Nora Cole News

The Museum of Broadway will host two upcoming events reunited the original Broadway casts of The Who's Tommy and Jelly's Last Jam next week. Learn more about both events here!

Woodie King, Jr.'s New Federal Theatre (NFT) has relocated and is now in residence at The WP (formerly Women's Project) Theater, with performance space located at 2162 Broadway @ 76th Street and administrative offices at 55 West End Ave. Floor 1, Unit 2, NYC 10023. 

Stage Aurora NY presents Christmas Comes to West Harlem on Sunday, December 17th at 2:00pm. The performance takes place at St. James Presbyterian Church: 409 W 141st St, New York, NY 10031.

NEW FEDERAL THEATRE will hold its 53rd Anniversary Celebration on October 2 at Edison Ballroom, honoring Woodie King, Jr., Gabrielle Kurlander, and Sade Lythcott. The gala is chaired by Kenny Leon and Lynn Whitfield.

Woodie King, Jr.'s New Federal Theatre (NFT), led by Producing Artistic Director Elizabeth Van Dyke, will hold a 53rd Anniversary Celebration October 2, 2023 at Edison Ballroom, 240 West 47th Street.  

Clubbed Thumb is presenting Bodies They Ritual through July 2. Bodies They Ritual stars Emmy Award winner Denise Burse ('Black Mirror'), Nora Cole (On the Town), Jacqueline Guillen (Man Cave), Kai Heath (On Sugarland), Ebony Marshall-Oliver (Chicken & Biscuits), Emily Cass McDonnell (The Antipodes), and more. Get a first look at photos here!

Clubbed Thumb has announced complete casting for the final production of the rescheduled 25th SUMMERWORKS festival of new plays, Bodies They Ritual. Performances will run June 22-July 2.

The new play Hart Island recently opened at The Gym at Judson in New York City's West Village neighborhood, bringing with it an impressive set design and a memorable story. It was written by Tracy Weller, the founder of the theater company Mason Holdings, and directed by Kristjan Thor. The press release described the plays as a 'multimedia theatrical meditation on New York City's potter's field' and delivers just that and then some.

Mason Holdings, a company known for creating intimate experiential theatre, will present the world premiere of Hart Island, a multimedia theatrical meditation on New York City’s potter’s field and the humans connected to it, living and dead. 

The Bushwick Starr will partner with HERE to present the world premiere of Preparedness, written by Hillary Miller (Gay Pierrot at Dixon Place, The Hovering at Capital Fringe), and directed by Kristjan Thor (BLACKOUT immersive experience throughout the U.S., The Penalty at The Public Theater and Dixon Place). 

The Bushwick Starr is partnering with HERE to present the world premiere of Preparedness, written by Hillary Miller (Gay Pierrot at Dixon Place, The Hovering at Capital Fringe), and directed by Kristjan Thor (BLACKOUT immersive experience throughout the U.S., The Penalty at The Public Theater and Dixon Place). 

Woodie King's New Federal Theatre has set four plays for the June, 2019 edition of its Annual Ntozake Shange Readings Series. The series will run four Tuesdays--June 4, 11, 18 and 25--with all readings at Castillo Theatre, 543 W 42nd Street.

National New Play Network (NNPN), the country's alliance of professional theaters that collaborate in innovative ways to develop, produce, and extend the life of new plays, has added three new Core Members: Silk Road Rising (Chicago), Company One (Boston), and City Theatre Company (Pittsburgh). As of the date of this release, NNPN has 114 Members Theaters, comprised of 32 Cores and 82 Associates.

Composer Ray Leslee (Standup Shakespeare, Avenue X) and playwright, actor, HBO Def Poet, Brian Dykstra, have teamed up with Musical Director Kimberly Grigsby (Amelie, Spiderman, Spring Awakening) to present a workshop presentation of a new musical based on the comedy by Moliere. The script-in-hand readings will take place Thursday Nov 16th at The Lark Play Development Center and Friday, November 17th at Manhattan Theatre Club Studios. The presentation will be directed by Margarett Perry.

Geva Theatre Center's production of The Agitators: The Story of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass, written by Mat Smart and directed by Logan Vaughn, was the best-selling world premiere and one of the best-selling dramas overall in the theatre's 45-year history. Over 15,000 people attended the production, crafted in Rochester, for Rochester over a four-week period with 32 public performances.

Geva Theatre Center presents Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, a funny and poignant stage adaptation of the beloved Academy Award©-winning film.  Adapted by Todd Kreidler and based on the screenplay by William Rose, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is directed by Skip Greer and will be performed in the Wilson Stage from February 14 to March 12.

The historic Theatre Training Workshops of Woodie King, Jr.'s New Federal Theatre will move uptown next month to Dwyer Cultural Center at 258 St. Nicholas Ave. (at 123rd Street).  They were previously held in spaces adjoining the theater's offices at 292 Henry Street.  The workshops have been a fertile training ground for leading African-American playwrights and actors.

Following the news of Harper Lee's death, Geva Theatre Center will dedicate its production of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD to her memory. The production, directed by Mark Cuddy opens officially on Saturday, February 20 and runs in the Elaine P. Wilson Stage until March 20. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Geva Theatre Center presents Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird as part of the 2015-2016 ESL Wilson Stage Series. To Kill a Mockingbird is adapted by Christopher Sergel and directed by Mark Cuddy, with original music by Gregg Coffin. The production begins previews on February 16, opens on February 20 and runs in the Elaine P. Wilson Stage until March 20.

Geva Theatre Center's 2015 Fielding Studio Series begins with the world premiere of Katherine's Colored Lieutenant by Nora Cole and is directed by David Schweizer. The production begins performances on February 5 and runs in the Fielding Nextstage through February 22.