Blues diva Ma Rainey and her band have come to a Chicago studio to cut a record, but their artistic differences nearly stop the session before it starts. Full of unforgettable characters and the raw power of the blues, this 1920s installment of Wilson's groundbreaking cycle of plays confronts the issues of race, fame, and generational divides through the rhythms of the African-American South.
August Wilson (1945-2005) The most-produced African-American playwright of all time, August Wilson was a self-taught writer whose distinctive style combined poeticism and everyday slang. The plays of his remarkable Pittsburgh Cycle chronicled the black experience in America in every decade of the 20thcentury, winning two Pulitzer Prizes and redefining African-American storytelling for a generation of theatergoers.
Multi Ethnic Theater, in association with Custom Made Theatre, presents August Wilson's Jitney, beginning today, August 7, and continues through August 31, at Gough Street Playhouse, 1620 Gough Street in San Francisco. Jitney is directed by Lewis Campbell, founder and artistic director of Multi Ethnic Theater. The play concerns a group of working class men who offer gypsy cab rides to and from African American communities where city cabs refuse to go.
Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse Artistic Director Gemma Bodinetz will direct Sean O'Casey's Juno and the Paycock in a major co-production with Bristol Old Vic. The cast will be led by Niamh Cusack as the eponymous Juno and Des McAleer as her husband Jack Boyle. The production is at Bristol Old Vic from 5 to 27 September before moving to the Liverpool Playhouse from 1 to 18 October.
Multi Ethnic Theater, in association with Custom Made Theatre, will present August Wilson's Jitney, August 7-31, at Gough Street Playhouse, 1620 Gough Street in San Francisco. Jitney is directed by Lewis Campbell, founder and artistic director of Multi Ethnic Theater. The play concerns a group of working class men who offer gypsy cab rides to and from African American communities where city cabs refuse to go.
Deadline writes that stage and screen actor Anthony Mackie is looking to play Olympic sprinter Jesse Owens in an upcoming passion project with writer/producer Jamie Linden (We Are Marshall) and scribe George Olson.
With Broadway's 2014 season now in full swing, there's a solid group of performers making their Broadway debuts this Spring. Meet all of the Great White Way's newest stars below, and be sure to let us know who you're most looking forward to seeing onstage!
Marin Theatre Company, in association with Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, will stage August Wilson's Fences, the 1950s entry into his Century Cycle (also known as his Pittsburgh Cycle) - a decade-by-decade exploration of the black experience in 20th century America. Directed by Derrick Sanders, the Pulitzer Prize and two-time Tony Award-winning play will feature veteran film and television actor Carl Lumbly as Troy Maxson, Steven Anthony Jones, the artistic director of Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, as Jim Bono and award-winning actor, playwright and director Margo Hall as Rose, as well as Oregon Shakespeare Festival's Eddy Ray Jackson as Cory, Adrian Roberts as Gabriel, Tyee Tilghman as Lyons and two Marin City youths - Jade Sweeney, who attends Willow Creek Academy, and Makaelah Bashir, Bayside Martin Luther King, Jr. Academy - splitting the role of Raynell.
Alley Theatre presents the world premiere of a new comedy by Theresa Rebeck, Fool. In Rebeck's new comedy, two kings get together and place a wager on their fools - a jester competition, and the funniest one gets to keep his head. Two evil minions have a lot to say about this, but not as much as the kitchen wench. And what's the queen been up to all night? A dramatical comical farcical tragical play about power, love and laughter, set in a medieval kitchen. Adult Language, Adult Situations, Beheadings.
Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd announces the cast and creative team for the world premiere of a new comedy by Theresa Rebeck, Fool. In Rebeck's new comedy, two kings get together and place a wager on their fools - a jester competition, and the funniest one gets to keep his head. Two evil minions have a lot to say about this, but not as much as the kitchen wench. And what's the queen been up to all night? A dramatical comical farcical tragical play about power, love and laughter, set in a medieval kitchen. Adult Language, Adult Situations, Beheadings.
After beginning his career in 1993, longtime theatrical press agent MICHAEL HARTMAN, founder and CEO of one of the largest and most successful theatrical publicity firms in New York, will say goodbye to Broadway and close THE HARTMAN GROUP on Sunday, January 5, 2014, remaining fully operational until then.
Julie Taymor, the Oscar and Tony Award-winning director of film, theatre and opera comes to 92Y tonight, November 17 to talk about her work in a conversation moderated by actor Harry Lennix, who received a Golden Satellite Award in Taymor's Titus.
The Phoenix, the New Theatre Company founded by long-time PICT artistic director and founder Andrew Paul and Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre founder and former director of theatre initiatives at the August Wilson Center, Mark Clayton Southers, will debut with a four week run of Joe Penhall's provocative, caustically funny, Olivier Award-winning play Blue/Orange. The production will star acclaimed actors David Whalen, Sam Tsoutsouvas, and newcomer Rico Parker, with direction by Andrew Paul and scenic design by Mark Clayton Southers. Blue/Orange, sponsored by founding Phoenix Board Member and noted arts philanthropist Richard E. Rauh, plays tonight, November 1-23, 2013 at the Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre, 937 Liberty Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh.
TVLine reports that Whoopi Goldberg has joined ABC's ONCE UPON A TIME IN WONDERLAND as the White Rabbit's wife. She will voice the character in the the eighth episode of the show's debut season.
The Phoenix, the new theatre company founded by long-time PICT artistic director and founder Andrew Paul and Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre founder and former director of theatre initiatives at the August Wilson Center, Mark Clayton Southers, will debut with a four week run of Joe Penhall's provocative, caustically funny, Olivier Award-winning play Blue/Orange. The production will star acclaimed actors David Whalen, Sam Tsoutsouvas, and newcomer Rico Parker, with direction by Andrew Paul and scenic design by Mark Clayton Southers. Blue/Orange, sponsored by founding Phoenix Board Member and noted arts philanthropist Richard E. Rauh, plays November 1-23, 2013 at the Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre, 937 Liberty Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh.
Julie Taymor, the Oscar and Tony Award-winning director of film, theatre and opera comes to 92Y on Sunday, November 17 to talk about her work in a conversation moderated by actor Harry Lennix, who received a Golden Satellite Award in Taymor's Titus. The event -From Stage to Screen and Back Again - will be illustrated with clips from her productions. Taymor is acclaimed for infusing her work with a uniquely theatrical vision - from the internationally acclaimed stage musical The Lion King, to the Beatles-inspired screen musical, Across the Universe, the timeless magic of Shakespeare on screen in Titus and The Tempest, to Shakespeare on stage, with her highly-anticipated upcoming production of A Midsummer Night's Dream for Theatre for a New Audience.
Long-time PICT artistic director and founder, Andrew Paul and Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre founder and former director of theatre initiatives at the August Wilson Center, Mark Clayton Southers have announced Pittsburgh's newest professional theatre company, The Phoenix. The mission of The Phoenix is to explore the issues facing our diverse and rapidly changing world through the language of theatre. The name is purposeful. The phoenix was a mythological creature that crossed borders finding a home in many cultures from ancient Greece and Egypt to Turkey, Persia, Russia, Tibet, China and Japan. It was and is a symbol of renewal, new life emerging from the ashes of the old in a never-ending cycle of death and rebirth.
Two women test the bonds of sisterhood in a bittersweet comedy set during the Harlem Renaissance. JVO Productions in association with InterACT Theatre Company presents The Old Settler by John Henry Redwood, opening Sept. 1 at the Pico Playhouse in West Los Angeles.
Performance Network Theatre is proud to present three community discussions on Monday, May 13 at 6pm, Sunday, May 19 at 4:30pm, and Sunday, June 2 at 4:30pm regarding "The Mountaintop," by Katori Hall - the current Performance Network production that is an imagined portrayal of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s last night on earth. These discussions are open to the public to facilitate dialogue about the play's innovative take on Dr. King's final hours.
Arizona Theatre Company (ATC) closes its 2012-2013 season with the eagerly anticipated Arizona premiere of Bruce Norris' multi-award-winning, provocative new comedy, "Clybourne Park." Performances will be held at The Herberger Theater Center in downtown Phoenix May 2 through May 19, 2013. ATC season sponsors are I. Michael and Beth Kasser. Phoenix production sponsor is Zazu Pannee Park Regent.
English Touring Theatre and Liverpool Playhouse will complete a trilogy of Roger McGough adaptations of classic Moliere comedies with THE MISANTHROPE in spring 2013. The Misanthrope debuted at the Liverpool Playhouse in February 2013 before its national tour.
Here are some of the familiar Broadway faces appearing in prime time tonight (Thursday, February 21, 2013)!
Here are some of the familiar Broadway faces appearing in prime time tonight (Tuesday, February 19)!
Cygnet Theatre will continue its 10th Anniversary Season by presenting the San Diego Premiere of August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean. The first play, chronologically, in Wilson's epic Century Cycle, Gem of the Ocean is set to perform now through February 24th, 2013, at Cygnet's Old Town Theatre. Press Opening is scheduled for tomorrow, February 2nd, 2013. Get a first look at the production in the photos below!
Huntington Theatre Company, SpeakEasy Stage Company, and the City of Boston's Office of Arts, Tourism, and Special Events will collaborate to present Two Plays: One House: A Raisin in the Sun & Clybourne Park at Dorchester's Strand Theatre on Wednesday, February 20 at 7pm. Hosted by Karen Holmes Ward, WCVB-TV's Director of Public Affairs and Community Services and host and executive producer of "CityLine," the evening will feature performances of scenes from each of the two plays and a panel conversation moderated by Ward with directors Liesl Tommy (A Raisin in the Sun) and M. Bevin O'Gara (Clybourne Park) about the issues of racism and gentrification raised in the plays. The evening is free and open to the public, but RSVPs are encouraged at huntingtontheatre.org/StrandRSVP.
Lookingglass Theatre Company, now celebrating its 25th Anniversary announces the addition of two new Ensemble Members: Kevin Douglas and B They are both frequent performers on the Lookingglass stage and have been members of the company as Artistic Associates.
Following the huge successes of their collaboration on Tartuffe and The Hypochondriac, English Touring Theatre and Liverpool Playhouse complete a trilogy of Roger McGough adaptations of classic Molière comedies with The Misanthrope, which premieres on Tuesday 19th February before a national tour. The 'McGoughière' team will reunite McGough with Everyman and Playhouse Artistic Director Gemma Bodinetz, who will direct this co-production with ETT.
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