Playwrights Horizons News

Avila Productions, LLC, by special arrangement with Cherry Lane Theatre in association with Jack Sharkey, today announced the world premiere of TERESA'S ECSTASY, written by Begonya Plaza and directed by Will Pomerantz.

American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) begins performances of the world premiere production FUTURITY: A MUSICAL BY THE LISPS, with music and lyrics by Cesar Alvarez with The Lisps; book by Molly Rice and Cesar Alvarez; directed by Sarah Benson.Performances run from Friday, March 16 through Sunday, April 15, 2012 at the A.R.T.'s second space, OBERON, at 2 Arrow Street, Cambridge.

La MaMa and World In One Pan Arts Collaborative presents Loom Ensemble's World Premiere of Erosion: A Fable, directed by Tomi Tsunoda, written by the ensemble and choreographed by Neva Cockrell, with original music composed by Sasha Bogdanowitsch.

According to Deadline.com, OTHER DESERT CITIES star Justin Kirk has signed on for the eighth season of Showtime's 'Weeds.' Kirk plays 'Andy' in the series, which will ikey eneter its final season later this year.

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, and The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at WNYC and WQXR, announce the third event in the series, TCG Playwrights in Conversation: Discussions and Readings - In Conversation with Anne Bogart. In celebration of TCG's 50th anniversary, four events featuring conversations with TCG authors and featured artists are being presented at The Greene Space, WNYC and WQXR's innovative broadcast studio and performance venue.

Roundabout Theatre Company in association with Don Gregory, has announced the full company for the new Broadway production of Mary Chase's Harvey starring Jim Parsons (Elwood P. Dowd), Jessica Hecht (Veta Louise Simmons), Charles Kimbrough (William R. Chumley, M.D.), Larry Bryggman (Judge Omar Gaffney), Carol Kane (Betty Chumley), Peter Benson (E.J. Lofgren), Tracee Chimo (Myrtle Mae Simmons), Holley Fain (Ruth Kelly, R.N.), Angela Paton (Mrs. Ethel Chauvenet), Rich Sommer (Duane Wilson), Morgan Spector (Lyman Sanderson, M.D.) and directed by Scott Ellis.

The Denver Center Theatre Company announced today that Playwrights Horizons, located in New York City, has selected THE WHALE, by Samuel D. Hunter, as part of its 2012/13 season. THE WHALE, which originated as a reading during the 2011 Colorado New Play Summit, has received critical acclaim and audience praise leading to the extension of the run at The Ricketson Theatre through February 25. Tickets are limited and can be purchased by calling 303.893.4100 or visiting www.denvercenter.org.

According to the New York Times, Playwrights Horizons will present FAR FROM HEAVEN, a new musical with book by Tony Award winner and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Richard Greenberg (Take Me Out, Three Days of Rain), music by Tony Award nominee Scott Frankel (Grey Gardens) and lyrics by Tony Award nominee Michael Korie (Grey Gardens, The Grapes of Wrath), in Spring 2013. The show will also play Williamstown Theatre Festival this summer. The musical was adapted from the acclaimed, award-winning 2002 Focus Features/Vulcan Productions motion picture Far From Heaven, written and directed by Todd Haynes.

Continuing its 25th Anniversary Season, the Shakespeare Theatre Company is set to present Eugene O'Neill's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Strange Interlude.

When playwright and performer Stephen Kaplan and his husband Will Nolan became parents, they assumed that there would be certain things they'd have to give up. I know, crazy right? My life has remained EXACTLY the same as before I became the mother of two kids.....And that would be a big lie. But I digress....

The Asian American Performers Action Coalition (AAPAC) released preliminary findings today on the representation of minority actors on New York City's most prominent stages during the last five years. The full report, which will be released on Monday February 13th in conjunction with an industry roundtable, tallies the ethnic make-up of casts from all shows which opened on Broadway during this period and productions from sixteen of the largest not-for-profit theatres in New York City: The Atlantic Theatre Company, Classic Stage Company, Lincoln Center Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, MCC, The New Group, New York Theatre Workshop, Playwrights Horizons, Primary Stages, Public Theatre, Roundabout Theatre Company, Second Stage, Signature Theatre, Theatre for a New Audience, Vineyard Theatre and The York Theatre Company. It is the first report on minority casting in New York theatre ever to be released publicly.

The Acting Company will present a benefit staged reading of Tennessee Williams' Suddenly Last Summer at 7 pm on Monday, February 13 at the Mainstage Theater (Playwrights Horizons). The performance, starring Dana Ivey (The Help, Importance of Being Earnest), Rebecca Brooksher (The Good Wife), Betsy Aidem (Dreams of Flying Dreams of Falling), Chad Hoeppner (Come Back Little Sheba, Butley) Neal Huff (When I Come to Die, The Little Dog Laughed) and Pamela Nyberg (Doubt tour) will be followed by a reception with the cast and director, Jodie Markell (The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond). Ms. Ivey serves on the Board of The Acting Company; Chad Hoeppner and Pamela Nyberg are both Acting Company Alumni Members. Tickets @ $35 are available from 212-258-3111.

Houston Grand Opera's new production of Benjamin Britten's intimate but intensely gripping chamber opera The Rape of Lucretia takes place through February 11, 2012 and features the young American theatre director Arin Arbus in her operatic debut.

The Sundance Institute Theatre Program has begun the 2012 Playwrights Retreat at Ucross Foundation. The 13th annual writing colony at the 20,000-acre working cattle ranch outside of Sheridan, Wyo. takes place through February 24 and provides a supportive environment for artists to create new work and receive guidance and reactions to it at an early stage.

Producer John Johnson announced today the complete cast for the New York premiere of 35mm A Musical Exhibition, written by Ryan Scott Oliver based on the photography of Matthew Murphy.

The winner of the 2012 Richard Rodgers Awards for Musical Theater was announced today by the American Academy of Arts and Letters, which administers the Rodgers Awards.

American Blues Theater (ABT), Chicago's second oldest Equity Ensemble, is set to participate in a global benefit for the people of Japan, SHINSAI: Theatre for Japan, Sunday, March 11 at 3 p.m. at the Richard Christiansen Theater in Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 North Lincoln Ave.

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director) has announced the two world premiere plays which will be presented as part of the company's tenth annual Second Stage Theatre Uptown Series this summer: Alena Smtih's The Bad Guys, and Kenneth Lin's Warrior Class, directed by Evan Cabnet.

Manhattan Theatre Club has announced full casting for the upcoming world premiere of REGRETS by Matt Charman, directed by Carolyn Cantor.

Jujamcyn Theaters President Jordan Roth announced today that Clybourne Park will open on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theatre on Thursday, April 19 (preview performances begin on March 26) for a limited 16-week engagement. This is exactly one week later than the originally planned opening, making up for the time that was lost last week. Tickets are now on sale to American Express card holders (as of midnight Wednesday, February 8). T