Trinity Repertory Company News

Trinity Rep kicks off their 50th Anniversary season with John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, the definitive American tale of the strength of family and the human spirit set in the aftermath of the Great Depression. The Grapes of Wrath begins previews September 5, 2013 and runs until October 6, 2013 in Trinity Rep's Dowling Theater. Adapted for the stage by Frank Galati, this evocative and deeply affecting stage version promises to lift Steinbeck's novel to new heights of theatrical urgency, especially when married with director Brian McEleney's visceral storytelling style. Part naturalistic epic, part road novel, part inspirational gospel, The Grapes of Wrath boasts a 17 member cast and original folk-rock music from the show's band, 3pile. This production is sponsored by Taco/The White Family Foundation.

Trinity Repertory Company, recently named The State Theatre of Rhode Island, opens its doors on August, 17th for Trinity Rep's 50thAnniversary Block Party & Open House. The company invites the community to celebrate this milestone with them at the theater at 201 Washington St., with a wide range of family-friendly activities planned from noon until 8:00 pm. Highlights of the day include performances and appearances from over a dozen of the best and brightest professional, community, and children's theater groups from across the state, tours, acting classes, demos, a prop & costume sale, live music, and more.

The Velocity of Autumn, a new two-character play from Cleveland-based playwright Eric Coble, opens at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater under the direction of Artistic Director Molly Smith and by special arrangement with HOP Theatricals, LLC.

Berkeley Repertory Theatre's Artistic Director Tony Taccone today announces the appointment of Liesl Tommy as the nonprofit's associate director. Tommy, who most recently directed Berkeley Rep's critically acclaimed production of Ruined, joins the Theatre's artistic team effective September 1. Tommy will fulfill various artistic duties including directing for Berkeley Rep's main stage; developing new work through The Ground Floor, the Center for the Creation and Development of New Work; and supporting ongoing artistic pursuits in the spirit of cultivating and producing innovative and adventurous work for the Theatre.

Trinity Repertory Company, the State Theater of Rhode Island is proud to announce that three new company members have been added to their resident acting company roster - Mia Ellis, Rebecca Gibel and Charlie Thurston. All three performers are Brown/Trinity Rep MFA acting program graduates and no strangers to the Trinity Rep stage, having appeared in multiple productions over the past several seasons. The three join Trinity Rep's current resident acting company members: Stephen Berenson, Angela Brazil, Timothy Crowe, Mauro Hantman, Janice Duclos, Brian McEleney, Phyllis Kay, Anne Scurria, Barbara Meek, Fred Sullivan, Jr., Stephen Thorne, Rachael Warren, and Joe Wilson, Jr.

HBO Films presents in association with SAF Films West MUHAMMAD ALI'S GREATEST FIGHT, starring Academy Award(R) winner Christopher Plummer ('Beginners'), Academy Award(R) nominee Frank Langella ('Frost/Nixon') and Benjamin Walker ('Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter'); directed by Academy Award(R) nominee Stephen Frears ('The Queen') from a script by Shawn Slovo ('A World Apart'); and executive produced by Emmy(R) winner Frank Doelger (HBO's 'Game of Thrones' and 'The Gathering Storm'), Emmy(R) winner Tracey Scoffield (HBO's 'The Gathering Storm'), Jonathan Cameron and Stephen Frears.

Devi Girl Productions presents the U.S. Premiere of IMMACULATE, by Oliver Lansley at Summer Shares at La MaMa, The First Floor Theatere at 74 East 4th Street, today, July 25th -28th.

Trinity Repertory Company, recently named The State Theatre of Rhode Island, opens its doors on August, 17 for Trinity Rep's 50th Anniversary Block Party & Open House. The company invites the community to celebrate this milestone with them at the theater at 201 Washington St., with a wide range of family-friendly activities planned from noon until 8:00 p.m. Highlights of the day include performances and appearances from some of the best and brightest professional, community, and children's theater groups from across the state, tours, workshops, tech demos, a prop & costume sale, live music, and more. The theater's box office will be offering special pre-sale 10% discount on OLIVER!, VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE and many other shows in their 50th Season - in addition to a one day only ticket deals.

On July 10, the National Corporate Theatre Fund (NCTF) announced it has received two significant grants that will help develop exciting new works for theatre and strengthen innovative theatre education programs at NCTF's theatres across the country. The Ford Foundation awarded $250,000 to five significant regional theatres celebrating their 50th anniversaries-Actors Theatre of Louisville, Guthrie Theater, Hartford Stage, Seattle Repertory Theatre, and Trinity Repertory Company through the National Corporate Theatre Fund. And The Hearst Foundations will award $100,000 to Impact Creativity which supports interdisciplinary and innovative theatre education programs at NCTF's 19 theatres, a critically important grant as arts education budgets are cut across the country.

From super powers to a super granny, death, a disappearance and the apocalypse, the 8th annual Artists' Exchange One Act Play Festival rollicks through plots and genres leaving no stone unturned. Presented in two 2 week 'waves,' these thirteen plays offer a refreshingly brief and varied sampling of emerging and established American playwrights. Local playwrights include Epic Theatre Company's Kevin Broccoli (Wave I), Trinity Repertory Company Member Alexandar Platt (Wave II) and Ben Jolivet (Wave I & II).

Burning Coal Theatre Company will open its 17th season with the U.S. Premiere of The Heretic by Richard Bean. The production will run September 12 - 29, 2013 at the Murphey School, 224 Polk Street, Raleigh, NC. Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 pm (September 12 - 14, 19 - 21 and 26 - 28, 2013) and Sundays at 2 pm (September 15, 22, 29, 2013). Sunday, September 15 at 2 pm is our 'Pay What You Can' Day. That performance will also be Audio Described. Tickets are $25, $20 for seniors (65+) and $15 for students and active military. All tickets are $15 on Thursday evenings. For reservations and information, please call 919-834-4001 or visit www.burningcoal.org.

The new NYC production of Bill W. and Dr. Bob, about the founding of AA, begins tonight, July 8 at the Soho Playhouse. Seth Gordon (Associate Artistic Director, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis; Producer/Director Primary Stages, NYC; director of the acclaimed production of Bill W. and Dr. Bob at the Cleveland Play House in 2010) will direct an ensemble of actors who have garnered acclaim on and off Broadway.

From super powers to a super granny, death, a disappearance and the apocalypse, the 8th annual Artists' Exchange One Act Play Festival rollicks through plots and genres leaving no stone unturned. Presented in two 2 week "waves," these thirteen plays offer a refreshingly brief and varied sampling of emerging and established American playwrights. Local playwrights include Epic Theatre Company's Kevin Broccoli (Wave I), Trinity Repertory Company Member Alexandar Platt (Wave II) and Ben Jolivet (Wave I & II).

Trinity Rep has announced that Associate Director of Development Jennifer Canole has been named to Providence Business News 2013 40 Under Forty award list.

Devi Girl Productions presents the U.S. Premiere of IMMACULATE, by Oliver Lansley at Summer Shares at La MaMa, The First Floor Theatere at 74 East 4th Street, July 25th -28th.

For the Arden's 26th Season of great stories by great storytellers, the company presents a daring and ambitious musical, dramas that grapple with the complicated notion of the American family, provocative pieces by contemporary playwrights, and a new approach to a classic text. Says Arden's Producing Artistic Director Terrence J. Nolen: "The 2013/14 season will include a remarkable range of stories by master storytellers. We are proud to produce the work of Jason Robert Brown, Lydia Diamond, and Alfred Uhry at the Arden for the first time, and are thrilled to welcome plays by Philadelphia writers Quiara Alegria Hudes and Michael Hollinger to our stages. The coming year also includes a new translation by Curt Columbus of Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters, and adaptations of Louis Sachar's Sideways Stories from Wayside School and Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat. Coming this fall, we will also open the Hamilton Family Arts Center, our new education and production center. We are thrilled by the prospect of creating our 2013/14 productions in this great new space.'

Trinity Repertory Company concludes their 12-13 season with two Open Captioned (OC) performances of their latest shows House and Garden by Alan Ayckbourn. The OC performance of Garden will be held today, June 16 at 2pm in the Dowling Theater followed by the OC performance of House on Sunday, June 30 at 2pm, Chace Theater. This state-of-the-art technology allows Trinity Rep to continue in its mission of providing theater access to a wider community by making performances accessible to patrons with hearing loss.

Rhode Island theatergoers can expect an exciting season of comedy, drama, and music as local venues announce their summertime schedules. From downcity Providence to the sea breezes at Matunuck, here's a look ahead at summer theater highlights in the Ocean State.