Thornton Wilder News

Two time Tony Award-winning Goodspeed Musicals, under the leadership of Executive Director Michael P. Price, is delighted to announce its Golden Anniversary season at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Conn. The 50th season includes three very special musicals that are sure to please theatregoers: the charming collegiate comedy Good News will run from April 12 - June 22; Jerry Herman's beloved Hello, Dolly! will run from June 28 - September 8; and Frank Loesser's enchanting Broadway hit The Most Happy Fella will run from September 20 - December 1, 2013. "To the cheers of many, on June 18, 1963 the footlights were once again lit on the Goodspeed Opera House stage. And now, fifty years later, we are in awe that so much has happened in and because of this gem of a building. It truly was an impossible dream that, from this tiny stage, the world of American musical theatre would be changed forever. Our Golden Anniversary celebration will feature three extraordinary musicals which we believe uniquely highlight what Goodspeed does best," said Mr. Price.

Beck Center Youth Theater presents Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer Prize winning play, Our Town, November 1 through 4, 2012 on the Mackey Main Stage. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. There is a 10 a.m. student matinee on Thursday, November 1. Tickets are now on sale.

Theatre Communications Group (TCG) has announced the U.S. release of The Oberon Anthology of Contemporary American Plays: Volume One, edited by Mark Subias, published by Oberon Books (London). This new volume brings together plays from four of the best young artists on the contemporary American playwriting scene. Volume One is introduced by André Bishop, Artistic Director of the Lincoln Center Theater, and each play is introduced by well-known and critically acclaimed writers.

In this week's School in the Spotlight: High School edition, BroadwayWorld is excited to profile the theater students and past productions of Calabasas High School in Calabasas, California!

Aurora Theatre Company founding Artistic Director Barbara Oliver returns to the company for its 21st season to direct WILDER TIMES, a collection of one-act plays by Thornton Wilder. Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and playwright, and former Berkeley resident, Thornton Wilder is best known for his full length play Our Town, but he was also an accomplished master of the short play form, specifically creating shorter works to be staged in spaces such as Aurora's, with the audience seated on three sides of the action or in the round.

ACT - A Contemporary Theatre under the direction of Artistic Director Kurt Beattie officially announces the 2013 mainstage season. One of the most distinguished artists in the world, Sir Alan Ayckbourn, will stage his play, Sugar Daddies in the fall of 2013. Leading up to that is the musical Grey Gardens with The 5th Avenue Theatre, then the premiere of local playwright Katie Forgette's disturbingly funny take on senior care, Assisted Living, followed by two of the hottest shows from New York's stages last year, Jon Robin Baitz's Other Desert Cities and Gina Gionfriddo's Rapture, Blister, Burn, and then Middletown - Will Eno's modern response to Thornton Wilder's Our Town.

Tongue in Cheek Theater Productions will present Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Our Town, for eight performances this October. The play is a love story between Emily and George, and a love letter to small town life in America.

The Workshop Theater Company has announced Play-in-Progress production of Philip Hall's LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI, A Musical Play, musical directed by Fran Minarik and directed by SusannA Frazer. LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI will play a limited engagement at The Jewel Box Theater (312 West 36th Street, 4th Floor). Performances begin tonight, September 12 and continue through Sunday, September 22.

When the Huntington Theatre Company brings David Cromer's landmark production of Thornton Wilder's classic Our Town home to New England this winter, local residents will have the opportunity to become Honorary Mayor of Grover's Corners for a day. Huntington Trustee Judi Krupp and her husband Douglas have issued the Make Our Town Your Town Challenge and will match all new and increased gifts to the Huntington's Annual Fund dollar for dollar up to $50,000.

Aurora Theatre Company founding Artistic Director Barbara Oliver returns to the company for its 21st season to directWILDER TIMES, a collection of one-act plays by Thornton Wilder. Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and playwright, and former Berkeley resident, Thornton Wilder is best known for his full length play Our Town, but he was also an accomplished master of the short play form, specifically creating shorter works to be staged in spaces such as Aurora's, with the audience seated on three sides of the action or in the round.

Transport Group, the Drama Desk and OBIE award-winning theatre company, will present the world premiere of House for Sale by Jonathan Franzen, adapted for the stage and directed by Daniel Fish, beginning previews October 13, 2012 at The Duke on 42nd Street, a New 42nd Street project. The opening night is scheduled for October 21, 2012. House for Sale is scheduled to run through November 18, 2012.

From the streets of Chicago to the desert of Utah, read about the journey of playwright Matthew Ivan Bennett. From his tragic casting experience in 4th grade to his 'Best Local Playwright' win, Bennett has experiences to share.

The Workshop Theater Company is pleased to announce Play-in-Progress production of Philip Hall's LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI, A Musical Play, musical directed by Fran Minarik and directed by Susanna Frazer. LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI will play a limited engagement at The Jewel Box Theater (312 West 36th Street, 4th Floor). Performances begin Wednesday, September 12 and continue through Sunday, September 22.

Hilarity and hijinks ensue as the characters in Thornton Wilder's romantic comedy The Matchmaker. Head to New York for adventure and find love instead. The production, directed by Chris Abrahamand and set in the opulence of the Victorian period, began performances for the Stratford Shakespeare Festival's Festival Theatre on May 12. In the video below, Geraint Wyn Davies talks about his character, Malachi Stack, in the festival's 60th season production of The Matchmaker!

Apparently, it is Elvis Week in Nashville (at least according to the fine folks at Loveless Cafe), so before we head out to the theater for a full weekend of show openings and the like, a trip to West Nashville for a slice of the Loveless' Elvis pie is in order (for the uninitiated, that's peanut butter, banana, bacon and homemade whipped cream-the four basic food groups, according to The King.), so before we slip into a diabetic coma, here's installment #7 of Music City Confidential, all the news that's fit to print from onstage, offstage, backstage and beyond…