Matthew MacNelly News

La Jolla Playhouse presents the Oregon Shakespeare Festival production of Cambodian Rock Band, by UC San Diego MFA Playwriting alumna Lauren Yee, directed by Chay Yew, featuring music by Dengue Fever. A co-production with Portland Center Stage at The Armory, Cambodian Rock Band will run November 12 - December 15 in the Playhouse's Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre.

The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle (LADCC), which presented its first awards for excellence in Los Angeles, Orange County, and Ventura County a half-century ago, has begun the gala celebration of its 50th anniversary by announcing its nominations for the year 2018 (Dec. 1, 2017 - Nov. 30, 2018).

The tragic events surrounding the rise of the Khmer Rouge regime in mid-70's Cambodia serves as the overarching backdrop that links the past and the (near) present in Lauren Yee's stunning new play CAMBODIAN ROCK BAND---which continues its World Premiere production at Orange County's Tony Award-winning regional theatre South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa through March 25, 2018. Commissioned by SCR as part of its CrossRoads Initiative, this powerful and searing new drama---sprinkled with welcome bits of comedy and, yes, rock concert music interludes---had its initial staged reading at last year's Pacific Playwright's Festival and is now an absorbing, full-fledged production under the admirable direction of Chay Yew.

Part comedy, part mystery and part rock concert, playwright Lauren Yee's Cambodian Rock Band explores an overlooked chapter of history-1970s Cambodia with its vibrant surf-rock music scene and then under the Khmer Rouge regime. The play features songs by the Long Beach-based band Dengue Fever. The world premiere of this South Coast Repertory commission is directed by Chay Yew on the Julianne Argyros Stage, March 4-25. Tickets are available at www.scr.org.

'Woyzeck' has evolved beyond original playwright Buchner's vision. It's an evocative production that emphasizes the importance of dignity as a defining aspect of humanity-and the price paid when that humanity is stripped.

Shrunken Shakespeare Company presents the world premiere of What We Know: An American Retelling of Chekhov's Three Sisters through December 20, 2014 at Access Theater's Gallery (380 Broadway at White Street). Matthew MacNelly directs. Check out an inside look at opening night below!

Shrunken Shakespeare Company will present the world premiere of What We Know: An American Retelling of Chekhov's Three Sisters today, December 4 through 20, 2014 at Access Theater's Gallery (380 Broadway at White Street). Matthew MacNelly directs.

Shrunken Shakespeare Company will present the world premiere of What We Know: An American Retelling of Chekhov's Three Sisters December 4 through 20, 2014 at Access Theater's Gallery (380 Broadway at White Street). Matthew MacNelly directs.