Joe Spano News

As part of Rubicon Theatre's continuing September Blitz of more than 30 events in 30 days, the company presents the world premiere of a new play written in this moment and for this moment by TAYLOR FAGINS -- A SONG.

In solidarity with the people and theater community of Belarus, dozens of theaters worldwide are presenting readings of Andrei Kureichik's sensational new play, Insulted. Belarus(sia). In the United States, Rogue Machine Theatre will present the reading from Los Angeles on Friday, September 18th at 8pm.

Starring JoBeth Williams and Joe Spano, the new short play Flapping & Flying premiere's live online Thursday, September 3rd.

a?oeAllergic to Walnuts' written by Michelle Kholos Brooks and directed by Jenny Sullivan for Skylight Live features three-time Emmy Award nominated actress and Academy Award nominated director JoBeth Williams stars with Emmy Award winning Broadway actor Joe Spano as an awkward couple who declare their affection for each other and, in the course of conversation on various topics, discover ita??s their first time being loved. But how do they know that for sure? Is love a logical equation or simply about nuts?

Five theater organizations today announced the formation of the #theatre5alliance to bring the arts to people's homes and to highlight the importance of keeping local theater alive and thriving. 

Five theater organizations today announced the formation of the #theatre5alliance to bring the arts to people's homes and to highlight the importance of keeping local theater alive and thriving.   

New series, new plays. Free, fun, LIVE online. Skylight Theatre Company brings together some of LA's most talented writers, directors, and actors for weekly presentations of uplifting works, written specifically for this medium.

Rubicon Theatre Company of Ventura begins the new year with the West Coast Premiere of NEVER NOT ONCE, a powerful, compelling and timely new drama by CAREY CRIM. The production premiered earlier this season at JEFF DANIELS' Purple Rose Theatre. NEVER NOT ONCE previews February 5-7 and opens February 8 at Rubicon's home, 1006 E. Main Street in Ventura's Downtown Cultural District, continuing Wednesdays through Sundays through February 23. A thought-provoking response to the #MeToo movement, NEVER NOT ONCE is about the families we choose, and the secrets that can pull them apart. The production is helmed by Brit KATHARINE FARMER, who has directed acclaimed Rubicon productions of Gulf View Drive (Ovation Award, Best Production of a Play, Larger Theatre), Incognito (West Coast Premiere), Heisenberg with Faline England and Joe Spano, and South Pacific (all Critic's Choices in the L.A. Times). For tickets, call 805.667.2900 or go to www.rubicontheatre.org. 

Just today, famed opera singer Plácido Domingo resigned from LA Opera amid accusations that he sexually harassed workers there. It seems as though such stories are far more common than they were a few years ago. In October 2017, journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey broke the stories of women sexually assaulted and harassed by the movie producer, Harvey Weinstein. That story was followed by an explosion of women who shared their own experience of workplace harassment. So many women posted under the 'MeToo' hashtag, that the systemic infection of sexual harassment became harder to deny.

For one week each, beginning on August 6, three professional playwrights-in-residence will develop their new works in active collaboration with some of Santa Barbara's favorite actors and a cadre of talented UC Santa Barbara students as part of LAUNCH PAD's 6th annual Summer Reading Series. 

Rubicon Theatre continues the company's 21st 'Coming of Age' season with the World Premiere of WOMEN BEYOND BORDERS, a play inspired by and loosely based on the remarkable journey of Lorraine Serena and a dynamic group of California-based artists who founded the non-profit Women Beyond Borders (WBB).

LAGUNA PLAYHOUSE is thrilled to present a co-production with the Rubicon Theatre Company, the critically acclaimed (LA Times Critics' Choice) production of HEISENBERG, written by Simon Stephens (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) directed by Katherine Farmer (South Pacific, Gulf View Drive) and starring Faline England (Valentine's Day) & Joe Spano (Hill Street Blues and NCIS).  Comments Artistic Director Ann E. Wareham and Executive Director Ellen Richard, "What a special opportunity to co-produce this critically acclaimed production with the Rubicon Theatre Company. Simon Stephens has written a funny, tender and quirky love story that celebrates human relationships in all their complexity. Faline England and Joe Spano are giving masterful performances under the brilliant direction of the gifted Katharine Farmer. Our subscribers and audiences are sure to fall in love with this wonderful and extraordinary play." HEISENBERG begins previews on Wednesday, March 27; will open on Sunday, March 31 at 5:30pm and perform through Sunday, April 14, 2019 at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Drive in Laguna Beach.

LAGUNA PLAYHOUSE presents a co-production with the Rubicon Theatre Company, HEISENBERG, written by Simon Stephens (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) directed by Katherine Farmer (South Pacific, Gulf View Drive) and starring Faline England (Valentine's Day) & Joe Spano (Hill Street Blues and NCIS).

Joe Spano and Ovation-Award nominee Faline England portray two lost souls who meet in a London Underground station and embark on an unlikely May-December romance. The story takes unexpected twists and turns that results in a life-affirmation display of how walls need to be broken down, and not built between people of different backgrounds and experiences.

Rubicon Theatre Company opens the 2019 season with HEISENBERG by playwright SIMON STEPHENS, a quirky romance starring Ovation Award-winner FALINE ENGLAND and Emmy and L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award-winner JOE SPANO. Sweet, sexy and full of surprises, the story follows two strangers whose lives intersect in a bustling London train station. Free-spirited Georgie, an American in her 40s, unexpectedly plants a kiss on the neck of Alex, an Irish butcher in his 70s. She doesn't really know why. Or does she? When Georgie turns up in Alex's shop a few days later, full of contradictions, his conventional life becomes chaotic, uncertain and undeniably richer. Peeling away the many layers of everyday relationships with subtle humor and quiet poeticism, HEISENBERG brings to poignant theatrical life the uncertain and sometimes comical sparring match that is human connection.

Stephen Simon's recent play, Heisenberg, opens this week at the Rubicon Theatre. Two strangers meet at a London train station where an unlikely romantic relationship develops between them. Joe Spano plays Alex, an Irish butcher, set in his ways. A complete stranger, Georgie (Faline England), kisses him. Subsequently, Georgie comes careening straight at him like an irresistible force meeting an immovable object. What collision or connection will come next?