Working Theatre News

Theatre venues in Chicago and across the world remain closed due to the COVID 19 pandemic while the industry in Chicago has developed creative ways to connect with audiences.

Lyric Theatre returns in a much anticipated set of performances. Lyric's MOONLIGHT CABARET features a lineup of favorite OKC performers singing in a safe, social-distanced outdoor venue. The Myriad Gardens Water Stage offers a perfect setting for open-air entertainment and a night of music and merriment.

Ford's Theatre Director Paul R. Tetreault today announced that Sheldon Epps will join the theatre's leadership team as Senior Artistic Advisor. Epps steps into the new role as the theatre reevaluates its 2020-2021 season amid the national reckoning for racial justice and the impacts of COVID-19 on live performances.

Some of the books on this list provide insight on directing for musicals and plays, from a business standpoint. Others include written pieces and essays from other producers, to help inspire you to get your foot in the door. Whether you are brand new, or just want to learn more about the business, there is something on this list for you!

The Court Theatre and Ara Institute of Canterbury have partnered up in a mission to connect the worlds of education and theatre.

BroadwayWorld is saddened to report that Wynn Handman, co-founder of the American Place Theatre, has died at age 97. Handman's daughter, Laura Handman, confirmed that his cause of death was COVID-19-related illness.

The Coterie Theatre School is offering its Spring session of drama classes as live, interactive online instruction. Now available to youth nationwide, The Coterie's classes are led by our staff of trained teaching artists and are focused on a process-based curriculum. Classes for age three through grade 12 begin on Saturday, April 4, with additional classes starting on a staggered schedule throughout April 2020.

Out of an abundance of caution and to follow DC Health's recommendations, Ford's Theatre Society is altering its programming schedule through April 4. Ford's Theatre Society is staying abreast of the evolving situation related to the novel coronavirus COVID-19 and following advice from the Center for Disease Control (CDC). The latest Ford's Theatre updates will be posted on www.fords.org and main box office phoneline (202) 638-2941.

Ford's Theatre Director Paul R. Tetreault today announced the Ford's Theatre 2020-2021 season will include: Horton Foote's The Trip to Bountiful, directed by Michael Wilson and featuring Nancy Robinette; the D.C.-premiere of a new play based on the real-life friendship of contralto Marian Anderson and physicist Albert Einstein titled My Lord, What a Night, written by Deborah Brevoort and directed by Sheldon Epps; the musical Man of La Mancha, featuring Kevin McAllister and directed by Stephen Rayne; and A Christmas Carol featuring Craig Wallace in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge for the fifth year.

San Francisco Playhouse announced casting for the second production of their 2019/2020 Sandbox Series of World Premieres: Born in East Berlin, written by Rogelio Martinez. Margarett Perry will direct the world premiere production, presented at The Creativity Theater.

Chance Theater's regional premiere of the punk rock Lizzie, The Musical won the LA Stage Alliance Ovation Award for a?oeBest Production of a Musical (Intimate Theatre)a?? last night at the 30th Annual Ovation Awards. The ceremony was at the Theatre at Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. 

The NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) has announced this year's recipients of grants through the CreateNYC Language Access Fund. 36 NYC-based nonprofits will receive grants ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 in support of programming that increases access to arts and culture for those whose primary language is not English. The awarded programs represent 12 languages a?" including Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Russian, and American Sign Language a?" and will serve audiences in all five boroughs.

Liberation Theatre Company (LTC), a Harlem-based independent theatrical producer and playwright development company established in 2009, is inviting applications from early-career playwrights to participate in the fourth year of their Writing Residency Program for 2020-2021.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces casting for Octavio Solis' Mother Road, a sequel to John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. Mother Road premiered at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2019 and will run at Arena Stage from February 7 - March 8, 2020 in the iconic in-the-round Fichandler Stage.

Ford's Theatre Society announced full casting and the design team for Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson, a captivating play based on the life of trail-blazing astronomer Henrietta Leavitt. The Ford's Theatre production is directed by Seema Sueko and features Laura C. Harris (Arena Stage's The Heiress, Signature Theatre's The Flick) as Henrietta Leavitt, Nora Achrati as Annie Jump Cannon, Emily Kester as Margaret Leavitt, Jonathan David Martin as Peter Shaw and Holly Twyford as Williamina Fleming. Performances are January 24 to February 23, 2020. A media performance is scheduled for January 29, 2020 at 7:00 p.m.

ELAN Ensemble has announced its upcoming production of Seven, a new adaptation of the documentary play. Under the direction of Natsuko Ohama with movement direction by Stephanie Shroyer, the production is set to open on Saturday, November 23, at 8pm and run through December 16 only at the Atwater Village Theatre.

BroadwayWorld is checking in with the cast to uncover some little known facts about the political giants they play onstage. Today, watch as Ted Deasy gives us a lesson on the High Speed Ground Transportation Act of 1965.

With college theatre program auditions just around the corner, we're highlighting some of the most prestigious theatre programs from all across the United States to give you insight into what to expect from their programs, from audition advice to real world experience and more. Today we're chatting with faculty from Eckerd College's theatre program about its Reflective Service Learning, partnership with Circle in the Square, and more.

Geva Theatre Center presents The Niceties, by Eleanor Burgess and directed by Nicole A. Watson, in the Elaine P. Wilson Stage from October 22 through November 17. 

Geva Theatre Center presents The Niceties, by Eleanor Burgess and directed by Nicole A. Watson, in the Elaine P. Wilson Stage from October 22 through November 17.