American Playwrights News

New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) Artistic Director James C. Nicola and Managing Director William Russo have announced that The Little Foxes, written by Lillian Hellman, and directed by Ivo van Hove, will begin performances Friday, September 10, at 8pm, at NYTW, 79 East 4th Street, between Second Avenue and Bowery. Opening night is scheduled for Monday, September 21, 2010, at 7:00pm. The production runs through October 31, 2010.

New Theatre is hosting its first annual 'Midsummer Night's Dream' party in celebration of its 25th Anniversary Season. The bash will be held at the Pinecrest home of Board Chairman Steven and his wife Susan Eisenberg, 7150 SW 110 Terrace, Saturday, August 14, 2010, from 7 p.m. to midnight.

Goodman Theatre announces the 12-member cast for Robert Fall's intimate new production of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull (rehearsals begin August 24, tickets go on sale August 13). This 19th century masterpiece is brought to life by a company including Francis Guinan (August: Osage County; The Grapes of Wrath) in his Goodman debut as the retired judge Peter Sorin and Mary Beth Fisher (Rock 'N' Roll; The Year of Magical Thinking) as his sister, Irina Arkadina, a beautiful, selfish actress. Also joining the cast are Janet Ulrich Brooks (Polina); Rebecca Buller (Maid); Cliff Chamberlain (Boris Trigorin, Irina's young lover), Dietrich Gray (Yakov); Stephen Louis Grush (Konstantin Trepliov, Irina's twenty-five year old playwright son); Scott Jaeck (Dr. Eugene Dorn); Kelly O'Sullivan (Masha); Steve Pickering (Ilia Shamrayev, Sorin's estate manager); Demetrios Troy (Simon Medvendenko); and Heather Wood (Nina Zarietchnaya). The Seagull runs October 16 - November 14, 2010 in the Owen Theatre; tickets are $10 - $45. Kirkland & Ellis LLP is the Contributing Sponsor of The Seagull.Artistic Director Robert Falls returns to the work of Anton Chekhov following previous productions of Three Sisters at the Goodman (1995, with a cast including Calista Flockhart, Susan Bruce and Jenny Bacon) and Orchards: Seven American Playwrights Present Stories by Chekhov (1986, adaptations by Maria Irene Fornes, Spalding Gray, John Guare, David Mamet, Wendy Wasserstein, Michael Weller and Samm-Art Williams-The Acting Company/New York, tour with off-Broadway opening).

Transport Group (TG), the winner of a special 2007 Drama Desk Award and 2007 and 2010 OBIE Awards, has announced that Nicholas Belton will join its acclaimed New York premiere of See Rock City & Other Destinations, music by Brad Alexander; book and lyrics by Adam Mathias; directed by Artistic Director Jack Cummings III, for its extension, beginning Wednesday, August 11 through Saturday, August 14 at The Duke on 42nd Street, a New 42nd Street® project, 229 West 42nd Street. Mr. Belton will take over the roles played by Bryce Ryness.

Philadelphia Theatre Company kicks off its 35th Anniversary Season with PTC@PLAY, a new play festival running October 5-21 at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre (Broad and Lombard Streets). The Festival, with staged readings of works by established playwrights as well as new voices, features Casa Cushman, by Leigh Fondakowski in conjunction with the Tectonic Theater Project, Strongman's Ghost by Jeffrey Hatcher, What We're Up Against by Theresa Rebeck, How To Write A New Book For The Bible by Bill Cain and Milk Like Sugar by Kirsten Greenidge. All readings are free with curtain time at 7:00 PM.

Sunday Series at Abingdon Presents John Marshall Jazz Quintet featuring Grant Stewart Announce Complete Quintet Members Sunday, August 8 at 7:00pm and 9:00pm

The John Marshall Quintet featuring Grant Stewart will fill Abingdon Theatre with the sound of Jazz on Sunday, August 8 at 7:00pm and 9:00pm for this one evening benefit special performance. Having learned his craft, with help from Ornette Coleman and Lonnie Hillyer, trumpeter John Marshall went on to work with a succession of big bands led by Buddy Rich, Mel Lewis, Lionel Hampton, Al Porcino, Gerry Mulligan and Dizzy Gillespie.

The John Marshall Quintet featuring Grant Stewart will fill Abingdon Theatre with the sound of Jazz on Sunday, August 8 at 7:00pm and 9:00pm for this one evening benefit special performance. Having learned his craft, with help from Ornette Coleman and Lonnie Hillyer, trumpeter John Marshall went on to work with a succession of big bands led by Buddy Rich, Mel Lewis, Lionel Hampton, Al Porcino, Gerry Mulligan and Dizzy Gillespie.

The Utah Shakespearean Festival's New American Playwrights Project (NAPP) will present three exciting new works by three contemporary American playwrights. Staged readings of the plays will be presented from Aug. 5 through 27 at 10 a.m., and Aug. 31 through Sept. 3 at 2 p.m. in the Auditorium Theatre.

This summer there are many performances at the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca that shouldn't be missed. The Center for the Arts at Ithaca, Inc., also known as the Hangar Theatre, is committed to providing exceptional theatre experiences of high professional quality to enrich, enlighten, educate, and entertain the diverse audience in the Finger Lakes region and beyond. Strong education and training programs are central parts of our commitment to the local and national artistic communities. The Hangar Theatre is a not-for-profit. The Hangar Theatre is located at 801 Taughannock Blvd./Route 89, Ithaca, New York.

On Saturday, July 31, stage favorites Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald, Michael Cerveris and George Hearn teamed up with the Ravina Festival and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in tribute to Stephen Sondheim. Directed by Lonny Price and conducted by Paul Gemignani, the concert featured Sondheim classics from shows such as A Little Night Music, Sunday in the Park with George, Sweeney Todd, West Side Story, Gypsy and more. BroadwayWorld brings you coverage of the concert below.

Marin Theatre Company is accepting submissions for its annual playwright prizes, the 2011 Sky Cooper New American Play Prize and the 2011 David Calicchio Emerging American Playwright Prize through August 31, 2010.

Marin Theatre Company is pleased to announce that playwright Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig has joined its artistic staff for the 2010-11 season through the National New Play Network Playwright Residencies program. She is one of three NNPN playwrights this season nationwide. Her play Lidless, winner of MTC's 2010 David Calicchio Emerging American Playwright prize, will be published by Yale University Press, and will be produced in the UK's High Tide Festival and West Virginia's Contemporary American Theatre Festival.

In partnership with ACT, Hedgebrook, one of the few residency programs in the world exclusively dedicated to supporting the creative process of women writers, is producing a one night only performance of Broadway sensation Sarah Jones, August 18 at 7:30 p.m. as a benefit for Hedgebrook.

Transport Group (TG), the winner of a special 2007 Drama Desk Award and 2007 and 2010 OBIE Awards, has announced that its production of the New York premiere of See Rock City & Other Destinations, music by Brad Alexander; book and lyrics by Adam Mathias; directed by Artistic Director Jack Cummings III, will extend one week through Saturday, August 14 at The Duke on 42nd Street, a New 42nd Street® project, 229 West 42nd Street.

Sunday Series at Abingdon Presents John Marshall Jazz Quintet featuring Grant Stewart Announce Complete Quintet Members Sunday, August 8 at 7:00pm and 9:00pm

The Utah Shakespearean Festival's New American Playwrights Project (NAPP) will present three exciting new works by three contemporary American playwrights. Staged readings of the plays will be presented from Aug. 5 through 27 at 10 a.m., and Aug. 31 through Sept. 3 at 2 p.m. in the Auditorium Theatre.

August Wilson, Lorraine Hansberry, Langston Hughes, and James Baldwin. There was once a time that these were the names to roll easily off of the tongue when considering the contemporary African-American playwright.

The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust has announced that the 3rd Annual ‘Mimi' Awards will be presented at a ceremony to be held Monday, November 8, 2010 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center Theater (150 West 65th Street).

Transport Group (TG), the winner of a special 2007 Drama Desk Award and 2007 and 2010 OBIE Awards, will present the New York premiere of See Rock City & Other Destinations, music by Brad Alexander; book and lyrics by Adam Mathias; directed by Artistic Director Jack Cummings III (two-time Drama Desk Award nominee for Outstanding Director for TG's The Audience and The Boys in the Band), beginning Saturday, July 17, and opening Sunday, July 25, at 7pm at The Duke on 42nd Street, a New 42nd Street® project, 229 West 42nd Street.