American Playwrights News

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.

The stage will brighten with Philadelphia Theatre Company's mainstage season finale Grey Gardens, book by Doug Wright, music by Scott Frankel, and lyrics by Michael Korie, on May 22 - June 28 at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre (Broad and Lombard Streets). Directed by Lisa Peterson, the ensemble cast features Todd Almond, Cole Burden, Kim Carson, Maggie Fitzgerald, Joy Franz, James Ijames, John Jellison, Anastasia Korbal, and Hollis Resnik.

In keeping with the East Meets East Initiative, the Lower East Side Business Improvement District (LES BID) and Fourth Arts Block (FAB) partnered with Transport Group Theatre Company, winner of a special 2007 Drama Desk Award and a 2007 Obie Award, to promote local business during the company's world premiere production of the Off-Broadway musical, Being Audrey.

The Dramatists Guild Fund's annual Benefit Gala, titled 'STAR TURNS: Great Writers Thank Their Lucky Stars!' which will be held on Monday, April 20 at the Hudson Theatre (Millennium Hotel, 145 West 44th St), has announced that Angela Lansbury will join the star-studded line-up.

Transport Group, the winner of a special 2007 Drama Desk Award and a 2007 Obie Award, will present Mary Testa and Emily Skinner in special one-night-only events, at 220 East 4 Street, between Avenues A & B. On Sunday, April 5 at 7pm two-time Tony Award nominee Mary Testa will perform her new one-woman show, Sleepless Variations, which tells a tale of one woman's sleepless night of fears, fantasies, and dreams, expressed through a cycle of songs by composers as varied as Jimi Hendrix, Rodgers and Hammerstein, and Bj?rk.

Emily Skinner in Concert, Sunday, April 19 @ 7pm @ 220 E. 4th Street Get tix only $19. Includes post-show reception. Proceeds benefit Transport Group Theatre Company. In Broadway, Her Way Emily Skinner treats the audience to a musical journey through the best of the Great White Way.

Reddy or Not: a musical comedy tribute to Helen Reddy returns to New York (220 E. 4th Street) Monday, April 20 at 9:30pm. Get tickets for $19 (includes post-show reception). Proceeds benefit Transport Group Theatre Company.

Emily Skinner in Concert, Sunday, April 19 @ 7pm @ 220 E. 4th Street Get tix only $19. Includes post-show reception. Proceeds benefit Transport Group Theatre Company. In Broadway, Her Way Emily Skinner treats the audience to a musical journey through the best of the Great White Way.

Local playwright Karen Zacarías offers Arena Stage audiences the world premiere of Legacy of Light, a funny and moving romp about the passion for truth as lived by two different women in their separate eras.

Passage Theatre Company in Trenton, NJ, will begin performances on Thursday, April 16 of Instructions for Breathing, a world premiere by acclaimed playwright Caridad Svich. Performances run through May 10 (opening night: Saturday, April 18) at the Mill Hill Playhouse, 205 East Front Street, at the corner of Montgomery Street in historic downtown Trenton.

Local playwright Karen Zacarías offers Arena Stage audiences the world premiere of Legacy of Light, a funny and moving romp about the passion for truth as lived by two different women in their separate eras.

A.C.T. Conservatory Director Melissa Smith announced today that honorary master of fine arts degrees will be conferred upon Grammy Award-winning musician Tracy Chapman and master playwright John Guare.

The Dramatists Guild Fund's annual Benefit Gala, titled 'STAR TURNS: Great Writers Thank Their Lucky Stars!' which will be held on Monday, April 20 at the Hudson Theatre (Millennium Hotel, 145 West 44th St), has announced that Angela Lansbury will join the star-studded line-up.

Acclaimed Off-Broadway theater company Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) has announced details for a special online Auction in connection with its annual Spring Gala Benefit.

Emmy and Tony Award winner Tyne Daly, most recently on Broadway in the Pulitzer Prize-winning Rabbit Hole, will preview her upcoming cabaret evening on Sunday, April 26, as a benefit for Abingdon Theatre Company. Joined by musical director/accompanist John McDaniel, this special performance will precede her debut May 12-16 at Feinstein's at Loews Regency. The demand for tickets have left only a few remaining for her first cabaret performance.

Transport Group's BEING AUDREY Opens 4/5

On Sunday evening, April 5, at 8:30 PM, E.D.T., a simple toll-free call will admit anyone in the country to a lively examination of the history, significance and controversy surrounding Native Son, the 1941 stage adaptation of Richard Wright's classic novel that sparked a debate about civil rights, social policy and racism that still burns hotly today.

Actors Connection, Bluface Photography, The Network, The Barrow Group Theatre Company, Actors Access, Samuel French Co., Weist Barron, Precision Photos Plus, The Players Theatre and Back Stage present The 2009 TRU AUDITION EVENT April 4-5, 2009 Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) invites actors to register for the annual TRU Audition Event, attended by more than 40 NY-area theatre companies, directors, and producers, Equity and non-Equity producing companies, and other individuals, including casting directors and agents.

Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) will present a special reading and signing with Pulitzer Prize finalist and Playwrights Horizons alumna writer Theresa Rebeck in honor of the upcoming paperback release of her acclaimed novel Three Girls and Their Brother. The event will take place Monday evening, April 20 at 8:00PM at the theater company's Mainstage (416 West 42nd Street), in advance of the paperback's release by Three Rivers Press on Tuesday, April 21.

The Fire Dept Artistic Directors Erica Gould and Audrey Rosenberg presented The Minotaur, the first installment of the company's 2009 Salon Series, the cast for the performance included Mario Cantone, Jill Clayburgh, Phoebe Neidhardt, Ethan Peck, Campbell Scott, and Jeremy Webb. The Minotaur, written by Anna Ziegler; directed by Erica Gould; and produced by Audrey Rosenberg, took place Friday, March 27 at 7:30pm at the historic Players Club, 16 Gramercy Park South at 20th Street.