Andrew W. Mellon News

Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) presents The Language of Trees, a new play by Steven Levenson, directed by Alex Timbers.

Intiman Theatre continues its 2008 season with the world premiere of Namaste Man, an autobiographical play written and performed by actor Andrew Weems.

Intiman Theatre, under the leadership of Artistic Director Bartlett Sher, continues its 2008 season with the world premiere of 'Namaste Man', an autobiographical play written and performed by actor Andrew Weems.

Previews for the Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) World Premiere production of the new musical SAVED, which were scheduled to begin tonight, Friday, May 9, have been postponed due to a longer than expected tech process. Tonight's 8PM performance has been cancelled and the musical will now begin previews tomorrow evening, Saturday, May 10 at 8PM. (Please note: a matinee performance had not been scheduled for Saturday afternoon.)

New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) announced that due to critical acclaim and sold-out houses 'The Sound and The Fury (April Seventh, 1928'), will extend its run through Sunday, June 1, at NYTW.

New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) Artistic Director James C. Nicola and Acting Managing Director Fred Walker have announced that the final event in NYTW's special series of twenty-fifth anniversary public programs will be 'Two-and-a-Half Decades of Serving the Artist (Part II),' a discussion exploring the 'workshop' component of the theatre's activities on Monday, March 12 at 7:30pm - 9:00pm, at NYTW, 79 East 4 Street, between Second Avenue and Bowery.

Starting tomorrow, Wednesday, April 30 at 10AM, Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) will be accepting entries for its popular LIVEforFIVE online lottery for $5 tickets to its next production, the World Premiere of the new musical SAVED. A total of 50 tickets will be available via the online lottery.

Tickets go on sale tomorrow, Wednesday, April 9th for Signature Theatre Company's (James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director) world premiere production of Tony® and Academy Award®-winning actress Mercedes Ruehl and two-time Emmy® winner and Tony® nominee Larry Bryggman in EDWARD ALBEE'S OCCUPANT directed by Pam MacKinnon. Mr. Albee was Signature's 1993-1994 Playwright-in-Residence. EDWARD ALBEE'S OCCUPANT begins performances on May 6, 2008 and continues through June 29 at The Peter Norton Space located at 555 West 42nd Street (between 10th and 11th Avenues). The production will have its official opening on June 5th.

Rehearsals will begin on Tuesday, April 8 for the Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) World Premiere production of the new musical SAVED.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company concludes its 32nd season with the world premiere Superior Donuts by ensemble member Tracy Letts, directed by ensemble member Tina Landau. The production, featuring ensemble members Jon Hill, Yasen Peyankov and James Vincent Meredith, runs June 19 - August 17, 2008 in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St. The press performance is Saturday, June 28, 2008 at 3:00 p.m. Tickets are $20-$68. 'Arthur Przybyszewski owns a decrepit donut shop in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago. Franco Wicks, a black teenager who is his only employee, wants to change the shop for the better. Superior Donuts is a provocative comedy about the challenges of embracing the past and the redemptive power of friendship,' press notes state. Ensemble member Tracy Letts' critically-acclaimed play August: Osage County is currently playing on Broadway following a sold-out run at Steppenwolf in 2007. Mr. Letts is also the author of Man from Nebraska, which was produced at Steppenwolf in 2003 and was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize; Killer Joe, which has been produced in Chicago, London and New York; and Bug, which has played in New York, Chicago and London. Ensemble member Tina Landau most recently directed Steppenwolf's 2007 production of The Diary of Anne Frank. Other Steppenwolf directing credits include Cherry Orchard, The Time of Your Life (also Seattle Rep, A.C.T.), Theatrical Essays, Maria Arndt, The Ballad of Little Jo, The Berlin Circle, Time to Burn, and her own play, Space (also NY's Public Theater, Mark Taper Forum). Superior Donuts is directed by Tina Landau. The design team includes: Loy Arcenas (sets), Ana Kuzmanic (costumes), Christopher Akerlind (lights) and Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen (original music and sound). Edward Sobel is the dramaturg. Laura Glenn is the stage manager and Lauren V. Hickman is the assistant stage manager. Twenty $20 tickets are available at Audience Services beginning at 11:00 a.m. on the day of each performance (1:00 p.m. for Sunday performances). Half-price rush tickets are available one hour before each show. Student discounts available. Online ticketing available at www.steppenwolf.org Production Sponsor of Superior Donuts is United Airlines. Free post-show discussions, sponsored by AT&T, are offered after every performance. Steppenwolf is located near all forms of public transportation and is wheelchair accessible. Street and lot parking are available. Assistive listening devices are available for every performance. Superior Donuts was developed as part of Steppenwolf's New Plays Initiative. Steppenwolf is recognized as a national leader in the development and production of new work for the American canon. Through this initiative, the company maintains ongoing relationships with writers of international prominence and rigorously discovers and supports the work of early and mid-career playwrights. Steppenwolf's New Plays Initiative is generously sponsored by The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, the Zell Family Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and members of the Directors Circle. Additional support for the development and production of Superior Donuts is provided by the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. Committed to the principle of ensemble performance through the collaboration of a company of actors, directors and playwrights, Steppenwolf Theatre Company's mission is to advance the vitality and diversity of American theater by nurturing artists, encouraging repeatable creative relationships and contributing new works to the national canon. The company, formed in 1976 by a collective of actors, is dedicated to perpetuating an ethic of mutual respect and the development of artists through on-going group work. Steppenwolf has grown into an internationally renowned company of forty-one artists whose talents include acting, directing, playwriting, filmmaking and textual adaptation.

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded $250,000 to L.A. Theatre Works to support The Play's the Thing for Higher Education. This new initiative will provide higher education institutions with an extensively curated and deeply indexed digital database of recorded plays, a rich resource for scholarly research and classroom teaching that will engage students' imaginations and critical thinking skills across the disciplinary spectrum.

Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) has announced additional casting for the sixth and final production of its 2007/2008 Season, the World Premiere of the new musical SAVED.

New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) Artistic Director James C. Nicola and Acting Managing Director Fred Walker have announced that the next event in NYTW's special series of twenty-fifth anniversary public programs will be 'Two-and-a-Half Decades of Serving the Artist,' a discussion exploring the 'workshop' component of the theatre's activities on Monday, March 24 at 7:30pm, at NYTW, 79 East 4 Street, between Second Avenue and Bowery.

Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) is now accepting entries for its popular online lottery LIVEforFIVE for $5 tickets to its next production, The Drunken City, a new play by 2007 Obie Award winner Adam Bock (The Receptionist, The Thugs, Swimming in the Shallows). A total of 40 tickets will be available for the show via the lottery.

Intiman Theatre Board President Susan J. Leavitt announces that Artistic Director Bartlett Sher has extended his contract through the end of the 2009 production season.

New York City Opera's acclaimed series VOX 2008: Showcasing American Composers returns for its ninth season on May 10 and 11, presented at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts at NYU

Theater By The Blind, which has worked for 29 years to develop blind and vision-impaired talent for the theater, television and film, is changing its name to Theater Breaking Through Barriers, remaining TBTB. The company continues its commitment to vision-impaired artists but has been including artists with all disabilities in their productions, and is preparing to announce its 2008 season: Romeo and Juliet and an American comedy, both performed at the Kirk Theatre on Theatre Row.

The Public Theater received an extraordinary 2.7 million dollar grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to launch 'Public LAB,' a vital new play series conceived and presented in association with LAByrinth Theater Company.