Alex Moggridge News

Today, as Berkeley Repertory Theatre holds its final rehearsal for the West Coast premiere of Chinglishand prepares this production for a trip to Hong Kong, the show's celebrated author has earned another honor. The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust announced this morning that David Henry Hwang will receive the Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, a biennial prize that recognizes and encourages the artistic excellence and achievement of an American playwright whose body of work has made significant contributions to the American theatre.

In just a couple of weeks, Berkeley Rep will get the Bay Area speaking CHINGLISH when this Broadway comedy makes its West Coast premiere. Following the California engagement, this hilarious new play from Tony Award-winner David Henry Hwang heads to Hong Kong, the first time that Berkeley Rep will ever take a show to Asia. Chinglish begins previews on August 24, opens on August 29, and runs through July 15. Check out photos of Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang and Obie Award-winning director Leigh Silverman in rehearsal with the cast below!

Today, even as American Idiot prepares to sail for Europe, Berkeley Repertory Theatre announced that its upcoming production of Chinglish is headed for Hong Kong. It plays from March 1 through March 6 in the 1,200-seat Lyric Theatre at the Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts.

The Tony Award-winning Berkeley Repertory Theatre kicks off its new season in August with the West Coast premiere of Chinglish. David Henry Hwang won three Obies and the Tony Award for Best Play with popular scripts like M. Butterfly and FOB. Now he's back with a canny comedy of cross-cultural errors. Two-time Obie-winner Leigh Silverman returns to the Roda Theatre to stage the play.

Aurora Theatre Company announces that it will add an additional four performances of its current hit production SALOMANIA, Aurora Theatre Company Artistic Director Tom Ross's first new play commission for the company, written and directed by award-winning Bay Area auteur Mark Jackson (Metamorphosis, Salome, Miss Julie).

Closing Aurora's 20th season is the World Premiere of SALOMANIA, Aurora Theatre Company Artistic Director Tom Ross's first new play commission for the company, written and directed by award-winning Bay Area auteur Mark Jackson (Metamorphosis, Salome, Miss Julie). We have a first look at the production photos below!

Closing Aurora's 20th season is the World Premiere of SALOMANIA, Aurora Theatre Company Artistic Director Tom Ross's first new play commission for the company, written and directed by award-winning Bay Area auteur Mark Jackson (Metamorphosis, Salome, Miss Julie). Workshopped and developed at Aurora in 2010, SALOMANIA features Madeline H.D. Brown (Metamorphosis), Mark Anderson Phillips (Small Tragedy), Alex Moggridge (Betrayed), Liam Vincent (California Shakespeare Theater), Anthony Nemirovsky (Awake and Sing!), Marilee Talkington (Crowded Fire), and Kevin Clarke (Shotgun Players). SALOMANIA plays tonight, June 15 through July 22 at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley.

Students of all ages can sign up for a summer of fun at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Classes abound in expanded offerings for kids and adults during the School of Theatre's summer session - plus, teens have a special opportunity to spend part of their break in a four-week Summer Intensive or the new Teen Actors Studio. Activities begin July 2 at the Theatre's performing-arts complex in downtown Berkeley.

Closing Aurora's 20th season is the World Premiere of SALOMANIA, Aurora Theatre Company Artistic Director Tom Ross's first new play commission for the company, written and directed by award-winning Bay Area auteur Mark Jackson (Metamorphosis, Salome, Miss Julie). Workshopped and developed at Aurora in 2010, SALOMANIA features Madeline H.D. Brown (Metamorphosis), Mark Anderson Phillips (Small Tragedy), Alex Moggridge (Betrayed), Liam Vincent (California Shakespeare Theater), Anthony Nemirovsky (Awake and Sing!), Marilee Talkington (Crowded Fire), and Kevin Clarke (Shotgun Players). SALOMANIA plays June 15 through July 22 at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley.

The classic holiday film It's A Wonderful Life gets a magical adaptation though January 1

Just like the THREE SISTERS who find their way of life fading away, so many versions of Anton Chekhov's play find themselves forgotten in the face of modern theater. Not so, however, with Yale Rep's co-production with Berkeley Rep Theatre, for which playwright Sarah Ruhl finds a memorable balance between the classic and modern audiences.

Yale Repertory Theatre (James Bundy, Artistic Director; Victoria Nolan, Managing Director) presents two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Sarah Ruhl's new version of Anton Chekhov's THREE SISTERS, based on a literal translation by Elise Thoron with Natalya Paramonova and Kristin Johnsen-Neshati, directed by Les Waters.

Berkeley Rep's 'Three Sisters' is a powerful adaptation of Chekhov's classic that captures the lyricism and ennui of his work in an accessible and compelling production that is sure to be talked about for years to come.

Berkeley Rep's 'Three Sisters' is a powerful adaptation of Chekhov's classic that captures the lyricism and ennui of his work in an accessible and compelling production that is sure to be talked about for years to come.

Audiences and critics on both coasts embraced Eurydice and In the Next Room (or the vibrator play), two shows steeped in longing from playwright Sarah Ruhl and director Les Waters. Now this talented team turns its attention to a fresh translation of a masterpiece: Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters. Ruhl enlivens this classic with the same elegant understanding of intimacy that infused those earlier collaborations, while Waters and a cast of 14 deliver another sumptuous production. This West Coast premiere begins previews on Berkeley Rep's intimate Thrust Stage on April 8, opens April 13, and runs through May 22. Three Sisters is a co-production between Berkeley Rep, where Waters serves as associate artistic director, and Yale Repertory Theatre.

Audiences and critics on both coasts embraced Eurydice and In the Next Room (or the vibrator play), two shows steeped in longing from playwright Sarah Ruhl and director Les Waters. Now this talented team turns its attention to a fresh translation of a masterpiece: Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters. Ruhl enlivens this classic with the same elegant understanding of intimacy that infused those earlier collaborations, while Waters and a cast of 14 deliver another sumptuous production. This West Coast premiere begins previews on Berkeley Rep's intimate Thrust Stage on April 8, opens April 13, and runs through May 22. Three Sisters is a co-production between Berkeley Rep, where Waters serves as associate artistic director, and Yale Repertory Theatre.

Marin Theatre Company announces the West Coast premiere of Happy Now? by British playwright Lucinda Coxon. Happy Now? received rave reviews on both sides of the Atlantic in London and New York. Jasson Minadakis directs Happy Now? in the Boyer Theatre November 11 through December 5, 2010.