Lucille Lortel News

The University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance brings Broadway talent to Austin with the new musical, A Little Midsummer Night's Dream, for a free staged reading on June 27 at the B. Iden Payne Theatre.

The Vineyard Theatre, Douglas Aibel, Artistic Director, and Sarah Stern, Co-Artistic Director, has just announced the third production of their 2013-2014 season and casting of the world premiere musical THE LANDING.

The Public Theater (Artistic Director, Oskar Eustis; Executive Director, Patrick Willingham) and the Aspen Institute Arts Program (Director, Damian Woetzel) announced today that Christine Baranski, Gloria Reuben and Matt Damon will join the free Public Forum, WHAT ARE WE WORTH? SHAKESPEARE, MONEY, AND MORALS, on Monday, June 17 at 8:00 p.m. at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park.

Over 300 guests including current and past New York City high school students, and the performing arts professional mentors who have participated in TDF's Open Doors, the theatre arts mentoring program that TDF founded in 1998 with playwright Wendy Wasserstein, will attend this year's graduation at 5:30pm tonight, June 3 at The Pershing Square Signature Center - Irene Diamond Stage (480 West 42nd Street, NYC).

No doubt you've seen Tonya Pinkins perform, somewhere or other. Whether it was in a film, live onstage, or on the small screen (soaps, primetime shows), it's safe to say she's crossed your field of vision through at least one medium. You might call her a triple threat: good actor, good singer, good stand-up comedian. And tonight, June 3 her full repertoire will be on display in UNPLUGGED a performance at Joe's Pub.

MCC Theater has announced the line-up for their Spring 2013 PlayLab readings of new plays by three members of the company's Playwrights' Coalition: Adam Szymkowicz, Ed Napier, and Ashlin Halfnight to be held respectively at 7PM tonight, June 3, June 10 and June 23, 2013 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher Street). The series offers a rare look into the development process of new plays by some of New York's most exciting playwrights. Audience members will also be invited to meet and greet the artists at receptions directly following the readings.

Culture Project will rename their mainstage theatre, currently known as 45 Bleecker Street, the Lynn Redgrave Theatre this June. The announcement was made onstage by Mr. Buchman during the opening night curtain call for Culture Project's current production of Shaheed: The Dream and Death of Benazir Bhutto. A naming ceremony and commemorative gala in honor of the late Ms. Redgrave will take place today, June 3, 2013 at Stage 48 (605 West 48th Street, New York City). Honorary Chairs for the evening are Vanessa Redgrave, Liam Neeson, and Ms. Redgrave's three children Annabel Clark, Ben Clark, and Pema Clark.

Mike Birbiglia's My Girlfriend's Boyfriend, (www.GirlfriendsBoyfriend.com) written by and starring Mike Birbiglia, will have its final performance at the famed Carnegie Hall tonight, June 2.

The 5th Avenue Theatre has announced complete casting for Hairspray in Concert, featuring some of Seattle's favorite musical theatre stars and the powerful voices of the 250-member Seattle Men's Chorus. Celebrating the 10th anniversary of Hairspray's 2002 Broadway debut, this unique concert event will play for six very special performances of glorious and irreverent John Waters-inspired wackiness (Friday-Sunday, June 20-23). In 2002, Hairspray was The 5th Avenue Theatre's first world premiere musical to head for Broadway where it won the 2003 Tony Award for Best Musical and launched The 5th's unprecedented track record for sending new works to New York. Now the smash hit musical comes home, as audiences have never seen it before.

Girl Be Heard (www.girlbeheard.org) premieres 9mm America, starting tonight, June 1 at the Robert Moss Theatre.

Petruchio and Katherine backstage. Romeo and Juliet on a fire escape. From Kiss Me, Kate to West Side Story, Shakespeare has left his mark on the American Songbook. Tony Award-nominated director Mark Lamos (Cymbeline, Seascape) makes his Lyrics & Lyricists debut revealing the ties between Stratford-on-Avon and Shubert Alley in the 2013 season closer, Brush UpYour Shakespeare: The Bard and the Broadway Musical, tonight, June 1 and June 2 & 3.

Classic Stage Company, under the leadership of Artistic Director Brian Kulick and Executive Director Greg Reiner, presents Bertolt Brecht's THE CAUCASIAN CHALK CIRCLE featuring Christopher Lloyd (Azdak), directed by Brian Kulick (who directed Brecht's Galileo last season), and featuring new music by Tony Award-winning singer/songwriter Duncan Sheik (Spring Awakening). The show was recently extended for two additional weeks through Sunday, June 23. The official opening is tonight, May 30.?

Over 300 guests including current and past New York City high school students, and the performing arts professional mentors who have participated in TDF's Open Doors, the theatre arts mentoring program that TDF founded in 1998 with playwright Wendy Wasserstein, will attend this year's graduation at 5:30pm on Monday, June 3 at The Pershing Square Signature Center - Irene Diamond Stage (480 West 42nd Street, NYC).

Debra Jo Rupp stars in Becoming Dr. Ruth at TheaterWorks in Downtown Hartford. The comedy will run tonight, May 31 through July 7, 2013.

Dallas Theater Center announced the complete cast and creative team for the world premiere of Fly, a new musical based on J.M. Barrie's novel, Peter Pan. Three-time Tony Award-winning producer Jeffrey Seller (Rent, Avenue Q, In the Heights) makes his directorial debut with this production.

BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge was thrilled to sit down and speak with nearly all of this year's Tony Award nominees at the official Tonys Meet & Greet on May 1, 2013, and we will be bringing you special coverage on all of them throughout the awards season. Today we bring you Nathan Lane, a nominee for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for The Nance. Check out what he had to say below!