Susan Birkenhead News

Drawing inspiration from concerts that evolved from Brooklyn front porches to its own rooftop balcony and large-scale exhibitions mounted on its exterior facade, St. Ann’s Warehouse will return, merging public art, theater, and activism at a whole new level.

The Guthrie Theater today announced the cast and creative team for Sweat, written by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage and directed by Tamilla Woodard. Sweat will play July 16 – August 21, 2022, on the McGuire Proscenium Stage.

The musical new musical based on Betty Boop will feature music from David Foster, a book by Tony Award-winner Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone, The Prom) and lyrics by Susan Birkenhead (Jelly's Last Jam, High Society). Tony Award-winner Jerry Mitchell (Hairspray, Legally Blonde) will direct and choreograph.

TheaterWorks Hartford, under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Rob Ruggiero, is excited to announce its upcoming 2022–2023 season. Rob said 'This season, we’re focusing on plays that we hope inspire our audiences to come see LIVE theater. Great music, captivating stories, and world-class writing – these stories are uplifting, powerful … and will engage us all in important conversations. We’re particularly excited that they are written by four female playwrights representing the best and most important voices in American theater. These plays tell our stories.'

Long Wharf Theatre yesterday announced the launch of its 2022/2023 season, “Everywhere for Everyone.” Under its new model, audiences will see programming radiating out from the institution's storied home at 222 Sargent Drive and into communities across Greater New Haven.

Theater Latté Da is presenting JELLY'S LAST JAM, the story of self-proclaimed inventor of jazz, Jelly Roll Morton. The area premiere production features an all Twin Cities-based cast including Reese Britts as Jelly Roll Morton and Andre Shoals as The Chimney Man.

Lynn Nottage’s heartfelt and heartbreaking Intimate Apparel, which she wrote “to honor the legacy of her great-grandmother,” opens at Palm Beach Dramaworks on Friday, April 1 (8pm).

With many of the pandemic restrictions being lifted in New York City this week, that the Broadway COVID safety team will celebrate their 2,000th performance on Broadway Tuesday night highlights the new phase of normalcy that the industry has entered.

According to a recent casting notice, the new musical based on the cartoon character, Betty Boop, will continue development in 2022. Find out the latest here.

Kelli Foster Warder directs the Tony-award-winning musical of legendary self-proclaimed jazz inventor Jelly Roll Morton. The area premiere production opens at the intimate Ritz Theater, April 2.

Join the Segal Book Talk series Wednesday, December 1 at noon, for a conversation with Alexis Greene & Emily Mann about Greene's new book, Emily Mann: Rebel Artist of the American Theater. The discussion will be moderated by Frank Hentschker.

Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation has named director and playwright Emily Mann, the former artistic director of the McCarter Theatre, as the recipient of its annual Gordon Davidson Award.

The lineup includes a re-opening concert PUTTIN' ON THE RITZ, the return of the Latté Da original docu-musical ALL IS CALM: THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE OF 1914, the return of Peter Rothstein’s award-winning staging of Puccini's beloved opera LA BOHÈME, the area premiere of JELLY’S LAST JAM, the world premiere musical adaptation of TWELVE ANGRY MEN, and the company’s annual NEXT FESTIVAL.

Palo Alto Players has announced its 91st season - RECONNECTING. After a long intermission, Palo Alto Players returns to in-person theater once again, ready to share experiences and stories that will inspire, entertain, and enrich local artists and audiences.

Learn more about all of the additional archival footage added to the event, including Ariana Grande (at age 15 making her Broadway debut) and Brynn Williams in 13; Angela Lansbury in Blithe Spirit, Philip Seymour Hoffman in Death of a Salesman, Brian Stokes Mitchell in Ragtime, Sutton Foster in Thoroughly Modern Millie, and more!

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts announced today that Jason Robert Brown, Savion Glover, Priscilla López, Susan Stroman, Marisha Wallace, and Christopher Wheeldon have joined the growing list of Broadway stars participating in I'm Still Here: A Virtual Benefit for the Billy Rose Theatre Division, airing June 23, 2021 on Broadway On Demand at 8pm EST and 8pm PST. The fundraiser will help raise critical funds for the Library for the Performing Arts' beloved Theatre Division as it celebrates its 90th anniversary this year.

Signature Theatre has announced a private reading of the new musical Big Country. The reading stars LaChanze (Broadway’s Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, The Color Purple) as Addie Moore and Terrence Mann (Broadway’s Tuck Everlasting, Pippin) as Louis Waters. The reading on June 11 is closed to the public.

The Guthrie Theater today announced its 2021–2022 Season, including the national tour of What the Constitution Means to Me by famed writer Heidi Schreck; a world-premiere adaptation of A Christmas Carol by Lavina Jadhwani, featuring all-new creative design; Lorraine Hansberry’s heralded A Raisin in the Sun, and more.

Working: A Musical is now playing Under the Tent at Alliance Theatre, running through May 30, 2021.