McCarter Theatre News

The famed Princeton Triangle Club, now in its 123rd year, returns to McCarter Theatre for Reunions Weekend with two performances: Friday, May 30 at 8:00 pm and Saturday, May 31 at 7:00 pm.

The Old Globe presents Christopher Durang's Tony Award-winning farce Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, which will include Candy Buckley as Masha, Marcia DeBonis as Sonia, Tyler Lansing Weaks as Spike, Allison Layman as Nina, Martin Moran as Vanya, and Haneefah Wood as Cassandra. Jessica Stone will direct, based on the Tony-nominated Broadway direction of Old Globe Associate Artist Nicholas Martin, whose loss on April 30 devastated the theatre world*. Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike will run today, May 17 - June 22, 2014 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Preview performances run tonight, May 17 through the 21st. Opening night is May 22 at 8:00 p.m.

Building on Slant Theatre Project's success with last season's The Steadfast, the company has announced the full cast for The Cloud, a world premiere mistaken-identity comedy written by playwright/comedian Matt Moses. Wes Grantom (Eager to Lose, The Steadfast) directs a cast of four including Teddy Bergman* (B'way: Peter and the Starcatcher, Off-B'way: Sex Lives of Our Parents), Mikaela Feely-Lehmann* (B'way: Cyrano de Bergerac), Ryan King* (Now Or Later at Huntington Theatre, The Intelligent Design Of Jenny Chow at the Atlantic Theater Company), and Polly Lee* (Marie Antoinette at Yale Rep, Wasps at Studio 42). *Member, Actors' Equity Association. AEA Showcase.

John Schreiber, NJPAC's President and CEO, and David Rodriguez, Executive Producer of the Arts Center, announced today a 2014-15 season packed with new, NJPAC- created, season-long series', collaborations with renowned artists and companies, an expansion of diverse programming, further integration of NJPAC's arts education programs within mainstage performances, and a continuation of the Arts Center's 17-year tradition of presenting world-class artists. With over 100 performances and special events announced for the acoustically superb 2,800- seat Prudential Hall, intimate 514-seat Victoria Theater, 250-seat Chase Room, and outdoors in Theater Square, by artists ranging from Patti LaBelle to The Metropolitan Opera Rising Stars; from Chris Botti to Potted Potter: The Unauthorized Harry Experience; from Golda's Balcony with Tovah Feldshuh to the Brick City Jazz Orchestra; from Bela Fleck to Lula Washington Dance Theatre; from Beres Hammond to Audra McDonald; and from The Second City to Dinosaur Train Live!, NJPAC's new season has something for everyone.

Playwrights Theatre is pleased to announce the winners of the 31st Annual New Jersey Young Playwrights Contest. From the 470 plays submitted by young writers throughout the state, a panel of theatre professionals has selected four High School plays, three Junior High School plays and four Elementary Schools plays. In each category, selection was blind; plays were selected without knowledge of playwrights' schools, grade or background. The 31st Annual New Jersey Young Playwrights Contest Festival will be held on June 2 and 3, 2014, as part of a partnership between Playwrights Theatre and Premiere Stages at Kean University. Select plays from this festival may be reprised at Playwrights Theatre's nationally-recognized Forum Reading Series in December 2014. This reading series brings together writers from all over the United States.

The Public Theater will begin performances for Public Studio's two inaugural plays, THE URBAN RETREAT by A. Zell Williams, and MANAHATTA, by Mary Kathryn Nagle, tonight, May 15. The two plays will be presented as pared-down productions and run in repertory through Sunday, May 25 in The Public's Shiva Theater.

Playwrights Theatre's will present a free reading at the Chase Room of the Madison Public Library, 39 Keep Street, Madison, NJ tonight, May 15, 2014 beginning at 7:00pm. Penny Harter will be reading excerpts of new poetry book THE RESONANCE AROUND US.

The Public Theater will begin performances for Public Studio's two inaugural plays, THE URBAN RETREAT by A. Zell Williams, and MANAHATTA, by Mary Kathryn Nagle, on Thursday, May 15. The two plays will be presented as pared-down productions and run in repertory through Sunday, May 25 in The Public's Shiva Theater.

The Old Globe today announced the cast of Christopher Durang's Tony Award-winning farce Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, which will include Candy Buckley as Masha, Marcia DeBonis as Sonia, Tyler Lansing Weaks as Spike, Allison Layman as Nina, Martin Moran as Vanya, and Haneefah Wood as Cassandra.

Christopher Durang won the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play with this hilarious comedy.

Playwrights Theatre's will present a free reading at the Chase Room of the Madison Public Library, 39 Keep Street, Madison, NJ on May 15, 2014 beginning at 7:00pm. Penny Harter will be reading excerpts of new poetry book THE RESONANCE AROUND US.

People's Light is proud to announce new play commissions for Eisa Davis, Colman Domingo, Kate Fodor, Karen Hartman, Dominique Morisseau, and Kathryn Petersen. These six playwrights are the first participants in our New Play Frontiers residency program. New Play Frontiers is an initiative to conceive, develop, and produce new plays that explore our American identity through stories of deep meaning to specific populations in the five-county region that surround our theatre.

Stark Naked Theatre Company concludes its third season with a compelling production of one of William Shakespeare's most fascinating plays, The Winter's Tale. Directed by acclaimed Houston actor/director Philip Lehl, The Winter's Tale opens tonight, May 2nd and runs through May 16th at STUDIO 101.

Victory Gardens Theater continues its 2013-2014 season with Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman, directed by Artistic Director Chay Yew. Death and the Maiden runs June 13 - July 13, 2014, with the press performance on June 20, 2014, at Victory Gardens Theatre, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue. Tickets to Death and the Maiden go on sale to the public at noon on May 2, 2014.

Cape May Stage presents the New Jersey premiere of The Mountaintop, Katori Hall's fantastical take on the last night of Martin Luther King Jr.'s life. In this winner of the Olivier Award for Best New Play, Hall daringly tackles the challenge of depicting a legend with a lasting legacy and showing him for what he truly was - a mere man. It is a powerfully vulnerable portrait of King; he is stripped down and exposed in all his flaws, more human than ever.

Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd announces the cast and creative team for recent Tony Award-winning comedy Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. Appearing in titles roles are Resident Actor Jeffrey Bean as Vanya, Sharon Lockwood returning to the Alley as Sonia, Alley Artist Josie de Guzman returning as Masha, and Resident Actor Jay Sullivan as Spike. Rounding out the cast and making their Alley debuts are Rachael Holmes as Cassandra and Sarah Nealis as Nina. Jonathan Moscone, Artistic Director of California Shakespeare Theater, helms the production and returns after having directed the Alley's 2011 production of Amadeus.

The Laguna Playhouse Executive and Artistic Directors, Karen Wood and Ann E. Wareham are thrilled to present screen legend Leslie Caron, in her first Southern California theatrical performance in over 25 years! SIX DANCE LESSONS IN SIX WEEKS, written by Richard Alfieri, with choreography by Donna McKechnie (A Chorus Line) and directed by Michael Arabian (Waiting for Godot). SIX DANCE LESSONS IN SIX WEEKS will also feature 6-time Ovation Award-winning actor David Engel. 'What an honor to have on our stage the incomparable Leslie Caron and the multi-talented David Engel,' remarks Wood. 'It's a dream cast and a dream come true. With Michael Arabian and Donna McKechnie directing and choreographing, this has to be one of the most anticipated productions in the Playhouse's storied history,' adds Wareham. SIX DANCE LESSONS IN SIX WEEKS will begin previews tonight, April 26 and will open on Saturday, May 3 at 7:30pm and run through Sunday, June 8, 2014 at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach.

Huntington Theatre Company concludes its 2013-2014 Season with Smart People, a sharp and provocative new comedy by Huntington Playwriting Fellow Lydia R. Diamond. Huntington Artistic Director Peter DuBois (The Power of Duff) helms the newest play from the author of the Huntington's 2010 hit production of Stick Fly. Performances of Smart People begin at the South End / Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA on May 23. Due to popular demand, the run has been extended to Sunday, June 29, 2014.

The 2013-2014 season at Cleveland Play House (CPH) continues with the compelling world premiere production of Deborah Zoe Laufer's Informed Consent. Co-produced with Geva Theatre Center, this incredibly thought-provoking production is inspired by the real life court case between the Havasupai Indian tribe and Arizona State University, and sparks an intriguing debate on both ethicality and morality. Directed by Sean Daniels and Sponsored by Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland Clinic and MetroHealth, Informed Consent will serve as the centerpiece to CPH's 2014 New Ground Theatre Festival and will run from today, April 23 - May 18 in the Second Stage.