Robert Kaplowitz News

After hearing from educators and district leaders about their struggle to engage high school students in classic literature, the Alliance Theatre is pleased to announce a new playwriting initiative. The Classic Remix Project will commission leading American playwrights to create new works that revitalize, rethink, and respond to classic literary works found in most school curriculums. 

History. Her story. Our story. This new play about Gloria Steinem and the women she has partnered with in a decades-long fight for equality is brought to life by a dynamic ensemble of performers. Fifty years after Gloria began raising her voice and championing those of others, her vision is as urgent as ever. Gloria's belief in talking circles as a catalyst for change offers us all a path forward. The first act is Gloria's story; the second is our own.

The Hot Wing King begins performances on February 11 and opens on Sunday, March 4 in the Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at the Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street). The production is an limited engagement through March 22, 2019

American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University has announced additional programming associated with its upcoming production of Gloria: A Life. Upcoming activities embody Gloria Steinem's lifelong efforts to achieve equity, inspire empathy, and build community. Activities include Act II talking circles with special guests, partnerships more than forty not-for-profit organizations, a donation drive, and a companion historical exhibition.

Casting is confirmed for the Signature Theatre (Paige Evans, Artistic Director; Harold Wolpert, Executive Director) world premiere of The Hot Wing King by Katori Hall, directed by Steve H. Broadnax III. The production will play from February 11 to March 22, 2020 with opening night set for March 1 in The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues).

Tickets are now on sale for the Signature Theatre (Paige Evans, Artistic Director; Harold Wolpert, Executive Director) world premiere of The Hot Wing King by Katori Hall, directed by Steve H. Broadnax III. The production will also be extended one week and will play from February 11 to March 22, 2020 with opening night set for March 1 in The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues). Click here for more information.

American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University, under the leadership of Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director Diane Paulus and Executive Producer Diane Borger, have announced the creative team and cast of Gloria: A Life, presented in association with the McCarter Theatre Center and by special arrangement with Daryl Roth.

Two-time Academy Award nominee Mary McDonnell has been cast in the title role of Gloria Steinem in Emily' Mann's Gloria: A Life, the opening production in McCarter Theatre Center's 2019-2020 Theater Series. 

Lantern Theater Company's 25th anniversary season comes to a musical close with the world premiere of Minors, which opens tonight. Commissioned and developed through the Lantern's New Works Program, this intimate American roots rock drama is the inaugural work of Kittson O'Neill and Tony Award-winning sound designer and composer Robert Kaplowitz. Barrymore Award-winner Matthew Decker directs an ensemble cast of Philadelphia musical theater veterans and newcomers, including Ben Dibble, Jennie Eisenhower, Brady Fritz, Marybeth Gorman, Paul L. Nolan, Terran Scott, Sav Souza, Grace Tarves, and Mekhi Williams. Amanda Morton serves as the production's music director.

People's Light presents Caryl Churchill's A Number, starring Tony Award nominee John Dossett (Broadway's Gypsy opposite Bernadette Peters) and Nathan Darrow (House of Cards, Gotham). In the near future, three identical sons confront their father over past misdeeds, with shocking consequences. From one of the world's most inimitable playwrights comes a 'stunning' (The New York Times) and suspenseful exploration of identity, parenthood, and the ethics of human cloning. Tickets range from $21.50-$53. To purchase, call 610.644.3500 or visit www.peopleslight.org. People's Light is located at 39 Conestoga Road, Malvern, PA 19355.

People's Light presents Nina Simone: Four Women, a new music-filled play featuring hits like 'Sinnerman,' 'I Loves You Porgy,' and 'To Be Young, Gifted, and Black' performed by an all-star female cast. The play opens on legendary songstress Nina Simone in the moment she learns of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, the event that shifted her career from nightclub singer to Civil Rights activist. Nina Simone: Four Women makes its regional premiere on the Leonard C. Haas Stage from February 27 through March 31. Tickets range from $30-$50. To purchase, call 610.644.3500 or visit www.peopleslight.org. People's Light is located at 39 Conestoga Road, Malvern, PA 19355.  

Lantern Theater Company is thrilled to announce the world premiere of an original adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, commissioned and developed through the Lantern's New Play Program and co-created by Philadelphia-based artists Anthony Lawton, Christopher Colucci, and Thom Weaver. In this wonderfully clear and direct telling of Dickens' beloved novella, Lawton will bring the story boldly to life as only live theater can. Just in time for the holiday season, audiences of all ages are invited to come rediscover this story of a miser's miraculous redemption from a life of bitterness, greed, and isolation. Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol runs Thursday, December 13, 2018, through Sunday, January 6, 2019, in the Black Box Theater at Drexel University's URBN Center Annex; a full schedule of performances is included in the fact sheet below. 

GLORIA: A Life officially opened last night, October 18, 2018 at the Daryl Roth Theatre on Union Square. Let's see what the critics had to say...

GLORIA: A Life officially opened last night, October 18, 2018 at the Daryl RothTheatre on Union Square. BroadwayWorld was there and you can check out photos from the opening night celebration below!

GLORIA: A Life officially opened last night, October 18, 2018 at the Daryl RothTheatre on Union Square. BroadwayWorld was there and you can check out photos from the red carpet below!

GLORIA: A Life officially opened last night, October 18, 2018 at the Daryl Roth Theatre on Union Square. BroadwayWorld was there and you can check out photos of the cast taking their opening night bows below!

Lantern Theater Company kicks off its 2018/19 season with the regional premiere of Hapgood by Tom Stoppard. Longtime Lantern artistic collaborator Peter DeLaurier will direct a cast that includes McKenna Kerrigan as MI5 spymaster Elizabeth Hapgood, with Damon Bonetti, Kirk Wendell Brown, Trevor William Fayle, Christopher Patrick Mullen, Adam Phelan, David Pica, William Zielinski, and young actors Charles LaMonaca and Will Zielinski, who will share the role of Hapgood's son Joe. Theater critics and members of the press are invited to request tickets for opening night on Wednesday, September 12 at 7 p.m. by contacting Anne Shuff at ashuff@lanterntheater.org. Performances run Thursday, September 6 through Sunday, October 14, 2018; a full schedule of performances and related special events is included in the fact sheet below.

Student rush tickets will be offered for the final week of performances of the Signature Theatre production of Our Lady of 121st Street, by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis and directed by Tony Award-winner Phylicia Rashad.

The Signature Theatre (Paige Evans, Artistic Director; Harold Wolpert, Executive Director; James Houghton, Founder) production of Our Lady of 121st Street, by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis and directed by Tony Award-winner Phylicia Rashad, has been extended by a week, the company announced today. The production, which opened on May 20, will now run through June 17, 2018.

Lantern Theater Company concludes its record-smashing 2017/18 season with the regional premiere of Don't Dress for Dinner by French playwright Marc Camoletti. Lantern Resident Director Kathryn MacMillan will direct a cast that includes some of Philadelphia's finest comedic actors: Chris Anthony, Jessica Bedford, Marc LeVasseur, Lee Minora, Karen Peakes, and William Zielinski. Theater critics and members of the press are invited to request tickets for opening night on Wednesday, May 30 at 7 p.m. by contacting Anne Shuff at ashuff@lanterntheater.org. Performances run Thursday, May 24 through Sunday, June 24, 2018; a full schedule is included in the fact sheet below.