Anna-Deavere Smith News

Stage and screen star Sanaa Lathan (A Raisin in the Sun, Contagion) returns to the title role in Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage's By the Way, Meet Vera Stark for its West Coast premiere at the Geffen Playhouse. Lathan, who originated the character of Vera Stark in the critically acclaimed New York run, will once again take the stage as the 1930's era maid turned movie star, reunited with original cast member Kimberly Hebert Gregory (Spike Lee's Red Hook Summer) reprising her role as fellow aspiring African American actress Lottie. Broadway vet and Geffen alum Merle Dandridge (Spamalot, Rent, Aida) will take on the spicy role of Anna Mae, who fakes a Brazilian accent for a slice of fame, and former leading lady of ABC's Man Up, Amanda Detmer, will portray Gloria Mitchell, the white starlet dubbed "America's little sweetie pie" and Vera's first employer. Helmed by award-winning director Jo Bonney, the West Coast premiere cast also features Kevin Carroll (Paid in Full, Being John Malkovich), Spencer Garrett (Iron Man 3, Air Force One) and Geffen alum Mather Zickel (Extraordinary Chambers, Rachel Getting Married).

Women's Project, the 35-year-old non-profit theater dedicated to producing plays written and directed by women, will present its 2012-2013 season of new plays featuring women theater artists at a new home, New York City Center Stage II, 131 West 55th Street, January 11 to May 19, Julie Crosby, Producing Artistic Director announced.

LIONSGATE's acclaimed AMC drama MAD MEN and hit Showtime comedy NURSE JACKIE earned a total of 22 Emmy(R) nominations today, including a fifth consecutive drama series nomination for MAD MEN, which made history last year with its fourth consecutive win tying the all-time Emmy(R) record in the category, and a third consecutive comedy nomination for four-time Emmy(R) winner Edie Falco, who won the Lead Actress trophy for her role in the first season of NURSE JACKIE.

Tanglewood 75th Anniversary Celebration, featuring many of the iconic artists identified with the fete, will air on THIRTEEN'S Great Performances Friday, August 10 at 9 p.m. ET as part of the PBS Arts Summer Festival (check local listings).

TALES FROM A GHETTO KLOWN profiles award-winning actor and playwright John Leguizamo's unorthodox rise to success and his struggles to mount his latest one-man show on Broadway and beyond. The program premieres tonight, July 13 at 9:00 p.m. EST on PBS (check local listings) as part of the PBS ARTS SUMMER FESTIVAL, a multi-platform event anchored by seven films that highlight artists and performances from around the world.

From new leadership and fresh artistic initiatives to hit shows including Into the Woods and The Whipping Man-CENTERSTAGE finished the 2011-12 Season stronger than ever. As it looks to its 50th Anniversary Season, the theater is poised to enter a new era as Baltimore's leading professional theater company and a major player on the national theater scene.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater's Artistic Director Molly Smith has announced that this July 2012 D.C.-area arts manager and artist David Snider will become the company's Director of Artistic Programming. Snider will be leaving Young Playwrights' Theater (YPT), where he has served since 2005 as producing artistic director and CEO, to bring his multi-faceted, award-winning talents to the artistic team of Arena Stage.

Producers Carole Black and Pat Mitchell announced today that EMOTIONAL CREATURE, the new play written by Tony Award®-winning playwright, performer, activist, and The Vagina Monologues author Eve Ensler, will get a New York premiere this fall.

With the recent passing of Rodney King and in the 20th anniversary year of the Los Angeles riots, Great Performances brings Smith's dramatic work back to public television viewers across America when it presents an encore presentation of Marc Levin's film adaptation of Twilight: Los Angeles, Friday, June 29 at 10 p.m. ET (check local listings). The telecast follows the season premiere of the PBS Arts Summer Festival also hosted by Smith.

Women's Project will end its 34th season with an off-Broadway show of epic proportions when seven playwrights, four directors, three producers and five actors collaborate on one world premiere play titled from the famous Ellen Stewart quote We Play for The Gods. We Play for The Gods stars Annie Golden, Amber Gray, Alexandra Henrikson, Irene Sofia Lucio and Erika Rolfsud. It opens tonight, June 11, at 7:30pm for a run through Saturday, June 23, at the Cherry Lane Theatre, 38 Commerce Street.

Women's Project will end its 34th season with an off-Broadway show of epic proportions when seven playwrights, four directors, three producers and five actors collaborate on one world premiere play titled from the famous Ellen Stewart quote We Play for The Gods. We Play for The Gods stars Annie Golden, Amber Gray, Alexandra Henrikson, Irene Sofia Lucio and Erika Rolfsud. It begins performances tonight, June 1, at 8:00pm, opens Monday, June 11, at 7:30pm for a run through Saturday, June 23, at the Cherry Lane Theatre, 38 Commerce Street.

Peabody Award winner and Emmy Award nominee Clyde Phillips has been tapped as the new showrunner for the network's hit comedy series NURSE JACKIE, which has been renewed for a fifth season.

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director) has just announced that Jason Robert Brown's musical THE LAST FIVE YEARS has been added to the company's upcoming 2012-2013 season. The musical, which has not been seen in New York City since its brief off-Broadway run over ten years ago, will be directed by Mr. Brown.

TALES FROM A GHETTO KLOWN profiles award-winning actor and playwright John Leguizamo's unorthodox rise to success and his struggles to mount his latest one-man show on Broadway and beyond. The program premieres Friday, July 13 at 9:00 p.m. EST on PBS (check local listings) as part of the PBS ARTS SUMMER FESTIVAL, a multi-platform event anchored by seven films that highlight artists and performances from around the world.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater's Artistic Director Molly Smith has announced that this July 2012 D.C.-area arts manager and artist David Snider will become the company's Director of Artistic Programming. Snider will be leaving Young Playwrights' Theater (YPT), where he has served since 2005 as producing artistic director and CEO, to bring his multi-faceted, award-winning talents to the artistic team of Arena Stage.

Yesterday, May 21, the Actor's Fund held its annual gala at the New York Marriott Marquis, honoring Tony and Emmy Award winning artist and activist Harry Belafonte, acting duo Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller, and real estate developer David Steiner. BroadwayWorld was there and brings you photo coverage below!

Following an acclaimed season which included the world premiere of Paul Weitz's Lonely, I'm Not and a critically lauded second staging of Paula Vogel's Pulitzer Prize-winner, How I Learned To Drive, Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director) has just announced two of the four mainstage productions in the company's upcoming 34th season. For subscription or ticket information, please call the Second Stage Box Office at 212-246-4422 or visit the company's website, www.2ST.com. All productions are staged at Second Stage's Tony Kiser Theatre, 305 West 43rd Street (just west of Eighth Avenue).

Rehearsals began today (5/8) for Women's Project off-Broadway world premiere play titled from the famous Ellen Stewart quote We Play for The Gods, a the seven-playwright, four-director, three-producer and five-actor collaborative show.

Mad Horse Theatre Company's Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll opens tonight, May 7, and will run on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings through May 16 at Lucid Stage, 29 Baxter Boulevard, in Portland.

Eleanor O'Brien is a force of nature and her one-woman show, Good Girls Guide: Dominatrix for Dummies has thrilled Portland audiences with its unexpected tale of a woman finding self-confidence and self-acceptance while looking to survive as an actress in New York City. In the upcoming months, O'Brien is taking her show on the road and performing in several fringe festivals across the country. I had the pleasure of talking with Eleanor about her show and other exciting projects she has in the works for her theatre company Dance Naked Productions.