Shannon Holt News

William Inge's Pulitzer-Prize-winning Picnic depicting a small Kansas town in 1952, its strict code of morality and the inner longings of its people to break away, is perhaps his finest. Now in a stunning production at Antaeus directed ever so lovingly by Cameron Watson and boasting a superlative ensemble - actually three alternating casts: 'Deviled Eggs', 'Stuffed Peppers' and 'Pork Chops', Picnic still holds up some 60 years later, proving the omnipotence of human fragility. My visit was with the 'Deviled Eggs'cast. The music, the clothes, the hairstyles, and the cars are distinctly 50s, but goals, motivations and emotions remain the same. For those unfamiliar with the play or the uber popular 1956 film Picnic starring William Holden and Kim Novak, let's recap the plot briefly.

Powerful, moving and ripe for revival, Inge's drama is not simply a breezy summer romance. Set in small town Kansas, this is a sexy world, dangerous and cruel, where residents keep each other in their place while longing to break free. At once sensual, passionate and delightfully funny, Picnic probes the sometimes tenuous line between restraint and desire.

The Perry-Mansfield New Works Festival (perry-mansfield.org/events/3/new-works-festival) now in its 18th year, brings performing arts professionals together in the Rocky Mountains to continue Perry-Mansfield's founding principle of nurturing new talent through new work. This year's festival, taking place this weekend, June 12-13 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, will feature new works from some of America's most prestigious theater companies: Atlantic Theater Company, Denver Center for the Performing Arts Theatre Company, Primary Stages, andSouth Coast Repertory. The companies will showcase four different new works in partnership with Perry-Mansfield.

The Perry-Mansfield New Works Festival (perry-mansfield.org/events/3/new-works-festival) now in its 18th year, brings performing arts professionals together in the Rocky Mountains to continue Perry-Mansfield's founding principle of nurturing new talent through new work. This year's festival, taking place on June 12-13 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, will feature new works from some of America's most prestigious theater companies: Atlantic Theater Company, Denver Center for the Performing Arts Theatre Company, Primary Stages, andSouth Coast Repertory. The companies will showcase four different new works in partnership with Perry-Mansfield.

Powerful, moving and ripe for revival, Inge's drama is not simply a breezy summer romance. Set in small town Kansas, this is a sexy world, dangerous and cruel, where residents keep each other in their place while longing to break free. At once sensual, passionate and delightfully funny, Picnic probes the sometimes tenuous line between restraint and desire.

STAGE RAW is pleased to announce the FIRST ANNUAL STAGE RAW LOS ANGELES THEATER AWARDS, championing the best work of 2014 in L.A.'s now embattled theaters of up to 99-seats. (STAGE RAW is using the same jury that was assembled through 2014 for the now dearly departed LA WEEKLY Theater Awards.) Check out the full list of nominees below!

As the axis of this spinning vortex, Noel Coward's The Vortex, the talented Shannon Holt dominates as Florence.

Noel Coward's rarely produced first hit show, updated to the Swinging Sixties, returns with the original director and cast at the Matrix Theatre.

Noel Coward's rarely produced first hit show, updated to the Swinging Sixties, returns with the original director and cast at the Matrix Theatre.

Nominees for the 2014 LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards were announced on the evening of Monday, September 22 at Native Voices at the Autry National Center in Los Angeles. The nominations were revealed by past Ovation Award recipients Gigi Bermingham, Brighid Fleming, Parmer Fuller, Jennifer Haley, Brian Kite, Glynn Turman, and John Zalewski, along with LA STAGE Alliance Chief Executive Officer Terence McFarland.

Nominees for the 2014 LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards were announced on the evening of Monday, September 22 at Native Voices at the Autry National Center in Los Angeles. The nominations were revealed by past Ovation Award recipients Gigi Bermingham, Brighid Fleming, Parmer Fuller, Jennifer Haley, Brian Kite, Glynn Turman, and John Zalewski, along with LA STAGE Alliance Chief Executive Officer Terence McFarland.

GSN's inaugural season of SKIN WARS, an eight-episode, hour-long competition show that seeks to find the most talented and versatile body painters in the country, debuts tonight, Wednesday, August 6 at 9:00pm ET/PT (8pm CT).

GSN, the leader in game shows and competitive entertainment, announced today the talented contestants to be featured on the inaugural season of SKIN WARS

The third play in MALIBU PLAYHOUSE's 2013-2014 season will be The Vortex by Noel Coward, opening Friday, April 11, 2014. The play will be directed by Artistic Director Gene Franklin Smith and stars Shannon Holt and Craig Robert Young. Tickets are $30, and may be purchased through the box office, online at http://www.malibuplayhouse.org or by calling 323-960-7711. There will be previews on April 9th and 10th for $20. Shows are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 3 PM. Malibu Playhouse is located at 29243 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA 90265 (near Zuma Beach, between Kanan-Dume Road and Morning View Drive, near Heathercliff Road).

It's been awhile since I can honestly say I was emotionally overwhelmed by a night of theater. There are so many thoughts wandering in and out of my mind that I hardly know where to begin except to say that religion, politics and theater collide superlatively under the imaginative and quick-paced direction of Bart DeLorenzo in the Los Angeles premiere of PASSION PLAY at the Odyssey Theatre.

Religion, politics and theater collide when Bart DeLorenzo directs the Los Angeles premiere of Passion Play by Tony and two-time Pulitzer Prize nominee Sarah Ruhl, kicking off the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble's 45th Anniversary Season in a co-production with Evidence Room. Performances begin Jan. 25 at the Odyssey Theatre in West L.A. and continue through March 16.

Find out who's really crazy when a couple of lovebirds bring their mismatched families together. The Antaeus Company, L.A.'s multiple award-winning classical theater company, presents You Can't Take It With You, the timeless comedy about love, life and living by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. Gigi Bermingham directs the fully double cast production Oct. 18 through Dec. 9, with low-priced previews beginning Oct. 11.

The Theatre @ Boston Court and Furious Theatre Company present 'The Government Inspector," a World Premiere adaptation of Nikolai Gogol's "The Government Inspector" adapted by, and original songs by Oded Gross, directed by Stefan Novinksi. The play opens July 28 on the Main Stage at Boston Court Performing Arts Center, 70 North Mentor Avenue.

Casting has been announced for the 15th annual Perry-Mansfield New Works Festival (http://perry-mansfield.org/events/3/new-works-festival/) which brings performing arts professionals together in the Rocky Mountains to continue Perry-Mansfield's founding principle of nurturing new talent through new work.

In a guest house on the Gulf, a hundred miles from New Orleans, old friends gather in a summer home to rediscover connections, rekindle lost relationships, and find peace - only to find that they can't rewrite the stories of their past. The Antaeus Company, L.A.'s classical theater ensemble, presents The Autumn Garden by Lillian Hellman, directed by Larry Biederman. Four gala openings of the fully double-cast production, two with each cast, take place October 28-31, with performances continuing through December 19 at Antaeus' interim home, Deaf West Theatre in the NoHo Arts District. Low-priced previews begin October 22.