The Public Theater News

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Patrick Willingham) will begin previews for the New York premiere production of GIANT, an epic love story with book by Sybille Pearson and music and lyrics by Michael John LaChiusa, on Friday, October 26. Directed by Michael Greif, GIANT runs through Sunday, December 2 in The Public's Newman Theater at its Astor Place home, with an official press opening on Tuesday, November 13. Tickets are on sale now at (212) 967-7555, www.publictheater.org, or in person at The Public Theater box office.

Novelist Nathan Englander discusses his new play, The Twenty-Seventh Man, with the theater director Barry Edelstein, in a conversation moderated by the journalist Alexis Soloski. Set in a Russian prison in 1952, the play is adapted from one of Englander's stories in the collection For the Relief of Unbearable Urges. It will be performed at The Public Theater from November 7 to December 9.

Cutting Ball Theater opens its 14th season with Strindberg Cycle: The Chamber Plays in Rep, a festival of August Strindberg's five Chamber Plays in new translations by Paul Walsh.

The National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) announced today the eight musicals selected to be part of the 24th Annual Festival of New Musicals at New World Stages (340 West 50th Street).

Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis, Brian D'Arcy James, Richard Thomas, Bryce Pinkham, Jay O. Sanders, Ari Graynor, Katherine Waterston, Emily Young, Oliver Platt, Justin Levine and Heath Calvert and Lapham's Quarterly Editor Lewis Lapham will celebrate the release of Lapham's Quarterly's new POLITICS issue on Monday, October 15 at 7:00 PM at Joe's Pub at The Public. The evening will feature songs and selected readings centered on politics, money and power. Limited tickets to the one-night-only event are $20 and on sale now at (212) 967-7555 or http://www.joespub.com/.

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Patrick Willingham) announced complete casting today for the world premiere of THE TWENTY-SEVENTH MAN by Nathan Englander. Directed by Barry Edelstein, THE TWENTY-SEVENTH MAN begins previews on Wednesday, November 7 in The Public's Martinson Theater and will run through Sunday, December 9. The official press opening, originally scheduled for Monday, November 19, will now take place on Sunday, November 18. Single tickets, beginning at $75, are on sale now. The complete cast of THE TWENTY-SEVENTH MAN features Happy Anderson (Guard), Byron Jennings (The Agent in Charge), Daniel Oreskes (Moishe Bretzky), Ron Rifkin (Yevgeny Zunser), Noah Robbins (Pinchas Pelovits), and Chip Zien (Vasily Korinsky).

Two River Theater Company, under the leadership of Artistic Director John Dias and Managing Director Michael Hurst, continues its 2012-2013 Season with Shakespeare's Henry V, directed by Michael Sexton. Performances will begin in Two River's Rechnitz Theater, 21 Bridge Avenue, on Saturday, October 20 and continue through Sunday, November 11.

The National Theatre Conference (NTC), an organization founded in 1925 that meets annually in New York to discuss relevant issues in today's theatre community and to celebrate outstanding achievement in the American theatre, has named the recipients of its 2012 awards. Broadway producer Elizabeth McCann has been named Person of the Year; the New Federal Theatre, under the direction of its founder, Woodie King, Jr., is the recipient of the Theatre of the Year Award; and playwright Dominique Morisseau has been selected as the winner of the Barrie and Bernice Stavis Playwright Award. All three will be presented with their awards and honored at the Players and at Signature Theatre during NTC's annual conference in New York October 26-28, 2012.

Washington National Opera (WNO) will present the world premieres of three new 20-minute operas on Monday, November 19, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater: The Game of Hearts by composer Douglas Pew and librettist Dara Weinberg, Part of the Act by composer Liam Wade and librettist John Grimmett, and Charon by composer Scott Perkins and librettist Nat Cassidy. The three operas, each highlighting American culture and themes, are the first new works created under the auspices of the American Opera Initiative, WNO's new commissioning program.

RENT alum and LAW & ORDER vet, Jesse L. Martin, is set to join the cast of NBC's upcoming pilot, THE SECRET LIVES OF HUSBANDS AND WIVES.

Erik Jensen will join the cast of the LCT3 production of Disgraced, a new play by Ayad Akhtar, directed by Kimberly Senior, beginning tonight, Wednesday, October 10. Mr. Jensen will assume the role of Isaac from Adam Dannheisser, who is recovering from an illness which forced him to withdraw from the production. Disgraced began previews Sunday, October 7 and will open on Monday, October 22 for a limited engagement at the Claire Tow Theater, 150 West 65 Street.

On Monday, October 22 at 9:30 PM, Mike Daisey will return to Joe's Pub at The Public Theater to debut new monologues in the first of a series of monthly premieres through March 2013. Each month, Daisey will bring a new, groundbreaking monologue to Joe's Pub for a one-night-only engagement. In October, Daisey will premiere AMERICAN UTOPIAS. Tickets are $20 reserved / $25 premium and go on sale today, http://joespub.com/.

The world premiere of Tony Award winning playwright Richard Greenberg's new play, Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's, will begin performances at a Shubert theater on Broadway in February 2013. This stage adaption of Capote's classic novella will star Emilia Clarke (HBO's "Game of Thrones") in the iconic role of 'Holly Golightly' and will be directed by Sean Mathias.

Yale Repertory Theatre, in a co-production with American Repertory Theater, presents the world premiere of Marie Antoinette by David Adjmi, directed by Rebecca Taichman. Marie Antoinette will be performed at Yale Repertory Theatre (1120 Chapel Street) October 26 through November 17. Opening Night is Thursday, November 1. The cast includes Fred Arsenault, Hannah Cabell, David Greenspan, Marin Ireland, Vin Knight, Jo Lampert, Polly Lee, Steven Rattazzi, Jake Silbermann, Teale Sperling, Brian Wiles, and Ashton Woerz.

Jared Zirilli of the new off-Broadway show Hot Mess in Manhattan (also FAT CAMP, Original Broadway Cast Lysistrata Jones, BARE, Wicked, Twilight the Musical) brings you Episode 40 of the Jared Zirilli blog. This week's 'Jared's Broadway Boo's!' features Stanley Bahorek of Broadway's 'Spelling Bee' and The Public Theater's 'February House'!

The Public Theater's $40 million revitalization of its downtown home at Astor Place will be unveiled October 4 and celebrated through a series of events designed to engage the entire New York community and marking a rededication to its founding principles- including the discussions noted below with celebrated designer Paula Scher and artist Ben Rubin.

Producers Terry Schnuck, James & Catherine Berges, Crystal Beuerlein and Michael F. Neidorff will present the Off-Broadway premiere of Falling, the new play by Deanna Jent, that will begin an open-ended run Thursday September 27th at the Minetta Lane Theater (18 Minetta Lane, one block south of West 3rd Street, just off of Sixth Avenue). Opening Night is set for Monday October 15th (7PM). Check out just-released production shots below!

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Executive Director Patrick Willingham) will continue to celebrate the $40 million revitalization of its downtown home at Astor Place on Saturday, October 13 with a free block party and open house from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.