Philadelphia Theatre Company News

SUMMERWORKS 2013 - the annual season of new plays presented by the four-time Obie Award-winning theater company Clubbed Thumb, will be presented tonight, May 24 to June 29 at The Wild Project (195 E. 3rd St.) in Manhattan.

Philadelphia Theatre Company announces that Mary Birdsong, Aisha de Haas, Kate Flannery, Ashley Austin Morris, andJoyce Van Patten will appear in the Philadelphia cast of Love, Loss, and What I Wore on June 25-July 7 at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre. This intimate collection of stories by sisters Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron and directed by Karen Carpenter is based on the best-selling book by Ilene Beckerman. Like the popular book, the show uses clothing, accessories and the memories they trigger to tell funny and often poignant stories to which all women can relate. This production is presented by special arrangement with producer Daryl Roth.

Sam Kelley's The Blue Vein Society and No Hidin' Place takes us back to a time and place in late nineteenth-century America when African Americans struggled to achieve human dignity against oppressive interracial and intraracial barriers that promoted a segregated culture rooted in class and color. These powerful dramas, based on two short stories by African American fiction writer, Charles Chesnutt, examine complicated family and social dynamics that resonate with disturbing power for today's world where both class and color continue to matter.

Long Wharf Theatre concludes its 2012-13 season with Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning play Clybourne Park, by Bruce Norris, and directed by Associate Artistic Director Eric Ting. The play will take place on The Claire Tow Stage in the C. Newton Schenck III Mainstage from tonight, May 8, 2013 through June 2, 2013.

A Drama Desk Award, an OBIE Award, a multiple Tony-nominated play, a one-man show by a Tony-nominated actor, and the return of a new musical by an award-winning team are all part of Philadelphia Theatre Company's stellar season next year. Philadelphia Theatre Company announces its five-production 2013/2014 mainstage season - 4000 Miles by Amy Herzog, Nerds with book and lyrics by 3-time Emmy nominated Jordan Allen-Dutton and Erik Weiner and music by Hal Goldberg, Tribes by Nina Raine, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike by Christopher Durang, and A Boy and His Soul written and performed by Colman Domingo.

Round House Theatre concludes its 2013 Bethesda season with the area premiere of Becky Shaw, which runs May 29 thru June 23. Patricia McGregor makes her Round House directing debut with this comedy by Gina Gionfriddo, which was an Off-Broadway smash hit as well as aPulitzer Prize finalist. Opening night is Monday, June 3, 2013.

Lindsey Ferrentino's new play Moonlight on the Bayou will have a staged reading today, May 3rd, 4:30pm at The Marilyn Monroe Theatre in New York (115 E. 15th St). The reading is directed by Patricia McGregor (Hurt Village, The Mountaintop), after being developed with renown dramaturg Mark Bly (33 Variations).

With a voice like whiskey and a laugh like pure joy, Janis Joplin took the music scene by storm. Simultaneously rough and vulnerable, Joplin was dubbed the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll, proving music wasn't just a man's world anymore. Now, in a new musical event featuring more than a dozen singers and band members, playwright-director Randy Johnson creates 'a compelling portrait of an artist' (Culturemob) through the words, inspiration and music of one of America's greatest rock 'n' roll originals. One Night With Janis Joplin is a full-on concert experience and musical journey into the life and inspirations of one of rock 'n' roll's greatest legends and it runs in The Rep's Quadracci Powerhouse from tonight, May 3 - June 2, 2013 and opens on Monday, May 6, 2013. Packed with classic songs ('Piece Of My Heart,' 'Summertime,' 'Mercedes Benz'), One Night With Janis Joplin also shines the spotlight on trailblazers who influenced Janis - like Bessie Smith, Etta James and Aretha Franklin.

City Theatre announces all six plays lined up for its compelling 2013-2014 season, including a madcap family reunion; a sonic journey about symphony and sports; a soul-stirring drama that daringly reimagines an American icon; a provocative New York hit about what it means to hear and listen; a high-intensity drama that follows a moxie fighter pilot; and a kinetic, new play about relationships and fate.

Lindsey Ferrentino's new play Moonlight on the Bayou will have a staged reading this Friday, May 3rd, 4:30pm at The Marilyn Monroe Theatre in New York (115 E. 15th St). The reading is directed by Patricia McGregor (Hurt Village, The Mountaintop), after being developed with renown dramaturg Mark Bly (33 Variations).

Philadelphia Theatre Company will host a residency for Anna Deavere Smith leading to the creation of her new work, The Pipeline Project thanks to a generous gift from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation as part of its Knight Arts Challenge. The Knight Arts Challenge funds innovative projects that engage and enrich Philadelphia's communities.

Emerging from a field of 1,200 applicants, 43 projects received more than $2 million today as winners of the 2013 Knight Arts Challenge.

Lynne Meadow (Artistic Director), Barry Grove (Executive Producer), and Mandy Greenfield (Artistic Producer) have announced full casting for the world premiere of THE EXPLORERS CLUB, the new play by Tony Award nominee Nell Benjamin, directed by Marc Bruni.

With a voice like whiskey and a laugh like pure joy, Janis Joplin took the music scene by storm. Simultaneously rough and vulnerable, Joplin was dubbed the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll, proving music wasn't just a man's world anymore. Now, in a new musical event featuring more than a dozen singers and band members, playwright-director Randy Johnson creates 'a compelling portrait of an artist' (Culturemob) through the words, inspiration and music of one of America's greatest rock 'n' roll originals. One Night With Janis Joplin is a full-on concert experience and musical journey into the life and inspirations of one of rock 'n' roll's greatest legends and it runs in The Rep's Quadracci Powerhouse from May 3 - June 2, 2013 and opens on Monday, May 6, 2013. Packed with classic songs ('Piece Of My Heart,' 'Summertime,' 'Mercedes Benz'), One Night With Janis Joplin also shines the spotlight on trailblazers who influenced Janis - like Bessie Smith, Etta James and Aretha Franklin.

1812 Productions presents the world premiere comedy It's My Party: The Women and Comedy Project, created and directed by 1812 Productions' Artistic Director, Jennifer Childs, and featuring a diverse ensemble of Philadelphia actresses. It's My Party: The Women and Comedy Project began in 2010 with two questions: how do women use comedy and how does that usage change as they age.

Beginning in April, 2013, 1812 Productions will present the world premiere comedy It's My Party: The Women and Comedy Project, created and directed by 1812 Productions' Artistic Director, Jennifer Childs, and featuring a diverse ensemble of Philadelphia actresses. A production which will use physical comedy, storytelling, and music in a one-of-a-kind theatrical event, the creative process for It's My Party: The Women and Comedy Project began in 2010 with two questions: how do women use comedy and how does that usage change as they age. With these pointed inquiries as her guides, Ms. Childs embarked on three inclusive and ongoing initiatives which, together, would form the core of the Project.

Complete casting is set for SUMMERWORKS 2013 - the annual season of new plays presented by the four-time Obie Award-winning theater company Clubbed Thumb -- it has been announced by Maria Striar, Clubbed Thumb's Producing Artistic Director. SUMMERWORKS 2013 will be presented May 24 to June 29 at The Wild Project (195 E. 3rd St.) in Manhattan.