Andrew D. Hamingson News

WhatsOnStage.com is reporting that the hit Broadway revival of HAIR is eyeing a West End transfer. The site indicates the show is hoping for a run at either the Piccadilly or Cambridge Theatre.

Variety reports that the Tony Award-winning revival of HAIR has announced has recouped its investment cost of $5.76 million. The production recouped in less than six months, after opening on Broadway March 31. HAIR began preview performances March 6, 2009.

The Public launches its 2009/10 Season with a bold, contemporary interpretation of Shakespeare's most passionate and spiritually charged creation, Othello. Tickets for the production go on sale Monday, August 3rd at 9am. OTHELLO will play a limited engagement of 23 performances only! The production runs September 12 to October 4 at NYU Skirball Center, 566 LaGuardia Place (at Washington Square South).

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson) announced complete casting today for the first production of the 2009-2010 Season, OTHELLO, directed by Peter Sellars. This highly-anticipated contemporary production, featuring the previously announced John Ortiz as Othello and Philip Seymour Hoffman as Iago, will play for 23 performances only, beginning on Saturday, September 12 at NYU Skirball Center. Single tickets go on-sale on Monday, August 3.

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson) will begin previews Tuesday, August 11, for the Shakespeare in the Park production of Euripides' THE BACCHAE, directed by JoAnne Akalaitis with original music by Philip Glass and translated by Nicholas Rudall.

Variety's Gordon Cox has a very interesting and informative article today about the West End transfer potential of several Broadway hits including audience favorites HAIR and ROCK OF AGES.

The Hollywood Reporter has announced that actor and comedian Josh Gad has joined Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway in the business-world drama 'Love and Other Drugs' at Fox 2000/New Regency.

In an unprecedented move, the producers of HAIR: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical have announced they are canceling the show's Sunday, October 11th performance so that the entire cast can join the National Equality March in Washington, D.C. The announcement was made this evening by the cast of HAIR at a spirited rally in Los Angeles (the entire company of HAIR has traveled from New York to California to appear on tonight's broadcast of 'The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien').

Eight productions have been announced for the eagerly anticipated 2009 Summer Play Festival (SPF). For its upcoming season, SPF will again be presented at The Public Theater. SPF 2009 will run from July 7 to August 2 and, as in years past, is expected to serve as a highlight of the summer theatre season by showcasing a line-up of new talent.

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson) announced complete casting today for the Shakespeare in the Park production of Euripides' THE BACCHAE, directed by JoAnne Akalaitis with original music by Philip Glass and translated by Nicholas Rudall. Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker) will play the lead role of Pentheus joining George Bartenieff as Cadmus; André De Shields as Teiresias; Jonathan Groff as Dionysus; Karen Kandel as Chorus Leader; Joan MacIntosh as Agave; Steven Rishard as Cowherd; and Rocco Sisto as Messenger.

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson) will conclude its 2009 Public LAB series on Sunday, June 28 with the world premiere of FATHER COMES HOME FROM THE WARS (PARTS 1, 8 & 9) by Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks. Directed by Jo Bonney, all tickets for FATHER COMES HOME FROM THE WARS (PARTS 1, 8 & 9) are $10.

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson) announced today that the 2009 Summer Gala will honor entertainment executive and longtime board member Susan Lyne and acclaimed director Mike Nichols for their outstanding commitment to the institution. The Gala will take place on Thursday, June 25 at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park on the opening night of TWELFTH NIGHT, the first production of the 2009 Shakespeare in the Park summer season.

The new Broadway Cast Recording of the hit musical HAIR: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical, featuring never-before-released tracks from the show's iconic score, will be available in stores beginning on Tuesday, June 23rd.

The new Broadway Cast Recording of the hit musical HAIR: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical, featuring never-before-released tracks from the show's iconic score, is available on iTUNES, beginning TODAY (May 26th).

'HAIR Week' On Broadway's exclusive look into the revival of HAIR, in celebration of the release of Ghostlight Records' New Broadway Cast Recording (in stores June 23), will also include special guest DJ sessions with members of the 'tribe.' Beginning Monday, June 22 through Friday, June 26 at 9:00 am and 9:00 pm ET, the 'tribe' members will play music from the new cast album and share stories about what goes on behind the scenes at the Hirschfeld Theatre.

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson) will launch an online auction at 12 PM on Monday, June 22 in support of The Public Theater's annual gala on Thursday, June 25 for the opening of Twelfth Night. The auction will feature once-in-a-lifetime experiences with Anne Hathaway, Audra McDonald, Julie White, Jonathan Groff and the cast of the Tony Award-winning Hair. The auction closes on Monday, June 29.

The producers of HAIR announced today that the new Broadway production, which opened March 31st to critical (and audience) acclaim, has once again set a house record at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre (302 West 45th Street). For the week of June 8 - 14, the week after winning the Tony Award for Best Musical Revival, HAIR's box office gross was $963,233, the highest for any eight-show week at the 1,400 seat theater, which opened in 1924 (and besting its own house record of 5/22 -- $934,229).

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson) will conclude its 2009 Public LAB series on Sunday, June 28 with the world premiere of FATHER COMES HOME FROM THE WARS (PARTS 1, 8 & 9) by Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks. Directed by Jo Bonney, all tickets for FATHER COMES HOME FROM THE WARS (PARTS 1, 8 & 9) are $10.

Expanding on its history of developing new plays and cultivating new voices for the American theater, The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis, Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson) is now accepting applications for the third year of The Emerging Writers Group, an initiative that seeks to target playwrights at the earliest stages in their careers and nurture their artistic growth by providing necessary resources and support.

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson) announced today that The Shakespeare Lab, the theater's professional actor development program, will be tuition-free in 2009. The decision to make the program free this year builds on The Public's long tradition of free Shakespeare in the Park and the theater's ongoing commitment to building a community of classically trained artists. Shakespeare Lab 2009 will run from June 15-July 24.