Kenneth Lonergan News

Playwrights Horizons presents its New York premiere production of Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play, a new play by Anne Washburn, with music by Obie Award winner Michael Friedman. Directed by Steve Cosson, the Obie Award-winning Artistic Director of The Civilians, Mr. Burns is being presented as the first production of Playwrights Horizons' 2013/2014 Season.

Lobby Hero, a comedy-drama by Kenneth Lonergan, runs tonight, Oct. 18 - Nov. 9, 2013 at Carpenter Square Theatre.

Lobby Hero, a comedy-drama by Kenneth Lonergan, runs Oct. 18 - Nov. 9, 2013 at Carpenter Square Theatre.

Signature Theatre will present an evening of cocktails and a special one-night-only concert starring one of Broadway's living legends, Betty Buckley, on Monday, September 30 in The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 W. 42nd Street) to support the Legacy Program in honor of Horton Foote. Buckley will be singing some of musical theatre's most iconic songs, including songs she's sung in her sold-out national concert appearances. Tickets start at $150 for both the pre-show cocktail reception at 6:30 p.m. and the concert at 7:30 p.m. A limited number of $75 concert only tickets are now available. To purchase tickets and for more information, please call 646-388-8118 or email sjohnson@signaturetheatre.org (for the $75 ticket offer, mention code BB75).

The Huntington Theatre Company presents a concert version of Jason Robert Brown's powerful contemporary musical The Last Five Years for three performances only November 23 and 24. Adam Kantor (Rent, Avenue Q) and Betsy Wolfe (The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Everyday Rapture) play the two twenty-something New Yorkers who dive head-first into marriage, fueled by the optimism of finding 'the one.' Winner of Drama Desk Drama Awards for Outstanding Music and Outstanding Lyrics, The Last Five Years takes a bold look at one young couple's hope that love endures the test of time.

Playwrights Horizons and Symphony Space will present a panel discussion previewing the theater company's new season tonight, September 23 at 7:30 PM at Symphony Space's Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theater (2537 Broadway at 95th Street). Moderated by The Washington Post's Chief Theater Critic Peter Marks, joined by Playwrights Horizons Artistic Director Tim Sanford, the 6th annual panel discussion will feature artists representing the six productions of the theater company's 2013/2014 Season.

Response to DownStage, 2nd Story's new, 70-seat second space, has been overwhelmingly positive. The UpStage/DownStage Season is off to a roaring start, with record subscriptions sales, and standing-room-only performances of Kenneth Lonergan's "Lobby Hero", the first DownStage offering.

Signature Theatre will present an evening of cocktails and a special one-night-only concert starring one of Broadway's living legends, Betty Buckley, on Monday, September 30 in The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 W. 42nd Street) to support the Legacy Program in honor of Horton Foote. Buckley will be singing some of musical theatre's most iconic songs, including songs she's sung in her sold-out national concert appearances. Tickets start at $150 for both the pre-show cocktail reception at 6:30 p.m. and the concert at 7:30 p.m. A limited number of $75 concert only tickets are now available. To purchase tickets and for more information, please call 646-388-8118 or email sjohnson@signaturetheatre.org (for the $75 ticket offer, mention code BB75).

As a theater company grows in success and reputation, expansion is to be expected. Whether it's growth into new and different types of productions, educational programs or physical spaces, change is only natural. For 2nd Story Theater in Warren, growth and expansion have arrived this season, in the form of a new, smaller, more intimate space downstairs in their Market Street home. For the first show in the new downstairs space, they have chosen Kenneth Lonergan's Lobby Hero, which turns out to be a pleasing and safe way to begin the life of a new theatrical stage.

Playwrights Horizons and Symphony Space will present a panel discussion previewing the theater company's new season on Monday evening, September 23 at 7:30 PM at Symphony Space's Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theater (2537 Broadway at 95th Street). Moderated by The Washington Post's Chief Theater Critic Peter Marks, joined by Playwrights Horizons Artistic Director Tim Sanford, the 6th annual panel discussion will feature artists representing the six productions of the theater company's 2013/2014 Season.

Due to critical acclaim and popular demand, Playwrights Horizons has announced an extension of its New York premiere production of MR. BURNS, A POST-ELECTRIC PLAY, a new play by Anne Washburn, with music by Obie Award winner Michael Friedman. Directed by Steve Cosson, the Obie Award-winning Artistic Director of The Civilians, MR. BURNS is being presented as the first production of Playwrights Horizons' 2013/2014 Season.

Westport Country Playhouse stages the World Premiere of 'Oblivion,' a provocative new play about parents and teenagers, and the gulf that often exists between them, by Carly Mensch, writer for Showtime's 'Nurse Jackie' and 'Weeds,' and directed by Mark Brokaw, currently represented on Broadway with 'Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella.' The coming-of-age comedy-drama runs now through September 8. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Can there be too much of a good thing? From the enthusiastic response to the news that 2nd Story planned to double the number of plays produced this season, it seems the answer is a resounding 'no'. Of building a 70-seat second space and adding programming, Artistic Director Ed Shea said, 'For years 2nd Story operated under the assumption that less is more, but it turns out more is more. When it comes to professional-quality live theatre, there cannot be too much of a good thing. Not only is there a market for more, there is a need and a desire for more. With the construction of our second space, we can give audiences more comedy, more drama, more entertainment, and more food for thought.'

How do you become a director? Just take the plunge!

Westport Country Playhouse will stage the World Premiere of 'Oblivion,' a provocative new play about parents and teenagers, and the gulf that often exists between them, by Carly Mensch, writer for Showtime's 'Nurse Jackie' and 'Weeds,' and directed by Mark Brokaw, currently represented on Broadway with 'Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella.' The coming-of-age comedy-drama runs from tonight, August 20 through September 8.

Director Lewis D. Wheeler and the Gloucester Stage Company mount playwright Kenneth Lonergan's THIS IS OUR YOUTH with a trio of talented actors displaying high energy and raw emotion. Jimi Stanton, Alex Pollock, and Amanda Collins are three privileged kids on Manhattan's Upper West Side trying to find themselves in a messed-up world on the brink of the Reagan era.

Gloucester Stage continues the 2013 season with Kenneth Lonergan's This Is Our Youth from August 8 through August 25 in the air-conditioned comfort of Gloucester Stage Company at 267 East Main Street, Gloucester, MA.

Westport Country Playhouse will stage the World Premiere of 'Oblivion,' a provocative new play about parents and teenagers, and the gulf that often exists between them, by Carly Mensch, writer for Showtime's 'Nurse Jackie' and 'Weeds,' and directed by Mark Brokaw, currently represented on Broadway with 'Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella.' The coming-of-age comedy-drama runs from August 20 through September 8.