Anna-Deavere Smith News

Women's Project Theater is going through some major changes. A recent blog by Howard Sherman indicates that Artistic Director Julie Crosby is now missing from the masthead and staff list on the theater's official website. According to Sherman, Crosby was not fired, but 'did not depart voluntarily.' Additionally, some other advisory board members have also resigned.

Center Stage announced this week that its acclaimed digital theater project My America has become a feature length film that will premiere world-wide on July 4, 2014, exclusively through streaming service Fandor, followed by a special July 9 screening at the IFC center in New York City.

The Public Theater announced additional casting today for the free one-night event, PUBLIC FORUM: SHAKESPEARE IN AMERICA, on Monday, June 30 at 8:00 p.m. at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. Whitney Bashor, Annette Bening, Jessica Chastain, author E.L. Doctorow, Jackie Hoffman, Justin Levine, Equal Justice Initiative founder Bryan Stevenson, and Micah Stock join this exciting evening which will celebrate Shakespeare and the newly released Library of America book, Shakespeare in America, edited by Public Theater Shakespeare Scholar in Residence James Shapiro.

Berkeley Repertory Theatre and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) present a series of public Town Halls featuring MacArthur Award-winning actress, playwright, and educator Anna Deavere Smith, who will present a staged reading of her work-in-progress, Field Notes: Doing Time In Education: The California Chapter.

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? Today's big news: The Public Theater hosts two panels on race this weekend, public TV gets in on the Tonys game, Rory O'Malley shows us why it doesn't take a village to raise a child -- it takes a pub, the BWW Awards wrap voting today, and the Drama Desk Awards will be held this Sunday night!

The Public Theater previously announced TALKING ABOUT RACE: SCIENCE, POLITICS, ART 1959-1970-2014, a two-night Public Forum event this weekend, today, May 30 and Saturday, May 31 at 7:00 p.m. in The Public's Anspacher Theater. Presented with Anna Deavere Smith Works at The Aspen Institute, The American Museum of Natural History and with in-kind support from the Institute on the Arts and Civic Dialogue at New York University, these two exciting evenings will combine performances of provocative historic conversations about race with an unscripted modern sequel.

The Public Theater (Artistic Director, Oskar Eustis; Executive Director, Patrick Willingham) announced today that a special free one-night event, PUBLIC FORUM: SHAKESPEARE IN AMERICA, will take place on Monday, June 30 at 8:00 p.m. at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, with a line-up that includes Sarah Amengual, Michael Cerveris, Colman Domingo, James Earl Jones, Cynthia Nixon, Annie-B Parson, Steven Pasquale, and Michael Stuhlbarg, celebrating the world's greatest writer, American-style. Highlights of the evening will include James Earl Jones reading a scene from Othello, marking his return to the Delacorte after a 40-year absence and celebrating the 50th anniversary of his playing Othello on the Delacorte stage; Michael Cerveris reading a letter by John Wilkes Booth; and Steven Pasquale singing Tony in the "Tonight" duet from West Side Story.

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director) has announced two productions for its upcoming 36th season: the first New York production in 23 years of Terrence McNally's acclaimed play, LIPS TOGETHER, TEETH APART, directed by Peter DuBois, and the world premiere of Neil LaBute's dark comedy, THE WAY WE GET BY.

With the help of students from the Master of Fine Arts and Young Conservatory programs, American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) raised over $670,000 at its 2014 Season Gala, FLEISHHACKER, MAGNIN, SWIG -- A.C.T.'s MAD, MAD MEN, which honored the three founding fathers of A.C.T. -- Mortimer Fleishhacker, Jr., Cyril Magnin, and Melvin Swig -- and celebrated the past, present, and future of the organization. The Gala took place on Sunday, May 18, at the historic Regency Ballroom in San Francisco. The proceeds from the Gala support A.C.T.'s actor training and arts education programs.

The Look of Feeling, a theatrical production of a one-woman show starring acclaimed artist Francesca Harper, premieres in a very special intimate limited engagement during May 2014 in New York City's theatre district. Conceived and written by Francesca and helmed by Directorial Consultant Susan Batson, The Look of Feeling is an epic saga of true stories told through dance and song about a woman, Denise Jefferson (1944-2010) - an American dance pioneer and the star's mother.

The Public Theater has announced TALKING ABOUT RACE: SCIENCE, POLITICS, ART 1959-1970-2014, a two-night Public Forum event on Friday, May 30 and Saturday, May 31 at 7:00 p.m. in The Public's Anspacher Theater. Presented with Anna Deavere Smith Works at The Aspen Institute, The American Museum of Natural History and with in-kind support from the Institute on the Arts and Civic Dialogue at New York University, these two exciting evenings will combine performances of provocative historic conversations about race with an unscripted modern sequel.

Second Stage Theatre's 35th Anniversary Gala celebration just honored Carole Rothman, Artistic Director of Second StageTheatre, for her 35 years of supporting new works and artistic development in New York City theatre. This year's rock n' roll themed gala was attended by over 250 Second Stage Alumni who have worked at Second Stage Theatre during the past 35 years, from Brooke Adams and Polly Draper who appeared in the very first season, to cast members from the currently running The Substance of Fire and the upcoming American Hero which will make its New York premiere this summer at Second Stage Uptown. Special guests participating in the evening's festivities included Lynn Nottage, Cynthia Nixon, Tony Goldwyn, and more. BroadwayWorld brings you more photos from the special evening below! CLICK HERE to check out Part 1.

SHOWTIME will be available to 74 million households during a Free Preview Weekend this Friday, May 9 through Sunday, May 11. Viewers nationwide will be able to sample the network's award-winning programming on SHOWTIME, SHOWTIME On Demand(R), SHOWTIME ANYTIME(R) and on a number of participating distributors' TV Everywhere portals. The Free Preview weekend will include the series premiere of the new drama series PENNY DREADFUL, as well as new episodes of the critically-acclaimed hit series NURSE JACKIE and CALIFORNICATION, the premium television premiere of Scary Movie 5, and the premiere of Floyd Mayweather vs. Marcos Maidana, the thrilling 12-round welterweight world championship unification bout from Saturday, May 3. During the Preview, SHOWTIME will also debut the second episode of PENNY DREADFUL on SHOWTIME ANYTIME immediately following the series premiere on Sunday, May 11th at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

The Look of Feeling, a theatrical production of a one-woman show starring acclaimed artist Francesca Harper, premieres in a very special intimate limited engagement during May 2014 in New York City's theatre district. Conceived and written by Francesca and helmed by Directorial Consultant Susan Batson, The Look of Feeling is an epic saga of true stories told through dance and song about a woman, Denise Jefferson (1944-2010) - an American dance pioneer and the star's mother.

On May 2nd, Flanders & Streb are convening Risky Talking #2: What Is A Risky Truth? Acclaimed novelist A.M. Homes and actress/dramatist Anna Deavere Smith will join action architect Elizabeth Streb and author/journalist Laura Flanders for more. Hear what they think, say what you think and watch out for the unique action moment created by the Streb team. The action and the conversation resume today May 2nd from 7 to 9 pm. Admission is $10 or $20-you decide. There's even food!

Most actors can only dream of having the career Julie White has had. A Tony-winner for 2006's THE LITTLE DOG LAUGHED, White spent five years on TV's GRACE UNDER FIRE, starred in the mega-hit TRANSFORMERS franchise and the Academy Award winning LINCOLN, and on TV with FRIEND's Matthew Perry and fellow Tony-winner Laura Benanti in GO ON. White can now be seen on Showtime's NURSE JACKIE, where she plays Tony-nominee Edie Falco's AA sponsor. I spoke to her the Friday before Easter as she was preparing to head up to her fixer-upper outside the city to prune roses and pile up leaves with her good friend Tony-winner Cady Huffman.

American Conservatory Theater announced today the Spring 2014 Repertory featuring students from A.C.T.'s acclaimed Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) Program, as well as a coproduction featuring students from A.C.T.'s Young Conservatory (YC) Program. The three works in repertory this May are Stephen Adly Guirgis' scorching comedy, Our Lady of 121st Street; Georges Feydeau's madcap farce The Girl from Maxim's; and Rob Ackerman's hilarious and heartbreaking Teach for America. Tickets for each performance are $20 and are available online at www.act-sf.org or by calling the A.C.T. Box Office at 415.749.2228. Two and three-show packages are available. Pick any two shows for $30 (a savings of $10) or purchase all three shows for $40 (a savings of $20). Packages are available for purchase by visiting https://tickets.act-sf.org/online/ (select M.F.A. Program Spring Repertory Package).

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts presents the West Coast premiere of A Coffin in Egypt, a new chamber opera in one act, based on the play, A Coffin in Egypt by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Horton Foote, for three performances only tonight, April 23 and April 25 and 27 in the Bram Goldsmith Theater.

Benanti spoke exclusively to BWW about her guest starring role, her recent experience on NBC's live presentation of The Sound of Music and the possibilty that she will soon return to her 'true love,' the Broadway stage!

Showtime has announced that Broadway vet Laura Benanti will appear in a recurring role in the hit medical drama comedy NURSE JACKIE.