Alan Schneider News

The Old Globe's production of Opus, by Michael Hollinger, directed by Kyle Donnelly, is set to run in the Globe's Arena Stage at the San Diego Museum of Art's James S. Copley Auditorium March 21 - April 26, 2009. The show officially opens tonight, Thursday, March 26 at 8:00pm).

A Noise Within (ANW), the acclaimed repertory theatre company, stages Henrik Ibsen?s Ghosts, a haunting tale of unrequited passion, revelation and horror, which opens Saturday, March 21 and runs through Saturday, May 9, 2009 (previews begin Saturday, March 14). Directed by Michael Murray, the cast features Mark Bramhall (Estrand), Alex Feldman (Oswald), Rebecca Mozzo (Regina), Deborah Strang (Mrs. Alving) and Joel Swetow (Manders).

The world-renowned Imagination Workshop was founded 40 years ago by Margaret Ladd, the award-winning actress and Founding Artistic Director, and her husband Lyle Kessler, the critically-acclaimed playwright, and Co-Founder of the organization. Today, the Imagination Workshop, a unique theatre company comprised of professional theatre artists collaborating with patients recovering from mood disorders and other mental illnesses, is one of the longest running Arts and Social Institutions in the country.

George Street Playhouse has announced full casting for New Year's Eve a world premiere from the pen of ARTHUR LAURENTS. George Street Playhouse Artistic Director DAVID SAINT will direct a starry cast comprised of WALTER BELENKY, KEITH CARRADINE, PETER FRECHETTE, MARLO THOMAS and NATASHA GREGSON WAGNER. New Year's Eve marks the ninth collaboration between Saint and Laurents at the New Brunswick Playhouse, and the return engagement of Ms. Thomas, who starred in Elaine May's Roger is Dead last season.

Old Globe Executive Producer Lou Spisto is pleased to announce the cast of The Old Globe's production of Opus, by Michael Hollinger, directed by Kyle Donnelly, to run in the Globe's arena stage at the San Diego Museum of Art's James S. Copley Auditorium March 21 - April 26, 2009 (press opening: Thursday, March 26 at 8:00pm). Tickets are available by calling (619) 23-GLOBE, online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, or by visiting the Globe Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park.

From March 13 to 22, The Club at La MaMa E.T.C. will present the U.S. premiere of 'Tonight: Lola Blau,' written and composed by Georg Kreisler, English version by Don White, directed by Dick Top (Holland), featuring Anna Kr?mer (Germany) as Lola. This U.S. premiere is an opportunity for NY audiences to savor one of Europe's 'big little' musicals and its unforgettable holocaust themes. The piece depicts a rising, charismatic, Dietrich-style cabaret singer who is forced to flee Austria because of her Jewish heritage, taking refuge in the U.S. She makes do with 'survival jobs' on Tin Pan Alley until her sensational return to her homeland after the war, when she discovers that nothing much has changed.

A Noise Within (ANW), the acclaimed repertory theatre company, stages Henrik Ibsen?s Ghosts, a haunting tale of unrequited passion, revelation and horror, which opens Saturday, March 21 and runs through Saturday, May 9, 2009 (previews begin Saturday, March 14). Directed by Michael Murray, the cast features Mark Bramhall (Estrand), Alex Feldman (Oswald), Rebecca Mozzo (Regina), Deborah Strang (Mrs. Alving) and Joel Swetow (Manders).

From March 13 to 22, The Club at La MaMa E.T.C. will present the U.S. premiere of 'Tonight: Lola Blau,' written and composed by Georg Kreisler, English version by Don White, directed by Dick Top (Holland), featuring Anna Kr?mer (Germany) as Lola. This U.S. premiere is an opportunity for NY audiences to savor one of Europe's 'big little' musicals and its unforgettable holocaust themes. The piece depicts a rising, charismatic, Dietrich-style cabaret singer who is forced to flee Austria because of her Jewish heritage, taking refuge in the U.S. She makes do with 'survival jobs' on Tin Pan Alley until her sensational return to her homeland after the war, when she discovers that nothing much has changed.

Press notes announced 'Look out America, Gilligan's Island The Musical is docking at a desert island near you and the hilarity found in America's most cherished sitcom is in full effect in this larger than life stage musical. Bringing back all those well known and beloved characters from one of the most popular television shows of all time, this lovable musical comedy is sure to please the generations of audiences that the television show first inspired'. The first stop for the tour is the Lycian Centre for the Performing Arts in Sugar Loaf, NY on February 21st and 22nd.

Several short plays by the late Pulitzer Prize-winning writer William Inge, never before publicly performed, will premiere April 22 at the annual William Inge Theatre Festival in his Kansas hometown. The 28th annual William Inge Theatre Festival celebrates the legacy of great American playwrights and honors Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt April 22-25. They will receive the coveted Distinguished Achievement in the American Theatre Award, joining the list of previous Inge Festival honorees such as Arthur Miller, August Wilson, Wendy Wasserstein, Neil Simon, and Stephen Sondheim.

Winner of the 1967 Pulitzer Prize, Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance comes to Arena Stage in a contemporary and provocative new staging under the direction of experienced Albee collaborator Pam MacKinnon. Featuring Broadway stars Kathleen Chalfant (Wit, Angels in America), Terry Beaver (Henry IV, The Last Night of Ballyhoo), Ellen McLaughlin (Angels in America) and Carla Harting (Eurydice),joined by Helen Hedman and James Slaughter, A Delicate Balance runs February 6-March 15, 2009 at Arena Stage in Crystal City. The press opening performance is Thursday, February 12, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. 'Albee is fearless about writing stories that get us in the solar plexus, and he does so with his brilliant wit, dynamic storytelling and rigorous use of language,' shares Artistic Director Molly Smith. 'His work draws the best artists, and with this production audiences are fortunate to have an enormously strong cast and creative team-approved by Albee himself.' A frequent director of Albee plays, MacKinnon has directed The Play About the Baby, the world premieres of Peter and Jerry: Homelife and The Zoo Story (now titled At Home at the Zoo) and Occupant, as well as the U.S. regional and European premieres of The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?

Winner of the 1967 Pulitzer Prize, Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance comes to Arena Stage in a contemporary and provocative new staging under the direction of experienced Albee collaborator Pam MacKinnon. Featuring Broadway stars Kathleen Chalfant (Wit, Angels in America), Terry Beaver (Henry IV, The Last Night of Ballyhoo), Ellen McLaughlin (Angels in America) and Carla Harting (Eurydice),joined by Helen Hedman and James Slaughter, A Delicate Balance runs February 6-March 15, 2009 at Arena Stage in Crystal City. The press opening performance is Thursday, February 12, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. 'Albee is fearless about writing stories that get us in the solar plexus, and he does so with his brilliant wit, dynamic storytelling and rigorous use of language,' shares Artistic Director Molly Smith. 'His work draws the best artists, and with this production audiences are fortunate to have an enormously strong cast and creative team-approved by Albee himself.' A frequent director of Albee plays, MacKinnon has directed The Play About the Baby, the world premieres of Peter and Jerry: Homelife and The Zoo Story (now titled At Home at the Zoo) and Occupant, as well as the U.S. regional and European premieres of The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?

?GAYTINO!, written and performed by Dan Guerrero, will have its Off-Broadway premiere at the Zipper Factory Theater for two nights only: Saturday, January 10th (8pm) and Sunday, January 11th (7pm). Diane Rodriguez directs what the Washington Post called 'a disarming twist on the triumph-of-the-human-spirit theme.' Tickets can be purchased at www.thezipperfactory.com or at the box office 1 hour before each performance. For more information, visit http://www.gaytino.com.

?GAYTINO!, written and performed by Dan Guerrero, will have its Off-Broadway premiere at the Zipper Factory Theater for two nights only: Saturday, January 10th (8pm) and Sunday, January 11th (7pm). Diane Rodriguez directs what the Washington Post called 'a disarming twist on the triumph-of-the-human-spirit theme.' Tickets can be purchased at www.thezipperfactory.com or at the box office 1 hour before each performance. For more information, visit http://www.gaytino.com.

Court Theatre continues its 2008-09 season with the World Premiere translation of Henrik Ibsen's modernist classic The Wild Duck, directed by Artistic Director Charles Newell. The production will run at the MCA Stage at the Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 East Chicago Avenue, January 15 - February 15, 2009.

George Street Playhouse begins 2009 with its production of Donald Marguiles' Sight Unseen. When first presented in 1992, the play won the OBIE Award for Best New American Play, was nominated for a Drama Desk, and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. George Street Playhouse Artistic Director will helm the production, slated to run at the New Brunswick theatre January2020 - February 15, 2009. Matthew Arkin, last seen at GSP in their production of Theresa Rebeck's The Scene, leads an ensemble including Heidi Armbruster, Christopher Curry and Kathleen McNenny.

Court Theatre continues its 2008-09 season with the World Premiere translation of Henrik Ibsen's modernist classic The Wild Duck, directed by Artistic Director Charles Newell. The production will run at the MCA Stage at the Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 East Chicago Avenue, January 15 - February 15, 2009.

LAByrinth Theater Company (John Ortiz, Artistic Director; Philip Seymour Hoffman, Co-Artistic Director; John Gould Rubin, Co- Artistic & Executive Director) opens its alternative festival of free staged readings, Live Nude Plays (November 16-19, 2008).

LAByrinth Theater Company (John Ortiz, Artistic Director; Philip Seymour Hoffman, Co-Artistic Director; John Gould Rubin, Co- Artistic & Executive Director) opens its alternative festival of free staged readings, Live Nude Plays (November 16 ? 19, 2008).

'Theater Talk,' the nationally syndicated program co-hosted by New York Post theater columnist Michael Riedel and producer Susan Haskins, will air a historic panel discussion about the state of Midwest resident theatres on Friday, October 3 (early Saturday morning) at 12:30 AM on WNET, Channel 13.