American Theater Celebrates 25th Anniversary Issue, Out 4/1

Long considered the essential magazine for professional not-for-profit theatre, AMERICAN THEATRE (AT), published monthly by Theatre Communications Group (TCG), has been providing theatre professionals, students, advocates and audiences a comprehensive journal for nearly 25 years.

For its 25th-anniversary issue, due to appear on selected newsstands nationwide on or about April 1, AMERICAN THEATRE magazine, which is the nation's only general-circulation monthly devoted to theatre, offers readers a tantalizing glimpse into the future of the art form. The magazine asked 25 forward-thinking American theatre artists-directors, performers, writers, designers, composers, dramaturgs and curators of new work-to gaze into their crystal balls and envision the changes they expect to see in the coming quarter-century for U.S. theatres and the people who work in them. The result is "An Eye on the Future," a 17-page special section with commentaries that range from the inspiring to comical, from grand-scale to intensely personal.

The complete text of Sheila Callaghan's provocative new play That Pretty Pretty; or, The Rape Play will also appear in the April issue. A scathing examination of gender relations and media, Callaghan's play had its debut this season at the Rattlestick Theatre in New York City. Despite the controversial subject matter, Callaghan says in an interview accompanying her script, "There's a celebratory fractiousness in the play's tone, and joy within the anger."

In addition to the special section and the complete play script, the issue will be highlighted by "Michael John LaChiusa Is Messing with Texas," a report by critic Celia Wren on the prolific writer-composer's recent work-which includes a big-scale new musical version of Edna Ferber's Giant, slated for production this month at Signature Theatre Company of Washington, D.C.

In another feature article, "A Translator's Tale," former National Endowment for the Arts chairman Dana Gioia interviews the poet Richard Wilbur about his 50-plus-year relationship with Molière. Wilbur's acclaimed translations of the French master's comedic works have been seen on stages throughout the world.

According to Editor-in-chief Jim O'Quinn, the April issue also includes:
A profile by critic Chloe Veltman of San Francisco-based director Mark Jackson, whose directorial style is inspired by German experimentalism;
Arts reporter Stuart Miller's evocation of circus-raised Lorenzo Pisoni's acclaimed new solo show Humor Abuse;
A profile by critic Martin F. Kohn of 72-year-old playwright Joanna McClellan Glass, who has the Top Ten American universities lined up to produce her latest work, Palmer Park;
Critical commentary by arts reporter Nirmala Nataraj on San Francisco's ARTSHIP Ensemble production about the burning of the ancient library of Alexandria.

As usual, the issue will include news from not-for-profit theatres coast-to-coast as well as comprehensive listings of productions, dates and directors for the month of April.

Theatre Communications Group's (TCG) mission is to strengthen, nurture and promote the professional, not-for-profit American theatre. TCG initiatives include a variety of artistic, management, international and advocacy programs. Its many publications offer a national resource for reference, opinion and debate on theatre and the performing arts today.