Jon Chaffin

Virtual Theatre This Weekend: June 5-6- with Alex Newell, Heather Headley, and More!

Broadway might be dark, but that doesn't mean that theatre isn't happening everywhere! Below, check out where you can get your daily fix of Broadway this weekend, June 5-6, 2021.

Lena Hall, Blair Brown, Ben Feldman and More to Star in Livestreamed Works by Zakiyyah Alexander, Mando Alvarado & Others

On Saturday, May 22nd at 7:00pm EST, Play-PerView will live stream AYA or Dear Lover by Fernanda Coppel (King Liz, “How To Get Away With Murder”).  Directed by Estefania Fadul, this production will feature Raul Castillo (“Looking,” “Atypical”), Tina Huang (“Rizzoli & Isles,” “Arrow”), and Roxana Ortega (“The Casagrandes,” “American Vandal”). 

Travel to L.A. with Antaeus Theatre Company's ZIP CODE PLAYS Podcast Series

Celebrate the culture and history of the diverse neighborhoods of Los Angeles from the safety of your home. Antaeus Theatre Company presents The Zip Code Plays: Los Angeles, a series of six original audio plays, each set in a different L.A. zip code.

AMMO Announces First Full Season At The Pico In Los Angeles

A group of theatre artists known as a?oeAMMOa?? may be the new kids in town but they've arrived with a rock-solid foundation of creds, awards, and new play development experience. Although they have staged new plays in past years, they kick off their first full season in Los Angeles this February.

Casting Announced For Center Theatre Group's Second Annual L.A. Writers' Workshop Festival

Center Theatre Group has announced casting for the second annual L.A. Writers' Workshop Festival: New Plays Forged in L.A., a one-day event at the Kirk Douglas Theatre celebrating some of the freshest and most thrilling voices in modern American theatre. The festival will take place on June 29 from 1 to 9 p.m. with readings of three new plays by three L.A. Writers' Workshop participants from throughout the program's 14-year history. The readings include "Campaign" by Laura Jacqmin, directed by Monty Cole; "Sleeping Giant" by Steve Yockey, directed by Michael Matthews; and "Confederates" by Dominique Morisseau, directed by Goldie Patrick.

BWW Review: Racially Confrontational NATIVE SON Remains Too Close to Today's Violent Truth

NATIVE SON, a novel written in 1940 by Richard Wright, tells the story of 20-year of Bigger Thomas, an African American youth living in utter poverty in a poor area on Chicago's South Side in 1939. While not apologizing for Bigger's crimes, Wright portrays a systemic inevitability behind them, making the case that there is no escape from his destiny since he is the inevitable product of the society in which he has lived since birth, faced by expectations imposed upon him by others tasked to teach him the proper way for a Black man to live in society. It is often said that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. This is certainly the case in Wright's original story which could have been written today, given the similar news stories filling the airwaves right now involving police beatings of Black men and gun violence leading to senseless murders.

NATIVE SON Opens at the Douglas

Antaeus Theatre Company's production of "Native Son," which Center Theatre Group is remounting at the Kirk Douglas Theatre as part of the third annual Block Party: Celebrating Los Angeles Theatre, will open Saturday, April 20 at 8 p.m. Written by Nambi E. Kelley, based on the novel by Richard Wright and directed by Andi Chapman, "Native Son" is currently in previews and will close April 28.

BWW Interview: Jon Chaffin, A NATIVE SON, Urges Creating Empathy For All Humans, Being in Life

Antaeus Theatre Company's 2018 Southern California premiere of NATIVE SON has been chosen as the third and final production of Center Theatre Group's BLOCK PARTY 2019, beginning April 18, 2019 at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. Nambi E. Kelley's adaptation of Richard Wright's classic novel Native Son will be reprised with its entire original Antaeus cast of nine, again with director Andi Chapman at its helm. I had the chance to ask some delving questions of Jon Chaffin, who portrays NATIVE SON's most integral character, Bigger Thomas.

Cast Announced For NATIVE SON Part Of Block Party 2019 At The Douglas

Casting is set for Antaeus Theatre Company's production of "Native Son," which Center Theatre Group is remounting at the Kirk Douglas Theatre as part of the third annual Block Party: Celebrating Los Angeles Theatre. Written by Nambi E. Kelley, based on the novel by Richard Wright and directed by Andi Chapman, "Native Son" will begin previews April 18, open April 20 and continue through April 28, 2019.

Casting Announced For L.A. Writers' Workshop Festival

Center Theatre Group has announced casting for the inaugural L.A. Writers' Workshop Festival: New Plays Forged In L.A., a one day event at the Kirk Douglas Theatre celebrating some of the freshest and most exciting voices in modern American theatre. The festival will take place on June 23 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. with readings of three new plays by three L.A. Writers' Workshop participants from throughout the program's 13-year history. The readings include "A Kind of Weather" by Sylvan Oswald, "New Life" by Dan O'Brien and "How To Raise A Freeman" by Zakiyyah Alexander.