Negro Ensemble Company News

August Strindberg's Chekhovian comedy, 'Playing With Fire' (Leka med elden, 1893), in a translation by Ulrika Brand that has been newly adapted by Obie-winner Leslie Lee, Executive Director of Negro Ensemble Company, will be presented tonight, May 18 to June 10 with an all-black cast as the inaugural production of August Strindberg Repertory Theatre, directed by Robert Greer. The play, to be staged at New School for Drama, 151 Bank Street (West Village), will be a co-production of August Strindberg Repertory Theatre and Negro Ensemble Company in association with Theater Resources Unlimited.

The Coalition of Theatres of Color (CTC), an historical assemblage of 12 of the oldest ethnically specific, multicultural theatrical and cultural institutions in New York, invites the public to a Town Hall Meeting to discuss "Can NYC's Theatres of Color Survive in the New Economy?" on June 4 at 6PM at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, 515 Malcolm X Boulevard (135th St. & Lenox Avenue) in Harlem.

NBC has released a clip from its new medical drama, DO NOT HARM which will star stage veterans Steven Pasquale, Phylicia Rashad and Michael Esper. View a sneak peek of the new series as well as an interview with Pasquale below!

Producing Artistic Director Michael Stebbins has announced the 2012-13 season lineup for Rep Stage, the professional Equity theatre in residence at Howard Community College (HCC).

August Strindberg's Chekhovian comedy, 'Playing With Fire' (Leka med elden, 1893), in a translation by Ulrika Brand that has been newly adapted by Obie-winner Leslie Lee, Executive Director of Negro Ensemble Company, will be presented May 18 to June 10 with an all-black cast as the inaugural production of August Strindberg Repertory Theatre, directed by Robert Greer. The play, to be staged at New School for Drama, 151 Bank Street (West Village), will be a co-production of August Strindberg Repertory Theatre and Negro Ensemble Company in association with Theater Resources Unlimited.

Mind-Builders Creative Arts Center and the Coalition of Theatres of Color (CTC) saluted actors Gilbert Glenn Brown and Alimi Ballard as "Outstanding Alumnus of Mind-Builders" for their remarkable theatre, television and film work in creating positive images for African American youth on April 16 at the Pregones Theatre in the Bronx.

Atlantic Theater Company (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Jeffory Lawson, Managing Director) presents the world premiere of STOREFRONT CHURCH, written and directed by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award® winner John Patrick Shanley and starring Bob Dishy, Giancarlo Esposito, Zach Grenier, Ron Cephas Jones and Tonya Pinkins. STOREFRONT CHURCH will begin previews Wednesday, May 16; officially open Monday, June 11; and play a limited engagement through Sunday, June 24 Off-Broadway as the first production to return to Atlantic's main stage Linda Gross Theater in Chelsea following completion of a historic $8.3M renovation.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, 'Breaking Bad's' Giancarlo Esposito is set to star in Pulitzer Prize and Tony winner John Patrick Shanley's STOREFRONT CHURCH.

Writer-actress-producer Denise Nicholas, author of the award-winning novel Freshwater Road, and star of Room 222 and In the Heat of the Night, will receive the Integrity Award from the Los Angeles Women's Theatre Festival, announced Adilah Barnes, co-founder of the non-profit organization which provides venues for multicultural and multidiscipline solo artists.

As part of its 30th Anniversary Season celebration, the Huntington Theatre Company brings the cast of August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom to Roxbury's Hibernian Hall to perform a reading of the play on Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 7pm. The reading is free and open to the public, but an RSVP at huntingtontheatre.org/raineyreading is encouraged, as seating is limited. Liesl Tommy, director of the Huntington's acclaimed 2011 production of Ruined, helms the production. The ensemble features "ER" cast member Yvette Freeman as the legendary blues singer Ma Rainey and local favorite Jason Bowen (Ruined, A Civil War Christmas at the Huntington) as Levee.

'In Search of My Father...Walkin' Talkin' Bill Hawkins,' written by and starring W. Allen Taylor of Berkeley, Calif., celebrates Black culture and the legacy of Black radio.

Signature Theatre (James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director) has announced that performances begin tonight for the world premiere production of Katori Hall's HURT VILLAGE, directed by Patricia McGregor.

As part of its 30th Anniversary Season celebration, the Huntington Theatre Company brings the cast of August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom to Roxbury's Hibernian Hall to perform a reading of the play on Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 7pm. The reading is free and open to the public, but an RSVP at huntingtontheatre.org/raineyreading is encouraged, as seating is limited. Liesl Tommy, director of the Huntington's acclaimed 2011 production of Ruined, helms the production. The ensemble features "ER" cast member Yvette Freeman as the legendary blues singer Ma Rainey and local favorite Jason Bowen (Ruined, A Civil War Christmas at the Huntington) as Levee.

MASKS is a buddy dramedy about two men growing up in the juvenile justice system, struggling to make it to manhood, battling with their past to shed their masks as they deal with crucial life issues that young people face.

'In Search of My Father...Walkin' Talkin' Bill Hawkins,' written by and starring W. Allen Taylor of Berkeley, Calif., celebrates Black culture and the legacy of Black radio.

Signature Theatre just announced that the company will produce the world premiere of Kenneth Lonergan's new play MEDIEVAL PLAY, which Lonergan will also direct. The production runs May 15 - June 24, 2012 with a June 7 opening night in The End Stage Theatre at the Company's new Frank Gehry-designed home The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues). Casting will be announced at a later date.

Signature Theatre (James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director) has announced that performances begin tonight for the world premiere production of Katori Hall's HURT VILLAGE, directed by Patricia McGregor.

Signature Theatre (James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director) is pleased to announce initial casting for the world premiere production of Katori Hall's HURT VILLAGE, directed by Patricia McGregor.

Signature Theatre has announced that the Signature Center Opening Gala Celebration will take place on Monday, January 30th and will be a first look at the Company's new home, the Frank Gehry-designed Signature Center.