Susan Smith News

Canadian Rep Theatre presents the world premiere production of Watching Glory Die written and performed by one of Canada's most celebrated playwrights, Judith Thompson, in a solo tour de force role directed by Artistic Director Ken Gass. Ripped from the headlines, this riveting portrait of three inextricably linked women opens May 17 and runs to June 1 (previewing from May 15) at Berkeley Street Theatre Upstairs. Tickets are available by calling 416.368.3110 or by visiting www.canadianrep.ca .

Tarragon Theatre, under the artistic direction of Richard Rose, proudly presents the world premiere of Soliciting Temptation by Governor General Award winner and Tarragon playwright-in-residence Erin Shields. Directed by Tarragon's Assistant Artistic Director Andrea Donaldson, this compelling drama shines a light on the complexities of sex tourism and our preconceptions about love. Starring Soulpepper stalwart Derek Boyes and emerging artist Miriam Fernandes, Soliciting Temptation opens Wednesday, April 9 and runs to May 4 (with previews from tonight, April 1) in Tarragon's Extraspace.

The five-time Grammy Award-winning San Francisco Girls Chorus--Lisa Bielawa, Artistic Director and Valérie Sainte-Agathe, Music Director and Principal Conductor-continues its 35th anniversary season with a fully staged production of Benjamin Britten's 1957 opera Noye's Fludde, based on the biblical deluge story, in one performance only, tonight, March 29, 2014, at 8 pm at Temple Emanu-El in San Francisco.

Playwrights Horizons presents the World Premiere production of YOUR MOTHER'S COPY OF THE KAMA SUTRA, a new play by Kirk Lynn (Co-Artistic Director, Austin's Rude Mechanicals), directed by Obie Award winner Anne Kauffman (Detroit, Maple and Vine at PH; Belleville; This Wide Night; The Thugs), which begins previews this weekend.

On the heels of successful presentations of A Raisin in the Sun, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and The Amen Corner, the Guthrie Theater welcomes the return of the acclaimed Penumbra Theatre Company with The Mountaintop - the recipient of the 2010 Olivier Award for Best New Play - written by Katori Hall and directed by Penumbra Founder and Co-Artistic Director Lou Bellamy. The Mountaintop begins performances tonight, March 28 and continues through April 19.

The regular season will be staged August 2014 through July 2015 at the intimate Aurora Theatre in the downtown Berkeley arts district. For single tickets ($32-$60) or subscriptions ($155-$305), the public can call (510) 843-4822 or visit auroratheatre.org. Subscriptions on sale March 27. Single tickets on sale for subscribers July 29 and on sale August 5 to the general public.

What happens when a strapping young Englishman suddenly finds he has become a woman? It's an amazing journey, to say the very least, in Sarah Ruhl's adaptation of Virginia Woolf's sweeping and witty Orlando, beginning a 5-week run at Stage West on Thursday, April 3.

Playwrights Horizons has announced new details for its World Premiere production of YOUR MOTHER'S COPY OF THE KAMA SUTRA, a new play by Kirk Lynn (Co-Artistic Director, Austin's Rude Mechanicals), directed by Obie Award winner Anne Kauffman (Detroit, Maple and Vine at PH; Belleville; This Wide Night; The Thugs), which begins previews this weekend.

The New York premiere of the late award-winning playwright Oni Faida Lampley's play Tough Titty, a poignant and funny exploration of what comes next for a Brooklyn mother diagnosed with breast cancer, will be presented next month by actress/producer Ami Brabson (Homicide: Life on the Street, Law & Order: SVU, Damages) & her husband, Emmy and Obie Award-winning actor Andre Braugher (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Homicide: Life on the Street, Law & Order, Glory, City of Angels). Lydia Fort will direct. The play premiered at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and made Lampley a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Award.

Magic Theatre will welcome back one of Scotland's leading contemporary playwrights, Linda McLean, with the world premiere of Every Five Minutes, directed by Producing Artistic Director Loretta Greco. Every Five Minutes runs today, March 26 - April 20.

Geva Theatre Center's 2014 Fielding Studio Series continues with the National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere of I and You by Lauren Gunderson. This production comes to Geva from the Olney Theatre in Maryland and is directed by Eleanor Holdridge. I and You begins performances on April 10 and runs in the Fielding Nextstage through April 27.

New Georges will present The New Georges Jam On Toast, a brand-new festival featuring work by The New Georges Jam, a 'performance gym' for early-career playwrights and directors founded in 2010 by Lucy Alibar, Jess Chayes, and Portia Krieger. New Georges will take over the legendary downtown performance space Dixon Place (161 Chrystie Street between Rivington and Delancey) from May 14-31 with World Premiere productions running in rep, works-in-progress presentations and cabaret-style shows, for a total of 47 performances over two and a half weeks.

Robyn Keynes and Theatre in Heights presents EAST OF BERLIN by Hannah Moscovitch and directed by Blythe Stewart, with design by Holly Pigott. Press night Friday, 20 June 2014 at 7.30pm. Run: Wednesday 18 June - Saturday 12 July 2014.

Aurora Theatre continues the 2013-2014 Harvel Lab Series with a Teatro del Sol production, Mariela in the Desert by Karen Zacarias. It is 1950 and artists Mariela and Jose are living an isolated existence in the desert of Northern Mexico, haunted by the ghost of their young son. Jose is very ill and Mariela sends a telegram to their daughter encouraging her to come home. Where once the walls were beautifully decorated, now only one painting remains, and it is shrouded in mystery. This play will be performed in Spanish with English supertitles. This production features and amazing cast including the stunning Blanca Aguero in the title role of Mariela and Aurora Theatre Producing Artistic Director Anthony P. Rodriguez as her husband, the ailing artist Jose.

BAY STREET THEATRE NEW WORKS FESTIVAL will take place on April 25-27 at the Bay Street Theatre on the Long Wharf in Sag Harbor, NY. The Festival is produced in Association with SPACE on Ryder Farm.

59E59 Theaters will welcome KPS Productions in association with the Pleasance Theatre in Edinburgh to Brits Off Broadway with PLAYING WITH GROWN UPS by Hannah Patterson, directed by Hannah Eidinow. PLAYING WITH GROWN UPS begins performances on Tuesday, April 29 for a limited engagement through Sunday, May 18.

Ford's Theatre Director Paul R. Tetreault today announced that the Ford's Theatre 2014-2015 season will include mainstage productions of Driving Miss Daisy, headlined by Nancy Robinette and Craig Wallace, the return of Edward Gero as Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, the world premiere of The Widow Lincoln by James Still, and a new musical, Freedom's Song, still in development, inspired by the words of Lincoln and those who lived through the Civil War.

YALE REPERTORY THEATRE, dedicated to the production of new plays and bold interpretations of classics that make immediate connections to contemporary audiences, announces its 2014-15 season, which will include two modern masterpieces and three world premieres commissioned by Yale Rep, in addition to three titles to be announced as part of the NO BOUNDARIES series of global performances.

The American Theatre Wing announced today that the recipients of the 2014 Jonathan Larson Grants are writing team Sara Cooper (lyricist/bookwriter) & Zach Redler (composer), receiving $12,500 and the Running Deer Residency; and Shaina Taub (composer/lyricist), receiving $12,500. The prestigious grants, totaling $15,000 more than last year's grants, will be presented on Monday, April 7, 2014 at a private event at the WNYC Greene Space. The event will feature special performances of the recipients' work.

TUTS Underground unveils the cast for the sizzling and explosive musical Murder Ballad. The steamy quartet of actors includes Steel Burkhardt, Patrick McRoberts, Lauren Molina and Kristin Warren. Fresh off its New York City run, Murder Ballad makes its national regional premiere at Hobby Center's Zilkha Hall April 17 - 27.