American Repertory Theater News

Second Stage Theater (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director; Casey Reitz, Executive Director) has announced additional casting for the New York Premiere of TRACY LETTS' acclaimed play, MARY PAGE MARLOWE.

The University Musical Society (UMS), under the leadership of President Matthew VanBesien, today announces its 140th season in 2018-19 with an initial slate of 40 performances and events. One of the country's most acclaimed performing arts presenters, UMS honors its past by showcasing respected ensembles and performers with whom it has enjoyed rich relationships, and fully embraces the future as initiator, incubator, and accelerator for innovative new works and projects. This potent combination infuses the anniversary season with dynamic and diverse voices and perspectives featuring artists at the top of their game - celebrating the canon, taking risks, moving genres in new directions, disrupting stereotypes, and surprising audiences.

The event will feature a free performance by EK Theater of Niobe, a video game puppetry piece that uses the first-person shooter Halo: Reach to show how Niobe is punished by the gods for her arrogance in this story from Ovid's Metamorphoses, followed by a panel discussion about real world violence and its relationship to video games.

New Repertory Theatre presents Two Jews Walk into a War…, April 28-May 20, 2018 in the MainStage Theater at the Mosesian Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown, MA. Tickets are $37-$67 and may be purchased by calling the New Rep Box Office at 617-923-8487 or visiting newrep.org. Student, senior, and group discounts are available.

Performances of the North American premiere of The Rosenbergs (An Opera) begin this week. The special event is produced by Boston University and Brandeis University, and presented by Boston Playwrights' Theatre (BPT).

One of New York oldest experimental theaters, Medicine Show Theatre, continues its exploration of Russian theater with an engrossing production of Vladimir Mayakovsky's 1929 play, The Bedbug.  Ashley Wren Collins directs this production. Collins received her MFA from the American Repertory Theater / Moscow Art Theatre School IATT at Harvard. This Twilight Zonian style tale tells the story of a Russian worker awakening after 50 years in cryogenic sleep to a not so vaguely communist future, where passion, vice, and even love is ancient history.

Medicine Show Theatre hosts a Gala Salon on Friday, April 13th, to kick off its spring show, Vladimir Mayakovsky's 1929 play, The Bedbug, a biting romp through the Soviet bourgeoisie complete with philistines, party fat cats and profiteers. Doors will open at 6pm. Wine and cheese will be served to a soundtrack of Russian popular music, and theatregoers will have an opportunity to mingle with the performers, as well as see the show, for $40.

Three generations of outrageous women confront each other in a family mausoleum: that is the premise of Aurora Theatre's Teatro Aurora production of El Gran Dia de la Madre, a new comedy by Chascas y Quintanilla to be performed in the intimate Aurora Studio. With Chilean and Spanish co-authors, the show has delighted audiences on two continents, premiering in Chile in 2012 followed by a production in Spain in 2014. Additionally, the show is a part of the celebrated GGC Harvel Lab Series and will be performed in Spanish with English supertitles.

OBERON, the American Repertory Theater's (A.R.T.) second stage and club-theater venue on the fringe of Harvard Square, announces events to be presented at OBERON during April and May 2018-including OBERON Presents, Glowberon, and usual suspects, and more.

Schimmel Center with the Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra presents the world premiere of The Struggle to Forgive: Confronting Gun Violence in America on Friday, May 4, 2018 at 7:30 p.m. Led by Music Director and Conductor Gary S. Fagin, the new cantata-which has a libretto by Fagin and features soprano Mikaela Bennett, mezzo-soprano Sarah Heltzel, and baritone Jorell Williams-gives voice to those whose lives have been impacted by gun violence in the United States, including victims and their families.

Theatre Forward and Chairman John Thomopoulous will lead a celebration to support American theatre at the annual Chairman's Awards Gala on Monday, April 9th at The Pierre New York. The works of Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award® winner AUGUST WILSON (Fences, The Piano Lesson, Jitney) will be honored this spring with the Legacy Award, Tony Award® nomineeDAVID YAZBEK (The Band's Visit, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Full Monty) will be honored with the Creative Achievement Award.

Winners have been announced for the 2018 Awards in the Arts, presented by Woodford Reserve and Joy Mangano. The awards ceremony, hosted by Fund for the Arts, Jennifer Lawrence Foundation and Churchill Downs, honors arts and arts organizations - some well-known, some rising stars - for their passion and dedication to the arts, and in doing so, celebrates and advances Greater Louisville's vibrant arts and culture.

According to Deadline, Jason Schwartzman and Cherry Jones are set to join Amy Poehler in the new Netflix feature WINE COUNTRY. Amy Poehler is set to star in, direct, and produce. The film is also set to feature talent from Ana Gasteyer, Paula Pell, Rachel Dratch, Maya Rudolph, Tina Fey and Emily Spivey. Poehler has directed episodes of PARKS AND RECREATION and BROAD CITY in the past, but this will be her feature film directorial debut. Read more about it from Deadline here!

Playwrights Welcome, the nationwide free ticketing initiative created by Samuel French for Dramatists Guild of America members, is thrilled to announce that over 100 theaters have joined the program. These Participating Theaters, located in 26 states, have joined Playwrights Welcome to invest in the success and artistic health of our industry writers, and by extension, the vibrancy of the American theatre.

Company One Theatre (C1), in collaboration with American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) presents, Wig Out! by Tarell Alvin McCraney. Previews begin Thursday, April 26, with press opening on Saturday, April 28 at 7pm. Performances continue through May 13 at OBERON (2 Arrow Street, Cambridge, MA). Tickets $25 - $35 are now on sale at americanrepertorytheater.org, by phone at 617-547-8300, an in person at the Loeb Drama Center Ticket Services Office (64 Brattle Street, Cambridge). Group, student, and senior discounts are available.

THEATRE FORWARD and Chairman JOHN THOMOPOULOUS will lead a celebration to support American theatre at the annual Chairman's Awards Gala on Monday, April 9th at The Pierre New York (2 East 61st Street at Fifth Avenue). The Chairman's Awards Gala supports the work of Theatre Forward, currently celebrating its 40th Anniversary season, which is dedicated to advancing American theatres and its communities through its Educating Through Theatre and Advancing Strong Theatre initiatives.

Next Door at NYTW presents the World Premiere of DINNER WITH GEORGETTE by Obie Award winner Rick Burkhardt (Three Pianos), directed by Ellie Heyman.

Esther and Schmuli are shy young Orthodox Jews embarking on an arranged marriage, despite barely knowing each other. Abe and Julia are high-profile celebrities embarking on a dangerously flirtatious correspondence, despite being married to other people. On the surface, the lives of these two couples couldn't be more different. But Anna Ziegler's funny, insightful, and mysterious new drama explores the hidden connections between seemingly disparate people, drawing audiences into an intriguing puzzle and a deeply sympathetic look at modern love.

MasterVoices - dedicated to celebrating the power of the human voice through the art of musical storytelling - presents two performances of a new production of Orphic Moments, in conjunction with producers Anthony Roth Costanzo and Cath Brittan. 

Shakespeare Theatre Company today announces the cast of Lerner and Loewe's multiple Tony Award-winning musical Camelot. Directed by STC Associate Artistic Director Alan Paul (Kiss Me, Kate; Man of La Mancha), the classic musical will play at Sidney Harman Hall (610 F St NW) from May 22 through July 1, concluding STC's 2017-2018 mainstage season.