Orson Welles News

Named by Orson Welles as "the most original mind in magic", world famous mentalist and master magician Max Maven makes his Off-Broadway debut in the summer's most mind bending supernatural attraction, MAX MAVEN: THINKING IN PERSON. Previews began at The Abingdon Theatre Arts Complex (312 W. 36th Street -1st floor) on June 12th. Presented by Alexander Marshall and Giles Cole, Maven's electrifyingform of on-stage mentalism, officially opened last night, June 14th and continues until Sunday, July 1st. Check out photos from opening night below!

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is celebrating this week's premiere of TNT's all-new series DALLAS by unveiling a 10-gallon list of the Top 10 Texas Movies.

The York Shakespeare Company presents Sam Shepard's TRUE WEST, directed by Seth Duerr. True West plays a three-week limited engagement at Theatre 54 @ Shetler Studios (244 West 54th Street, 12th Floor). Opening Night is tonight, June 9 (8pm). $18 tickets are available at www.smarttix.com.

The York Shakespeare Company is pleased to present Sam Shepard's TRUE WEST, directed by Seth Duerr. True West will play a three-week limited engagement at Theatre 54 @ Shetler Studios (244 West 54th Street, 12th Floor). Performances begin tonight, June 8 and continue through Saturday, June 23. Opening Night is Saturday, June 9 (8 p.m.). $18 tickets are available at www.smarttix.com.

Center Theatre Group Artistic Director Michael Ritchie has set the 2012-2013 season at the CTG/Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. In a season of contrasts - of surprising comedy and startling drama, the 2012-2013 season at the Kirk Douglas Theatre will include the magical and mystical hi-jinks of the CTG-commissioned "Elephant Room" by Trey Lyford, Geoff Sobelle and Steve Cuiffo; the acclaimed Gate Theatre Dublin production of the Beckett classic "Krapp's Last Tape" with one of Britain's greatest actors, John Hurt; the comic genius of The Second City with their unique, satirical twist on a Dickens's favorite - "A Christmas Carol: Twist Your Dickens!" written by Peter Gwinn and Bobby Mort; the world premiere of the otherworldly drama "The Nether" by the 2012 Susan Blackburn Smith prize-winning playwright Jennifer Haley; and the world premiere of the powerful boxing drama "The Royale" by Los Angeles playwright Marco Ramirez.

The producers of the acclaimed new Off-Broadway hit Tribes have announced new additions to the clan: Nick Westrate, winner of a 2012 Special Drama Desk Award for his versatility in the 2011-2012 season (Unnatural Acts, Love's Labor's Lost, and Galileo) will temporarily assume the role of Daniel while Will Brill takes a leave of absence from May 30 - July 1, and Jeff Still, who originated leading roles in the Barrow Street Theatre productions of Our Town and Orson's Shadow (both directed by David Cromer),will assume the role of Christopher beginning July 1, replacing Jeff Perry, who departs to begin filming the second season of ABC's "Scandal." Tribes, which recently won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Play,is currently in performance at The Barrow Street Theatre (27 Barrow Street).

Keith Baxter, Michael Feast, William Gaunt, Joe McGann and Lizzie McInnerny are among those confirmed to appear alongside Henry Goodman in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester, during Festival 2012.

The Festival celebrates 60 years of excellence with a special symposium that will feature influential theatre artists and intellectuals in discussion about how Shakespeare's work lends itself to a broad range of media, interpretations and settings. The event will be held at the Studio Theatre on June 2.

ReelzChannel - TV About Movies(R) today announced the eight-hour mini-series WORLD WITHOUT END will make its U.S. premiere on REELZ in fall 2012.

American director Wes Anderson has built colorful, beautifully realized worlds in his seven feature films, from his stunning debut Bottle Rocket to his latest Cannes Film Festival opening feature, Moonrise Kingdom. From today, May 18 through 27, 2012, Museum of the Moving Image will present a Wes Anderson retrospective including all of his features and the short Hotel Chevalier, as well as a special screening of Orson Welles's The Magnificent Ambersons-a film that inspired Anderson. Each screening in the series will open with a personal video introduction by Wes Anderson.

The York Shakespeare Company is pleased to present Sam Shepard's TRUE WEST, directed by Seth Duerr. True West will play a three-week limited engagement at Theatre 54 @ Shetler Studios (244 West 54th Street, 12th Floor). Performances begin Friday, June 8 and continue through Saturday, June 23. Opening Night is Saturday, June 9 (8 p.m.). $18 tickets are available at www.smarttix.com.

Andrew Burashko, founder and Artistic Director of the acclaimed Art of Time Ensemble, today announced the company's groundbreaking 2012-2013 season, sponsored by Invesco Trimark.

Simon Callow has brought his highly acclaimed show BEING SHAKESPEARE to the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre at the Broadway Playhouse for a limited engagement through April 29, 2012. Performances began April, 18 2012. The Chicago engagement follows productions at BAM in New York and Trafalgar Studios 1 in London. Click below to watch Callow in action!

Deadline.com reports that Zoe Kazan and Jake Johnson will star in the upcoming film THE PRETTY ONE. Production on the project is expected to begin on June 1 in Los Angeles.

Georgia Shakespeare welcomes Atlanta back to the Bard this spring, kicking off its 27th season with the return of free theatre in Piedmont Park.

Producing Artistic Director Gwendolyn Whiteside of American Blues Theater (ABT), Chicago's second oldest Equity ensemble, today announced the Ensemble's 27th season. The season kicks off with the world premiere of Illegal Use of Hands by Emmy Award-winner, two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and ABT Artistic Affiliate James Still, directed by Sandy Shinner, August 31 - September 30 and followed by the critically acclaimed It's a Wonderful Life: Live on State Street! , now at the Museum of Broadcast Communications, directed by ABT Artistic Affiliate Marty Higginbotham, November 16 - December 30. ABT's final 2012 -2013 production is Pulitzer Prize playwright Donald Margulies' 2010 Broadway script Collected Stories, co-directed by Steppenwolf Artistic Affiliate Jessica Thebus and Mary Ann Thebus.

Simon Callow has returned to London's Trafalgar Studios 1 to reprise his highly acclaimed show BEING SHAKESPEARE for a strictly limited season from 7 to 31 March, before heading across the seas to appear at the Brooklyn Academy Of Music in New York and then at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre at the Broadway Playhouse.