Liza de Weerd News

The Porters of Hellsgate present William Shakespeare's KING LEAR, starring Larry Cedar and directed by Thomas Bigley.

There have been many dramatized stories about the relationship between teacher/student, mentor/artist. Eve Harrington in All About Eve is the first to come to mind and her infatuation with Margo Channing's every move. She adored her and stole from her. She recreated and used her for her own success, not caring what became of Margo. In his Collected Stories Donald Margulies puts seemingly vulnerable writing student Lisa Morrison (Liza de Weerd) into the nurturing care of teacher/writer Ruth Steiner (Julia Silverman) and extols the comaraderie that develops between them as colleagues until it becomes a fact that Morrison has taken a confided incident from Steiner's life and sensationalized it in her very first novel. Under Sherry Netherland's watchful eye, both actresses hit the jackpot theatrically as they meticulously explore the intelligent issues at hand.

In this week's edition of Around BWW: Regional Highlights of the Week', we bring you the most-read stories for the week of October 8! From reviews to interviews, videos and photos, catch up on all the latest regional happenings around the Broadway World!

Donald Margulies, winner of a Pulitzer for his Dinner With Friends, was also nominated for the same prestigious award for Collected Stories, a taut two-character drama about a complicated relationship between a renowned short story writer, Ruth Steiner, and Lisa Morrison, a talented graduate student she is mentoring. The relationship deepens beyond mentor/pupil to best friend and confidant. Several years pass and Lisa publishes her own work of fiction…or is it?

Cast members from PULP SHAKESPEARE, an official selection of the 2012 FringeNYC Encores Series and the "Best of Fest" winner at the 2011 Hollywood Fringe Fest, will make an in-store appearance to coincide with their September run at the Soho Playhouse.

Cast members from PULP SHAKESPEARE, an official selection of the 2012 FringeNYC Encores Series and the "Best of Fest" winner at the 2011 Hollywood Fringe Fest, will make in-store appearances to coincide with their September run at the Soho Playhouse.

Capping off their highly successful 2012 Season, The Porters of Hellsgate have announced their next production, Shakespeare's dark comedy, Measure for Measure-the Bard's deft exploration of the arrogance of power.

Capping off their highly successful 2012 Season, The Porters of Hellsgate have announced their next production, Shakespeare's dark comedy, Measure for Measure-the Bard's deft exploration of the arrogance of power.

PULP SHAKESPEARE, a "Best of Fest" winner at the 2011 Hollywood Fringe Fest, has been selected to be presented in the 2012 FringeNYC Encores Series. Out of the 187 productions in this year's FringeNYC Festival, PULP SHAKESPEARE is one of just fifteen chosen for an encore performance. Performances begin September 19 at the Soho Playhouse.

PULP SHAKESPEARE, a "Best of Fest" winner at the 2011 Hollywood Fringe Fest, will receive its New York premiere in the 2012 New York International Fringe Festival.

PULP SHAKESPEARE, a "Best of Fest" winner at the 2011 Hollywood Fringe Fest, will receive its New York premiere in the 2012 New York International Fringe Festival.

The Porters of Hellsgate present William Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor, directed by Charles Pasterna, running tonight, June 15 through July 22 at The Whitmore Theatre in North Hollywood.

The Porters of Hellsgate present William Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor, directed by Charles Pasterna, running June 15 through July 22 at The Whitmore Theatre in North Hollywood.

Not unlike Neil Simon with his zippy one-liners coming at you fast and furious, Matthew Leavitt has fashioned a very uptempo ultra-modern comedy about relationships in The Boomerang Effect that manages to slip in a substantial message or two whilst tickling the funny bone. Now onstage at the Odyssey a terrific cast of 10 all sleep in the same bed - well, separate pairs of course - and engineer a slick and well-intentioned comedic evening of theatre.

The concept of one single principle being utilized so differently by so many different fields was the inspiration for this play about five couples, and the universal complications in their sexual relationships despite the differences in scenario and detail.

HUNGER: IN BED WITH ROY COHN is a world premiere fantasy play by Joan Beber about Roy Cohn, the attorney whose hunger for power and prominence ultimately destroyed him.

Playwright Joan Beber's concept of Roy Cohn in her intriguingly nightmarish Hunger: In Bed with Roy Cohn, now onstage at the Odyssey Theatre, comes off a self-indulgent, spoiled, gluttonous, untrusting child monster, which certainly does not add up to a positive view of his humanity. In Angels in America, as I was too young to know the real Cohn in the McCarthy era, I saw Al Pacino's hard-edged, evil-to-the-core interpretation of the man. Barry Pearl's in Hunger, yes is more childlike, whimpering, whining, but if Beber truly wants us to witness a good side to bad, she has not succeeded. I despise the lying, bigoted, hateful man just as much as I did before, reality or fantasy. On the positive side, director Jules Aaron has ingeniously staged the over-the-top entertainment with a marvelous cast. Hunger will run through March 11.