Ma Rainey's Black Bottom 1984 - Articles Page 3.4

Center Theatre Group has announced the casting for August Wilson's 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom' which begins previews August 31, opens September 11 and continues through October 16, 2016, at the Mark Taper Forum.

The Bayou Theatre Company returns with its third season entitled 'The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: Exploring the Complexities of Womanhood'. With a season focused on female-centered stories, the season will open with Lanie Robertson's riveting one woman play with music LADY DAY AT THE EMERSON'S BAR AND GRILL, followed by PECONG by Steve Carter, a resetting of the myth of Medea.

This summer, Royal & Derngate Northampton and Hackney Empire will co-produce the world premiere of Soul, a new play by Roy Williams about the family life of soul legend Marvin Gaye. Directed by James Dacre and designed by Jon Bausor, Soul takes to Northampton's Royal stage from Friday 20 May to Saturday 11 June, before its run at Hackney Empire from Wednesday 15 June to Sunday 3 July.

YALE REPERTORY THEATRE announces its 50th Anniversary Season, which will include three world premieres commissioned by Yale Rep and two contemporary masterpieces.

A quick review of the 10 plays Denzel Washington will be producing for HBO.

Goodman Theatre, in collaboration with Chicago's various off-Loop theaters and Northwestern University, unveils partial programming in its spring 2015 citywide "August Wilson Celebration" -- an extensive retrospective of the late playwright's life, artistry and influence on American culture. The seven-week Celebration takes place in March and April 2015 on dual landmark occasions: the 70th anniversary of the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright's birth and the 10th anniversary of his death.

Tony award-winning Broadway producer, Robert Cole, will be presented The Commercial Theater Institute's Robert Whitehead Award for 'outstanding achievement in commercial theatre producing' at a reception at Sardi's on Tuesday, March 10, 2015.

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.

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.

American Stage Theatre Company is excited to announce an added performance for August Wilson's 2 TRAINS RUNNING. Due to many shows selling out, American Stage has added one last performance on Sunday, February 23 at 8 pm. This production is their seventh installment of their August Wilson Century Cycle.

American Stage Theatre Company kicks off the new year with August Wilson's 2 TRAINS RUNNING. They are excited to present their seventh installment of their August Wilson Century Cycle. Previews are tonight, January 22 and 23. Opening Night is January 24 and the production runs through February 23, 2014.

Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award winner, Whoopi Goldberg has been tapped by The Drama League to host the 30th Annual Musical Celebration of Broadway honoring Golden Globe Nominee and Emmy Award winner Neil Patrick Harris on Monday evening, February 3, 2014 at the famed Pierre Hotel (2 East 61st Street). Tickets are available by calling (212) 244-9494.

American Stage Theatre Company kicks off the new year with August Wilson's 2 TRAINS RUNNING. They are excited to present their seventh installment of their August Wilson Century Cycle. Previews are January 22 and 23. Opening Night is January 24 and the production runs through February 23, 2014.

American Stage Theatre Company kicks off the new year with August Wilson's 2 TRAINS RUNNING. They are excited to present their seventh installment of their August Wilson Century Cycle. Previews are January 22 and 23. Opening Night is January 24 and the production runs through February 23, 2014.

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.

'Blues are a way of understanding,' Ma Rainey tells her band in the second act of August Wilson's 1984 play set in a 1920s recording studio in Jim Crow era Chicago. And, indeed, Wilson uses music as a means of making sense of the African-American experience in a world scarred by racism and violence. The Portland Stage's new production, which opens its 2013-2014 season, is a tautly directed, intensely acted interpretation of Wilson's meditation on what it is like to be black in a white man's world. The play, which uses the a quasi-musical blues structure of long, seemingly improvised solos interspersed with short rhythmic exchanges of dialogue, builds slowly and tensely to its chilling climax. Along the way, it penetrates the recesses of the musicians' hearts, their troubled pasts and their tenuous presents. And it examines the high cost of 'making it' in white America, where, for all their artistic talent and success, these determined entertainers remain faceless and invisible. Delivering Wilson's prose with an engaging blend of humor and pathos, the Portland Stage Company's cast scales the poetic heights of the playwright's genius.

Berkeley Repertory Theatre kicks off its 46th season this September with Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, winner of the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play. The hilarious Broadway blockbuster from three-time Obie Award-winner Christopher Durang begins previews in the Roda Theatre on September 20, opens September 25, and runs through October 20. Durang, the renowned author of rollicking comedies such as Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You and The Marriage of Bette & Boo, turns Chekhov on his head with this witty and incisive farce. In bucolic Bucks County, Vanya and Sonia fritter their lives away in their family's farmhouse amid regret, angst, and the alarming prophecies of an addled housecleaner. Enter their sister Masha, a self-absorbed movie star with her prized boy toy Spike, and the stage is set for an absurd weekend of hilarity and global warming. Acclaimed director Richard E.T. White returns to Berkeley Rep to stage the laugh-inducing Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, a loving homage to Chekhov's themes of heartbreak and hope.

Here are some of the familiar Broadway faces appearing in prime time tonight (Thursday, February 21, 2013)!

American Stage Theatre Company presents the sixth installment in its August Wilson Century Cycle and the first play in its 2012-2013 Spring Mainstage Series: August Wilson's THE PIANO LESSON. The production is currently playing and runs through March 3, 2013.

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.

As 2012 comes to a close, many Austin theater companies are putting together their 2013-2014 season. Given the incredible talent in this town and the large number of daring, courageous theater groups in the Austin area, here are my picks for 13 plays that I'd love to see produced in the 2013-2014 season.

In response to the CPS teachers' strike, Court Theatre is offering a special free performance of August Wilson's Jitney, directed by Resident Artist Ron OJ Parson, for any CPS student (and one parent/guardian) with a valid CPS ID. This free matinee will be Thursday, September 13, 2012 at 10:30am at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Avenue. There is no need to RSVP, simply present a valid CPS ID at the theatre.

Court Theatre kicks off its 2012-13 season with August Wilson's Jitney directed by Resident Artist Ron OJ Parson.Jitney is the fourth play in Wilson's Century Cycle to be produced at Court Theatre under Parson's direction. The production will run tonight, September 6 - October 14, 2012 at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Avenue. The press opening will be Saturday, September 15, 2012 at 8:00 p.m.

Court Theatre kicks off its 2012-13 season with August Wilson's Jitney directed by Resident Artist Ron OJ Parson.Jitney is the fourth play in Wilson's Century Cycle to be produced at Court Theatre under Parson's direction. The production will runSeptember 6 - October 14, 2012 at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Avenue. The press opening will be Saturday, September 15, 2012 at 8:00 p.m.

The New York Times is reporting that Alec Baldwin will return to Broadway in the Spring of 2013 in a new production of OPRHANS, to be directed by Tony-winner Daniel Sullivan. There is no word yet on a theatre or additional cast members for the production.