American Repertory Theater News

Since its founding in 1961, La MaMa Experimental Arts Club has been a hub for risk-taking theater artists from around the globe. La MaMa will celebrate their 2013 season of performances with a gala honoring two pillars of arts journalism: former Village Voice critic Michael Feingold, and publisher Patsy Tarr of 2wice. Throughout their long careers, these two individuals have carved out a voice for the arts, championing countless artists working across platforms.

The National Tour of THE GERSHWINS' PORGY AND BESS, winner of the 2012 Tony Award for Best Musical Revival, begins performances today at San Francisco's Golden Gate Theatre. The tour officially opens on Wednesday, Nov. 13.

ONCE, winner of eight Tony Awards including Best Musical and winner of the 2013 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, begins a strictly limited engagement from November 26 - January 5 at the Royal Alexandra Theatre. Media night is Thursday November 28, 8pm.

Classic Stage Company, under the leadership of Artistic Director Brian Kulick and Executive Director Greg Reiner, in association with Staci Levine, will present Tony Award winner Mandy Patinkin and acclaimed actor/performance artist Taylor Mac in THE LAST TWO PEOPLE ON EARTH: AN APOCALYPTIC VAUDEVILLE, a workshop presentation with direction and choreography by Tony Award winner Susan Stroman, and music direction by Paul Ford, for a strictly limited engagement from Saturday, December 14 thru Tuesday, December 31. Performances of THE LAST TWO PEOPLE ON EARTH: AN APOCALYPTIC VAUDEVILLE will be presented at the Abrons Arts Center (466 Grand Street, NYC).

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University, under the Artistic Direction of Diane Paulus, has announced that the folk band Poor Old Shine has joined the company of The Heart of Robin Hood to create and perform live original music. The production is written by David Farr and directed by Gisli Örn Gardarsson and begins performances Wednesday, December 11, 2013 at the Loeb Drama Center, Cambridge and runs through Sunday, January 19, 2014. It will be available for press viewing from Wednesday, December 18 at 7:30pm.

Joe's Pub at The Public welcomes the faithful and the faithless this holiday season with a winter program that includes Yiddish lullabies, kvetching, yuletide cheer, anti-consumerist sermons, sports, jazz, storytelling and of course Sandra Bernhard's hilarious and entertaining end-of-year free for all.

Sundance Institute today announced the seven artists selected for its 2014 Playwrights Retreat at Ucross Foundation. The 15th annual writing colony at the 20,000-acre working cattle ranch outside of Sheridan, WY takes place February 3-21. Under the supervision of Artistic Director Philip Himberg and Producing Director Christopher Hibma, the Playwrights Retreat is made possible through the generosity of Ucross Foundation.

Following the enormous popular and critical success of TOTEM earlier this year, Cirque du Soleil has announced the return of its trademark blue-and-yellow big top to New York this spring with Amaluna, directed by 2013 Tony Award winner Diane Paulus (Pippin, The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, Hair) beginning performances Thursday, March 20 on the grounds of Citi Field in Queens. Whimsical and enchanting, Amaluna is a theatrical acrobatic tribute to the work and voice of women. Amaluna had its world premiere in April of 2012 in Montreal.

The second productionof the 2013-14 season presented by American Repertory of WNY is a story of the legendary bluesman Robert Johnson entitled LITTLE ROBERT, written by prolific and award winning local playwright Mark Humphrey (author of the acclaimed MR. BENNY and the one-act presented through ART/WNY's One Act showcase, MECHANICS).. Directed by Gail Golden (fresh from directing last season's uproarious MOONLIGHT AND MAGNOLIAS) features the talents of award winning actor Hugh Davis and Robert Ernie Insana.

The second presentation in American Repertory Theater of WNY's 2013-14 season is an original full length work recounting the final day of legendary bluesman, Robert Johnson. Written by Artie Award winning playwright, Mark Humphrey, this compelling work features veteran Buffalo actors, Hugh Davis and Robert Ernie Insana with Gail Golden returning to ART/WNY to offer her directorial eye. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University and the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research (formerly known as the Du Bois Institute), in conjunction with Hilton Als of The New Yorker, will present a staged reading of Alice Childress's Wedding Band: A Love-Hate Story in Black and White, co-directed by Hilton Als and A.R.T. Artistic Associate Shira Milikowsky. It takes place at the Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle Street, Cambridge, starting at 7:30pm, and will be followed by a post-reading discussion.

Lark Play Development Center and Playwrights of New York (PoNY) welcomed 7th PoNY Kimber Lee, the newest Lark/PoNY fellow to begin her one-year residency in the PoNY apartment in the heart of Manhattan's theater district.

ONCE, winner of eight Tony Awards including Best Musical and winner of the 2013 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, will play the Academy of Music for a limited engagement from tonight, October 29- Sunday, November 10. The press opening is tonight, October 29 at 8 p.m.

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University, under the Artistic Direction of Diane Paulus, iwill present the second production of the 2013/14 Season: David Farr's The Heart of Robin Hood, directed by Gisli Örn Gardarsson, to begin performances Wednesday, December 11, 2013 at the Loeb Drama Center, Cambridge. The production runs through Sunday, January 19, 2014.

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T) welcomes Seth Goldman, co-founder and TeaEO of Honest Tea and Harvard College alum, to discuss his new business book in comic format, Mission in a Bottle - The Honest Guide to Doing Business Differently - and Succeeding, published by Crown Business division of Random House. Co-authored with Barry Nalebuff, Honest Tea co-founder and Yale School of Management professor, the book explains how they built their business from five thermoses to morethat 100 million bottles a year. Since its publication in September 2013, it has been named a New York Times and Wall Street Journal Best Seller.

The second productionof the 2013-14 season presented by American Repertory of WNY is a story of the legendary bluesman Robert Johnson entitled LITTLE ROBERT, written by prolific and award winning local playwright Mark Humphrey (author of the acclaimed MR. BENNY and the one-act presented through ART/WNY's One Act showcase, MECHANICS).. Directed by Gail Golden (fresh from directing last season's uproarious MOONLIGHT AND MAGNOLIAS) features the talents of award winning actor Hugh Davis and Robert Ernie Insana.

Gotham Chamber Opera presents the U.S. Stage Premiere of Baden-Baden 1927: a staged evening of four one-act operas that appeared together at the Baden-Baden Festival in 1927, from tonight, October 23-29, 2013 at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater.

Actor and Boston native DAVID HANBURY, returns to A.R.T's OBERON with his original comic persona, MRS. SMITH.

The eight time Tony award-winning musical Once is currently booking at the Phoenix Theatre to 31 May 2014. With a cast led by Declan Bennett and Zrinka Cviteši? as Guy and Girl respectively, John Tiffany's West End production of the hit musical opened at the Phoenix Theatre in April this year where it has been acclaimed by audiences and critics alike. At each performance, live on stage, the Company play 10 CF Martin guitars, 2 violins, 1 melodica, 1 cello, 2 mandolins, 1 ukelele, 1 bass guitar, 1 banjo, 2 cajon's, 1 drum kit, 1 piano, 1 harmonica and 1 concertina and on the West End's only on stage bar, audience members can join the cast for the start of the show and at the interval. Check out a first look below!

Playwrights Horizons presents its New York premiere production of Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play, a new play by Anne Washburn, with music by Obie Award winner Michael Friedman. Directed by Steve Cosson, the Obie Award-winning Artistic Director of The Civilians, Mr. Burns is being presented as the first production of Playwrights Horizons' 2013/2014 Season.