Addison News

Northern Stage, the region's professional theater, concludes its 2009 - 2010 Family Theater Series with a brand new musical adaptation of the beloved Newbery Honor book Mr. Popper's Penguins, by Richard and Florence Atwater. The book was adapted for the stage by Jody Davidson, who also wrote the lyrics; the music is by Brett Schrier.

Berkeley's acclaimed Aurora Theatre Company presents the third Aurora Script Club meeting of the season with Arthur Miller's All My Sons. Aurora Theatre Company Education Director Michael Mansfield hosts this moderated discussion series. The focus for this evening will be the idea of individualism, examining Aurora Theatre Company's production of Henrik Ibsen's family drama John Gabriel Borkman (1896) and its aristocratic version of the 'Industrial Dream' in light of Miller's family drama about the middle-class and the 'American Dream,' penned 50 years later.

New York City Center will celebrate Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winner Stephen Sondheim on the occasion of his 80th birthday on Monday, April 26 with a gala celebration featuring stars who have shone in Sondheim musicals including Michael Cerveris, Barbara Cook, Raúl Esparza, Victor Garber, Joanna Gleason, Angela Lansbury, Patti LuPone, Donna Murphy and Bernadette Peters. Directed by Tony Award-winner John Doyle, the evening will highlight shows for which Mr. Sondheim has written both music and lyrics, and will feature a full orchestra conducted by Encores! Music Director Rob Berman. The Benefit will help fund New York City Center's artistic and education programs. In addition, a portion of the evening's proceeds will go to Young Playwrights Inc, a charity of great importance to Mr. Sondheim.

WaterTower Theatre (WTT) continues its 12th season with the regional premiere of Is He Dead?, a newly discovered Mark Twain comedy.

The Fountain Theatre will close the first production of its 20th Anniversary Season, the West Coast premiere of Ifa Bayeza's daring, folk and gospel-infused The Ballad of Emmett Till, on April 25th. Shirley Jo Finney (Yellowman) directed Bernard K. Addison, Rico E. Anderson, Lorenz Arnell, Adenrele Ojo and Karen Malina White in the five-week run.

Audiences and critics have a huge crush on Girlfriend, so the romance continues. Today even as its production of American Idiot rocks Broadway, the Tony Award-winning Berkeley Repertory Theatre announced a one-week extension for its latest musical.

Today, we present the final section of the Sondheim Palooza for this week with a discussion of Sondheim's work in the last two decades. The shows themselves stand as solid proof that this is a composer/lyricist still at the absolute height of his abilities and at the top of his game, as we can very clearly hear in the scores for ASSASSINS, PASSION, THE FROGS and ROAD SHOW...

The popular evening of art, food, and music is Hospice Volunteer Services' biggest fundraiser of the year. Photography, pottery, fiber, jewelry, quilts, sculpture and more.

ABC has announced that, on April 22nd, it will swap the time periods of its hour-long Thursday drama's, 'Grey's Anatomy' and 'Private Practice.' The move will avoid having original episodes of the new show, 'FlashForward,' and 'Private Practice' air on either side of 'Grey's Anatomy.'

Aurora Theatre Company will host its third Aurora Script Club meeting of the season - Arthur Miller's All My Sons on Monday, April 19, 7:30pm.

In celebration of the most powerful bond that any man and woman can share (we're looking at you heteros) world famous improv club, iO, is thrilled to announce '1, 2, Fag + Hag!' If you have doubts that this is the most powerful bond throughout history just look at Kathy Griffin and Anderson Cooper, Madonna and Rupert Everett, and Betsy Ross and the Founding Fathers or come to '1, 2, Fag + Hag'. Seth Dodson and Kellen Alexander of iO's long-running headlining act '1, 2, 3, Fag!' will be bringing in Chicago's top female improvisers to perform their signature improv style of intertwining scenes with bold, outrageous characters. They will also talk about shoes, dish on boys, and try to come up with a clever nickname for a male maid-of-honor. Male-of-honor? Flower Grrrrrl?

Carla Gugino and Addison Timlin have landed major roles on the upcoming Season 4 of Showtime's comedy series Californication, according to a report on Deadline.com.

THE FROG AND PEACH THEATRE CO. presents MACBETH, one of Shakespeare?s most popular tragedies, and FROG & PEACH delivers the goods with all the excitement, humor and grown-up fun audiences have come to expect.

Circle Theatre proudly presents the Fort Worth premiere of The Great American Trailer Park Musical, music and lyrics by David Nehls and book by Betsy Kelso. Preview performances for the show are Thursday, April 29; Friday, April 30; and Saturday, May 1 (matinee).

Atlantic Theater Company (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Jeffory Lawson, Managing Director) is proud to announce that Kate Walsh ('Private Practice,' 'Grey's Anatomy') and Paul Sparks (Broadway's Hedda Gabler) will star in the world premiere of Stephen Belber's play DUSK RINGS A BELL directed by Sam Gold.

ABC has announced that, on April 22nd, it will swap the time periods of its hour-long Thursday drama's, 'Grey's Anatomy' and 'Private Practice.' The move will avoid having original episodes of the new show, 'FlashForward,' and 'Private Practice' air on either side of 'Grey's Anatomy.'

Persephone, Queen of the Dead a World Premiere by Mark-Brian Sonna presented by MBS Productions.

The stores are open late. The streets are full of happy people, sharing tips on where to go next. Art and music are everywhere - in galleries, shops and restaurants. This is the scene at the Middlebury Arts Walk, which bows in for its second season on Friday, April 9, from 5-7 pm.

Although he's already been at work for several weeks, today it was revealed that Joe Goode has joined the creative team for the world premiere of Girlfriend at the Tony Award-winning Berkeley Repertory Theatre. The renowned San Francisco choreographer is working alongside Berkeley Rep's associate artistic director, Obie Award-winner Les Waters, to stage this tender new show. Featuring music and lyrics by Matthew Sweet and a book by Todd Almond, Girlfriend begins previews on April 9, opens April 14, and closes May 9, 2010.

Aurora Theatre Company continues its 18th season with Henrik Ibsen's rarely-produced masterwork JOHN GABRIEL BORKMAN, in a new version by David Eldridge. Aurora Theatre Company founding Artistic Director Barbara Oliver, who directed the company's hit production of Ibsen's The Master Builder, returns to helm this fiercely relevant drama, featuring Bay Area stage veteran James Carpenter (The Master Builder) in the title role, and stage and television actress Karen Grassle (Little House on the Prairie) in her Aurora debut.