The Public Theater News

Education Dramaturg Ted Sod asked Composer Jeanine Tesori about the process of creating Violet.

INTAR (Lou Moreno, Artistic Director/John McCormack, Executive Director) today announced that Adoration of the Old Woman by Jose Rivera and directed by Patricia McGregor, starring Raul Castillo (HBO's 'Looking'), Danielle Davenport, Jose Joaquin Perez, Socorro Santiago and Carmen Zilles, will continue through April 19th only.

Michael C. Hall stopped by this morning's TODAY and shared that he is happy to leave the death-centered plots of his TV drama 'Dexter' behind him and focus on his new role in the Broadway production of 'The Realistic Joneses.'

The Public Theater will launch a new, state-of-the-art website this month. The site, building upon the recent revitalization of The Public's downtown home at Astor Place, establishes a dynamic and engaging digital home at Publictheater.org. The LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust, a long-time funder and supporter for two generations, has awarded The Public a grant supporting this effort and the creation and implementation of innovative field-leading business strategies for The Public Theater. The grant, intended to help ensure the future viability of the institution, includes funds for the redesign and re-launch of Publictheater.org which now incorporates joespub.com and shakespeareinthepark.org.

Past Tony-nominee Jonathan Groff will join Lucy Liu to reveal the names in a live webcast seen on TonyAwards.com.

Jennifer Bowles will play the title role opposite Rob McClure in New York City Center Encores! production of Irma La Douce, running for seven performances,May 7 - 11, 2014. The final production of the 2014 Encores! season will also feature Sam Bolen, Allan Corduner, Ben Crawford, Stephen DeRosa, Ken Krugman, Zachary James and Chris Sullivan. Irma La Douce will be directed by John Doyle and choreographed by Chase Brock, with music direction by Rob Berman.

ISLE of KLEZBOS, the soulful and swinging all-women's klezmer sextet, will release their second album with a special concert at JOE'S PUB at the Public on Sunday, April 6 at 7:30 PM. The new disc, Live from Brooklyn - recorded in concert last year at Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts, with the addition of two bonus studio numbers - will be available from Rhythm Media Records on Tuesday, April 8 as well as at the Joe's Pub performance. Formed in 1998, the group approaches their music with a canny mix of irreverence and respect. Live from Brooklyn features the group's signature diverse blend of rambunctious folk dances, exciting Yiddish swing, entrancing retro tango, klezmerengue, re-grooved standards, and genre-defying originals. The album will be availab le on iTunes, in stores and wherever music is sold.

Dallas Theater Center is currently running the world premiere new musical The Fortress of Solitude, a co-production with The Public Theater in New York City. It began previews on March 7 and will continue to run through April 6. The Fortress of Solitude is based on the nationally best-selling novel of the same name by 2005 MacArthur Fellow Jonathan Lethem. The musical is conceived and directed by Daniel Aukin, with a book by Itamar Moses, and music and lyrics by Michael Friedman.

The Old Globe today announced two of the stars of Shakespeare's classic tragedy Othello, the first show of the Globe's 2014 Summer Shakespeare Festival. Making their Globe debuts are Emmy Award-winner Richard Thomas ('The Americans,' 'The Waltons') as Iago and Kristen Connolly ('House of Cards,' The Cabin in the Woods) as Desdemona. Both artists continue collaborations with Old Globe Artistic Director Barry Edelstein that began in New York: Thomas starred in Edelstein's critically acclaimed production of Timon of Athens at The Public Theater in 2011, and Connolly in three Shakespeare plays that Edelstein helped produce at The Public. Additional casting will be announced at a later date.

F*It Club, the New York Innovative Award-winning film and theatre company, continues its annual series of short, commissioned world-premiere plays at the brand new Sheen Center in lower Manhattan with The Spring Fling: First Love, six new short plays by Halley Feiffer (How to Make Friends and Then Kill Them), Kate Gersten (Benefit of the Doubt), Jason Grote (Mad Men, Smash, Hannibal, 1001), Mark Sitko (Rocky Philly, Tube), Tommy Smith (White Hot, Pigeon), and Lauren Yee (The Hatmaker's Wife). Performances will be Thursday, May 1st through Sunday, May 11th with Wednesday through Saturday night performances at 8pm and Sunday matinees at 2p. Tickets are $18 and available at ovationtx.com and at the door.

Showtime has promoted Broadway veteran and cabaret performer Emily Bergl to series regular on the dramedy SHAMELESS.

Silk Road Rising, Golden Thread Productions, and Lark Play Development Center are proud to announce that Mona Mansour, author of Urge for Going, The Hour of Feeling and The Way West, has been chosen to receive the 2014 Middle East America Distinguished Playwright Award. Honorable mentions went to playwrights Bianca Bagatourian, Ismail Khalidi, Daria Polatin, Mishael Shulman and Zohar Tirosh-Polk.

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, announces that Crossing Borders will be the theme of the 24th annual TCG National Conference in San Diego from June 19 to 21, 2014. In addition to challenging both the practical and conceptual barriers to strengthening the theatre field's vitality, literal borders will also be crossed when attendees journey to Tijuana, Mexico to engage with local artists and culture. This multi-day, international event will draw more than 1,000 theatre professionals from around the world for artistic and intellectual exchange through meetings, speeches and performances. Lauded theatre performer and playwright Taylor Mac will be one of the featured presenters, with more speakers to be announced soon.

Just last night, Columbia University, Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith and Tony Kushner honored the winners of the 2014 Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama Inspired by American History with a program and reception at Columbia University. The winner of the 2014 Kennedy Prize is Dominique Morisseau for Detroit '67. Morisseau received a cash award of $100,000. The event honoring her work featured remarks by Carlos Alonso, Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences; Tony Kushner, Edward M. Kennedy, Jr., Patrick Kennedy, Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith, and the winning playwright. BroadwayWorld brings you photos from the special night below!

Last night at Joe's Pub at The Public, Harvey Fierstein, who played a celebrated Tevye in the 2004 revival of Fiddler; Fiddler on the Roof co-creator Sheldon Harnick; original Broadway cast member Austin Pendleton; renowned Yiddish theatermaker Jenny Romaine; Taniesha Duggan, Director of Audience Engagement of Hartbeat Ensemble; andAlisa Solomon, author of Wonder of Wonders, discussed how successive generations of storytellers used Sholom-Alechem's characters to reflect changing concerns about family, identity, and more. Check out photos from the special event below!

Ars Nova presents the world premiere of Charlatan, in a limited Off-Broadway engagement, Tuesday, March 18 through Saturday, April 12 at Ars Nova (511 West 54th Street). Official Opening Night takes place Monday, March 31 at 7:00 PM.

The Playwrights' Center presents a reading of Core Writer Winter Miller's new play SEED, directed by M. Graham Smith, on Monday, April 7, at 7 p.m., as the last event in the Center's 2013-14 Ruth Easton New Play Series. The reading is free and open to the public. The Playwrights' Center is located at 2301 E. Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis.

The Realistic Joneses wants to meet the Joneses! If your last name is Jones, enter to win two tickets to the Opening Night of The Realistic Joneses on Broadway plus two passes to the exclusive after party. The prize package will also include roundtrip ground transportation provided by Uber. Visit http://therealisticjoneses.com/sweepstakes for more information and to enter.

The Public Theater will begin previews for the world premiere of THE LIBRARY on Tuesday, March 25, written by award-winning writer Scott Z. Burns. Directed by Academy Award winner Steven Soderbergh, THE LIBRARY will run through Sunday, April 27, in The Public's Newman Theater, with an official press opening on Tuesday, April 15. Below, BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the cast in rehearsal!

Gary Busey's One-Man Hamlet (as performed by David Carl) is an absurdist romp through Shakespeare, pop culture, and life in the theatre.