Shakespeare & Company News

'Daylight Precision' by Douglas Lackey takes us back to World War II and into the great moral controversies involving strategic bombing. Should we bomb cities, or military targets? The United States began by avoiding cities but ended up destroying them. Lackey shows how the change came about by tracing the careers of Generals Haywood Hansell and 'Bomb them back to the Stone Age' Curtis LeMay. Lackey writes, '700,000 civilians lost their lives because Hansell lost his command to LeMay. Hansell is the unsung tragic hero of World War II.' Theater for the New City will present this new work February 21 to March 16, directed by Alexander Harrington.

Marin Theatre Company begins the second half of its 2013-14 Season with the National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere of Lasso of Truth, which was co-commissioned by MTC and NNPN in 2010 from Minnesota-based playwright Carson Kreitzer. Running for a limited time from February 20 to March 16, this multimedia theatrical event explores the history of Wonder Woman - from her creation as a comic book superhero character to her lasting influence in American pop culture. The play is directed by MTC artistic director Jasson Minadakis and features local actors Lauren English, Jessa Brie Moreno and Liz Sklar, as well John Riedlinger (Minnesota) and Nicholas Rose (Ohio). Opening night is Tuesday, February 25. Based in Mill Valley, MTC is a 47-year old professional nonprofit theater that is a destination for exhilarating performances, inspired new American plays and powerful theatrical experiences.

The Wooster Group has extended their previews of CRY, TROJANS! (Troilus and Cressida) through February 15 at the Performing Garage. The production is a re-working of their half of a 2012 collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company, focusing on the Trojan side of the drama as a pastiche American 'Indian' tribe.

Hampstead Theatre has announced the that the cast of Nick Whitby's The Mystae will be Adam Buchanan, Alex Griffin-Griffiths and Beatrice Scirocchi.

Trustus Theatre is bringing Bruce Norris' Pulitzer Prize, Tony, and Olivier Award-winning comedy Clybourne Park to the Thigpen Main Stage. This show, a response to Lillian Hellman's A Raisin in the Sun, is a provocative and humorous look at racial relations and reactions in America. Clybourne Park is directed by award-winning guest director Jim O'Connor, and opens on the Thigpen Main Stage tonight, January 24th at 8:00pm.

Cutting Ball Theater continues its 15th season with Alfred Jarry's UBU ROI in a new translation by Rob Melrose. Russian director Yury Urnov (Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company) helms this irreverent take on world leaders. Featuring David Sinaiko, Ponder Goddard, Marilet Martinez, Bill Boynton, Nathaniel Justiniano, and Andrew Quick, UBU ROI plays tonight, January 24 through February 23 (Press opening: January 30) at the Cutting Ball Theater in residence at EXIT on Taylor (277 Taylor Street) in San Francisco. Scroll down for a sneak peek at the cast!

Popcorn Hat Players will present JACK AND THE BEANSTALK from March 26-April 12 on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10:15 a.m. and Saturdays at 1:00 p.m.

Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, Cincinnati's stage for the classics, continues their 20th Anniversary Season with a special production of Tom Stoppard's "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead" playing February 14- March 9, 2014. This production is directed by CSC Artistic Associate Jeremy Dubin and features CSC Resident Ensemble members Justin McCombs and Billy Chace as well as the entire cast of "Hamlet" reprising their roles. The production design is generously sponsored by Graydon Head and GBBN Architects.

Follow the preparation for Orlando Shakespeare Theater's epic production of THE LIFE & ADVENTURES OF NICHOLAS NICKELBY in this guest blog series.

Berkeley Repertory Theatre presents the world premiere of The House that will not Stand, a humorous and gripping historical drama commissioned from award- winning poet-playwright and Oakland native Marcus Gardley. Sensuous, witty, heartbreaking, and uplifting - The House that will not Stand unearths a story about free women of color in 1836 New Orleans, where black Creole women entered into common-law marriages with affluent white men. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast below!

The Trap Door Theatre presents JUDITH, A PARTING FROM THE BODY, written by Howard Barker and directed by Zeljko Djukic. The cast features Kevin Cox, Stacie Beth Green, and Nicole Wiesner. The show will open tonight, January 23, 2014 at 8PM and is set to close on Saturday, March 1, 2014 at 8PM.

Trap Door Theatre will present 'Judith, A Parting of the Body', written by Howard Barker and directed by Zeljko Djukic, featuring Kevin Cox, Stacie Beth Green, Nicole Wiesner.

The Atlanta Shakespeare Company at The New American Shakespeare Tavern will present Romeo and Juliet in repertory with The Taming of the Shrew and Much Ado About Nothing. Previews will be January 30 & 31, and performances will run February 1, 2, 6, 7, 14, 15, 22, 28 and March 6, 9, 15, 21, 27, and 30 2014.

Olney Theatre Center proudly announces the return of legendary star of stage and screen Sir Ian McKellen, making his musical comedy debut in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying as the "Book Voice", narrating the action in the Tony-winning musical. Former Artistic Director Jim Petosa, who produced McKellen's first appearance at Olney, has signed on to voice the show's "TV Announcer". How to Succeed is known for having voiceover parts often recorded by recognizable voices including broadcast journalists Walter Cronkite (1995 Broadway revival) and Anderson Cooper (2011 Broadway revival).

Academy Award, Tony Award and Emmy Award winner Christopher Plummer takes the stage for 16 performances only in a Center Theatre Group special event, "A Word or Two," which opens at the CTG/Ahmanson Theatre tomorrow, January 22, 2014. Written and arranged by Plummer and directed by Tony Award winner Des McAnuff, "A Word or Two" is presented in association with the Stratford Festival of Canada and continues through February 9, 2014. Scroll down for a sneak peek at Plummer onstage!

Academy Award, Tony Award and Emmy Award winner Christopher Plummer takes the stage for 16 performances only in a Center Theatre Group special event, 'A Word or Two,' which opens at the CTG/Ahmanson Theatre on Wednesday, January 22, 2014. Written and arranged by Plummer and directed by Tony Award winner Des McAnuff, 'A Word or Two' is presented in association with the Stratford Festival of Canada and continues through February 9, 2014.

Orlando Shakespeare Theater in Partnership with UCF is thrilled to present the epic theatrical event The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Parts I and II. Written by David Edgar and adapted from the novel by Charles Dickens, the production is produced in Collaboration with Theatre UCF. Co-directed by Artistic Director Jim Helsinger and Theatre UCF Chair/Artistic Director Christopher Niess, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Parts I & II is presented in rotating repertory from today, January 22 to March 9, 2014 at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center in Loch Haven Park.

Dame Judi Dench is being considered for the elderly version of Mon Mothma, the senator who co-ordinated and gave the Rebel Alliance briefing in J.J. Abrams' upcoming 'Star Wars: Episode VII.