John Tufts News

Oregon Shakespeare Festival today announced its 2022 Season, making a joyous return to repertory programming after two years of extreme uncertainty—and emerging with an ambitious vision of theatre as an accessible artform that can boldly meet our current moment.

Ensemble Theatre Company has announced the reopening of its theater to in-person audiences! ETC is planning a new season of five adventurous productions beginning in October 2021.

Oregon Shakespeare Festival today announced that it will welcome back in-person audiences earlier than planned, on July 1, with Cheryl L. West’s Fannie: The Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer, staged in OSF’s outdoor Allen Elizabethan Theatre by director Henry Godinez and music director Felton Offard.

This April, Ensemble Theatre Company will present five live-streamed performances of the critically acclaimed 90-minute one-act play An Iliad. Each live performance will be aired and may be watched on computers, smart TVs, iPads, and iPhones.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater will welcome artists back to make theater again as dozens of actors, directors, designers, and technicians are busy creating upcoming productions, captured live in the Theater's performance spaces and streaming on-demand for audiences at home via the new Chicago ShakesSTREAM platform. 

The combination of multi-format programming is a celebration of OSF’s continued commitment to presenting world-class theatre on its stages and its recent foray into groundbreaking digital programming, introducing fans, supporters, and new audiences worldwide to the company’s award-winning artistry.

The 2021 digital on-demand streaming season includes a limited-run schedule for favorites from the OSF archives beginning with Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, directed by Shana Cooper; Manahatta by Mary Kathryn Nagle, directed by Laurie Woolery; and Snow in Midsummer by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, based on the classical Chinese drama The Injustice to Dou Yi That Moved Heaven and Earth and directed by Justin Audibert.

The Jeff Awards has announced the nominees for the 52nd annual awards for theater excellence that include 142 theater artists across 30 artistic and technical categories. The awards will be presented in an online program on Monday, November 9, 2020 at 7:00PM.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents a one-night-only streaming event Toast to Shakespeare's Birthday! tomorrow, Thursday, April 23 at 7:30 p.m. Central Time.

In a remote manor in the British countryside, a celebrated murder mystery writer drafts his next great detective novel. But when he invites his wife's lover to his home for a glass of scotch, it suddenly becomes unclear where the fictional plot ends and the real game begins. Sleuth will keep you on the edge of your seat with a suspenseful game of cat-and-mouse filled with plotted murder, jealousy, and revenge. The production runs March 10 through March 29 in McCarter's Matthews Theatre. More about the production at mccarter.org.

God Bless us, everyone! My childhood came back to me while witnessing the holiday classic A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. This annual production by Actors Theatre of Louisville hit all the high notes on opening night and delivered a magical feast for the eyes, ears, and heart. After four decades this production still thrills and delivers the message of redemption and kindness from the past, present, and future. I was so happy to experience it among many families and I especially enjoyed hearing and seeing children's reactions to the show.

Actors Theatre of Louisville presents Fifth Third Bank's A Christmas Carol, beginning November 23 in the Pamela Brown Auditorium. Tickets are now available at ActorsTheatre.org. 

Actors Theatre of Louisville and Artistic Director Robert Barry Fleming announce the upcoming holiday season favorites: Fifth Third Bank's A Christmas Carol, beginning November 23 in the Pamela Brown Auditorium, and The Santaland Diaries, based on the essay by David Sedaris, beginning November 24 in the Victor Jory Theatre. Tickets are now available at ActorsTheatre.org.

Actors Theatre of Louisville presents Fifth Third Bank's A Christmas Carol, beginning November 23 in the Pamela Brown Auditorium. Tickets are now available at ActorsTheatre.org. 

Terri McMahon's performance and Theresa Rebeck's script demonstrate that Sarah Bernhardt was not one to back down from a challenge, either on the stage or in life.

Pulitzer Prize finalist Theresa Rebeck celebrates and sends up the art of theater-making through a look at the original diva-legendary leading lady Sarah Bernhardt-as she defies gender norms to assume the role of a lifetime.

Pulitzer Prize finalist Theresa Rebeck celebrates and sends up the art of theater-making through a look at the original diva-legendary leading lady Sarah Bernhardt-as she defies gender norms to assume the role of a lifetime.

As with each passing season, 2018 proved to be another exceptional year for theater not only in Souther California in general but also in Orange County---my home base. This year, the OC finally welcomed the debut of what has become this century's most awarded and most renowned stage musical ever about the Founding Father etched regally on the 10 dollar bill. Meanwhile, So. Cal. enjoyed a powerful surge of new stage works that explored Asian-American experiences, a positive step forward in the presentation of diverse voices we seldom hear from on the stage. A pair of touring musicals---both opening in the O.C. in early 2019---made such an impact in their Los Angeles engagements for me personally that I had to include them in my list, even though I have not 'officially' reviewed the productions for print. With that said, here is my 'Best of 2018' from Orange County and adjacent locales nearby---a mixture of outstanding shows and brilliant performances that made a lasting, memorable imprint in my theatergoing experience this year.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater announces the cast for the North American premiere of Jessica Swale's exuberant new comedy Nell Gwynn, September 20-November 4, 2018. The music- and dance-filled play took London audiences by storm when it debuted at Shakespeare's Globe, followed by a celebrated run on the West End. Director of the original London production, Christopher Luscombe, helms the new Chicago Shakespeare production. Star of Broadway and the West End Scarlett Strallen appears as Nell; Chicago leading actor Timothy Edward Kane performs the role of King Charles II.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater announces the cast for the North American premiere of Jessica Swale's exuberant new comedy Nell Gwynn, September 20-November 4, 2018. The music- and dance-filled play took London audiences by storm when it debuted at Shakespeare's Globe, followed by a celebrated run on the West End. Director of the original London production, Christopher Luscombe, helms the new Chicago Shakespeare production. Star of Broadway and the West End Scarlett Strallen appears as Nell; Chicago leading actor Timothy Edward Kane performs the role of King Charles II.