Tom Walker News

Following a world-premiere televised broadcast on THIRTEEN's Theater Close-Up, John Strand's 'The Originalist', captured live on-stage from Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater in Washington, D.C., is available to stream on-demand at vimeo.com/ondemand/TheOriginalist.

Playwright and director Anthony P. Pennino has announced the world premiere of his play Christ Detained by the Department of Homeland Security as part of the 2017 Planet Connections Theatre Festivity. The play stars Joseph Jones as Jesus of Nazareth and Karl Knapp as Special Agent Clyde Hill. The first performance is Wednesday June 14 at 7:30 pm.

Fresh off a cross-country tour, John Strand's critically-acclaimed political drama The Originalist, based on the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, returns to Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater under the direction of Artistic Director Molly Smith.

Sydney's premier improv theatre group is proud to announce a jam-packed month of hilarity in April at Giant Dwarf. Improv Theatre Sydney will present their own brand of behind-the-curtain comedy with ComedyITS and 2 very special chances for audiences to see Will Erimya's ITS Axel Cobretti Undercover for the Sydney Comedy Festival.

Theater Close-Up -- the unique collaboration between THIRTEEN and the large community of New York City area Off-Broadway and regional theaters - continues with John Strand's The Originalist, captured live on-stage at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., Monday, March 13 at 9 p.m. on THIRTEEN, with an encore presentation on Sunday, March 19 at 3:40 a.m. The play will also air Sunday, March 26 at 10 p.m. on WLIW21. The play, directed on the stage by Molly Smith, will be available for streaming for two weeks after the broadcast. L to R: Edward Gero as Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and Kerry Warren as Cat in The Originalist at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Credit: C. Stanley Photography. Four-time Helen Hayes Award winner Edward Gero (Red) returned to Arena Stage as one of America's most brilliant and polarizing figures: Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. When bright, liberal, Harvard Law School graduate Cat (Kerry Warren) embarks on a nerve-wracking clerkship with Justice Scalia, she discovers him to be both an infuriating sparring partner and an unexpected mentor. How will their relationship affect one of the most incendiary cases ever to reach the nation's highest court? Along the way, Cat's relationship with Scalia is complicated further by Brad (Harlan Work), an adversarial law clerk on Scalia's staff. Gero had last appeared at Arena Stage as Mark Rothko in 'Red.' He is a four-time Helen Hayes winner and 14-time nominee. Regional credits include Mark Rothko in 'Red' at the Goodman Theatre; the title role of 'Sweeney Todd' at Signature Theatre; 'The Chosen' at Theater J; Ebenezer Scrooge in 'A Christmas Carol' and Horace Vandergelder in 'Hello, Dolly!' at Ford's Theatre; 'American Buffalo,' 'Shining City' (Helen Hayes nomination) and 'Skylight' (Helen Hayes Award) at Studio Theatre; and 'The Matchmaker' at Center Stage. In 30 seasons with the Shakespeare Theatre Company, he's played 70 roles, including Helen Hayes-winning turns in 'Henry IV,' 'Richard II' and 'Macbeth.' In New York, he's appeared at South Street Theatre and Classic Stage. Author John Strand is a resident playwright with Arena Stage through the American Voices New Play Institute. His previous work at Arena Stage includes 'The Miser,' an adaptation of the Moliere play set in Reagan-era America; 'Lovers and Executioners,' winner of the Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play; and Tom Walker, also commissioned by Arena Stage. His recent work includes the book and lyrics for 'Hat! A Vaudeville,' a new musical with a score by composer Dennis McCarthy (South Coast Repertory); 'Lincolnesque,' a dark comedy about politics and madness in D.C. (The Old Globe, dir. by Joe Calarco); and 'Lorenzaccio,' his adaptation of Alfred de Musset's 1834 French classic (Shakespeare Theatre Company, dir. by Michael Kahn). Of the Arena Stage production, The New York Times wrote, '... The meat of the play draws a portrait of the private man in accordance with the public record: rigid in his views, deeply moralistic and unafraid to express his florid contempt for those benighted souls who see things from any perspective other than his own. Also: He's funny.' DC Theatre Scene opined, 'Arena and director Molly Smith have given this fine work a good, rigorous production ... Edward Gero is a continuing wonder ...' Theater Close-Up on THIRTEEN has most recently featured Rasheeda Speaking from The New Group, Fashions for Men from Mint Theater, Wiesenthal filmed at the Acorn Theatre at Theatre Row, Repairing a Nation from Crossroads Theatre Company in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Incident at Vichy from Signature Theatre Company, The Woodsman recorded at New World Stages, Buried Child from The New Group, and Buyer & Cellar from Westport Country Playhouse. THIRTEEN is using its unrivaled expertise in producing national PBS arts programming - which began with such classic series as Theater in America, part of the award-winning series Great Performances and special limited series such as Stage on Screen -- to provide New Yorkers with unparalleled access to great Off-Broadway and regional offerings. The Originalist is a production of Stage17, and was directed for television by Diana Basmajian. For Theater Close-Up, Mitch Owgang is producer; Bill O'Donnell is series producer; and David Horn is executive producer. Executive-in-charge for WNET is Neal Shapiro. Major support for this presentation of Theater Close-Up is provided by the Howard Gilman Foundation, and Bernard and Irene Schwartz. # # # About WNET WNET is America's flagship PBS station and parent company of THIRTEEN and WLIW21. WNET also operates NJTV, the statewide public media network in New Jersey. Through its broadcast channels, three cable services (KidsThirteen, Create and World) and online streaming sites, WNET brings quality arts, education and public affairs programming to more than five million viewers each week. WNET produces and presents such acclaimed PBS series as Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, PBS NewsHour Weekend, Charlie Rose and a range of documentaries, children's programs, and local news and cultural offerings. WNET's groundbreaking series for children and young adults include Get the Math, Oh Noah! and Cyberchase as well as Mission US, the award-winning interactive history game. WNET highlights the tri-state's unique culture and diverse communities through NYC-ARTS, Reel 13, NJTV News with Mary Alice Williams and MetroFocus, the daily multi-platform news magazine focusing on the New York region. In addition, WNET produces online-only programming including the award-winning series about gender, First Person, and an intergenerational look at tech and pop culture, The Chatterbox with Kevin and Grandma Lill. In 2015, THIRTEEN launched Passport, an online streaming service which allows members to see new and archival THIRTEEN and PBS programming anytime, anywhere: www.thirteen.org/passport. About Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater Under the leadership of Artistic Director Molly Smith and Executive Director Edgar Dobie, is a national center dedicated to American voices and artists. Arena Stage produces plays of all that is passionate, profound, deep and dangerous in the American spirit, and presents diverse and ground-breaking work from some of the best artists around the country. Arena Stage is committed to commissioning and developing new plays and impacts the lives of over 10,000 students annually through its work in community engagement. Now in its seventh decade, Arena Stage serves a diverse annual audience of more than 300,000. Arenastage.org For media only: Photos and press releases can be accessed here: http://www.thirteen.org/13pressroom/press-release/theater-close-originalist/

Grease is the word! Full casting is announced for the hit 70s musical, which returns this year to Wolverhampton Grand Theatre from Monday 27 November - Saturday 2 December.

Asolo Rep continues its winter rep season and the fifth and final year of its American Character Project with THE ORIGINALIST, Charles MacArthur Award-winner John Strand's gripping political masterpiece that spotlights the late polarizing judicial titan, Justice Antonin Scalia.

The Garden of Unearthly Delights returns for 2017, with a huge program of over 100 shows across 13 venues, covering live music, circus, visual art, comedy, family, magic, variety and so much more. 

There are people who eat and there are those who get eaten. This fall, Arena Stage serves up Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes, a delicious drama about family greed and betrayal. Emmy Award winner and Golden Globe nominee Marg Helgenberger, known for her 12 seasons as Catherine Willows on CBS's CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, stars as Regina Giddens under veteran director Kyle Donnelly, who has directed more than 20 productions at Arena Stage. The Little Foxes runs tonight, September 23, through October 30, 2016 in the Kreeger Theater.

Core Creative Productions will premiere an updated version of CHOKEHOLD by Anthony P. Pennino, directed by Tim Cusack. An earlier version of this intense drama about police brutality won Outstanding Overall Production of a New Play at the 2015 Planet Connections Festivity. Previews begin September 16 at The Theatre at the 14th Street Y with opening slated for September 22.

There are people who eat and there are those who get eaten. This fall, Arena Stage serves up Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes, a delicious drama about family greed and betrayal. Emmy Award winner and Golden Globe nominee Marg Helgenberger, known for her 12 seasons as Catherine Willows on CBS's CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, stars as Regina Giddens under veteran director Kyle Donnelly, who has directed more than 20 productions at Arena Stage. The Little Foxesruns September 23-October 30, 2016 in the Kreeger Theater.

The producers of the Sydney Comedy Festival will present the sixth annual Sydney Fringe Comedy program from Tuesday 30th August to Friday 30th September 2016. A one-month celebration of hilarity and fun, Sydney Fringe Comedy will feature a raft of promising emerging comedic talent alongside established performers presenting exclusive new material.

BWW speaks to the creators of Yeti's Demon Dive Bar ahead of their 2016 Edinburgh Fringe run.

As part of Fertility Fest, Gareth Farr's new play The Quiet House has its world premiere at Birmingham Rep this week. This co-production - also between Echo Presents and Park Theatre - is the exploration of a happily married couple in their mid-thirties who are desperate to have a child. After years of trying to conceive, they turn to fertility treatment. The play follows their painful struggle (often literally) towards their ultimate desire and the impact this has on their relationship.

The Quiet House, Gareth Farr's blistering and honest new play about a couple's journey to start a family, will play at Park Theatre from June 7 to July 9, with a press night on June 8, following its world premiere at Birmingham Repertory Theatre next month. It was inspired by Gareth's own experience, and is his second play following his 2014 Bruntwood Prize-winning debut, Britannia Waves The Rules.

Robert Schenkkan's Tony Award-winning drama All the Way, about President Lyndon Baines Johnson's impassioned struggle to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, makes its Washington, D.C. debut at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Kyle Donnelly, who has directed more than 20 productions at Arena Stage, returns to helm this "sure-fire, action packed hit" (Huffington Post) about a country still reeling from the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the man tasked with calming the storm. Hailed as a "sensational night of theater" (NPR), All the Way runs April 1-May 8, 2016 in the Fichandler Stage.

Circle Theatre will present Lovers and Executioners from August 20 through September 19, 2015 at the Circle Theatre, located at 230 W. 4th Street in Fort Worth, TX 76102, Sundance Square Entertainment District.

According to The New York Times, actor and director Judith Malina, who founded The Living Theatre with her husband, Julian Beck, passed away today, April 10, 2015 in Englewood, N.J. at the Lillian Booth Actors Home. She was 88.