Royal Shakespeare Company News

Veteran independent film distributor Richard Abramowitz announced that his company Abramorama, will release LUCKY STIFF in New York City on July 24th. The Orchard will compliment the theatrical release by making the film available to all U.S. and Canadian cable, satellite and digital platforms for a simultaneous day and date release.

The Associated Press has confirmed earlier rumors that the Broadway-bound GROUNDHOG DAY musical will debut at the Old Vic Theatre as part of Matthew Warchus' first season at the helm.

The Guthrie Theater previously announced that its outgoing Director Joe Dowling, the longest tenured artistic director in Guthrie history, will appear for an In Conversation moderated by New York Post theater columnist Michael Riedel tonight, April 21 at 7:30 p.m. on the Wurtele Thrust Stage.

The Ustinov Studio, Bath has announced the final production in its spring 2015 season, the UK premiere of Florian Zeller's THE MOTHER, in a new translation by Christopher Hampton, directed by the Ustinov Studio's Artistic Director Laurence Boswell.

Robin Rayner, David Adkin and TREMers are pleased to announce the cast for their upcoming production of Tim Foley's brave dark comedy The Dogs of War, starring Richard Southgate (Skins, Young Dracula and Borgia). This new play is a volatile look at a group of people battling with the fear of change, isolation and separation.

If you happen to be looking for a role model for making the most of your particular strengths and talents, I'd like to introduce you to actor/composer/writer/musician/director Nick Blaemire. Lucky for us, Nick, whose new musical, Soon, is currently making its world premiere at Arlington's Signature Theatre, was gracious enough to share some of his secrets for a successful creative life with me, even as he works on three of his own shows in three different cities at once.

As BEYOND THE REACH opens at theaters nationwide today, April 17, correspondent Larry Murray spoke with actor Jeremy Irvine about the film which also stars Michael Douglas, and his experience filming it.

Nicu's Spoon presents RED NOSES by Olivier Award winning playwright Peter Barnes, directed by Stephanie Barton-Farcas. RED NOSES is now and it's final week, and plays through Sunday, April 19th at The Secret Theatre (4402 23rd Street, Long Island City, NY 11101). Tickets are available at www.SpoonTheater.org or by calling 866-811-4111 and range from $15-$25.

One of the most famous shows of the last century, Joan Littlewood's legendary musical Oh What A Lovely War is to come to Birmingham Repertory Theatre. Directed by University of Birmingham graduate, Terry Johnson, the hit revival comes to The REP from 5 to 9 May, as the final venue the show's UK tour.

The Olivier Award-winning English Touring Opera (ETO) is performing a new season of fully-staged Italian opera at Exeter Northcott Theatre this April and May.

Follow the yellow brick road over the rainbow to Snug Harbor Music Hall for In The Wings Productions of THE WIZARD OF OZ, for a five-performance run Thursday, April 16 through Sunday, April 19.

A landmark in modern drama which inspired the hits 'Cabaret' and 'Chicago' and which includes one of the most popular songs of the century, 'The Threepenny Opera' plays on the Clarence Brown Theatre Mainstage tonight, April 16 through May 3, 2015.

John Goodman and Tom Sturridge will join Damian Lewis in the major new revival of David Mamet's gripping 1975 playAmerican Buffalo. Directed by Daniel Evans, American Buffalo will play at Wyndham's Theatre for a strictly limited run from tonight 16 April - 27 June 2015.

One of the theater world's most prestigious playwriting prizes, the Yale Drama Series Prize, will be given to Barbara Seyda for her play Celia, A Slave: 26 Characters Testify. The 2015 award recipient was chosen by playwright Nicholas Wright, who serves as judge for the 2015 and 2016 competitions.

The fourth Enniskillen International Beckett Festival, Happy Days, will take place over two long weekends, between 23 July and 3 August 2015.

The fourth Enniskillen International Beckett Festival, Happy Days, will take place over two long weekends, between 23 July and 3 August 2015.

The National Theatre's multi-award-winning production of The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time makes its Kent premiere at the Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury, next month (May).

Two of the most highly acclaimed British actors of their generation, Clare Higgins and Greg Hicks, are to star in the World Premiere of Clarion, set in the office of Britain's worst newspaper, the Daily Clarion.

On Twitter Watch, Josh Gad wrote ' that stage veteran and film star Ian McKellen has joined Disney's upcoming live-action adaptation of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST as 'Cogsworth'. Set for a release on March 17, 2017, the beloved tale will be retold for the big screen with a modern live-action lens and the help of transformative CG magic. As BroadwayWorld previously reported, Emma Watson and Dan Stevens will star as Belle and the Beast/Prince respectively, and Luke Evans will play the role of Gaston. Emma Thompson has joined the cast as Mrs. Potts and Kevin Kline as Belle's father, Maurice. As BWW announced previously, Josh Gad will reportedly take on the role of Le Fou, with six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald playing Garderobe. Eight-time Oscar-winner Alan Menken, who won two Academy Awards for the 1991 animated classic, will score the new BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, which will feature new recordings of the original songs in addition to several new songs written by Menken and Sir Tim Rice. Bill Condon will direct from a script by Stephen Chbosky, and the film will be produced by Mandeville Films' David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman. Production begins in May at Shepperton Studios in London. Disney also recently announced it will be creating live-action versions of MULAN and PINOCCHIO, joining reboots of THE JUNGLE BOOK, PETE'S DRAGON and WINNIE THE POOH. The live-action adaptation of CINDERELLA, starring Lily James, just hit the big screen this winter. McKellen was last seen on the big screen as 'Gandalf' in THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES (a role he originated in THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy) and will soon appear in MR. HOLMES and THE DRESSER. He is also well known for his role as 'Magneto' in the X-MEN movies. The Olivier-winning, classically trained actor last starred on Broadway in NO MAN'S LAND and WAITING FOR GODOT opposite Patrick Stewart. Before that, he appeared in DANCE OF DEATH, IAN MCKELLEN: A KNIGHT OUT AT THE LYCEUM, WILD HONEY, IAN MCKELLEN: ACTING SHAKESPEARE, AMADEUS -- which earned him a Tony Award in 1981 -- and THE PROMISE. McKellen was a member of the Old Vic and has performed at the Chichester Festival, in the West End, and with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre and more. 1991's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST was an animated musical romantic fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Based on the traditional French fairy tale of the same name by Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont,Beauty and the Beast is the 30th film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. Additionally, it is third in the Disney Renaissance period. Starring Paige O'Hara and Robby Benson, Beauty and the Beast focuses on the relationship between the Beast (Benson), a prince who is magically transformed into a monster as punishment for his arrogance, and Belle (O'Hara), a young woman who he imprisons in his castle. The film also features the voices of Richard White, Jerry Orbach, David Ogden Stiers, and Angela Lansbury, who occupy supporting roles. The film was a box office success, and has since garnered over $424 million worldwide. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST was nominated for several awards, winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy. Beauty and the Beast became the first animated film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture; it also received five additional Academy Award nominations, including Best Original Score, Best Sound, and three separate nominations for Best Original Song. Ultimately, the film won Best Original Score, while Best Original Song was awarded to its title song. In 2002, Beauty and the Beast was deemed 'culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant' by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. In April 1994, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST became Disney's first animated film to be adapted into a Broadway musical. '

The Old Globe today announced the complete cast and creative team for George Bernard Shaw's Arms and the Man, joining celebrated director Jessica Stone, who recently made her Globe debut with Christopher Durang's Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. Shaw's romantic comedy, which continues the Globe's 80th Anniversary festivities as part of the Balboa Park Centennial Celebration, will run May 9 - June 14, 2015 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Preview performances run May 9 through 13. Opening night is Thursday, May 14 at 8:00 p.m.