Mary Martello News

Wanda Sykes will be dealing with a little red-haired orphan a week longer than originally planned.

Wanda Sykes will be dealing with a little red-haired orphan a week longer than originally planned. Her performance as Miss Hannigan in The Media Theatre's 'Annie' is so popular the show has been extended one week and will now close on January 23. (Sykes is currently on hiatus from the production, but returns Jan. 12. Popular Philly actress Mary Martello takes on the iconic Hannigan now through Jan. 9)

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) congratulates A.C.T. core acting company member René Augesen on her selection as a 2011 Lunt-Fontanne Fellow by the Ten Chimneys Foundation.

On December 6, 2010 (on what would have been Lynn Fontanne's 123rd birthday), Ten Chimneys Foundation announced that ten of the top stage actors in America have been selected as the 2011 Lunt-Fontanne Fellows. These ten distinguished actors (see list below) were nominated by the nation's premier regional theatres to participate in the Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program, a widely acclaimed national program to serve the future of American theatre. Next summer (July 24-31, 2011), the newly selected Lunt-Fontanne Fellows will join Academy Award-winning actress Olympia Dukakis for an intensive weeklong master class and immersion experience at Ten Chimneys, the National Historic Landmark estate of Broadway legends Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, in Genesee Depot, Wisconsin (just outside of Milwaukee).

America's iconic musical 'Annie' comes to The Media Theatre November 23, 2010-January 16, 2011. The Broadway hit is 'one of those rare, sacred properties in the musical theater' according to The Chicago Tribune. With seven Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Score (Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin), and Best Book of a Musical (Thomas Meehan), 'Annie' ran for six years and set box office records. It's most popular songs, 'Tomorrow' and 'Hard Knock Life', became cultural milestones and are still popular 30 years later.

The Threepenny Opera ran at the Arden Theatre Company from September 30-November 7. Threepenny features a book by Bertol Brecht and music by Krut Weill - you've probably heard 'Mack the Knife' as it became a popular standard for crooners. Though the show is certainly a predecessor of the musical theater genre we know today, it is more a play with a variety of musical numbers.

Arden Theatre Company continues its 2010/11 season with The Threepenny Opera, Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht's 1920's musical that paved the way for dark and bawdy works like Cabaret and Sweeney Todd.

America's iconic musical 'Annie' comes to The Media Theatre November 23, 2010-January 16, 2011. The Broadway hit is 'one of those rare, sacred properties in the musical theater' according to The Chicago Tribune. With seven Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Score (Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin), and Best Book of a Musical (Thomas Meehan), 'Annie' ran for six years and set box office records. It's most popular songs, 'Tomorrow' and 'Hard Knock Life', became cultural milestones and are still popular 30 years later.

Arden Theatre Company continues its 2010/11 season with Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht's The Threepenny Opera. The Arden's version of The Threepenny Opera was originally performed at London's Donmar Warehouse, which has a recent track-record of successful transfers to U.S. stages including Red and Frost/Nixon. 'These newly translated lyrics are the most true to Brecht's original version, highlighting the imagery and poetry of the songs,' says Terrence J. Nolen, the Arden's producing artistic director who will helm The Threepenny Opera. 'While the lyrics engage the audience, asking them to think, the score is certainly one of the most beautiful and complex in 20th century musical theatre.'

Arden Theatre Company continues its 2010/11 season with The Threepenny Opera, Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht's 1920's musical that paved the way for dark and bawdy works like Cabaret and Sweeney Todd.

Tonight, October 4, 2010, the following people were honored with Barrymore Awards at the 16th Annual Barrymore Awards Ceremony at the Walnut Street Theatre.

Arden Theatre Company continues its 2010/11 season with The Threepenny Opera, Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht's 1920's musical that paved the way for dark and bawdy works like Cabaret and Sweeney Todd.

Arden Theatre Company continues its 2010/11 season with The Threepenny Opera, Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht's 1920's musical that paved the way for dark and bawdy works like Cabaret and Sweeney Todd.

The 2010 Barrymore nominees have been announced! Created in 1994, The Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre are the Greater Philadelphia region's only comprehensive theatre awards program, recognizing artists for excellence and innovation while serving to increase awareness of the richness of the local theatre community. The Barrymore Awards are a nationally recognized symbol of excellence for theatre in this region, raising the bar for the work produced by local theatres and individual artists, and generating significant coverage in all the local newspapers and in national trade publications.Each year, over 120 shows produced by the region's professional theatres are reviewed by the Barrymore Voters. At the annual awards presentation each Fall, the Barrymore Awards are presented to honor the community's collective achievement. For more information, please visit http://www.theatrealliance.org/barrymore-awards.

The Walnut Street Theatre concludes its landmark 201st season with its long-awaited new staging of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. Filled with a powerful and heartwarming score including 'Tradition;' 'Matchmaker, Matchmaker;' 'If I Were A Rich Man' and 'Sunrise, Sunset;' FIDDLER ON THE ROOF is a timeless classic.

Fiddler on the Roof is one of those shows that almost everyone has experienced as some point in their lives - be it the film or a production locally, in NYC or on the high school level. It is for this reason that I feel no need to summarize its plot. It is a great challenge to make such a classic show fresh. With the Walnut's current production, Bruce Lumpkin manages to do just that - balancing presenting the well-known, beloved material with thoughtful directorial choices.

The Walnut Street Theatre concludes its landmark 201st season with its long-awaited new staging of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. Filled with a powerful and heartwarming score including 'Tradition;' 'Matchmaker, Matchmaker;' 'If I Were A Rich Man' and 'Sunrise, Sunset;' FIDDLER ON THE ROOF is a timeless classic. Helmed by Barrymore Award-Winning Director Bruce Lumpkin and featuring Walnut vets Mark Jacoby and Mary Martello, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF opened on May 26 and runs through July 18 on the WST Mainstage.

The Walnut Street Theatre concludes its landmark 201st season with its long-awaited new staging of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. Filled with a powerful and heartwarming score including 'Tradition;' 'Matchmaker, Matchmaker;' 'If I Were A Rich Man' and 'Sunrise, Sunset;' FIDDLER ON THE ROOF is a timeless classic.

The Walnut Street Theatre concludes its landmark 201st season with its long-awaited new staging of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. Filled with a powerful and heartwarming score including 'Tradition;' 'Matchmaker, Matchmaker;' 'If I Were A Rich Man' and 'Sunrise, Sunset;' FIDDLER ON THE ROOF is a timeless classic.

The Walnut Street Theatre is pleased to announce that it will celebrate multiple honorees this year with the 2010 Edwin Forrest Award at its landmark 201st Anniversary Gala. This year's Gala marks an exciting change in programming from previous years, introducing the inaugural Gala Concert.