Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros News

This time, the reader question was: Are there a lot of new productions by Pulitzer Prize winners and finalists this season, or does it just seem that way?

My Thing of Love is an off-center black comedy about the down side of marriage and the pain of love. Written by award winning playwright Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros and produced by the Steppenwolf Theatre in the 1990s, the play is a lesser known work and rarely produced. The Sixty-six Theater Co, has audaciously seized the moment and mounted a sterling presentation that will appeal to your twisted sense of humor now through May 18.

The Brown/Trinity Rep MFA Programs end their 2018-19 season with two plays in rep, How We Got On by Idris Goodwin, and She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen. She Kills Monsters, directed by Tatyana-Marie Carlo ('20) tackles grief through one of the most popular role-playing games, Dungeons & Dragons. How We Got On, directed by Josiah Davis('20), is a coming-of-age story for three young hip hop artists in the suburbs growing up alongside a new genre of music. All performances will take place in rep from May 3 - 19 at thePell Chafee Performance Center, 87 Empire Street, Providence. Tickets are on sale now at Trinity Rep's box office, by phone (401) 351-4242, or online atwww.TrinityRep.com/MFAShows.

Playing On Air announced today the names of the three celebrity guests joining sponsor Josie Merck on the jury for their inaugural James Stevenson Prize, which will award three monetary prizes for new short comedic plays that honor and perpetuate the spirit and wit of Mr. Stevenson.

Claudia Catania, founder and Artistic Director of Playing on Air, has announced the release of Playing on Air's latest podcast: Pulitzer Prize winner Lanford Wilson's 1986 short play, A Betrothal, featuring Lisa Emery (Broadway's Casa Valentina) and Frank Wood (Tony Award winner for Broadway's Side Man).

Vassar & New York Stage and Film just announced casting for the final weeks of the 32ndPowerhouse Season, running through July 31st at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY.

The World Premiere of BIG SKY written by Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros and brilliantly directed by John Rando (Tony and Outer Critics Award winner for Urinetown) at the Gil Cates Theater at the Geffen Playhouse fits in nicely with the theme of the Geffen's upcoming 'Moments of Truth' season as revelations spoken by each cast member finally allow them to drop all pretense and work together toward a goal for their common good. And while the ending seems a bit obscure at first, listening to everyone talking about it as they were leaving the theater convinced me that something thought-provoking had just been shared with all of us.

Geffen Playhouse's starry world premiere of BIG SKY, written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros, opens tonight, June 15. The production runs through July 17, 2016.

John Rando (Tony and Outer Critics Award winner for Urinetown) directs production starring Arnie Burton (Flesh and Bone) as Jonathan, Emily Robinson (Transparent) as Tessa, Jon Tenney (The Closer, Major Crimes, Scandal) as Jack, and Jennifer Westfeldt (Kissing Jessica Stein, Ira & Abby, Friends With Kids) as Jen.

Vassar & New York Stage and Film announced today the complete list of programming for its 32nd Powerhouse Season, which runs June 24 to July 31 at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY.

Great news tonight! Geffen Playhouse has just announced a starry cast for its world premiere production of BIG SKY, written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros.

Long Island Premiere of 'Seminar' at Bare Bones Theater, Opens today, March 3 Bare Bones Theater presents the Long Island premiere of 'Seminar,' a comedy by Pulitzer Prize finalist Theresa Rebeck, on March 3, 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, 20 at 8:00 with matinees on Sundays March 13 and 20 at 3:00 p.m. at Bare Bones Theater, 57 Main St., Northport. Tickets are $25 atwww.barebonestheater.com or 800-838-3006.

A new production of The Understudy by Theresa Rebeck will open on Friday, March 11 at 8pm for a limited run of nine performances at Working Stage Theater in Los Angeles. The cast will feature (in alphabetical order) Max Bunzel (NCIS: Los Angeles), Braxton Molinaro (Sons of the Prophet at The Blank Theatre), and Magdalene Vick (Average Joe). Directed by Laura Henry, the engagement will run through March 27 only.

?"Dead Accounts," Theresa Rebeck's darkly comic take on the chasm that divides Americans in the Midwest from their countrymen living in New York, will be the second play of the Hampton Theatre Company's 2015-2016 season, opening on January 14 at the Quogue Community Hall and running through January 31.  

Indie film darling Jillian Leigh's daring new play, Hooked, will have its World Premiere at this year's inauguralLos Angeles Theater Festival in Hollywood at The Ruby Theatre, opening on Wednesday, September 16, 2015 for eight performances through Friday, September 25, 2015. Set in a turbulent New York City (1988 & now), against a backdrop of police misconduct and political corruption, the complex play is about the patterns that we cannot break. It explores issues related to power, child abuse, and modern day prostitution. Evening performances start at 7:30pm (with one Sunday matinee on 9/20 at 2:30pm). For more information please visit https://www.facebook.com/ThePlayHooked and http://hookedplay.brownpapertickets.com. (See bottom of press release for more details regarding experiencing the play.)

Geffen Playhouse announces its coming landmark season which underscores the two decades of world-class theater the not-for-profit organization has produced since its 1995 opening. Artistic Director Randall Arney's selections feature some of theater's most established artists: Tony, Pulitzer Prize and Academy Award winner John Patrick Shanley; four Pulitzer Prize finalists Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros, Rolin Jones, Rajiv Joseph, and Sarah Ruhl; multi-Grammy Award winner Billie Joe Armstrong; House of Cards writer Laura Eason, and much produced playwright Bess Wohl (American Hero, Pretty Filthy).

Playing on Air, which presents readings of short plays by prominent, contemporary American playwrights for a national audience via public radio and the Internet, inaugurates a new initiative next month. On consecutive Mondays in March, Playing on Air presents its first plays for radio broadcast taped in front of live audiences.

Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros's masterfully written play is not meant to be another exhaustive debate on the issue of abortion. It simply asks us to watch the play not through the prism of our own beliefs, but through the actions of the characters onstage. Theater J's production asks a lot of questions, which is what good theater is supposed to do. It asks us to reconsider our beliefs and challenge our curiosity. The Argument at Theater J is theater at its finest and definitely worth seeing.

Playing on Air, a new public radio show that features short stage plays performed by great American actors, is now available online for listening, streaming and downloading. Below, get a preview by listening to a full episode, 'Maybe Not', which includes two plays: Open Arms by Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros and Bite the Hand by Ara Watson, and a ten minute play called Skin by Naveen Bahar Choudhury!