Kwame Kwei-Armah News

Theatre Communications Group (TCG) has announced the Master of Ceremonies, entertainment, and Gala Committee Members for their upcoming gala honoring playwright and actress Danai Gurira, producers Stephen C. Byrd and Alia Jones-Harvey, and the Vilcek Foundation and Rick Kinsel.

ASSISTED LOVING: A SPECIAL READING BASED ON THE MEMOIR BY BOB MORRIS is among the theater events coming up this November and December at 92Y.  Featuring Richard Kind, Alex Brightman, Alix Korey and Quinn Mattfield, the reading will be directed by Gordon Greenberg and will be held on Monday, November 7 at 8 pm (free - registration required).

'I shook up the world.' So says young gun and new heavyweight champion Cassius Clay (shortly to become Muhammad Ali) in those heady moments after his shock defeat of Sonny Liston in February 1964. But a meeting that same night with three African-American friends of equivalent status - superstar crooner Sam Cooke, NFL hero Jim Brown and controversial preacher Malcolm X - leads to soul-searching about the definition of success, and how best men like Clay can represent their community in a divided nation.

25 February 1964: 22-year-old Cassius Clay has just won the world heavyweight boxing title. Instead of hitting the town, he chooses to celebrate in a Miami hotel room with three close friends - activist Malcolm X, singer Sam Cooke and American football star Jim Brown.

Sope Dirisu will portray iconic boxer Muhammad Ali in Kemp Powers's play ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI, beginning tonight at the Donmar Warehouse.

The Playwrights' Center's 45th anniversary season kicks off October 17 with PlayLabs, a week-long new play festival featuring Core Writers Christina Ham ('West of Central'), Susan Soon He Stanton ('we, the invisibles') and Ken Urban ('The Remains'). Tickets are free and can be reserved at pwcenter.org/playlabs.

London is never short of theatre temptations, whether splashy West End shows, epic dramas or bold fringe offerings. From Amadeus and a starry Stoppard revival to exciting new musicals, here are some of this month's most eye-catching openings. Don't forget to check back for BroadwayWorld's reviews…

The premiere of One Love: The Bob Marley Musical, a new musical focusing on a defining period of global legend Bob Marley's life and career in the 1970s, will open at Birmingham Repertory Theatre in March 2017.

Baz Bamigboye of The Daily Mail has reported on an upcoming musical based on the life of reggae legend, Bob Marley.  

25 February 1964: 22-year-old Cassius Clay has just won the world heavyweight boxing title. Instead of hitting the town, he chooses to celebrate in a Miami hotel room with three close friends - activist Malcolm X, singer Sam Cooke and American football star Jim Brown. 

Ambassador Theatre Group and NETworks Presentations LLC recently announced that Laura Michelle Kelly (Anna Leonowens) and Jose Llana (King of Siam) would lead the national tour of the Lincoln Center Theater production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's THE KING AND I. The tour will launch in Providence, RI at the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) October 30-November 6, 2016.

Center Stage has announced it has chosen The Thanksgiving Play by award-winning playwright, director, choreographer and performer Larissa FastHorse as its Fall Play Lab to begin the 2016/17 Season. The Play Lab will be held September 16-18 at Lord Baltimore Hotel.

Ambassador Theatre Group and NETworks Presentations LLC just announced that Laura Michelle Kelly (Anna Leonowens) and Jose Llana (King of Siam) will lead the national tour of the Lincoln Center Theater production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's THE KING AND I. Joan Almedilla will play Lady Thiang with Brian Rivera as Kralahome, Manna Nichols as Tuptim, Kavin Panmeechao as Lun Tha, Anthony Chan as Prince Chulalongkorn, Graham Montgomery as Louis Leonowens and Baylen Thomas as Captain Orton/Sir Edward Ramsey. The tour will launch in Providence, RI October 30-November 6, 2016, and will play multi-week and single week engagements throughout the 2016-17 touring season and beyond. Please find complete schedule at www.thekinganditour.com.

The Public Theater's free PUBLIC WORKS production of TWELFTH NIGHT, conceived by Kwame Kwei-Armah and Shaina Taub, with music and lyrics by Shaina Taub, and directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah, just finished its run at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, September 2 through September 5. BroadwayWorld has highlights from the show below!

For the past three years some of New York's most joyous theatrical celebrations have graced the city as the first September chill starts to pervade Central Park's Delecorte, when the Public Theater's Public Works program assembles a cast of over 200 strong to saturate a classic text with the flavor of the five boroughs.

The Public Theater's free PUBLIC WORKS production of TWELFTH NIGHT, conceived by Kwame Kwei-Armah and Shaina Taub, with music and lyrics by Shaina Taub, and directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah, begins at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park tonight, Friday, September 2, and ribs through Monday, September 5. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

The Public Theater kicks off the 2016-17 season this month with a free Public Works musical adaptation of TWELFTH NIGHT, conceived by Kwame Kwei-Armah and Shaina Taub, with music and lyrics by Shaina Taub.

Center Stage has announced it has chosen The Thanksgiving Play by award-winning playwright, director, choreographer and performer Larissa FastHorse as its Fall Play Lab to begin the 2016/17 Season. The Play Lab will be held September 16-18 at Lord Baltimore Hotel.

It's a big week ahead for composer/lyricist Shaina Taub, whose score for the Public Theater's Public Works production of a new musical adaptation of Shakespeare's TWELFTH NIGHT premieres this weekend.

Public Works, The Public Theater's local and national initiative that invites diverse communities across New York to join in creating ambitious works of theater, celebrates its fourth year with a new musical adaptation of Shakespeare's TWELFTH NIGHT.