Lucille Lortel News

NEW DRAMATISTS,Tony Honor recipient and the nation's premiere playwright development workshop, proudly announces that they will honor five-time Tony Award winning director/choreographer Susan Stroman with their 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award at its 65th Annual Spring Luncheon tribute, to be held Thursday, May 22 at the New York Marriott Marquis. Among the Stroman collaborators offering tributes will be Tony Award winner Boyd Gaines and New York City Ballet's Tiler Peck performing a selection from Little Dancer, Taylor Mac performing a selection from The Last Two People on Earth, Tony nominee Marin Mazzie performing from Bullets Over Broadway; and Contact collaborator John Weidman, and cast members from The Scottsboro Boys.The event co-chairs are Letty Aronson, Roy Furman, and Julian Schlossberg.

Screen Actors Guild Foundation and BroadwayWorld have partnered for an inaugural filmed Conversations Q&A series to recognize and celebrate the vibrant theatre community in New York City and the union actors who aspire to have a career on the stage and screen. The next Career Conversations will feature Kathleen Chalfant on March 19 (2PM)- currently starring in Manhattan Theatre Club's world premiere of David Grimm's Tales From Red Vienna - and moderated by Broadway World's Richard Ridge of 'Backstage with Richard Ridge!' The event will take place at the NYIT Auditorium on Broadway (1871 Broadway - between 61st and 62nd).

The cast of Broadway's ONCE welcomed General Martin Dempsey, US Army General and Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff and his wife, Deanie, last night. Check out a look back at their visit below!

The Queen's Company, New York City's acclaimed all-female classical theater company, presents a rare production of Aphra Behn's Sir Patient Fancy, directed by The Queen's Company Artistic Director Rebecca Patterson. Sir Patient Fancy runs from March 15 - April 5, 2014 in a limited engagement at the Wild Project, located at 195 East 3rd Street between Avenue A and Avenue B in New York City.

Broadway veteran Karen Olivo has just launch a Kickstarter campiagn to raise funds for her debut solo album, which has a planned release in Fall 2015. Olivo writes: 'I have always wanted to do an album of my own and even began working on one not long ago. Unfortunately, I was unable to complete the process…life happened. After choosing a new direction for my art, I'm back to finish what I started. I can't wait to share it with all of you!' Click here to contribute to the cause!

SDCF presents a free conversation with acclaimed Director Sean Mathias (No Man's Land, Waiting for Godot, Breakfast at Tiffany's) and Scenic Designer Derek McLane (Ragtime, 33 Variations, 2014 Academy Awards) in conversation aboutcraft and career. Listen firsthand as they explore the relationship between director and designer and discuss their approaches to projects, their creative processes, and the turning points of their careers. Tickets for this event are free. Please RSVP to Conversations@SDCweb.org to reserve tickets. Seating is limited.

Manhattan Theatre Club's world premiere of TALES FROM RED VIENNA, the new play by David Grimm, directed by Kate Whoriskey, opensTuesday, March 18 at MTC at New York City Center - Stage I (131 West 55th Street). This strictly limited engagement began previews on Wednesday, February 26. BroadwayWorld brings you a first look at the cast in action below!

On Monday, March 24, 2014, The Negro Ensemble Company, Inc. (Charles Weldon, Artistic Director; Karen Brown, Executive Director) and Signature Theatre (James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director) will unite in a day-long celebration of the life and works of Tony Award-nominated playwright Leslie Lee. Lee passed away in New York City on January 20, 2014.

For DIRECTOR'S CHOICE, the fourth program of Pacific Northwest Ballet's 2013-2014 season, Artistic Director Peter Boal selects from his roster of acquisitions and increases them by one: The captivating mixed-bill program will feature a much-anticipated world premiere by Alejandro Cerrudo, resident choreographer of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. The program also reprises audience favorites TAKE FIVE...More or Less, Broadway-darling Susan Stroman's sunny slice of jazz-infused Dave Brubeck fun; and Susan Marshall's distinctive aerial duet, Kiss. Rounding out the lineup is Molissa Fenley's State of Darkness, a tour-de-force solo performance set to Stravinsky's riot-inducing The Rite of Spring. DIRECTOR'S CHOICE runs for seven performances only, today, March 14 through 23 at Seattle Center's Marion Oliver McCaw Hall.

Ford's Theatre Society 2013-2014 season continues with the quirky Tony-winning musical comedy 'The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,' directed by Peter Flynn, today, March 14 through May 17, 2014, at Ford's Theatre (511 Tenth Street NW, Washington, D.C.).

This weekend, March 14-16, 2014, LOCAL Theater Company presents the third annual LOCAL Lab-- a new play festival at the state-of-the-art eTown Hall (1535 Spruce Street in Boulder) featuring professionally-staged readings of three new works, discussions led by Jill Rafson (Literary Manager of the renowned Roundabout Theatre Company in New York City- bio below), fun parties, pre-show music by DJ Savior Breath, and a master class with Rafson.

Once, winner of eight Tony Awards including Best Musical and winner of the 2013 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, makes its Minneapolis premiere at Hennepin Theatre Trust's Orpheum Theatre, April 1-6, 2014. Tickets for Once are on sale now. Once is presented by Hennepin Theatre Trust as part of its Broadway Season. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit HennepinTheatreTrust.org or call 1.800.982.2787.

Today, Red Bull Theater announced the cast for their Staged Concert Reading of Happy End, the musical by Bertolt Brecht & Kurt Weill, translated by Michael Feingold: Nancy Anderson, J. Bernard Calloway, Carson Elrod, Steven Eng, Tom Hewitt, Matthew Maher, Karen Mason, Martin Moran, Alexandra Silber, Price Waldman, Kristine Zbornik, Chip Zien, and more to be announced. Happy End will be directed by Leigh Silverman with music direction by James Cunningham and will take place Monday March 17th at 7:30pm at the Lucille Lortel Theater, 121 Christopher Street, between Bleecker and Hudson Streets.

Lynne Meadow (Artistic Director) and Barry Grove (Executive Producer) have announced three world premiere productions for Manhattan Theatre Club's upcoming 2014-2015 theatrical season.

York Little Theatre(YLT) will present the rock 'n' roll cult classic, Bat Boy: The Musical opening March 21. Based on the grocery store tabloid, Weekly World News, Bat Boy: The Musical is a B-movie themed musical comedy with an extraordinary score. The show is directed by Aaron Dalton with music direction by Nick Werner. Dalton was the director of the award winning CABARET that ran last March at YLT. CABARET won best musical in Central PA from BROADWAY WORLD.COM.

What happens when an elderly patient with dementia goes missing in a northern Idaho blizzard, leaving his wife and others behind to face the unknown? The story is Rest, a heartbreakingly funny and tender play commissioned by South Coast Repertory from Samuel D. Hunter. SCR Founding Artistic Director Martin Benson directs the world premiere of Rest, March 28-April 27, on the Segerstrom Stage. The show is a cornerstone production of SCR's Pacific Playwrights Festival. Tickets are available online: www.scr.org.

The gloves are off! One of the most highly anticipated new shows of the season, Gerard Alessandrini's FORBIDDEN BROADWAY COMES OUT SWINGING! begins previews Monday, March 17th at the newly refurbished Davenport Theatre (354 West 45th Street - between 8th and 9th Avenue). The show is set to open on Sunday, May 4th. This up-to-the-minute new edition will include Alessandrini's takes on Kinky Boots, Matilda, Rocky, Cabaret, The Bridges of Madison County, Aladdin, Pippin, the turntable-less Les Miz, Motown, The Sound of Music Live! and Bullets Over Broadway, among others. Check out photos of the cast in action below!

Atlantic Theater Company's highly anticipated revival of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill's musical The Threepenny Opera, directed and choreographed by Martha Clarke, begins previews tonight, March 12, 2014.

A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN (MOON), by Pulitzer Prize winner and Nobel Laureate Eugene O'Neill, continues Rubicon Theatre Company's 16th Season helmed by Artistic Associate Jenny Sullivan with company member Joseph Fuqua in the role of James Tyrone. (The production marks the 23rd collaboration for Sullivan and Fuqua, who have worked together at Rubicon on productions including Hamlet, You Can't Take It With You and Old Wicked Songs.) Other cast members are Rebekah Tripp, Granville Van Dusen, Scott Roberts and Matthew Grondin.