Second Stage News

To coincide with the ongoing presidential campaign, the Huntington Theatre Company will stage the American premiere of Now or Later, Christopher Shinn's timely political drama about our freedoms. Drama Desk and Outer Critic's Circle Award winner Michael Wilson, who recently helmed the acclaimed Broadway production of Gore Vidal's presidential drama The Best Man, directs the new production.

The Meeting* hosted by Justin Sayre - the acclaimed gay comedy/variety show - will open its fourth season on September 20, 2012 at The Duplex in New York's West Village. Each edition of The Meeting* honors a different gay icon; the September show will pay tribute to Disco chart-topper Sylvester with special guests Bridget Everett, Ben Rimalower and Xavier.

Labyrinth Theater Company, the award-winning, downtown ensemble has announced their Fall lineup of free play readings for the 13th Annual Barn Series, to be held at the Bank Street Theater in Manhattan's West Village throughout the Company's 2012/13 Season.

Thomas Sadoski, a Tony nominee for his work in reasons to be pretty and who currently stars in HBO's The Newsroom, is set to appear in the world premiere production of Michael Golamco's Build in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse.

Goodman Theatre opens its 2012/2013 Season in the Owen Theatre with playwright, actor and poet Dael Orlandersmith's Black n Blue Boys/Broken Men, a co-commission with Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Directed by Chay Yew, Black n Blue Boys/Broken Men is Orlandersmith's solo-performed examination of humanity's capacity for hope and survival, rendered through the eyes of five men ages 11 to 50.

EXTENDED BY POPULAR DEMAND! Ben Rimalower's PATTI ISSUES, written and performed by Ben Rimalower and directed by Aaron Mark, has been extended by popular demand at the Duplex.

Rare Terra Theatre celebrates the Chicago premiere of Wrong Mountain at The Second Stage, 3408 North Sheffield, tonight September 13 - October 7. The witty black comedy, written by award-winning playwright David Hirson, is directed by Rare Terra's Artistic Director Ian Streicher.

On the eve of his assassination, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., cools down in a lonely Memphis hotel room after delivering the speech of a lifetime - when an unexpected visit from a feisty, young hotel maid pushes King into a confrontation with his doubts, fears and haunting premonitions. A soul-stirring hit in London and on Broadway, The Mountaintop's humorous, magical storytelling fuses theatricality with spirituality to reach a summit that will leave audiences breathless. The Mountaintop is written by playwright Katori Hall and will be directed by Rep Artistic Associate May Adrales, who returns to The Rep after directing last season's critically-acclaimed production of Yellowman. The Mountaintop runs in The Rep's Stiemke Studio from September 26 - November 4, and opens Friday, September 28.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces the full company for My Fair Lady, directed by Artistic Director Molly Smith.

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. 'Grease,' 'Godspell,' 'Jesus Christ Superstar,' 'The Rocky Horror Show' and 'Xanadu' bring back the 70s! Plus more, including a big '42nd Street,' two announcements from Light Opera Works, and a weekend with Lonny Price.

Midwest New Musicals kicks off the second season of Words and Music, a concert reading series of original musicals beginning Monday, October 22 at 7:30 pm at the Light Opera Works Second Stage, 1420 Maple (at Lake) in Evanston. Tickets for the general public are $15, available at Light Opera Works box office (847) 920-5360 or at the door.

Betsy Aidem, Clea Alsip and Olga Merediz join Kathleen Turner in Long Wharf Theatre's production of The Killing of Sister George, by Frank Marcus and adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher.

Opening Mixed Blood Theatre's 37th season is the winner of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for drama, NEXT TO NORMAL, described as 'a breathtaking rock production that reveals one family's struggle with mental illness.' Artistic Director Jack Reuler directs the powerhouse musical, which was also nominated for 11 Tony Awards. Next to Normal, with book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt, opens October 5 and runs through November 11 at Mixed Blood's historic firehouse theatre on the West Bank, 1501 S. Fourth St. in Minneapolis.

The Old Globe today announced the cast and creative team for the San Diego Premiere of Pulitzer Prize winner David Lindsay-Abaire's Good People, the award-winning play about class divisions in modern-day Boston. Directed by Paul Mullins, Good People will run Sept. 29 - Oct. 28, 2012 in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Preview performances run Sept. 29 - Oct. 3. Opening night is Thursday, Oct. 4 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts presents DruidMurphy October 17-20, 2012 in the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater. Told through three of the greatest plays by Tom Murphy including Conversations on a Homecoming on October 19 & 20, A Whistle in the Dark on October 18 & 20, and Famine on October 17 & 20, DruidMurphy is a major celebration of one of Ireland's most respected living dramatists. Directed by Garry Hynes, the DruidMurphy experience allows audience members to see each play individually or the full three-play cycle in one day. DruidMurphy is part of the etcetera! series.

Lunar Energy Productions will present the World Premiere of By Rights We Should Be Giants, created and written by Lunar Energy ensemble members Nadia Sepsenwol and Tim Van Dyck, October 18-November 3 at The Secret Theatre (4402 23rd Street between 44th Avenue and 44th Road, Long Island City).

Theatre Communications Group (TCG) has announced the publication of Quiara Alegria Hudes's Water by the Spoonful, the 2012 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play, which will be available in paperback and hardcover, premiered at Hartford Stage in Hartford, CT in 2011 and will receive its Off-Broadway premiere at New York City's Second Stage Theatre in winter 2012.

DEAD ACCOUNTS has just announced that two-time Tony Award winner Norbert Leo Butz and Katie Holmes will be joined by Judy Greer, Josh Hamilton, and Tony Award nominee Jayne Houdyshell on Broadway this fall.

Labyrinth Theater Company, the award-winning, downtown ensemble has announced their Fall lineup of free play readings for the 13th Annual Barn Series, to be held at the Bank Street Theater in Manhattan's West Village throughout the Company's 2012/13 Season.