T. Charles Erickson News

Forgive me if it has become too old a cliché, and perhaps even an unintentional racial stereotype, to point out the enrapturing musicality of language the late August Wilson displayed in his landmark decade-by-decade cycle of plays about African-American experiences in the 20th Century. That trait is especially evident in pieces set in the earlier decades (i.e. Gem of the Ocean, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom) and seems to decrease as the years go on, demonstrating an assimilation into the established (Eurocentric) culture of the country.

Aaron Sorkin's new play, The Farnsworth Invention, is a compelling story about the creation of television and in Sorkin's words 'the spirit of exploration.' The Farnsworth Invention will be the fourth play that David Cromer directs at the Alley, following the hugely successful The Santaland Diaries, The Clean House and Orson's Shadow.

Judith Light, whose award-winning career has spanned across television, theater and film, will head the cast of A. R. Gurney's vital and insightful family drama, Children. May 26 - June 13, 2009

Sharpen your saber, guard the virgins and the family jewels, and prepare for histrionics! He is the Pirate King!

Today's Broadway Blogs on BroadwayWorld.com from Wednesday, May 6, 2009.

Huntington Theatre Company's world premiere of David Grimm's ribald sex comedy gets mired in ugly language despite game performances

Four-time Tony Award winner Tom Stoppard returns to the Alley with Rock ?n' Roll, winner of London Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best New Play.

Four-time Tony Award winner Tom Stoppard returns to the Alley with Rock ?n' Roll, winner of London Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best New Play.

Westport Country Playhouse will open its 79th season with a wild adventure for adults and children alike, 'Around the World in 80 Days,' adapted from the book by Jules Verne, written by Mark Brown and directed by Michael Evan Haney, April 21 through May 9.

Theresa Rebeck (creator of the Alley's success The Scene and Bad Dates) returns to the Alley with Mauritius. The title, Mauritius, refers to an island off the coast of Africa from which a now highly collectible stamp, described as 'the crown jewel of philately,' was issued in the age of Victoria. Like the Maltese Falcon, the Mauritius stamp is the fraught object of desire for an assortment of shady characters with different and mysterious backgrounds and motives, who move through the twists of the plot's crosses and double-crosses. Recommended for mature audiences.

Previews begin Thursday, March 19 for the Lincoln Center Theater production of August Wilson's JOE TURNER'S COME AND GONE, directed by Bartlett Sher at the Belasco Theatre (111 West 44 Street). Opening night is set for Thursday, April 16 at 6:45 pm. The cast features Marsha Stephanie Blake, Chad L. Coleman, Michael Cummings, Aunjanue Ellis, Danai Gurira, Andre Holland, Arliss Howard, Ernie Hudson, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Amari Rose Leigh and Roger Robinson.

Now in its 10th year, the Guthrie's annual Shakespeare Classic returns on Sunday, March 15 at 1 p.m., offering young people (ages 8 to 15) an opportunity to share in the entertainingly retro world of Shakespeare's The Two Gentlemen of Verona. This special event, tailored specifically for young audiences, features a specially prepared play program, subsidized $10 tickets to the performance and a post-play reception where costumed actors from the show engage with the audience to answer questions and sign autographs.

Lincoln Center Theater (under the direction of Andre Bishop, Artistic Director, and Bernard Gersten, Executive Producer) has announced that Marsha Stephanie Blake, Chad L. Coleman, Michael Cummings, Aunjanue Ellis, Danai Gurira, Andre Holland, Arliss Howard, Ernie Hudson, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Amari Rose Leigh and Roger Robinson will be featured in the cast of its upcoming production of August Wilson's JOE TURNER'S COME AND GONE, to be directed by Bartlett Sher. The production, which will be presented on Broadway at the Belasco Theatre (111 West 44 Street) while LCT's award winning production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific continues its run at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, begins performances Thursday, March 19 at 8pm and opens on Thursday, April 16 at 6:45pm.

The children are the role models in this uneven adaptation of Harper Lee's beloved American classic about bigotry, injustice, and the power of human kindness

Tony Winner John Rando returns to Houston's Alley Theatre to direct Two-time Tony Nominee Josie de Guzman as Maggie Cutler, Theatre World Award Winner James Black as Sheridan Whiteside and Alley Company Member Elizabeth Heflin as Lorraine Sheldon in Kaufman and Hart's classic comedy The Man Who Came to Dinner, beginning performances on February 20 on the Alley's Hubbard Stage.

Author of the Alley's outstanding success The Clean House, Sarah Ruhl creates a tale based on the Greek myth of Orpheus that is 'exhilarating' as 'we enter a surreal world, as lush and limpid as a dream' (The New Yorker). On the day Eurydice is to marry her true love Orpheus, a misstep sends her to the surreal depths of the Underworld, where she has a surprising reunion and ultimately must decide whether to follow Orpheus back to the land of the living. The New York Times described Eurydice as 'a magical play with gripping emotional potency...a love letter to the world...'

Now in its 10th year, the Guthrie's annual Shakespeare Classic returns on Sunday, March 15 at 1 p.m., offering young people (ages 8 to 15) an opportunity to share in the entertainingly retro world of Shakespeare's The Two Gentlemen of Verona. This special event, tailored specifically for young audiences, features a specially prepared play program, subsidized $10 tickets to the performance and a post-play reception where costumed actors from the show engage with the audience to answer questions and sign autographs.

Escape the winter doldrums with some red hot jazz as Broadway, TV and film veteran Suzzanne Douglas brilliantly conjures up the legendary Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill opening Thursday, January 22, and running through Sunday, February 15, at the Bickford Theatre, 6 Normandy Heights Road, in Morristown, NJ.

Escape the winter doldrums with some red hot jazz as Broadway, TV and film veteran Suzzanne Douglas brilliantly conjures up the legendary Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill opening Thursday, January 22, and running through Sunday, February 15, at the Bickford Theatre, 6 Normandy Heights Road, in Morristown, NJ.

George Street Playhouse continues their 35th season with the New Jersey premiere of Conor McPherson's Olivier Award-winning and Tony Award-nominated play, The Seafarer. Broadway's Jekyll & Hyde Robert Cuccioli, last seen in New Jersey in the20NJ Shakespeare Festival's production of Amadeus heads an ensemble including David Adkins (from GSP's A Walk in the Woods), Matthew Boston (NJ Shakespeare Festival's Julius Cesar), William Hill (from Steppenwolf's Broadway production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest) and David Schramm (from TV's Wings). Anders Cato, who has directed Playhouse productions of I Am My Own Wife, Souvenir and Doubt, returns to helm. The Seafarer begins its voyage onstage beginning November 18 and continues through December 14.