Signature Theatre News

Signature Theatre's New York Premiere of August Wilson's HOW I LEARNED WHAT I LEARNED begins performances tonight. The production, which is co-conceived with and directed by Todd Kreidler, and in collaboration with and featuring Tony Award-winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson, opens on November 24 and runs through Sunday, December 22 in The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42ndStreet between 9th and 10th Avenues).

Billy Crystal will return to Broadway this fall for a 9-week-only limited engagement of his Tony Award-winning, record-breaking play 700 Sundays. This will mark the final engagement of this production. Previews begin tonight, November 5, 2013 at the Imperial Theatre (249 West 45th Street) with opening night scheduled for Wednesday, November 13, 2013 and a final performance set for Sunday, January 5, 2014. 700 Sundaysis performed and written by Mr. Crystal with additional content by Alan Zweibel and direction by Des McAnuff.

The romantic comedy Parfumerie, adapted by E.P. Dowdall from the Hungarian playIllatszertar by Miklos Laszlo, will have a rare revival as the first theater production of the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts (Lou Moore, Executive Director), for a limited, 29 performance engagement November 26 to December 22. The production, directed by Mark Brokaw, who is currently represented on Broadway with Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, centers on a romance that unfolds through love letters, a perfect homage to the historic Beverly Hills Post Office.

With the Broadway Fall season in full swing, and a constant need for replacements, there is a solid group of performers making their Broadway debuts this Fall. Meet all of Broadway's newest stars below!

Tony Award-winning actors Christian Borle (Peter and the Starcatcher, Spamalot) and Beth Leavel (The Drowsy Chaperone, Elf), Tony nominee Annaleigh Ashford (Kinky Boots, Legally Blonde), and Broadway stars Heidi Blickenstaff ([title of show], The Little Mermaid) and Derek Klena (Wicked, Dogfight) are all scheduled to take part in the developmental reading. Dog and Pony will receive its World Premiere at The Old Globe next spring, running May 28 - June 29, 2014; casting for that production will be announced at a later time.

This season, Signature Theatre presents the world premiere of the new musical CROSSING with a book by Grace Barnes, music and lyrics by Matt Conner, with Barnes also contributing additional lyrics. CROSSING, currently in previews, runs through Nov. 24. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you a first look at the cast on stage!

Signature Theatre has announced the World Premiere of Pulitzer Prize finalist Will Eno's new play THE OPEN HOUSE. THE OPEN HOUSE will be directed by Oliver Butler, who is a founding member and co-Artistic Director of The Debate Society. The production runs February 11 through March 23, 2014 with a March 3, 2014 opening night in The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues). Tickets will go on sale January 14, 2014. All tickets for the initial run of the production are $25 as part of the Signature Ticket Initiative: A Generation of Access.

Lark Play Development Center and Playwrights of New York (PoNY) welcomed 7th PoNY Kimber Lee, the newest Lark/PoNY fellow to begin her one-year residency in the PoNY apartment in the heart of Manhattan's theater district.

Actor and songstress Sandy Bainum, a longtime friend of Signature Theatre and cast member of this winter's production of Gypsy - will celebrate the launch of her new CD Simply with a special one-night-only concert and signing event at the theatre on the evening of Monday, November 18 at 7:30pm. Admission to the event is free, with a suggested donation of $30 by cash or check. All proceeds from the evening benefit Only Make Believe (OMB), a New York City and Washington DC based non-profit organization that brings the arts into hospitals and care facilities for children suffering from chronic illnesses and disabilities.

Signature Theatre has revealed the first production photos for this fall's world-premiere production of Pride in the Falls of Autrey Mill, written by Really Really playwright Paul Downs Colaizzo. Running in the ARK Theatre beginning October 15, this explosive family drama hits right at the heart of Signature's ongoing commitment to producing today's most exciting new plays.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum will take the stage at the Shakespeare Theatre Company this holiday season. Making his STC mainstage directing debut, STC Associate Director Alan Paul heads up the hilarious and fun musical farce based on the classic plays of ancient Roman playwright Plautus. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum will play at Sidney Harman Hall (610 F Street NW) from November 21, 2013-January 5, 2014.

Amas Musical Theatre (Donna Trinkoff/Artistic Producer) will present three free staged readings of "FRIDA" a new musical by Michael Aman and Dana P. Rowe, directed by Maria Torres. The readings will take place on Friday, October 25th at 6:00pm, and Saturday, October 26th at 3:00pm and 7:00pm at The Theatre at the 14th Street Y, 314 East 14th Street. Tickets are free and reservations are available via email at boxoffice@amasmusical.org or by calling 212-563-2565.

On Monday, October 28 (7:30pm), Kutztown University Presents will welcome back alumnus and founder of Arlington, Virginia's TONY-award winning Signature Theatre, Eric Schaeffer, as he directs Signature Broadway. The concert event is set to take place as a part of the Performing Artists Series in Schaeffer Auditorium.

54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents VARIOUS ALUMNI OF ELON UNIVERSITY (THE CLASSES of 2005 - 2013) in 'HELLO MY NAME IS...' on November 17th, 2013 at 11:30 PM. This concert revolves around the milestones AFTER graduation. Starting an artistic journey is not something taken lightly by any of us, and these songs are meant to tell the story of those that battle and persevere against less-than-90-seconds-in-the-room days, and something deep and destructive about a lonely moment in the city. All that, just to wake up the next morning and start again. All that, for 300 dollars a week, to do a revue in the middle of nowhere. All that, for the eventual Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Tour/Regional success of our entire cast. This is worth celebrating. This is a story worth singing. There's something exciting and terrifying and FEARLESS about what we do. So, we choose to revel in the struggle of being a 20-something, and share our stories through this concert.

The highly acclaimed show NOTHING TO HIDE begins its limited run tonight, Wednesday, October 23rd in The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues). Two of the world's most gifted sleight-of-hand artists, Derek DelGaudio (2011 & 2012 Close-up Magician of the Year) and Helder Guimarães (2011 & 2012 Parlor Magician of the Year), star in this uniquely unconventional magic show directed by Emmy Award winner Neil Patrick Harris.

After numerous extensions and unprecedented attendance due to word-of-mouth that broke box office records at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, the highly acclaimed show NOTHING TO HIDE will premiere in New York this fall in a limited engagement. Two of the world's most gifted sleight-of-hand artists, Derek DelGaudio (2011 & 2012 Close-up Magician of the Year) and Helder Guimarães (2011 & 2012 Parlor Magician of the Year) star in this uniquely unconventional magic show, directed by Emmy Award winner Neil Patrick Harris. Through a series of diverse and engaging vignettes, NOTHING TO HIDEleads the audience on an amazing and memorable journey into a world of pure astonishment.

Transporting audiences to an era of mobsters, moonshine, and murder, Cynthia von Buhler's SPEAKEASY DOLLHOUSE brings an actual unsolved Prohibition-era murder to life in the downtown building that once served as mobster Meyer Lansky's hangout. For three upcoming Saturday performances - November 16, November 23, and December 7 - Tony Award nominee Euan Morton will step into the DOLLHOUSE to play the role of bandleader "Henry Azelrod," performing with members of the jazz band Grandpa Musselman & His Syncopators.

Signature Theatre has announced that Cole Horibe ("So You Think You Can Dance") will play the role of Bruce Lee in the World Premiere of David Henry Hwang's new play KUNG FU, directed by Leigh Silverman. The production runs February 4 through March 16, 2014 with a February 24, 2014 opening night in The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42ndStreet between 9th and 10th Avenues). Tickets will go on sale December 3, 2013. All tickets for the initial run of the production are $25 as part of the Signature Ticket Initiative: A Generation of Access.

After numerous extensions and unprecedented attendance due to word-of-mouth that broke box office records at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, the highly acclaimed show NOTHING TO HIDE will premiere in New York this fall in a limited engagement. Two of the world's most gifted sleight-of-hand artists, Derek DelGaudio (2011 & 2012 Close-up Magician of the Year) and Helder Guimarães (2011 & 2012 Parlor Magician of the Year) star in this uniquely unconventional magic show, directed by Emmy Award winner Neil Patrick Harris. Through a series of diverse and engaging vignettes, NOTHING TO HIDE leads the audience on an amazing and memorable journey into a world of pure astonishment. DelGaudio, Guimaraes and Harris met the press earlier today and you can check out a photo preview below. Check back later for full coverage.