Molly Smith News

'Artaud Artaud' is a 'cruel not-masterpiece in one act' written by Matthew Minnicino, directed by Jake Beckhard and perfomed by Artilliers performing company. The play is a comitragic carnival that centers around the godfather of the avant-garde theater, Antonin Artaud. It is a merciless parody of the sensibilities of Artaud's manifesto 'Theatre of Cruelty' and a sympathetic, semi-obsessive portrait of its greatest proponent and his somewhat dual nature. It is a faithful biopic written into a biting satire, yet is at its heart an homage to the messiness of creativity. 'Artaud Artaud' will have its world premiere September 1-15 presented by Theater for the New City's 2015 Dream Up Festival.

Molly Smith directs her 30th production as Artistic Director of Arena Stage with a gritty and relevant take on the Tony Award-winning musical Oliver!, blending the chaotic worlds of 19th-century Victorian London with 2015 London. Smith's new in-the-round staging infuses a modern edge to the classic musical about an innocent orphan thrown into the dark world of double-dealing thieves and conmen, highlighting the disparity between classes and dangerous life on London's streets today. Featuring a remarkable score including 'You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two,' 'Consider Yourself,' 'Where is Love?' and 'Food, Glorious Food,' Oliver! runs October 30, 2015-January 3, 2016 in the Fichandler Stage at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater.

Tony Award-winning playwright Lisa Kron will be a featured guest and participant at the launch party of the Women's Voices Theater Festival on September 8 at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. The invitation-only event kicks off the beginning of the Festival, an unprecedented collaboration among professional theater companies that includes the presentation of more than 50 world-premiere productions of work by female playwrights, taking place this September and October in the nation's capital region. The launch party features a creative conversation between Kron and National Public Radio's Special Correspondent Susan Stamberg focused on gender parity in the arts in the Museum's Performance Hall, followed by a celebratory party and toast to officially declare the start of the Festival.

The March on Washington for Gun Control will present a Benefit reading of a Newtown documentary theater piece 26 Pebbles by Eric Ulloa on August 24 at 8:00 p.m. at Arena Stage at the Mead Center of American Theater directed by Molly Smith. This is a stirring new play that explores the power of community in the face of the tragedy in Newtown, CT and proceeds will benefit Everytown for Gun Safety and the Newtown Action Alliance.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, in partnership with the U.S. Embassies in Zagreb, Croatia and Ljubljana, Slovenia, will send three Arena Stage Voices of Now artists to Zagreb, September 12-18, 2015. The U.S. Embassies will invite 25 college-age youth from vulnerable communities across the region for a seven-day workshop, culminating in an original play performed at the Tresnja Theater in Zagreb.

The March on Washington for Gun Control will present a Benefit reading of a Newtown documentary theater piece 26 Pebbles by Eric Ulloa on August 24 at 8:00 p.m. at Arena Stage at the Mead Center of American Theater directed by Molly Smith. This is a stirring new play that explores the power of community in the face of the tragedy in Newtown, CT and proceeds will benefit Everytown for Gun Safety and the Newtown Action Alliance.

Cape Playhouse Producer, Mark Cuddy, announced the entire 2016 season repertory to a hundred donors at a Celebration Party on Sunday night. It is the first time in its history that the full slate has been revealed during the previous season.

The March on Washington for Gun Control will present a Benefit reading of a Newtown documentary theater piece 26 Pebbles by Eric Ulloa on August 24 at 8:00 p.m. at Arena Stage at the Mead Center of American Theater directed by Molly Smith. This is a stirring new play that explores the power of community in the face of the tragedy in Newtown, CT.

'Artaud Artaud' is a 'cruel not-masterpiece in one act' written by Matthew Minnicino, directed by Jake Beckhard and perfomed by Artilliers performing company. The play is a comitragic carnival that centers around the godfather of the avant-garde theater, Antonin Artaud. It is a merciless parody of the sensibilities of Artaud's manifesto 'Theatre of Cruelty' and a sympathetic, semi-obsessive portrait of its greatest proponent and his somewhat dual nature. It is a faithful biopic written into a biting satire, yet is at its heart an homage to the messiness of creativity. 'Artaud Artaud' will have its world premiere September 1-15 presented by Theater for the New City's 2015 Dream Up Festival.

The world premiere of Karen Zacarias' DESTINY OF DESIRE runs September 11-October 18, 2015 at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. The company just kicked off rehearsals, and BroadwayWorld has photos from their meet-and-greet below!

"If life is a bowl of cherries, what am I doing in the pits?" Erma Bombeck, the award-winning humorist and syndicated columnist known for her wry and humorous take on family life, is the subject of the newest project from twin-sister journalists and playwrights Allison Engel and Margaret Engel-the world-premiere drama Erma Bombeck: At Wit's End debuting at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. The Engels reunite with director David Esbjornson (Arena Stage's Guess Who's Coming to Dinner) following their collaboration on the smash hit Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins, which starred Kathleen Turner in its celebrated 2012 run at Arena Stage.

With over 50 million copies sold worldwide, John Gray's 1992 NY Times Best-Seller, Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus is one of the most read self-help books in the world, helping men and women enrich their personal relationships. Celebrated playwright Eric Coble (Broadway's The Velocity of Autumn) has adapted Gray's principles into a hysterical and inspiring night of theatre called … Men are from Mars -- Woman are from Venus LIVE!  

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces artist additions for the 2015/16 season, with select cast and creative team members announced for Destiny of Desire, Oliver!, Sweat and All the Way as part of the theater's 66th season.

Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC), under the leadership of Artistic Director Vivienne Benesch and Managing Director Sarah Clare Corporandy, presents David West Read's Afterlove for three Signature Staged Readings from Wednesday, August 5 to Friday, August 7 on the Bratton Stage.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater presents DEAR EVAN HANSEN, which opened last night, July 30, in the Kreeger Theater (read the reviews!) for a run through August 23. BroadwayWorld has photos from the opening night festivities below!

Karen Zacarias' new telenovela-inspired comedy Destiny of Desire receives its world premiere at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, kicking off the company's 66th season with dramatic storytelling and comic flair. Zacarias, an inaugural resident playwright of the theater's American Voices New Play Institute whose previous credits include The Book Club Play and Legacy of Light, collaborates with renowned director Jose Luis Valenzuela, Artistic Director of the Latino Theater Company, to bring the Latin-American telenovela genre to life on stage. Destiny of Desire runs September 11-October 18, 2015 in the Kreeger Theater.

The National New Play Network (NNPN), the country's alliance of non-profit theaters that champions the development, production, and continued life of new plays, has added its 30th and 31st Core Members: Mo'olelo Performing Arts Company (San Diego, CA) and Perseverance Theatre (Anchorage and Juneau, AK). The decisions were made by the organization's Board of Directors at its Annual Conference on June 11 in Watertown, MA, hosted by Core Member New Repertory Theatre.

Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC), under the leadership of Artistic Director Vivienne Benesch and Managing Director Sarah Clare Corporandy, presents Jason Wells's The Engine of Our Ruin for two Signature Staged Readings on July 17 and 18 on the Bratton Stage.

BroadwayWorld.com, along with Artistic Director Jackie Maxwell and the Shaw Festival are pleased to announce the 2016 playbill. Marking the Festival's 55th season and the end of Maxwell's 14-year tenure, the 2016 line-up of 10 diverse productions includes works from the heart of the mandate, contemporary Shavian pieces and the world premieres of two commissioned works.