John Woo News

Karen Kondazian's novel THE WHIP just won the 2012 USA Book News Award for Historical Fiction. The book was also runner-up in the Western Fiction category.

Premiere Stages has announced new dates for the production of Talking to Westfield, part of Liberty Live, a new producing partnership with the Liberty Hall Museum, located on the campus of Kean University. Liberty Live dramatizes and celebrates the history that helped make New Jersey what it is today. Rescheduled performances will now be held December 7th-9th in the Little Theatre, located in the University Center on Kean University's main campus.

Premiere Stages, the Professional Theatre Company in residence at Kean University, seeks submissions to the 9th Annual Premiere Stages Play Festival. This yearly competition for unproduced scripts offers developmental opportunities to four playwrights born or currently residing in the greater metropolitan area (New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut).

Lemon, a new documentary about the acclaimed New York poet/playwright Lemon Andersen, will have its broadcast premiere on PBS as part of Latino Public Broadcasting's arts and culture series VOCES tonight, October 19, 2012 from 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET (check local listings), in conjunction with Hispanic Heritage Month. Produced and directed by Laura Brownson and Beth Levison, Lemon is a Russell Simmons presentation in association with Impact Partners.

St. Bonaventure University's Theater Department will revive its biennial one-act festival production this November in a diverse, 6-piece presentation entitled "Knowing and Un-Knowing."

Premiere Stages is partnering with the National Science Foundation to present a staged reading of iDream, a new play by Eileen and Suzanne Trauth. In iDream, three girls, all confronting an uncertain future, are encouraged by a dynamic teacher to explore the male dominated field of computer technology and in so doing, begin to discover their place in the world. Art and science converge in this highly topical exploration of career opportunities in the twenty-first century.

Premiere Stages has announced Liberty Live, a new producing partnership with the Liberty Hall Museum, located on the campus of Kean University. Liberty Live dramatizes and celebrates the history that helped to make New Jersey what it is today. The event features a professional production of a new play about New Jersey, a tour of the Museum grounds and interactive programming and displays. The 2012 event will focus on Westfield and be held at the Liberty Hall Museum Carriage House from November 1st through 4th.

Premiere Stages is partnering with the National Science Foundation to present a staged reading of iDream, a new play by Eileen and Suzanne Trauth. In iDream, three girls, all confronting an uncertain future, are encouraged by a dynamic teacher to explore the male dominated field of computer technology and in so doing, begin to discover their place in the world. Art and science converge in this highly topical exploration of career opportunities in the twenty-first century.

Lemon, a new documentary about the acclaimed New York poet/playwright Lemon Andersen, will have its broadcast premiere on PBS as part of Latino Public Broadcasting's arts and culture series VOCES on Friday, October 19, 2012 from 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET (check local listings), in conjunction with Hispanic Heritage Month. Produced and directed by Laura Brownson and Beth Levison, Lemon is a Russell Simmons presentation in association with Impact Partners.

Premiere Stages presents the New Jersey Premiere of Farragut North from tonight, September 6th through the 23rd in the Zella Fry Theatre at Kean University. Produced in collaboration with the Kean University Center for History, Politics and Policy and supported by the League of Women Voters, the production of playwright Beau Willimon's classic tale of hubris is set against a contemporary political landscape where no price is too high to attain power.

The 60th edition of the San Sebastian Festival will this year bestow its Donostia Awards on actors John Travolta, Ewan McGregor and Tommy Lee Jones and the Special 60th Anniversary Donostia Award going to director Oliver Stone. In 1969, Jones made his Broadway debut in John Osborne's A Patriot for Me. His other Broadway appearances include Four on a Garden and Ulysses in Nighttown.

The Piedmont Players have announced the cast for their upcoming production of THE COLOR PURPLE, set to run October 25-28 & 31, and November 1-3 at The Piedmont Players Theatre in Salisbury.

Premiere Stages presents the New Jersey Premiere of Farragut North from September 6th through the 23rd in the Zella Fry Theatre at Kean University. Produced in collaboration with the Kean University Center for History, Politics and Policy and supported by the League of Women Voters, the production of playwright Beau Willimon's classic tale of hubris is set against a contemporary political landscape where no price is too high to attain power.

Lemon, a new documentary about the acclaimed New York poet/playwright Lemon Andersen, will have its broadcast premiere on PBS as part of Latino Public Broadcasting's arts and culture series VOCES on Friday, October 19, 2012 from 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET (check local listings), in conjunction with Hispanic Heritage Month. Produced and directed by Laura Brownson and Beth Levison, Lemon is a Russell Simmons presentation in association with Impact Partners.

3net, the joint venture 24/7 3D network from Sony, Discovery and IMAX - will bring a new season of the seminal music program FROM THE BASEMENT to 3D viewers for the first time ever with the world television premiere tonight, July 15 (9PM ET/PT).

The 2012 Play Festival winner at Premiere Stages opens tomorrow night, Thursday, July 12th. The director and cast of HANDICAPPED PEOPLE IN THEIR FORMAL ATTIRE talk about the themes of the show.

Premiere Stages, the professional theatre in residence at Kean University presents Kathryn Grant's Handicapped People in Their Formal Attire from tonight, July 12 through July 29. This provocative new play takes place in 1968 at a black tie fundraiser for people with disabilities. The honoree is Agnes Sheenan, a quadriplegic, who is escorted by her able-bodied sister, Theresa. The siblings make the most of the celebration until unforeseen events force them to examine how fragile the bond is between them.

3net, the joint venture 24/7 3D network from Sony, Discovery and IMAX - will bring a new season of the seminal music program FROM THE BASEMENT to 3D viewers for the first time ever with the world television premiere Sunday, July 15 (9PM ET/PT).

Premiere Stages, the professional theatre in residence at Kean University presents Kathryn Grant's Handicapped People in Their Formal Attire from July 12 -- 29. This provocative new play takes place in 1968 at a black tie fundraiser for people with disabilities. The honoree is Agnes Sheenan, a quadriplegic, who is escorted by her able-bodied sister, Theresa. The siblings make the most of the celebration until unforeseen events force them to examine how fragile the bond is between them.

Silver Spring Stage presents The Beauty Queen of Leenane by Martin McDonagh, directed and produced by Seth Ghitelman. Set in the Irish countryside, a lonely woman in her forties has her first and possibly last chance at love until her manipulative mother sets in motion a train of events that leads to a terrifying conclusion.The Beauty Queen of Leenane will perform weekends tonight, May 18 to June 9.