Seattle Rep News

The Hilberry Theatre announced its 2015-16 Season Friday during the opening night festivities for Arthur Miller's adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's classic drama, An Enemy of the People. Season tickets are on sale now.

Berkeley Rep is proud to welcome back the beloved team of Dominique Serrand and Steven Epp for a provocative and powerful revival of Moliere's dark comedy about religious hypocrisy.

The distinguished Cuban-American playwright Eduardo Machado has created a touchstone piece by taking a one-act play with music, written in 1982, and turning it into a full-length, two-act musical. His 'Rosario and the Gypsies,' with songs by composer Rick Vartorella and lyrics by Mr. Machado and Mr. Vartorella, was a short, wild rock 'n roll play with music about the backstage romances and melodramas of a hippie performance troupe in southern California who were devoted to the art of change. Its songs were a combination of street pop and 60's-70's rock. It was produced in NYC by Ensemble Studio Theater in 1982 and it got Machado recognized as a writer to be reckoned with. Machado and Vartorella have now revised the piece and completed its story, adding a second act, in which we learn the future for its characters. Theater for the New City will present this revised and expanded version of 'Rosario and the Gypsies' from tonight, February 18 to March 8, directed by Machado.

During the month of February, Syracuse Stage will have four productions appearing coast-to-coast. Here locally, In the Next Room, or the vibrator play will complete its run on February 15. Sizwe Banzi is Dead recently completed a run in Princeton, NJ and will start up in Syracuse on February 25. Other Desert Cities will start performing in Portland, OR on February 21 where it will run several weeks before moving to Syracuse Stage in April. Stage's fall production of August Wilson's The Piano Lesson had a second run in Seattle, WA that ended February 8.

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, is pleased to announce the recipients of the Edgerton Foundation New Play Awards for the 2014-15 season. The awards, totaling $858,000, allow 26 productions extra time in the development and rehearsal of new plays with the entire creative team, helping to extend the life of the play after its first run.

Pittsburgh Public Theater's 40th anniversary Season of Legends continues with the Pittsburgh premiere of How I Learned What I Learned, the final play by August Wilson. How I Learned was co-conceived and will be directed by Todd Kreidler, a Duquesne University graduate, former Pittsburgh Public Theater staff member, and author of the recent Broadway musical, Holler If Ya Hear Me. How I Learned What I Learned runs March 5 - April 5, 2015 at the O'Reilly Theater, Pittsburgh Public Theater's home in the heart of Downtown's Cultural District. For tickets call 412.316.1600 or visit ppt.org.

Every now and again it's nice to have an evening with a quiet little play such as the Seattle Rep's current offering of "Dear Elizabeth". A play with no grand reveal, or overarching conflict to resolve. Just a simple story about a relationship. That may sound uninteresting and it could be but in the hands of a very gifted playwright and talented cast and crew this quiet tale still packs a punch.

San Francisco Playhouse continues its twelfth season with the regional premiere of Aaron Posner's Stupid f**king Bird-irreverently based on Anton Chekov's The Seagull-directed by Susi Damilano.

Milwaukee Repertory Theater announced final casting for the upcoming World Premiere production of Five Presidents. Broadway and television veterans Mark Jacoby, Martin L'Herault, Steve Sheridan, Jeff Steitzer, and Brit Whittle, along with Rep Associate Artist Reese Madigan, make up the cast of Five Presidents from Emmy Award-winning writer Rick Cleveland (The West Wing, House of Cards, Mad Men, and Six Feet Under).

The first play of ACT's 50th Anniversary Season will be packed with talent. Broadway alums and Seattle favorites Laura Griffith and Brandon O'Neill will play Maggie the Cat and Brick, one of the most iconic couples in the theatrical canon. John Aylward, a Seattle treasure who went on to make a name for himself in Hollywood with recurring roles on ER, The West Wing, and Mad Men, will play the family patriarch Big Daddy. Rounding out the cast of leading roles will be elite Seattle acting veteran Marianne Owen as Big Mama. Kurt Beattie, in his final year as Artistic Director will direct this powerhouse cast.

The Geffen Playhouse announces the cast for its West Coast premiere production of Conor McPherson's The Night Alive, helmed by Geffen Playhouse Artistic Director Randall Arney. This production will feature Paul Vincent O'Connor (August: Osage County at the National Theatre, London), Fiona O'Shaughnessy (Utopia), Dan Donohue (The Lion King on Broadway), Denis Arndt (Basic Instinct), and Peter O'Meara (Band of Brothers).

National Corporate Theatre Fund (NCTF) and Chairman James S. Turley will lead a celebration to support American theatre at the annual Chairman's Awards Gala on Monday, April 13th at The Pierre New York (2 East 61st Street at Fifth Avenue) at 6:30pm. The Chairman's Awards Gala supports the creation of theatrical works and arts education at theatres across America.

Geva Theatre Center presents the world premiere of Women in Jeopardy! - a fun and flirtatious new comedy by playwright Wendy MacLeod, directed by Sean Daniels. Women in Jeopardy! begins performances February 24, opens February 28 and runs in the Elaine P. Wilson Mainstage through March 22.

Writers Theatre presents The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, adapted by Wendy Kesselman and directed by Kimberly Senior. The show runs February 24 - June 28, 2015 at Books on Vernon, 664 Vernon Avenue, Glencoe. The Press Openings are Wednesday, March 4, and Thursday, March 5, 2015.

Award-winning, multi-talented performers, Felicia Fields, Chic Street Man and Sugaray Rayford, will be heating up The Rep's Stackner Cabaret this March in Low Down Dirty Blues. Audiences will forget about the cold weather when they come see these powerhouse entertainers belt out the blues. Directed by Randal Myler, the production is set to begin performances in The Rep's Stackner Cabaret March 20, 2015 and runs through May 24, 2015. Opening night is Sunday, March 22, 2015.

PLAYHOUSE CREATURES THEATRE has announced that it will present HUNTER GATHERERS, a black comedy about an annual dinner party that blurs the line between civilized and primal man, March 3 - March 28 at the Duo Theatre, 62 East 4th St. 2nd floor. Written by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb and directed by Eric Tucker (Wall Street Journal's 2014 Director of the year), The production will have its official opening on Saturday, March 7th at 8:00PM.

The Geffen Playhouse announces the cast for its West Coast premiere production of Conor McPherson's The Night Alive, helmed by Geffen Playhouse Artistic Director Randall Arney. This production will feature Paul Vincent O'Connor (August: Osage County at the National Theatre, London), Fiona O'Shaughnessy (Utopia), Dan Donohue (The Lion King on Broadway), Denis Arndt (Basic Instinct), and Peter O'Meara (Band of Brothers).

The Public Theater announced the line-up today for the 2015 FREE Shakespeare in the Park season, continuing a 53-year tradition of free theater in Central Park. Since 1962, over five million people have enjoyed more than 150 free productions of Shakespeare and other classical works and musicals at the Delacorte Theater. Conceived by founder Joe Papp as a way to make great theater accessible to all, The Public's free Shakespeare in the Park continues to be the bedrock of the Company's mission to increase access and engage the community. This summer, free Shakespeare in the Park will feature Shakespeare's late romances with THE TEMPEST (May 27-July 5), directed by Tony Award nominee Michael Greif, and CYMBELINE (July 27-August 23), directed by Tony Award winner Daniel Sullivan.

Classic Stage Company welcomes Emmy Award-nominee and Golden Globe-winner Anthony Edwards ('ER'), Annabella Sciorra ('The Sopranos') and Tony Award-winner Elizabeth Franz (Death of A Salesman, Brighton Beach Memoirs), alongside Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister on HBO's Game of Thrones) and Taylor Schilling (Piper Chapman on Netflix's Orange Is The New Black) in Ivan Turgenev's A Month in the Country, opening at CSC (136 East 13th Street) tonight, January 29, for a limited engagement through Sunday, February 22.