Lorraine Hansberry News

Kansas City Repertory Theatre Artistic Director Eric Rosen announced today the casting for HAIR: Retrospection, under his direction.

Today, February 25 at 7PM, Barnes & Noble, 150 East 86th Street hosts author and six-time Tony Award-winning producer Stewart Lane (La Cage aux Folles, A Gentleman's Guide..., War Horse), Tony Award winning actress Leslie Uggams (Hallelujah Baby!, On Golden Pond, Thoroughly Modern Millie, King Hedly II), acclaimed Broadway director Sheldon Epps (Baby It's You!, Play On!, Blues in the Night), and author Tom Santopietro (The Godfather Effect..., Considering Doris Day, Sinatra in Hollywood) in a discussion about the inspiring account of the tumultuous path that black actors have traveled to reach recognition on the Great White Way.

On Wednesday, February 25 at 7PM, Barnes & Noble, 150 East 86th Street hosts author and six-time Tony Award-winning producer Stewart Lane (La Cage aux Folles, A Gentleman's Guide…, War Horse), Tony Award winning actress Leslie Uggams (Hallelujah Baby!, On Golden Pond, Thoroughly Modern Millie, King Hedly II), acclaimed Broadway director Sheldon Epps (Baby It's You!, Play On!, Blues in the Night), and author Tom Santopietro (The Godfather Effect…, Considering Doris Day, Sinatra in Hollywood) in a discussion about the inspiring account of the tumultuous path that black actors have traveled to reach recognition on the Great White Way. This special Black History Month event celebrates the release of Lane's new book Black Broadway: African Americans on The Great White Way.

The Hilberry Theatre announced its 2015-16 Season Friday during the opening night festivities for Arthur Miller's adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's classic drama, An Enemy of the People. Season tickets are on sale now.

"Clybourne Park"-the wickedly funny and provocative play by Bruce Norris about how the different faces and shades of racism can make a straightforward real estate transaction anything but-will be the third production of the Hampton Theatre Company's 30th anniversary season. The Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play opens on March 12 at the Quogue Community Hall and will run through March 29.

On Monday, March 16, 2015, the League of Professional Theatre Women (LPTW), a not-for-profit organization committed to promoting visibility and increasing opportunities for women in the professional theatre, is pleased to recognize the talents of five outstanding women: Mary-Mitchell Campbell, Kathleen Chalfant, Sandra A. Daley-Sharif, Rachel Dickstein, and Donyale Werle.

Director Donald Alsedek and a uniformly fine cast bring Lorraine Hansberry's classic to vibrant life at Open Stage.

The Morrisson Theatre Chorus, under the musical direction of César Cancino, will present its Spring Concert: The Magic of Movies and Music on March 20 and March 21 at 8:00pm and March 22, 2015, at 2:00pm. The Spring Concert will feature music from many great and beloved films, including 'Casablanca,' 'Titanic,' 'The Mission,' 'The Wizard of Oz,' and many more! Also featured will be a medley of James Bond movie 'hits.'

On March 11, 1959, a play opened on Broadway that changed American theatre forever. 'A Raisin in the Sun' examined issues that had never been presented on Broadway. It was the first play written by a black woman to be presented on Broadway with Broadway's first black director. This heartwarming, hilarious, groundbreaking story of a family's heroic efforts to make a better life for their children will run at Open Stage of Harrisburg today, February 6-22, 2015.

Wayne State University's Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance will present a staged reading Lorraine Hansberry's play, A Raisin in the Sun, at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. The readings take place at 2 p.m. and again at 7 p.m. today, January 24, 2014 and is free and open to the public. The staged reading is being presented to celebrate the contributions of African-American artists to the stage.

PlayMakers Repertory Company continues its Mainstage Season tonight, Jan. 21-Feb. 8 with a scathingly funny backstage drama, 'Trouble in Mind,' by Alice Childress. PlayMakers is the professional theater in residence at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Definition Theatre Company has announced the second show of its 2014/15 season, an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House. Directed by Writers Theatre Artistic Director Michael Halberstam, A Doll's House runs April 3 - May 3, 2015; the press performance is on Thursday, April 9 at 7:30pm. Performances are scheduled Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 4:00pm at the Chopin Theatre (1543W Division Street). Tickets, $25, are on sale now at definitiontheatre.org.

On March 11, 1959, a play opened on Broadway that changed American theatre forever. "A Raisin in the Sun" examined issues that had never been presented on Broadway. It was the first play written by a black woman to be presented on Broadway with Broadway's first black director. This heartwarming, hilarious, groundbreaking story of a family's heroic efforts to make a better life for their children will run at Open Stage of Harrisburg February 6-22, 2015.

Wayne State University's Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance will present a staged reading Lorraine Hansberry's play, A Raisin in the Sun, at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. The readings take place at 2 p.m. and again at 7 p.m. on Saturday, January 24, 2014 and is free and open to the public. The staged reading is being presented to celebrate the contributions of African-American artists to the stage.

On February 2, 2015, Square One Publishers releases Black Broadway: African Americans on The Great White Way by six-time Tony Award winning producer and author Stewart F. Lane (La Cage aux Folles, A Gentleman's Guide..., War Horse).

PlayMakers Repertory Company continues its Mainstage Season Jan. 21-Feb. 8 with a scathingly funny backstage drama, 'Trouble in Mind,' by Alice Childress. PlayMakers is the professional theater in residence at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

I like the title of Harold Ellis Clark's WE LIVE HERE, winner of the NewWorks@TheWorks playwriting competition hosted by Playhouse on the Square and now playing at Theatre Works. If you emphasize the word WE, it offers two different interpretations: (1) It could refer to the racist white characters in the play, who don't relish the idea of ceding part of their predominately white neighborhood in Metarie to the black characters who have had the questionable luck of winning a post-Hurricane Katrina lottery; or (2) it could refer to the black characters themselves, who defiantly (and rightly) have planted their feet on new, if rocky, turf. In fact, any of the three words in the title could be emphasized and, consequently, offer a new facet inviting a different interpretation.

Dallas Theater Center heads back to the Kalita Humphreys Theater with The Book Club Play by Karen Zacarias. Meredith McDonough, who previously worked on the new hit musical Fly By Night, returns to make her DTC directorial debut in this comedy about books and the people who love them. The Book Club Play begins previews tonight, January 1, 2015 with a Pay-What-You-Can performance and runs through Sunday, February 1.

There is no doubt that race is a sensitive issue, as borne out by numerous events across the nation over the past six months. It can be difficult to explore, and while many politicians and social scientists call for a national conversation, it is often the arts world that leads the way in holding up a mirror to American society about this topic. While most take a serious approach, the Bergen County Players, one of the region's most acclaimed theatre companies, has decided it is also possible to face the subject head on by presenting the wickedly funny and provocative Tony and Pulitzer Prize award-winning play Clybourne Park.

Stuart Landon returns as Macys' most demented elf, the only slightly insane Crumpet.