Maria Aitken News

Noel Coward's fast-talking comedy of manners Private Lives will close the Shakespeare Theatre Company's 2013-2014 Season. Directed by Maria Aitken (2009-2010 Season's As You Like It), Private Lives enjoyed wild success at the Huntington Theatre Company in 2012, being deemed 'a diamond-sharp production' (The Boston Globe) and will find a home at the Lansburgh Theatre from May 29-July 13, 2014 (450 7th Street NW).

Guthrie Director Joe Dowling today announced ten mainstage productions in his final season at the helm of the world renowned theater, culminating 20 years of remarkable leadership. The 2014-2015 lineup includes first-time Guthrie productions of plays by A.R. Gurney, Anne Washburn and Sarah Ruhl, three productions directed by Dowling, including a beloved Shakespeare comedy and iconic masterpieces by Arthur Miller and Sean O'Casey, the Guthrie debut of visionary writer and director Mary Zimmerman, as well as an all-American musical slated for summer.

Kate Burton, accomplished Chekhovian actress, plays onstage mother to her son Morgan Ritchie in the Huntington Theatre Company's production of THE SEAGULL, featuring an ensemble of local favorites and Broadway veterans. Director Maria Aitken leads a stellar team of designers to create magic at the BU Theatre.

The Acting Company will present a staged reading of Nude with Violin, Noel Coward's satire on modern art, criticism, pretension and the value placed on art at 7 pm on Monday, March 24 at the Signature Theatre (Alice Griffin Jewel Box), 480 West 42nd Street (9th-10th Avenues).

Real-life mother and son Tony and Emmy Award nominee Kate Burton (The Corn is Green, The Cherry Orchard, Hedda Gabler at the Huntington) and Morgan Ritchie (The Corn Is Green) play mother and son onstage together for the first time when they return to the Huntington Theatre Company for a lush new production of Anton Chekhov's passionate classic The Seagull. Huntington favorite Maria Aitken (The Cocktail Hour, Betrayal) will direct the Paul Schmidt translation of the classic of world drama about love, missed connections, and what it means to be an artist. Performances of The Seagull continue at the Avenue of the Arts / BU Theatre through April 6, 2014 at the BU Theatre. Check out a behind the scenes look below, and hear what audiences are saying about the show. Watch the videos below!

Real-life mother and son Tony and Emmy Award nominee Kate Burton (The Corn is Green, The Cherry Orchard, Hedda Gabler at the Huntington) and Morgan Ritchie (The Corn Is Green) play mother and son onstage together for the first time when they return to the Huntington Theatre Company for a lush new production of Anton Chekhov's passionate classic The Seagull. Huntington favorite Maria Aitken (The Cocktail Hour, Betrayal) will direct the Paul Schmidt translation of the classic of world drama about love, missed connections, and what it means to be an artist. Performances of The Seagull continue at the Avenue of the Arts / BU Theatre through April 6, 2014 at the BU Theatre; Opening Night is tomorrow, Wednesday, March 12. Check out a first look below!

In conjunction with its upcoming production of Anton Chekhov's passionate classic The Seagull, Huntington Theatre Company will host a number of special post-show conversations. Admission to onsite post-show events is free with a ticket to The Seagull, available at huntingtontheatre.org/seagull, by phone at 617 266 0800, or in person at the BU Theatre (264 Huntington Avenue) and Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA (527 Tremont Street) box offices. Tickets start at $25. Performances begin Today, March 7, 2014 at the Avenue of the Arts / BU Theatre.

Noel Coward fans will get a rare opportunity in March to witness one of his less-often-revived comedies from the 1950s, 'Nude With Violin,' performed twice in New York - in a fully staged Equity Showcase production by the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church's Theatre Fellowship, and in a one-night-only benefit Salon Reading by the Acting Company.

In conjunction with its upcoming production of Anton Chekhov's passionate classic The Seagull, Huntington Theatre Company will host a number of special post-show conversations. Admission to onsite post-show events is free with a ticket to The Seagull, available at huntingtontheatre.org/seagull, by phone at 617 266 0800, or in person at the BU Theatre (264 Huntington Avenue) and Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA (527 Tremont Street) box offices. Tickets start at $25. Performances begin Friday, March 7, 2014 at the Avenue of the Arts / BU Theatre.

Noel Coward fans will get a rare opportunity in March to witness one of his less-often-revived comedies from the 1950s, 'Nude With Violin,' performed twice in New York - in a fully staged Equity Showcase production by the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church's Theatre Fellowship, and in a one-night-only benefit Salon Reading by the Acting Company.

The Nominating Committee of the Independent Reviewers of New England has just announced nominees for the 2014 IRNE Awards. The Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) Awards, founded by Beverly Creasey of the Journal Newspapers and Larry Stark of TheaterMirror in 1997, recognize the extraordinary wealth of talent in the Boston theatre community.

Huntington Theatre Company has received 29 IRNE Award nominations from the Independent Reviewers of New England for its 2013 productions. The Committee recognized the Huntington with the following nominations:

Alley Theatre presents the world premiere of a new comedy by Theresa Rebeck, Fool. In Rebeck's new comedy, two kings get together and place a wager on their fools - a jester competition, and the funniest one gets to keep his head. Two evil minions have a lot to say about this, but not as much as the kitchen wench. And what's the queen been up to all night? A dramatical comical farcical tragical play about power, love and laughter, set in a medieval kitchen. Adult Language, Adult Situations, Beheadings.

Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd announces the cast and creative team for the world premiere of a new comedy by Theresa Rebeck, Fool. In Rebeck's new comedy, two kings get together and place a wager on their fools - a jester competition, and the funniest one gets to keep his head. Two evil minions have a lot to say about this, but not as much as the kitchen wench. And what's the queen been up to all night? A dramatical comical farcical tragical play about power, love and laughter, set in a medieval kitchen. Adult Language, Adult Situations, Beheadings.

Real-life mother and son Tony and Emmy Award nominee Kate Burton (The Corn is Green, The Cherry Orchard, Hedda Gabler at the Huntington) and Morgan Ritchie (The Corn is Green) will play mother and son onstage together for the first time when they return to the Huntington Theatre Company for a lush new production of Anton Chekhov's passionate classic The Seagull. Huntington favorite Maria Aitken (The Cocktail Hour, Betrayal) will direct the Paul Schmidt translation of the classic of world drama about love, missed connections, and what it means to be an artist. Performances of The Seagull begin at the Avenue of the Arts / BU Theatre on March 7, 2014.

Huntington Theatre Company favorite and frequent director Maria Aitken (The Cocktail Hour, Betrayal, Private Lives, Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps) will return to the Huntington this spring to direct Tony Award nominee and television star Kate Burton in Anton Chekhov's passionate classic, The Seagull. Aitken replaces Nicholas Martin who was previously slated to direct the production but has withdrawn for personal reasons.

Tony and Olivier Award-winning director Maria Aitken once again brings her deft touch to Boston's Huntington Theatre Company with a taut and tangy production of THE COCKTAIL HOUR, A.R. Gurney's quasi-autobiographical expose of the bitter truths lurking beneath one well-bred WASP family's carefully polished veneer.

The Huntington Theatre Company announces the following special events in conjunction with its production of A.R. Gurney's The Cocktail Hour (now - December 15, 2013 at the Avenue of the Arts / BU Theatre):

A host of favorite Huntington Theatre Company artists return for a new stagging of A.R. Gurney's American comedy of manners The Cocktail Hour. Maria Aitken (Betrayal, Private Lives, and Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps at the Huntington) directs the company that features James Waterston (Private Lives and Ah, Wilderness!) as John, the young playwright that reveals to his familuy members that they are the subject of his newest play. Richard Poe (The Taming of the Shrew) plays his father Bradley, Tony Award nominee and renowned Gurney interpreter Maureen Anderman (Becky Shaw and Third) plays John's mother, Ann; and Pamela J. Gray (Present Laughter and Butley) plays Nina, John's sister. Check out a behind the scenes look below!

A host of favorite Huntington Theatre Company artists return for a new stagging of A.R. Gurney's American comedy of manners The Cocktail Hour. Maria Aitken (Betrayal, Private Lives, and Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps at the Huntington) directs the company that features James Waterston (Private Lives and Ah, Wilderness!) as John, the young playwright that reveals to his familuy members that they are the subject of his newest play. Richard Poe (The Taming of the Shrew) plays his father Bradley, Tony Award nominee and renowned Gurney interpreter Maureen Anderman (Becky Shaw and Third) plays John's mother, Ann; and Pamela J. Gray (Present Laughter and Butley) plays Nina, John's sister. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!