Alliance Theatre News

The National New Play Network (NNPN), the country's alliance of non-profit theaters that champions the development, production, and continued life of new plays, in collaboration with the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival and Stanford University's National Center for New Plays, will host nearly fifty playwrights, directors and dramaturgs July 26 - August 3, 2014 as part of a week-long workshop for new works by MFA students from New York University-Tisch School of the Arts, Hunter College, University of California-San Diego, and the Juilliard School. A committee of NNPN Core Members has selected six scripts written by Hilary Bettis, Nathan Cann, Bennett Fisher, David Jacobi, Georgette Kelly, and Amy Witting. The Workshop will also feature projects by the National Theatre School of Canada's Geoffrey Simon Brown and Atlanta's Alliance Theatre's Kendeda Graduate Playwriting Prize-winner Tsehaye Geralyn Hebert.

Geva Theatre Center's 2014 Fielding Studio Series concludes with the world premiere of Tinker to Evers to Chance by Mat Smart and directed by Sean Daniels. The production begins performances tonight, May 15 and runs in the Fielding Nextstage through June 1.

Geva Theatre Center's 2014 Fielding Studio Series concludes with the world premiere of Tinker to Evers to Chance by Mat Smart and directed by Sean Daniels. The production begins performances on May 15 and runs in the Fielding Nextstage through June 1.

Cleveland Play House enthusiastically welcomes dance legend Maurice Hines to Cleveland in the toe-tapping extravaganza, Maurice Hines is Tappin' Thru Life. Co-produced with Alliance Theatre and Arena Stage, CPH audiences will be dazzled by this infectious production, which brings the history of American tap to life. Directed by Tony-nominee Jeff Calhoun (Newsies) and featuring contemporary tap icons The Manzari Brothers and music from the all-female big band The Diva Orchestra, Tappin' Thru Life will dance its way onto PlayhouseSquare's Allen Theatre stage for an extended run from May 30 - June 29. Special gratitude is given to CPH's generous sponsor, Zinner & Co.

According to News Observer, Bull Durham is headed to Broadway. Bull Durham is a baseball rom-com from 1988 and is considered the best movie about any sport by Sports Illustrated. Over the years, Ron Shelton, the original writer and director, has been adapting the movie for the stage.

Philadelphia Theatre Company is pleased to announce Martin Zimmerman as the recipient of the third Terrence McNally New Play Award for the development of his play Let Me Count The Ways. The Terrence McNally New Play Award is a cash prize given annually to recognize a new play that celebrates the transformative power of art. The Award will also include a year of development support at PTC, including readings as well as administrative support and networking to help manage the future of the play beyond its time at PTC.

The show is a celebration of the life of Maurice Hines, his brother Gregory, and their parents who Maurice fondly remembers throughout the show. Adding to emotional content, moveable screens that divide the orchestra from the performing area were often used to display photographs of the Hines family in their early days. And throughout the show, Hines, now a young 70 years old, expresses sheer joy in entertaining his audience, singing and dancing with a passion from deep within his soul. You can't help but be pulled into the magic!

The Wells Fargo ArtsVibe Teen Program has announced more than 40 participants who will perform as finalists in the second annual, free Voices & Vibes Festival today, May 10, 2014, at the Woodruff Arts Center. The selected teens will demonstrate their skills ranging from spoken word to singing, and dance to musical performances, during the showcase in the finale of the Festival.

Atlanta's nationally acclaimed Alliance Theatre will host its 6th annual A Tony Evening at the W Hotel - Midtown tonight, May 10, 2014. The star-studded party of the year benefits the Alliance Theatre's programs for youth and families, connecting the arts to children both young and young at heart.

The Wallis Center for the Performing Arts presents Maurice Hines is Tappin' Thru Life for 19 performances only from today, May 9 - 24, 2014 in the Bram Goldsmith Theater.

San Jose Repertory Theatre presents the Bay Area premiere of the critically-acclaimed The Big Meal, by Dan LeFranc, the 2010 New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award Winner. This razor sharp portrait of a modern American family runs today, May 8 through June 1, and is directed by Kirsten Brandt, San Jose Rep's Associate Artistic Director.

Scenic designer, writer and professor, MARJORIE BRADLEY KELLOGG, and costume designer DEBORAH M. DRYDEN are among the 2014 TDF/Irene Sharaff Awards recipients. The awards will be presented at a ceremony tonight, May 2, at 6:30pm, at the Hudson Theatre (145 West 44th Street).

Tonight, May 2, TheatreWorks New Milford will debut Alfred Uhry's 1997 comedy-drama, THE LAST NIGHT OF BALLYHOO, winner of the Tony Award for Best Play. The curtain goes up at 8:00 p.m. on this four-week run.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company has announced the line-up for the ninth annual First Look Repertory of New Work, featuring three developmental productions of new plays presented in rotating repertory July 26 - August 24, 2014 in the Garage Theatre (1624 N Halsted St). First Look 2014 includes: Ironbound by Martyna Majok, Hushabye by Tanya Saracho and Okay, Bye by Joshua Conkel. The 2014 festival also features readings of two new plays, American Beauty Shop by Dana Lynn Formby and Opium Den by Julie Marie Myatt. Tickets to First Look Repertory of New Work ($20) are on sale now. To purchase tickets or RSVP for the free readings, call Audience Services at 312-335-1650.

Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd announces the cast and creative team for recent Tony Award-winning comedy Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. Appearing in titles roles are Resident Actor Jeffrey Bean as Vanya, Sharon Lockwood returning to the Alley as Sonia, Alley Artist Josie de Guzman returning as Masha, and Resident Actor Jay Sullivan as Spike. Rounding out the cast and making their Alley debuts are Rachael Holmes as Cassandra and Sarah Nealis as Nina. Jonathan Moscone, Artistic Director of California Shakespeare Theater, helms the production and returns after having directed the Alley's 2011 production of Amadeus.

The Wallis Center for the Performing Arts presents Maurice Hines is Tappin' Thru Life for 19 performances only from May 9 - 24, 2014 in the Bram Goldsmith Theater. Maurice Hines, a Tony Award nominee, is a celebrated dancer, choreographer, director, and singer, whose impressive career spans over 40 years. Directed by Tony Award nominee Jeff Calhoun (Broadway's Newsies and Grey Gardens), Maurice Hines is Tappin' Thru Life features D.C.'s dynamic tap-dancing duo, the Manzari Brothers, 11-year old tapping phenomenon Luke Spring, as well as the all-female, nine-piece big band, The DIVA Jazz Orchestra.

Geva Theatre Center's 2014 Fielding Studio Series concludes with the world premiere of Tinker to Evers to Chance by Mat Smart and directed by Sean Daniels. The production begins performances on May 15 and runs in the Fielding Nextstage through June 1.

Tony Award-winner Julie White (The Little Dog Laughed) is set to host the Spring Benefit for the Off-Broadway theatre company Page 73 Productions on Friday, April 25, at City Winery, 155 Varick Street. The evening's festivities begin at 7:00pm and include dinner, cocktails (including specialty cocktail "The Clare Barron" in honor of the 2014 P73 Playwriting Fellow) and the annual New Play Bake Off.

'The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess,' winner of the 2012 Tony Award for Best Musical Revival, opens at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre tonight, April 23 and play through June 1, 2014.

The 2013-2014 season at Cleveland Play House (CPH) continues with the compelling world premiere production of Deborah Zoe Laufer's Informed Consent. Co-produced with Geva Theatre Center, this incredibly thought-provoking production is inspired by the real life court case between the Havasupai Indian tribe and Arizona State University, and sparks an intriguing debate on both ethicality and morality. Directed by Sean Daniels and Sponsored by Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland Clinic and MetroHealth, Informed Consent will serve as the centerpiece to CPH's 2014 New Ground Theatre Festival and will run from today, April 23 - May 18 in the Second Stage.