Annette Bening News

The Geffen Playhouse's annual Backstage at the Geffen fundraiser, which recognizes leadership in the theater community while raising support for the theater's artistic and outreach initiatives, will honor Chairman and CEO of Fox Filmed Entertainment Jim Gianopulos with the Distinction in Service Award.

A reading of DEADLINE, written and directed by Sabina Berman and starring Jimmy Smits and Jenn Colella, will be presented at the Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theater at the Pershing Square Signature Center on March 26, 2012 ar 7:30PM.

A reading of DEADLINE, written and directed by Sabina Berman and starring Jimmy Smits and Jenn Colella, will be presented at the Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theater at the Pershing Square Signature Center on March 26, 2012 ar 7:30PM.

Individual tickets and table reservations are now available for the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's 12th Annual Monte Cristo Award honoring Michael Douglas. Individual tickets are $750 and $1,000 (including event program listing), and are available online at www.theoneill.org. The award will be presented during a gala dinner at the Edison Ballroom in New York City on Monday, April 16th at 6:30pm.

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) and Gala Chair Patti Rueff just announced Expect the Unexpected!, A.C.T.'s 2012 Season Gala, starring A.C.T. Young Conservatory alumnus Darren Criss (TV's Glee, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying on Broadway), two-time Tony Award winner Bill Irwin (Scapin at A.C.T., Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? on Broadway), A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program graduate Patrick Lane (Brian Hawkins in A.C.T.'s world premiere production of Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City), and Betsy Wolfe (Mary Ann Singleton in A.C.T.'s world premiere production of Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City, 110 in the Shade and Everyday Rapture on Broadway). Proceeds from the Gala support A.C.T.'s acclaimed actor training and arts education programs. The Gala will be held on Sunday, April 15, 2012, at the historic Regency Center (1300 Van Ness Avenue) in San Francisco. Individual tickets range in price from $1,000 to $2,500, with patron levels ranging from $10,000 to $25,000. An extremely limited number of $500 tickets are available online only. For more information or to purchase tables or tickets, please visit www.act-sf.org/gala or contact Luz Perez, A.C.T. Special Events Manager, at 415.439.2470 or lperez@act-sf.org.

Goodspeed Musicals just announced that Tony Award-winner Kristin Chenoweth, who appeared as Annie Draper in Goodspeed's production of Strike Up The Band, will be the latest recipient of The Goodspeed Award for Outstanding Contribution to Musical Theatre at its Gala on August 11, 2012. Previous honorees include Julie Andrews, Martin Charnin, Ira Gershwin, Jerry Herman, William Ivey Long, Thomas Meehan, Michael P. Price, Gerald Schoenfeld, Stephen Schwartz, Susan Stroman, Charles Strouse, Tommy Tune and Paul Williams.

A story of loss and longing is brought to light in the world premiere of Morris Panych's In Absentia now playing at the Centaur Theatre.

The American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) Program, which has trained such celebrated actors as Elizabeth Banks, Annette Bening, Anna Deavere Smith, and Denzel Washington, presents the sharp-witted, raunchy satire The Mandrake by Niccolò Machiavelli.

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) has announced its inaugural Conservatory Awards, which will annually recognize and honor A.C.T.'s award-winning actor training program's outstanding alumni and pay tribute to donors who have provided significant support to the M.F.A. Scholarship Fund.

As first reported on The Hollywood Reporter, George Clooney, Neil Patrick Harris, Viola Davis and Morgan Freeman will be among the presenters at the 23rd Annual 2012 Producers Guild Awards, taking place on Saturday, January 21st at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

As first reported on The Hollywood Reporter, George Clooney, Neil Patrick Harris, Viola Davis and Morgan Freeman will be among the presenters at the 23rd Annual 2012 Producers Guild Awards, taking place on Saturday, January 21st at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

The American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) Program, which has trained such celebrated actors as Elizabeth Banks, Annette Bening, Anna Deavere Smith, and Denzel Washington, presents the sharp-witted, raunchy satire The Mandrake by Niccolò Machiavelli.

Actors of all ages and experience levels are welcome at the award-winning American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) Conservatory for world-class training, and the New Year brings many opportunities to take part.

Hugh Jackman will return to Broadway during the 2013/2014 season starring as America's greatest showman in HOUDINI, an original musical. Making his Broadway debut as librettist, Academy Award and six-time Emmy Award winner Aaron Sorkin will collaborate with three-time Academy Award and four-time Grammy Award winner Stephen Schwartz. Directed by three-time Tony Award winner Jack O'Brien, HOUDINI is presented by film and theatre producer Scott Sanders and David Rockwell. Mr. Rockwell will also design the sets for HOUDINI. Additional HOUDINI casting, creative team and design team to be announced at a later date.

Golden Globe Award winner Peter Gallagher (The O.C., American Beauty) takes on the role of George Bailey, joining the star-studded cast of the Geffen Playhouse's special oneday-only reading of It's A Wonderful Life. The cast also features four-time Academy Award nominee Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right, Being Julia, American Beauty), three-time Emmy Award winner Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Broadway star and favorite TV mom Shirley Jones (The Partridge Family) along with her real life husband Marty Ingels, character actor Leslie Jordan (Will and Grace, The Help), television actress Lorraine Toussaint (Friday Night Lights, Saving Grace), and acclaimed stage and screen actors Gregory Itzin (Adaptation, 24), Glenne Headly (who will be seen later this season on the Geffen stage in The Jacksonian) and Drop Dead Diva's Josh Stamberg (who was also seen alongside Annette Bening in The Female of the Species at the Geffen). Helmed by L.A. director Bart DeLorenzo, this special evening sponsored by One West Bank is a joint fundraiser for the Geffen Playhouse and The Actors Fund, a national human services organization that helps all professionals in performing arts and entertainment. It's a Wonderful Life will be performed in the Gil Cates Theater at the Geffen Playhouse on Saturday, December 10, 2011 at 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. This adaption of It's a Wonderful Life captures the heartwarming holiday spirit of the classic film with the nostalgia of a live radio play. Gallagher and Bening, who play George and Mary, respectively, are joined on stage by a cast of familiar characters as well as a sound effects artist who will be using a time-honored bag of tricks to create the world of the play.

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) has announced its inaugural Conservatory Awards, which will annually recognize and honor A.C.T.'s award-winning actor training program's outstanding alumni and pay tribute to donors who have provided significant support to the M.F.A. Scholarship Fund.

Golden Globe Award winner Peter Gallagher (The O.C., American Beauty) takes on the role of George Bailey, joining the star-studded cast of the Geffen Playhouse's special oneday-only reading of It's A Wonderful Life. The cast also features four-time Academy Award nominee Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right, Being Julia, American Beauty), three-time Emmy Award winner Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Broadway star and favorite TV mom Shirley Jones (The Partridge Family) along with her real life husband Marty Ingels, character actor Leslie Jordan (Will and Grace, The Help), television actress Lorraine Toussaint (Friday Night Lights, Saving Grace), and acclaimed stage and screen actors Gregory Itzin (Adaptation, 24), Glenne Headly (who will be seen later this season on the Geffen stage in The Jacksonian) and Drop Dead Diva's Josh Stamberg (who was also seen alongside Annette Bening in The Female of the Species at the Geffen). Helmed by L.A. director Bart DeLorenzo, this special evening sponsored by One West Bank is a joint fundraiser for the Geffen Playhouse and The Actors Fund, a national human services organization that helps all professionals in performing arts and entertainment. It's a Wonderful Life will be performed in the Gil Cates Theater at the Geffen Playhouse on Saturday, December 10, 2011 at 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. This adaption of It's a Wonderful Life captures the heartwarming holiday spirit of the classic film with the nostalgia of a live radio play. Gallagher and Bening, who play George and Mary, respectively, are joined on stage by a cast of familiar characters as well as a sound effects artist who will be using a time-honored bag of tricks to create the world of the play.