American Repertory Theater News

Due to demand, The New Group has announced a three-week extension for Jerry Springer - The Opera, with Matt McGrath appearing as Jerry Springer beginning March 13.  Terrence Mann, currently appearing in the role of Jerry Springer, plays his final performance March 11 due to an existing commitment beyond that date.

Stable Cable Lab Co. and New Light Theater Project would like you to meet HAL & BEE, and BroadwayWorld has the exclusive!

Nearly three years after it premiered at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, and while still enjoying a successful run on Broadway, the national tour of WAITRESS is serving customers at the Boston Opera House as part of the Lexus Broadway In Boston 2017-2018 season. The Diane Paulus-driven and directed production is adapted from the 2007 motion picture of the same name written by Adrienne Shelly, with book by Jessie Nelson, and music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles. The Broadway designers are on board to bring the same creative elements to the tour, and a handful of the cast has also performed with the show on the Great White Way.

ArtsEmerson and American Repertory Theater invite the public to join acclaimed author, poet, and MacArthur Fellow Claudia Rankine in a conversation moderated by current collaborator P. Carl about the journey from her 2014 New York Times best-selling book of poetry Citizen: An American Lyric to her world premiere play The White Card. 

The League of Professional Theatre Women (Kelli Lynn Harrison & Lisa Rothe, Co-Presidents) will present the 2018 Theatre Women Awards at The TimesCenter (242 West 41st Street between 7th and 8th Avenues) on Friday, March 16 beginning at 6:30PM. Tickets ($65-$250) are available for advance purchase at www.theatrewomen.org. 

Based on the short story by Isak Dinesen (and made famous by the 1987 Academy Award-winning film), Babette's Feast will begin performances Wednesday March 14th at the Theatre at Saint Clement's (423 West 46th Street, between Ninth & Tenth Avenues) for an open-ended Off-Broadway engagement.  Opening Night is set for Sunday March 25th (5pm).  The performance runs 90 minutes with no intermission.

Yale Repertory Theatre (James Bundy, Artistic Director; Victoria Nolan, Managing Director) presents Father Comes Home From the Wars, Parts 1, 2 & 3 by Suzan-Lori Parks, directed by Liz Diamond, March 16-April 7, at the University Theatre (222 York Street). Opening Night is Thursday, March 22. Father Comes Home From the Wars, Parts 1, 2 & 3 is a co-production with San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater, where it will play April 25-May 20.

The Board of Directors for The Ronald O. Perelman Performing Arts Center (The Perelman Center) today announced the appointment of Bill Rauch - an acknowledged leader in American theater, as the head of its artistic team, planning for The Perelman's opening season. Working with the organization's Board of directors, president and The Perelman team, Rauch joins The Perelman's leadership following his twelve-year tenure as Artistic Director of The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF). The Perelman Center will be New York City's newest state-of-the-art performing arts venue, and is the final component of the original World Trade Center 'Master Plan.'

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's groundbreaking 1970 rock-opera JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR will be presented by the American Repertory Theater of WNY from March 8th to March 31st at the 330 Performance Space, 330 Amherst Street, Buffalo NY. Thursday to Saturday performances; 8 pm showtimes. Tickets are $25 general admission, $20 student & military veterans. 

Casting has been announced for The Trial, the next play in the Politics of the Absurd reading series presented by Christopher Maring/ CM Stage Productions. Joining the reading will be Krysta Rodriguez (What We're Up Against, "Trial & Error", Spring Awakening), Mamoudou Athie ("The Get Down", Patti Cake$,), Brian Wiles ("Public Morals", "Turn"), Brian D. Coats (Jitney, "Boardwalk Empire"), John Rothman (Ghostbusters, "One Mississippi") Sam Breslin Wright ("Madame Secretary", The Beaver), and Tony nominee Kristine Neilson (Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, You Can't Take it With You). The Trial, adapted by Steven Berkoff from the novel by Franz Kafka, and directed by Adrienne Campbell-Holt (What We're Up Against, Dry Land), will take place at the Baruch Performing Arts Center on March 5, 6, and 7.

WP Theater (formerly known as Women's Project Theater), under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Lisa McNulty and Managing Director Michael Sag, is thrilled to announce the lineup for the second biennial Pipeline Festival, showcasing the work of the celebrated WP Lab residency for playwrights, directors and producers from March 29 - April 28 at WP Theater (2162 Broadway & 76th Street.)

Artists from the bands Postmodern Jukebox, tUnE-yArDs and Diane Coffee join Broadway and West End talent for Lyric Opera's North American premiere of Timothy Sheader's explosive Olivier Award-winning production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar, presented from April 27 to May 20, 2018 at the Lyric Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive, Chicago (press opening April 28).

Theatre enthusiasts packed the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts tonight to hear Founding Artistic Director Robert Kelley and Executive Director Phil Santora of TheatreWorks Silicon Valley reveal the lineup for the company's 49th season, which launches this summer. Among the exhilarating works announced were: the World Premiere of a new piece by Hershey Felder on Claude Debussy, an acclaimed Tony-winning musical, a thrilling political prizefight, and an array of Regional Premieres that include a hit comedy that sends up suburban values, a gospel/rhythm & blues musical developed at TheatreWorks, a heart-stirring musical for the holidays, a comic drama about one of the key historical events in the last century, a searing look at an unsung American hero, plus the return of the grown-up holiday hit The Santaland Diaries. For more information or to purchase subscriptions ($143 - $583) the public can call 650-463-1960 or visit theatreworks.org. Subscriptions are on sale now; single tickets will go on sale in spring 2018. Special pricing is available for seniors (65+), educators, and patrons 35 and under.

Earlier this month, Theatre Forward and UBS hosted the 15th Annual Broadway Roundtable, moderated by Theatre Forward Executive Director Bruce E. Whitacre. The exclusive luncheon explored the current Broadway landscape with some of Broadway's leading players and stars, with a panel that included Heather A. Hitchens, President and CEO of the American Theatre Wing; Keegan-Michael Key, Emmy-winning actor, comedian, writer and producer (Meteor Shower, Hamlet, 'Key and Peele'); John Leguizamo, Emmy and Obie Award-winning actor and playwright (Latin History for Morons, Freak, Mambo Mouth); Daryl Roth, award-winning Broadway producer (Kinky Boots, Indecent); Lea Salonga, Tony Award-winning actor (Once On This Island, Miss Saigon, Les Miserables) and Irene Sankoff and David Hein, the Tony-nominated and Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Award-winning songwriting and book-writing team behind Come From Away.

In Sally Potter's new dark comedy THE PARTY, Janet (Kristin Scott Thomas) is hosting an intimate gathering of friends in her London home to celebrate her political ascension, while her husband, Bill (Timothy Spall), seems preoccupied. Janet's acerbic best friend, April (Patricia Clarkson) arrives and others follow, some with their own dramatic news to share, but an announcement by Bill provokes a series of revelations that gradually unravel the sophisticated soiree, and a night that began with champagne may end with gunplay.

"Do you have any idea who I am?," Eve Ensler asks the doctor who suggests radiation treatment of her vagina to prevent the resurgence of her cancer. "Do you have any f**king sense of irony?"

Chicago Shakespeare Theater  (CST) announces the cast and creative team for the theatrical event of the season: Macbeth, adapted and directed by Teller (of Penn & Teller) and Aaron Posner-the celebrated creative duo behind CST's The Tempest, winner of the Jeff Award for Best Production in 2015. Starring Ian Merrill Peakesas Macbeth and Chaon Cross as Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare's psychological thriller immerses audiences in a world of dark magic and ambition, delving into the twisted psyches of the ultimate power-hungry couple.

The Off-Broadway League today announced details for the 2018 Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway. The 33rd Annual Lucille Lortel Awards will be handed out on Sunday, May 6, 2018 at NYU Skirball Center for Performing Arts, beginning at 7:00pm EST.

BroadwayWorld has just learned that Oklahoma! is making its way back to New York. St. Ann's Warehouse and Eva Price will present a limited run of the Bard SummerScape production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!, directed by Daniel Fish.

Two River Theater will be presenting the world premiere of 'The Bridge of San Luis Rey' by Thornton Wilder from 2/17 to 3/18. Directed by Ken Rus Schmoll, it has been adapted for the stage by and stars David Greenspan. Broadwayworld.com had the pleasure of interviewing Zachary Infante who plays Esteban in The Bridge of San Luis Rey.