Lillian Hellman News

AFI Life Achievement Award honoree Meryl Streep presented Shirley MacLaine with the American Film Institute's 40th Life Achievement Award - America's highest honor for a career in film. The private black tie gala was held at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City on June 7 and will air on TV Land tonight, June 24 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Today we are concluding our two-part look at the life and career of legendary stage and screen icon Christopher Plummer by focusing on some of the finest films, television and filmed stage performances of his career thus far, as we anticipate the nationwide release of his newest stage and screen venture, the cinematic presentation of his recent turn as Prospero at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Des McAnuff's THE TEMPEST, presented by Fathom-equipped movie theaters on June 13, followed by a Q&A with Plummer. From his stage debut in the late-1940s through to his spectacular screen career begun with Sidney Lumet's STAGE STRUCK in 1958, in this career-spanning clip collection we will be sampling many of the most memorable and most notable projects from a rich resume ranging from almost every major male role in the canon of Shakespeare - AS YOU LIKE IT to THE WINTER'S TALE - to the work of Lilian Hellman, Bertolt Brecht, Henrik Ibsen, Anton Chekhov and Peter Shaffer to Rodgers & Hammerstein's THE SOUND OF MUSIC on film to the Tony Award-winning Anthony Burgess musical adaptation of CYRANO onstage, to TV's THE THORN BIRDS and ON GOLDEN POND all the way to last year's double-header of brilliance in both David Fincher's THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGTON TATTOO and BEGINNERS, the latter being the part for which Plummer finally received a Best Actor Academy Award. Of course, besides his well-earned Oscar, Plummer has amassed many other top honors over the course of his sixty-year-career, as well - two Tony Awards (for CYRANO, a musical, and BARRYMORE, a two-person mostly monologue); a Golden Globe; two Emmy Awards; a SAG Award; a Genie; the list goes on and on… as does Christopher Plummer's reputable and riveting career.

The Little Foxes, Lillian Hellman's classic play, may have been written in 1939, but it still packs a powerful punch. David Swartz of Ambler directs the Actors' NET of Bucks County production of Hellman's stage expose of poisonous relationships within a Southern family in the early 20th century, running tonight, June 8 through June 24 at the Heritage Center in Morrisville.

Last night, Julia Jordan, Theresa Rebeck, Marsha Norman, Tim Sanford, Gary Garrison, The Dramatists Guild, and The Committee for Recognizing Women in Theatre presented the 3rd Annual Lilly Awards at Playwrights Horizons. Named for playwright Lillian Hellman, The Lilly Awards were created to recognize the extraordinary contributions made by women to the American Theater. Producers, playwrights, actors, designers, and directors were honored last night for their continued excellence in the theater community. Check out phtoos from the event below!

The Little Foxes, Lillian Hellman's classic play, may have been written in 1939, but it still packs a powerful punch. David Swartz of Ambler directs the Actors' NET of Bucks County production of Hellman's stage expose of poisonous relationships within a Southern family in the early 20th century, running June 8 - 24 at the Heritage Center in Morrisville.

Tonight, June 4, 2012 Julia Jordan, Theresa Rebeck, Marsha Norman, Tim Sanford, Gary Garrison and The Committee for Recognizing Women in Theatre will present the 3rd Annual Lilly Awards at Playwrights Horizons. Named for playwright Lillian Hellman, The Lilly Awards were created to recognize the extraordinary contributions made by women to the American Theater. Producers, playwrights, actors, designers, and directors will be honored for their continued excellence in the theater community.

On June 4, 2012 Julia Jordan, Theresa Rebeck, Marsha Norman, Tim Sanford, Gary Garrison and The Committee for Recognizing Women in Theatre will present the 3rd Annual Lilly Awards at Playwrights Horizons. Named for playwright Lillian Hellman, The Lilly Awards were created to recognize the extraordinary contributions made by women to the American Theater. Producers, playwrights, actors, designers, and directors will be honored for their continued excellence in the theater community.

Lillian Hellman's riveting drama THE LITTLE FOXES is being presented by the Actors' NET of Bucks County; the show performs three weekends, June 8 to 24, at the Heritage Center in Morrisville, PA. Check out the publicity photos below!

AFI Life Achievement Award honoree Meryl Streep will present Shirley MacLaine with the American Film Institute's 40th Life Achievement Award - America's highest honor for a career in film. The private black tie gala will be held at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City on June 7 and will air on TV Land on Sunday, June 24 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.

The Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre will honor esteemed stage actress Patti LuPone with the company's third Stephen Sondheim Award. The award, established in 2009 in honor of America's most influential contemporary musical theater writer and composer, will be presented at a black-tie Gala Benefit on April 16, 2012 at the Embassy of Italy in Washington, DC. Signature Theatre Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer said, 'I am thrilled that Patti LuPone will be this year's recipient of the Stephen Sondheim Award. With her wonderful performances in Gypsy, Sweeney Todd, Company, Passion, and more - she has had an amazing connection to Steve's words and music. It's wonderful to add her name to the distinguished honorees Angela Lansbury and Bernadette Peters. We look forward to saluting Patti and her extraordinary talents in April.'

Keira Knightley hopes to return to the West End stage soon, according to the UK Telegraph. "Hopefully it will be soon - I love doing theatre [...] When I was young and starting out as an actress, it wasn't film I thought of - it was always theatre," she said in an interview with the Telegraph's Tim Walker.

Patti LuPone won her second Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, as well Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards, for her performance as Rose in the most recent Broadway production of Gypsy, and created the title role in Evita on Broadway with her now legendary performance, for which she won her first Tony and Drama Desk Awards. On July 4th and 5th she will make her Provincetown debut at The Art House, with Sirius/Radio star Seth Rudetsky at the piano, for 3 shows only. The Art House is thrilled to welcome this Broadway legend to Provincetown this summer, when she opens the Broadway at the Art House series which will feature 10 different artists including Betty Buckley, Charles Busch, Ana Gasteyer, and Marilyn Maye among others, from July 4 - September 23. For tickets please visit www.ptownarthouse.com or call 508-487-9222.

How do mothers and daughters deal with a coming-out crisis? Has the sexual camaraderie of gay men changed as the AIDS epidemic recedes from memory? Is it possible that a child's lie can ruin the lives of three adults? The staged readings of July's Summer Pride Festival at Chandler address these conflicts and situations.

Unos llegan, otros se despiden, otros vuelven o nos hacen una breve visita, otros giran (traducidos o no), otros se van de bolos, y algunos permanecen. De grande, mediano o pequeño formato, estamos disfrutando de una prolífica temporada en lo que al género musical se refiere. Madrid y Barcelona son, como de costumbre, las sedes más estables de estos espectáculos, aunque cada vez las giras visitan más ciudades y poblaciones.

ZOE CALDWELL has been entertaining audiences as a cold-hearted Upper East Side matron in David Adjmi's intimateElective Affinitives. Meanwhile she has been seen as an affectionate grandmother in Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, one of this year's Academy Award nominees for Best Picture. Caldwell has earned four Tony Awards, most recently as Maria Callas in Terrence McNally's Master Class. She has portrayed such heroines as Lady Macbeth and Medea, not to mention Lillian Hellman and Miss Jean Brodie, and she has worked with such legends as Dame Judith Anderson, Dame Edith Evans, Sir Tyrone Guthrie, Charles Laughton, and Paul Robeson. She has also directed stars such as Eileen Atkins, Glenda Jackson, James Earl Jones, Christopher Plummer, and Vanessa Redgrave. Caldwell is now writing a sequel to I Will Be Cleopatra, a memoir about her early years in Australia, and she'll share a few highlights from her most memorable encounters with Shakespeare with President of the Shakespeare Guild, JOHN ANDREWS, OBE. and answer questions from the audience.

ZOE CALDWELL has been entertaining audiences as a cold-hearted Upper East Side matron in David Adjmi's intimateElective Affinitives. Meanwhile she has been seen as an affectionate grandmother in Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, one of this year's Academy Award nominees for Best Picture. Caldwell has earned four Tony Awards, most recently as Maria Callas in Terrence McNally's Master Class. She has portrayed such heroines as Lady Macbeth and Medea, not to mention Lillian Hellman and Miss Jean Brodie, and she has worked with such legends as Dame Judith Anderson, Dame Edith Evans, Sir Tyrone Guthrie, Charles Laughton, and Paul Robeson. She has also directed stars such as Eileen Atkins, Glenda Jackson, James Earl Jones, Christopher Plummer, and Vanessa Redgrave. Caldwell is now writing a sequel to I Will Be Cleopatra, a memoir about her early years in Australia, and she'll share a few highlights from her most memorable encounters with Shakespeare with President of the Shakespeare Guild, JOHN ANDREWS, OBE. and answer questions from the audience.

Eugenie Chan will teach a 10-week class, Crack That Whip from February 21 - May 1, 2012 at PF's New Play Institute.

Theatre in the Round Players presents THE LARK by Jean Anouilh in an adaptation by Lillian Hellman between February 10 - March 4, 2012.