Molly Smith News

The Telly Awards announced the 2014 Award winners yesterday, naming the television spot for the new dark comedy THE VELOCITY OF AUTUMN produced by AKA NYC the recipient of the 2014 Telly Award for Excellent Use of Humor (Local TV and Local Cable). "The Telly Awards has a mission to honor the very best in film and video," said Linda Day, Executive Director of the Telly Awards. "AKA NYC's accomplishment illustrates their creativity, skill, and dedication to their craft and serves as a testament to great film and video production."

A limited number of Opening Night tickets are now on sale for THE VELOCITY OF AUTUMN starring Academy Award winner Estelle Parsons (Bonnie and Clyde, "Roseanne") and two-time Tony Award winner Stephen Spinella (Angels in America, Lincoln, "24") at Broadway's Booth Theatre. The new 90-minute powder keg dark comedy by Eric Coble and directed by Molly Smith began performances on Tuesday, April 1, 2014 and officially opens on Monday, April 21, 2014 for a limited engagement, following a sold-out, critically acclaimed run at Washington DC's Arena Stage (Edgar Dobie, Executive Producer) in the fall of 2013.

Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC), under the leadership of Vivienne Benesch Artistic Director and Sarah Clare Corporandy Managing Director, has announced programming for its 2014 season featuring Lorraine Hansberry's classic A Raisin in the Sun, directed by Ethan McSweeny (June 28-July 6), The May Queen, a world premiere by Molly Smith Metzler (July 18-27), directed by Vivienne Benesch, and Shakespeare's The Tempest (August 8-15), starring Lisa Harrow, directed by Jade King Carroll on the Bratton Theater Mainstage.

Whether you've been living under a rock for the past week or you're just in the mood for a recap, BroadwayWorld's 'This Week in Pictures' is here to satisfy your end-of-the-week fix! Take a look below to catch up on the latest happenings from the Great White Way to The West End (and everywhere in between) with coverage of press events, rehearsals, opening nights and more. Highlights this week include a peek inside the closing night party for Encores! THE MOST HAPPY FELLA!, a look at the IF/THEN and ALADDIN casts in the recording studio, and a first look at A.R.T.'s THE TEMPEST!

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announced today it is seeking proposals from playwrights, ensembles and theater companies interested in participating in the 2014/15 Kogod Cradle Series as part of the American Voices New Play Institute. The Kogod Cradle Series supports the exploration and development of new and emerging work in the theater's intimate 200-seat Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle. The application is available at http://arenastage.org/artistic-development/work-with-us/. Proposals are due May 16, 2014 for consideration in the 2014-15 season.

Now in previews, THE VELOCITY OF AUTUMN is a 90-minute powder keg dark comedy by Eric Coble that stars Academy Award winner Estelle Parsons (Bonnie and Clyde, "Roseanne") and two-time Tony Award winner Stephen Spinella (Angels in America, Lincoln, "24"), is directed by Molly Smith and will open Monday, April 21, 2014. After every preview performance of the new critically acclaimed American play THE VELOCITY OF AUTUMN audience members will be invited to stay for a complimentary post-show "Inside Velocity" talkback, featuring different members of the cast and creative team. This limited Broadway engagement of THE VELOCITY OF AUTUMN follows a sold-out, critically acclaimed run at Washington DC's Arena Stage (Edgar Dobie, Executive Producer) in the fall of 2013. Check out a first look at Parsons and Spinella in action below!

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater presents the world-premiere historical drama Camp David, penned by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Lawrence Wright and directed by Artistic Director Molly Smith. Based on true events surrounding the 1978 Camp David Accords, the play follows the 13-day meeting between President Jimmy Carter, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat as they attempted to create the impossible: peace in the Middle East. Camp David runs now through May 4, 2014 in the Kreeger Theater. Below, BroadwayWorld has photos from the opening night festivities, featuring the real President Jimmy Carter and more!

BAY STREET THEATRE NEW WORKS FESTIVAL will take place on April 25-27 at the Bay Street Theatre on the Long Wharf in Sag Harbor, NY. The Festival is produced in Association with SPACE on Ryder Farm. The media sponsor for the festival is Dan's Papers Literary Prize Contest.

Admittedly, I am a sucker for new plays, but when they're as ambitious as this one, I get even more excited. This one is one to be excited about.

Actor Sharif Atkins ('White Collar,' 'Hawaii,' 'ER') will star as Clay in the co-production of 'Dutchman' by LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka) by Dr. Barbara Ann Teer's National Black Theatre (NBT) and The Classical Theatre of Harlem (CTH). The two theater companies are mounting the production 50 years after the March 1964 world premiere of the play at the Cherry Lane Theatre and in tribute to the late theater great Baraka, who died on January 9. Ambien Mitchell stars opposite Atkins as Lula and Lorenzo Scott joins the cast as the Conductor. Previews of the Carl Cofield-directed show begin on April 30 and run through May 2, and performances run from May 3 through May 23 at National Black Theatre in Harlem.

Cherry Lane Theatre's award-winning MENTOR PROJECT for emerging playwrights concludes its 16th season with Lina Patel's new play RAGGED CLAWS, running at the Cherry Lane Theatre (38 Commerce St. in Greenwich Village) from today, April 2 to 12. Jedadiah Schultz directs RAGGED CLAWS, and the Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang serves as Ms. Patel's Mentor Playwright.

Following the successful, award-winning 2013 co-production of Detroit '67 written by Dominique Morisseau, Dr. Barbara Ann Teer's National Black Theatre (NBT) and The Classical Theatre of Harlem (CTH) officially announce their second co-production. The famed Harlem arts institutions will produce the 50th Anniversary revival of 'Dutchman' by LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka) from April 30 to May 23, 2014. Carl Cofield will direct the revival.

After every preview performance of the new critically acclaimed American play The Velocity of Autumn, from tonight, April 1, through Sunday, April 20, audience members will be invited to stay for a complimentary post-show 'Inside Velocity' talkback, featuring different members of the cast and creative team, at the Booth Theatre (222 West 45 Street).

Only on Broadway it is normal to spot Walter White and Harry Potter within blocks of each other. That's right, this season's stunning slate of plays has brought with it a slew of stars from Bryan Cranston to Daniel Radcliffe, Audra McDonald to James Franco, Tyne Daly to Denzel Washington. In just weeks, a whole new group of productions will have officially opened- adding ten new plays to the Broadway roster. Ranging form literary classics to brand new works, this spring's new plays include: A Raisin in the Sun, Act One, All the Way, Casa Valentina, The Cripple of Inishmaan, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, Mothers and Sons, Of Mice and Men, The Realistic Joneses, and The Velocity of Autumn. Below, BroadwayWorld profiles all of the new plays from the 2014 season!

Producers Larry Kaye & HOP Theatricals and Van Dean & The Broadway Consortium announced today a general rush ticket policy for Eric Coble's new critically acclaimed American play The Velocity of Autumn, starring Academy Award winner Estelle Parsons and two-time Tony Award winner Stephen Spinella and directed by Molly Smith. A limited number of $29 rush tickets (inclusive of $2 facility fee) will be available for each performance when the Booth Theatre box office (222 West 45 Street) opens for that day's performance(s). Patrons are limited to two tickets per person.

In Washington, it is not unusual to see Marine One fly the first family to the presidential retreat - Naval Support Facility Thurmont, more commonly known as Camp David. A trip to the wooded retreat located 62 miles north of the nation's capital in Thurmont, Maryland, is usually intended to be a relaxing weekend for the nation's chief executive. However, 36 years ago it became the crux of American foreign policy in the Middle East and home to a summit that was anything but tranquil. After five wars in less than three decades, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin were brought together by President Jimmy Carter to broker peace between the two nations. The resulting Camp David Accords would be a highpoint of American foreign policy in the twentieth century. The story behind the Accords is the focus of Arena's Stage's world premiere production of Camp David.

Smokey Joe's Cafe-The Songs of Leiber and Stoller transports audiences to the golden age of rock, rhythm and blues this spring at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Director Randy Johnson returns to Arena Stage following the success of A Night with Janis Joplin (which enjoyed two runs at Arena Stage followed by a subsequent run on Broadway) to helm this Grammy Award-winning tribute to legendary songwriting duo Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, which originally opened on Broadway in 1995 and became the longest running musical revue, topping 2,000 performances. Bursting with hit tunes including 'Hound Dog,' 'Jailhouse Rock,' 'Stand by Me,' 'Love Potion #9' and 'On Broadway,' Smokey Joe's Cafe showcases choreography by Parker Esse (Arena Stage's The Music Man, Oklahoma!) and music direction by Victor Simonson (Center Stage's A Civil War Christmas, Arena Stage's 3 Mo' Divas) and runs April 25-June 8, 2014 in the Fichandler Stage. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the cast in rehearsal below!

Estelle Parsons appeared on the TODAY show yesterday to chat with Kathie Lee and Hoda about her return to Broadway beginning next Tuesday, April 1, in THE VELOCITY OF AUTUMN. Check out the interview below!

Cherry Lane Theatre's award-winning MENTOR PROJECT for emerging playwrights concludes its 16th season with Lina Patel's new play RAGGED CLAWS, running at the Cherry Lane Theatre (38 Commerce St. in Greenwich Village) from April 2 to 12. Jedadiah Schultz directs RAGGED CLAWS, and the Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang serves as Ms. Patel's Mentor Playwright.

Estelle Parsons, the Academy Award-winning star of the new Broadway play The Velocity of Autumn, will be interviewed live on NBC's 'Today' by Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb during the show's 10am hour (EST), today, March 25, 2014.