Suzan-Lori Parks News

Estée Lauder's Thia Breen, author and historian Barbara Goldsmith and philanthropist and animal activist Cornelia Guest are Women's Project's 2012 Women of Achievement who will be inducted at its 27th Annual Gala Celebration hosted by the columnist Cindy Adams at the Copacabana, 268 West 47th Street, on Monday, March 5, at 6:30pm.

American Blues Theater (ABT), Chicago's second oldest Equity Ensemble, is set to participate in a global benefit for the people of Japan, SHINSAI: Theatre for Japan, Sunday, March 11 at 3 p.m. at the Richard Christiansen Theater in Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 North Lincoln Ave.

The Theatre School at DePaul University presents VENUS, by Suzan-Lori Parks, and directed by Reshmi Hazra, as the final production of the 2011-2012 New Directors Series. VENUS opens Friday, February 10, and runs through Sunday, February 19, 2012, at the Greenhouse Theater Center. Performances are Wednesdays through Saturdays at 7:30 PM and Sundays at 2 PM. Previews are on February 8 and February 9 at 7:30 PM.

The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess is now on Broadway with a cast led by four-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald (Ragtime, "Private Practice") as Bess, Drama Desk nominee Norm Lewis (Les Miserables, Sondheim on Sondheim) as Porgy and two-time Tony nominee David Alan Grier (Race, "In Living Color") as Sporting Life. The New York Times has just revealed that the production will extend its run through September 30, 2012, due to both critical and box office success. The production was originally scheduled to close on July 8, 2012. The news was released by producers, who have emailed groups sales reps informing them of the extension.

Luna Stage will present the world premiere of Reparation, a new play about a real estate deal in trouble when the site is discovered to be a slave burial ground.

In a recent chat with BWW, Boykin shared his thoughts on what it was like to finally appear on the Broadway stage in a play that has literally been a part of his life since the time he was a little boy growing up in West Greenville, South Carolina.

Tony Nominee and Drama Desk Award winner Joshua Henry (The Scottsboro Boys, American Idiot), who is currently starring as Jake in the production of The Gershwins' PORGY AND BESS, will give a solo concert performance at The Triad Theater (158 west 72nd Street) at 9:30pm on February 20, 2012.

On Tuesday, February 21st, Givenik.com, the revolutionary way to go to Broadway, will partner with the critically acclaimed Broadway production of The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess for a special post-performance reception for audience and cast members at B. Smith's (320 West 46th Street) to support Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Purchase any ticket through Givenik.com to the Tuesday, February 21st performance and send your confirmation number to RSVP@givenik.com to be invited to a special post-show cast party at B. Smith's, supporting Broadway Cares! And be sure to remember BC/EFA when choosing who receives your 5% donation.

Renaissance Theaterworks (RTW) celebrates the 2nd year of its 3-year Diversity Series with NEAT by Charlayne Woodard. RTW Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director Suzan Fete will direct this play featuring UPROOTED Theatre Co-Founder Marti Gobel.

An unprecedented effort will take place on Sunday, March 11 when New York City's leading theatre companies, including Atlantic Theater Company, Lincoln Center Theater, Manhattan Theatre Club, New York Theatre Workshop, The Play Company, Playwrights Horizons and The Public Theater, will join forces to present Shinsai: Theaters for Japan, a two performance benefit to raise funds that will go directly to Japanese theater artists devastated by last year's great earthquake (Shinsai). Shinsai: Theaters for Japan, will be performed for two performances only at 3pm and 8pm at the Great Hall at Cooper Union (Seventh Street at Third Avenue).

The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize has announced 10 Finalists for its prestigious playwriting award, now celebrating its thirty-fourth year. The ten Finalists for the 2011-2012 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, chosen from over 100 submitted plays, are:

Let's just say, for the moment, that I owned the Venus de Milo.  I don't know how it happened.  Maybe some ancient Greek stone cuttings were found that led to a Middle Ages parchment that inspired someone to do some research on ancestry.com, but in any case, it has been indisputably determined that I am the sole owner of sculptor Alexandros of Antioch's Venus de Milo.

Florida Studio Theatre (FST) will present the Florida premiere of Geoffrey Nauffts' contemporary drama Next Fall in FST's Keating Theatre (1241 N. Palm Avenue) on Wednesday, January 25 at 8:00pm.

Dallas-based playwright and 2010 Diaspora Performing Arts Commission recipient Jonathan Norton doesn't invoke the name, image, or presence of Williams in his ground-breaking stage production "My Tidy List of Terrors", based on the Atlanta Child Murders.

The Public Theater will continue the 2011-2012 Public Forum season in February with a night of conversation and songs featuring Stew, Heidi Rodewald and Michael Cerveris. This Public Forum event will coincide with the new musical, The Total Bent, premiering in February as part of the Public Lab series. This intimate evening featuring three great singer-songwriters will take place on Monday, February 27 at 9:30 p.m. at Joe's Pub. Member tickets, priced at $15, are on sale now. Single tickets, priced at $20, go on sale Thursday, January 26.

Both history and literature are peppered with intense stories of sibling rivalry--the most contentious of which often recount the environmental and circumstantial forces that pit them against one another, sometimes resulting in wrenching, tragic results. Added to this cannon almost a decade ago was Suzan-Lori Parks' Pulitzer Prize-winning drama TOPDOG/UNDERDOG, currently enjoying a well-executed revival production at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa through January 29, 2012.

The Gershwins' PORGY AND BESS officially opened on Thursday, January 12th, 2012 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. The cast led by four-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald (Ragtime, 'Private Practice') as Bess, Drama Desk nominee Norm Lewis (Les Misérables, Sondheim on Sondheim) as Porgy and two-time Tony nominee David Alan Grier (Race, 'In Living Color') as Sporting Life. Today, McDonald and Lewis appeared on The View to promote the show and BroadwayWorld brings you their performance of 'Bess, You Is My Woman Now' below!

The Gershwins' PORGY AND BESS officially opened on Thursday, January 12th, 2012 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre (226 West 46th Street). The cast led by four-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald (Ragtime, 'Private Practice') as Bess, Drama Desk nominee Norm Lewis (Les Misérables, Sondheim on Sondheim) as Porgy and two-time Tony nominee David Alan Grier (Race, 'In Living Color') as Sporting Life. The cast also includes Phillip Boykin as Crown, Nikki Renée Daniels as Clara, Joshua Henry as Jake, Christopher Innvar as Detective, Bryonha Marie Parham as Serena and NaTasha Yvette Williams as Mariah, as well as Sumayya Ali, Allison Blackwell, Roosevelt André Credit, Trevon Davis, Joseph Dellger, Wilkie Ferguson, Carmen Ruby Floyd, Gavin Gregory, Heather Hill, David Hughey, Andrea Jones-Sojola, Alicia Hall Moran, Cedric Neal, Phumzile Sojola, Nathaniel Stampley, Julius Thomas III, J.D. Webster and Lisa Nicole Wilkerson. Check out the just-released promo for the show below!