Rajiv Joseph News

The American Theatre Wing (Heather Hitchens, President) and The Village Voice (Peter Barbey, Owner) have announced the winners of the 61st Annual Obie Awards. Rajiv Joseph's Guards at the Taj, produced by the Atlantic Theater Company, received the Obie Award® for Best New American Play, which is accompanied by a $1,000 prize. Legendary actor/dancer/choreographer Carmen de Lavallade and renowned playwright A.R. Gurney each received a special Obie Award® for Lifetime Achievement. Obie and Screen Actors Guild® Award-winning actress Lea DeLaria returned as host of this year's ceremony, which was held at Webster Hall (125 East 11th Street).

The American Theatre Wing (Heather Hitchens, President) and The Village Voice (Peter Barbey, Owner) are thrilled to announce the winners of the 61st Annual Obie Awards. Rajiv Joseph's Guards at the Taj, produced by the Atlantic Theater Company, received the Obie Award® for Best New American Play, which is accompanied by a $1,000 prize. Legendary actor/dancer/choreographer Carmen de Lavallade and renowned playwright A.R. Gurney each received a special Obie Award® for Lifetime Achievement. Obie and Screen Actors Guild® Award-winning actress Lea DeLaria returned as host of this year's ceremony, which was held at Webster Hall (125 East 11th Street). A complete list of the awards is given below.

Rajiv Joseph's very tricky to pull off GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES lands at the Hudson Backstage as a stunning success! Considering the main conceit of GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES requires two actors playing a 30-year age range from 8 to 38; in less capable hands, this seventy-minute one-act would have been so ripe for missteps.  

Continuing its commitment to developing new works, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley will gather playwrights and composers from across the nation for its 2016 New Works Festival at Palo Alto's Lucie Stern Theatre, where the public can attend performances, participate in a panel discussion with the artists, and share in the journey of developing new works for the American theatre.

What is the path we take to find love in a harsh world? Colleen Camp Productions and CRAZYface Productions LLC present a fresh new production of GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES, directed by John Hindman and starring Sara Rae Foster (Showtime's Masters of Sex) and Jeff Ward (Lifetime's Manson's Lost Girls). Rajiv Joseph's poignant and darkly comic tale about love, pain and friendship opens May 20 at the Hudson Backstage Theatre in Hollywood. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

This summer The Farm Theater is pleased to present Padraic Lillis' solo show, Hope You Get to Eleven, or What Are We Going to Do About Sally?, directed byScott Illingworth and presented as part of the 8th Annual Planet Connections Theatre Festivity. Performances will be on June 23 at 7:30pm, June 25 at 5pm, June 29 at 7:30pm, and July 3 at 4:30pm at The Paradise Factory (64 East 4th Street between 2nd Avenue and Bowery). Tickets ($18) are available online atwww.planetconnections.org or by calling 866-811-4111. Proceeds from the show will benefit the National Suicide Prevention Network.

The One-Minute Play Festival and Actor's Express present the 5th Atlanta One-Minute Play Festival on Sunday, June 12 and Monday June 13 at 8 PM at Actor's Express. The Festival is produced and curated by Dominic D'Andrea.

Theatre Exile presents an explosive ending to their 19th season with a timely political thriller THE INVISIBLE HAND by Pulitzer Prize winner Ayad Akhtar. Nick, an American banker in Pakistan, is imprisoned and must trade shares when his $10M ransom can't be met. The global tale examines how society, money and power shape the good and evil within.

What is the path we take to find love in a harsh world? Colleen Camp Productions and CRAZYface Productions LLC present a fresh new production of GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES, directed by John Hindman and starring Sara Rae Foster (Showtime's Masters of Sex) and Jeff Ward (Lifetime's Manson's Lost Girls). Rajiv Joseph's poignant and darkly comic tale about love, pain and friendship opens May 20 at the Hudson Backstage Theatre in Hollywood. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Second Stage Theatre will present the world premiere of Sofia Alvarez's FRIEND ART, directed by Portia Krieger, and the New York premiere of Lucy Teitler's ENGAGEMENTS as part of the company's fourteenth annual SECOND STAGE THEATRE UPTOWN SERIES this summer.

Theatre Exile presents an explosive ending to their 19th season with a timely political thriller THE INVISIBLE HAND by Pulitzer Prize winner Ayad Akhtar. Nick, an American banker in Pakistan, is imprisoned and must trade shares when his $10M ransom can't be met. The global tale examines how society, money and power shape the good and evil within.

The Farm Theater will present Bullpen Sessions: Work of the Actor to kick-off The Artist Co-Op's Pop-Up Event, with special guests Raul Castillo ("Looking" on HBO; "Gotham" on Fox), Marin Ireland (Ironbound at Rattlestick), and Florencia Lozano ("Narcos" on Netflix) on Tuesday, June 7 from 6-8pm at the Centre for Social Innovation (601 West 26th Street, Suite 325). Admission is FREE, but seating is limited. Please RSVP at bullpen@thefarmtheater.org. 

INSIDE THE BOX by Cecilia Copeland is set for its first public presentation in the Planet Connections Festivity, with proceeds to benefit Planned Parenthood.

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley closes its 2015/2016 season with the explosive new dramatic comedy, The Velocity of Autumn. This tender-hearted play by Eric Coble centers on an elderly artist locked in a volatile showdown with her family over where she'll spend her remaining years. In a wry, spirited quest to 'not go gently' into a retirement home, Alexandra barricades herself in her brownstone with enough homemade Molotov cocktails to blow the entire block sky-high as she negotiates the terms of her future with a long-estranged son who has battles of his own. The Velocity of Autumn was declared 'Wickedly funny and wonderfully touching' by Broadway World and 'A tale that could resonate with a broad range of audiences as it touches on a sobering dilemma faced by families every day' by Variety. This production will be directed by Giovanna Sardelli with performances June 1-June 26 (press opening: June 4) at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St., Mountain View. For tickets ($19-$80) and information the public may visit www.TheatreWorks.org or call (650) 463-1960.

The CHICAGO ONE-MINUTE PLAY FESTIVAL (#1MPF) returns with a twist: the sixth annual event will celebrate the works of all women and women-identified playwrights and directors.

The 2016 Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway were handed out last night to recipients in 18 categories, with two special awards and two honorary awards also bestowed. The Lortel Awards were distributed in a ceremony at NYU Skirball Center hosted byZachary Levi, star of Broadway's She Loves Me. This year's event was once again a benefit for The Actors Fund. BroadwayWorld is taking to backstage with the evening's winners and presenters below!

The Off-Broadway League tonight presents the 31st Annual Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway at NYU Skirball Center. BroadwayWorld will be bringing you the full list of winners below. Stay tuned to find out who will win big!

They're dishing up some tasty Rumors at Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre - along with the bountiful buffet of Southern delicacies - while at Donelson's The Larry Keeton Theatre, the last two performances of Beth Henley's The Miss Firecracker Contest are served up this weekend, and the national touring company of Mamma Mia! winds up its weeklong stand at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center's Andrew Jackson Hall. And the intrepid Nashville Repertory Theatre Professional Interns present their very own production of Gruesome Playground Injuries.

Dallas Theater Center announced today complete details for the world-premiere of DEFERRED ACTION. A co-production with Cara Mia Theatre Co. and directed by Cara Mia's Artistic Director David Lozano, DEFERRED ACTION features company members from both DTC and Cara Mia. DEFERRED ACTION will begin previews with a Pay-What-You-Can performance on Wednesday, April 20 and will run through Saturday, May 14. Press Opening will be Today, April 29 at 8 p.m.

 Interrobang Theatre Project is pleased to conclude its 2015-16 Season, exploring "Unnatural Disasters," with the Midwest premiere of the psychological drama THE NORTH POOL by Pulitzer Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph, directed by Co-Artistic Director James Yost*, playing May 27 - June 26, 2016 at The Athenaeum Theatre (Studio 2), 2936 N. Southport Ave. in Chicago. Tickets are currently available at www.interrobangtheatre.org, by calling (773) 935-6875 or in person at The Athenaeum Theatre Box Office. The press opening is Sunday, May 29 at 2 pm.