die, Mommie, Die!) will play a limited engagement of 24 performances from Friday, March 30 through Saturday, April 28 at Theater for the New City's Cino Theater (155 First Avenue).

Charles Busch will return to Theater for the New City (Crystal Field, Executive Artistic Director) this March with his new comedy JUDITH OF BETHULIA for a limited premiere showcase engagement at Theater for the New City's Cino Theater (155 First Avenue). The premiere production, directed by Busch's longtime collaborator Carl Andress (The Divine Sister; Die, Mommie, Die!) will play a limited engagement of 24 performances from Friday, March 30 through Saturday, April 28.

On Tuesday, March 22, New York City Opera's spring season opening features Donizetti's The Elixir of Love in a revival of Jonathan Miller's production.

Producer Daryl Roth announced today that Michele Lee (Tale of the Allergist's Wife), Tony Award-winner Debra Monk (Curtains), Tracee Ellis Ross ('Girlfriends') and Casey Wilson ('Saturday Night Live') will join the rotating cast of Love, Loss and What I Wore. They join the show January 6 through January 31, 2009, alongside the returning Katie Finneran. Love, Loss, and What I Wore, an intimate collection of stories by Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron, directed by Karen Carpenter and based on the bestselling book by Ilene Beckerman, opened October 1, 2009 to rave reviews at the Westside Theatre (407 West 43 Street, NYC) and has been extended through March 2010.