Scott Frankel News

Playwrights Horizons has announced initial casting for the New York premiere production of STAGE KISS, a new play marking the eagerly-awaited return of two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Sarah Ruhl(Dead Man's Cell Phone at PH; The Clean House, In the Next Room...) to the theater company. Directed by Rebecca Taichman (Milk Like Sugar at PH; the current Marie Antoinette, Orlando, The Scene, Luck of the Irish), the production will begin previews Friday evening, February 7 at 8PM with an Opening Night set for Sunday, March 2 at 7PM. The limited engagement will play through Sunday evening, March 23 at Playwrights Horizons' Mainstage Theater (416 West 42nd Street).

FAR FROM HEAVEN's Kelli O'Hara, Isaiah Johnson and Nancy Anderson will perform at Barnes & Noble with special guests Scott Frankel and Michael Korie in celebration of the release of the musical's Original Cast Recording. They will also be signing CDs. It all takes place on Wednesday, November 13 at 7 p.m. on the event stage at the Barnes & Noble, Upper East Side, 86th and Lexington.

Today in 2006, Grey Gardens opened at the Walter Kerr Theatre, where it ran for 307 performances. Grey Gardens is a musical with book by Doug Wright, music by Scott Frankel, and lyrics by Michael Korie, based on the 1975 documentary of the same title about the lives of Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale ('Big Edie') and her daughter Edith Bouvier Beale ('Little Edie') by Albert and David Maysles. The Beales were Jacqueline Kennedy's aunt and cousin, respectively. Set at Grey Gardens, the Bouviers' mansion in East Hampton, New York, the musical tracks the progression of the two women's lives from their original status as rich and socially polished aristocrats to their eventual largely isolated existence in a home overrun by cats and cited for repeated health code violations.

Playwrights Horizons presents its New York premiere production of Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play, a new play by Anne Washburn, with music by Obie Award winner Michael Friedman. Directed by Steve Cosson, the Obie Award-winning Artistic Director of The Civilians, Mr. Burns is being presented as the first production of Playwrights Horizons' 2013/2014 Season.

Imagine what it would be like to sit in a theatre and see an actor portray not only yourself, but others who are only characters to the audience - but are very real to you. Last Saturday night, Jerry Torre revisited a treasured part of his young life as he watched his past recreated at Newington Mainstage's production of "GREY GARDENS: The Musical".

Smash creator, Theresa Rebeck opens up about her career and the release of her fourth volume of collected plays with a book signing to follow. The event is set for Monday, October 21st at 5pm at The Drama Book Shop.

According to an equity casting notice posted today, a workshop for the revamped production, set to be directed by PIPPIN's Diane Paulus, is set for Manhattan in 2014, featuring new songs by Gary Barlow and Eliot Kennedy. NEVERLAND previously held a workshop on August 26th, featuring Laura Michelle Kelly, Jason Alexander, Brian d'Arcy James and Kathleen Chalfant.

Star of the original 1975 GREY GARDENS documentary, Jerry Torre, will be Newington Mainstage's special guest on Saturday evening (October 5), as they present Connecticut Premiere of "GREY GARDENS: The Musical", running this weekend at John Wallace Middle School (please note the change in venue).

The national tour of Roundabout Theatre Company's ANYTHING GOES, the new Broadway revival of Cole Porter's timeless classic musical theatre masterpiece, will make its Orange County premiere tonight, September 24 - 29 at Segerstrom Center for the Arts as part of the Curtain Call Series.

Playwrights Horizons and Symphony Space will present a panel discussion previewing the theater company's new season tonight, September 23 at 7:30 PM at Symphony Space's Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theater (2537 Broadway at 95th Street). Moderated by The Washington Post's Chief Theater Critic Peter Marks, joined by Playwrights Horizons Artistic Director Tim Sanford, the 6th annual panel discussion will feature artists representing the six productions of the theater company's 2013/2014 Season.

Playwrights Horizons (Artistic Director, Tim Sanford; Managing Director, Leslie Marcus) has announced that the critically-acclaimed score for their World Premiere production of the new musical FAR FROM HEAVEN has been preserved as an Original Cast Recording and will be released by PS Classics, the label dedicated to the heritage of Broadway and American popular song. FAR FROM HEAVEN features a book by Tony Award winner and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Richard Greenberg (Take Me Out, Three Days of Rain, The Assembled Parties), music by Tony Award nominee Scott Frankel (Grey Gardens at PH and on Broadway) and lyrics by Tony Award nominee Michael Korie (Grey Gardens at PH and on Broadway, The Grapes of Wrath). PS Classics previously recorded and released the Playwrights Horizons productions of My Life With Albertine andGrey Gardens.

Playwrights Horizons and Symphony Space will present a panel discussion previewing the theater company's new season on Monday evening, September 23 at 7:30 PM at Symphony Space's Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theater (2537 Broadway at 95th Street). Moderated by The Washington Post's Chief Theater Critic Peter Marks, joined by Playwrights Horizons Artistic Director Tim Sanford, the 6th annual panel discussion will feature artists representing the six productions of the theater company's 2013/2014 Season.

Due to critical acclaim and popular demand, Playwrights Horizons has announced an extension of its New York premiere production of MR. BURNS, A POST-ELECTRIC PLAY, a new play by Anne Washburn, with music by Obie Award winner Michael Friedman. Directed by Steve Cosson, the Obie Award-winning Artistic Director of The Civilians, MR. BURNS is being presented as the first production of Playwrights Horizons' 2013/2014 Season.

Join Mad Horse Theatre Company at their performance space for refreshments and a sneak peek at the upcoming 2013-2014 season. Tonight, September 12th from 6-8 pm at the Hutchins School, 24 Mosher Street, South Portland.

As BroadwayWorld reported last week, FINDING NEVERLAND is now aiming for a Spring 2014 run at A.R.T. in Boston before heading back to the West End, and on to Broadway. PIPPIN's Diane Paulus -- who is the Artistic Director of the A.R.T. -- is directing the production. Now, according to the New York Times, Broadway producer Barry Weissler will executive produce the project. Weissler recently worked with the A.R.T. and Paulus on the recent Tony-winning revival of Pippin.

Rub elbows with Jackie O's scandalous relatives, as Newington Mainstage presents the Connectcut Premiere of GREY GARDENS, the three-time Tony Award-winning musical, October 4-6. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the show's publicity photos below!

The Daily Mail reports that a year after the first incarnation of FINDING NEVERLAND closed in the West End, the musical has undergone a transformation for the better -- with the help of a little pixie dust and a lot of new songs, new talent and streamlined plot. The musical is now aiming for a Spring 2014 run at A.R.T. in Boston before heading back to the West End and on to Broadway.

Join Mad Horse Theatre Company at their performance space for refreshments and a sneak peek at the upcoming 2013-2014 season. Thursday September 12th from 6-8 pm at the Hutchins School, 24 Mosher Street, South Portland.

Last weekend, August 22-25, 2013, the Dramatists Guild of America held its second ever national conference in Chicago, at the Hilton Chicago on South Michigan Avenue. The Dramatists Guild is the professional association of playwrights, librettists, lyricists and composers writing for the stage. And with almost 7,000 members, that's a lot of creative energy!

The five-time Tony-winning Peter and the Starcatcher might have moved from on Broadway to off, but that doesn't mean that Peter Pan will be gone for long. According to the New York Post, two new versions of J.M. Barrie's timeless story might be heading to the Great White Way.