The Old Globe News

Upcoming Equity Auditions from Sunday, December 29, 2013.

Inukshuk Production Company and the Portland Q Center have announced their joint entry for the 2014 Fertile Ground Festival: Tennessee in Key West, an original play by Robert Lee Gaynor; directed by Marybeth Bielawski-DeLeo. In this fictional piece inspired by the life of Tennessee Williams, a young reporter travels to Key West to interview the illustrious playwright, and soon realizes he is in over his head when the playwright imposes unusual requirements in exchange for answers to questions.

Producers Daryl Roth and Hal Luftig have announced new leads for their smash hit musical Kinky Boots; Andy Kelso, who currently plays 'Harry', will take over the role of 'Charlie Price' on January 28, 2014 following Stark Sands' January 26 departure. Jeanna de Waal will join the cast as 'Lauren,' beginning March 4, 2014 (replacing Annaleigh Ashford, who leaves to join the cast of Showtime's 'Masters of Sex'), and Jake Odmark joins the ensemble in the roles previously played by Andy Kelso. As previously announced, Billy Porter, this year's Tony Award-winner for Best Actor in a Musical, will remain with Kinky Boots.

NOW Billy Hayes comes to the New York stage with his powerful one-man show, RIDING THE MIDNIGHT EXPRESS with BILLY HAYES, directed by John Gould Rubin.

Producers Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel and Louise Gund have announced that James Eckhouse, most recently seen in the world premiere of Jane Anderson's 'The Escort' at The Geffen Playhouse and best known for playing Jim Walsh on the original 'Beverly Hills 90210', will play the role of Robert McNamara in the Broadway bound production of ALL THE WAY by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Robert Schenkkan (The Kentucky Cycle).

Stage & Screen, a collaboration between Coolidge Corner Theatre and Huntington Theatre Company that explores the depictions of shared themes in Huntington productions and acclaimed films continues its second season of collaboration on Monday, January 6 at 7pm with Secretary starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and James Spader. The screening will be followed by a conversation moderated by Boston Globe columnist Meredith Goldstein with Venus in Fur director Daniel Goldstein and actors Andrea Syglowski and Chris Kipiniak.

Booking a long running show in San Diego seems like an oxymoron. Granted, The Grinch comes but once a year, but when it comes, it is a much-needed Christmas bonus to local actors.

Ah, yes. 2013 was indeed an outstanding year for theater in Southern California. Even better: Orange County---my home base---boasted some of the best shows, period---marking an exciting theater renaissance in brilliance and artistry that I hope continues to grow here inside L.A.'s next door neighbor. With that said, here is my Top 10 Stage Shows of 2013 from Orange County and adjacent locales nearby, followed by my picks for the year's best performances.

Kyra Sedgwick and Len Cariou star in a reading of Joni Fritz's 'In The Car With Blossom And Len' today, December 16th at Ripley Grier Studios in New York City.

New Jersey Repertory Company will present the world premiere of 'Admit One', a new comedy by Wendy Yondorf playing January 16 through February 16, 2014 at 179 Broadway in Long Branch.

Huntington Theatre Company kicks off 2014 with David Ives' sexy Broadway smash hit Venus in Fur, deemed '90 minutes of good, kinky fun,' by The New York Times. Daniel Goldstein (God of Carnage) returns to the Huntington to the direct the 2012 Tony Award nominee for Best Play. Performances will begin on January 3 at the Avenue of the Arts / BU Theatre. Huntington just revealed its first promo for the show. Click below to check it out!

Stage Directors and Choreographers Workshop Foundation, The Pasadena Playhouse, and East West Players will present a forum to explore the current state of diversity in Southern California theatre focusing on the director's role and the questions:

Don't miss these holiday shows that open this weekend, or SIDE SHOW at the La Jolla Playhouse before it closes this weekend!

On Saturday, December 7, TheatreWorks opened the Broadway musical 'Little Women' to an enthusiastic, sold-out crowd in Palo Alto, CA. After the performance, attendees emerged into the courtyard of the Lucie Stern Theatre to find snow - make with theatre magic! - followed by a champagne reception and meet-and-greet with the cast. Check out photos below by David Allen.

Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd announces the cast and creative team for Other Desert Cities. A riveting new play by Pulitzer Prize nominee and creator of TV's hit drama Brothers & Sisters, Jon Robin Baitz's Other Desert Cities was named the Outstanding Play by the Outer Critics Circle and called 'the best new play on Broadway' by The New York Times. Jackson Gay returns to direct this new production after helming the Alley Theatre's productions of August: Osage County, Red andIntelligence-Slave.

The spectacular new production of Cameron Mackintosh and Andrew Lloyd Webber's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA will make its Twin Cities' premiere tonight, December 13, 2013 through January 5, 2014 at Hennepin Theatre Trust's Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis. With newly re-invented staging and stunning scenic design, this new version of PHANTOM has been an enormous success since its U.K. unveiling in March 2012.

The Old Globe today announced it will present the New Voices Festival, a weekend of readings of new American plays by both professional and aspiring playwrights, today, Dec. 13 - 15, 2013.

Dann Florek, who has been with NBC's long-running crime procedural since its inception in 1999, has confirmed he'll be leaving the series at the end of this season.