In the words of Aaron Posner, actors Grace Gonglewski and Eric Hissom are “lifetime members of the Aaron Posner players!” Theirs is a professional relationship and personal friendship that dates back two decades. When Arena Stage's production of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike begins performances, they'll once again find themselves in familiar positions with Gonglewski and Hissom onstage and Posner in the director's chair.
The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park's 2014-15 Robert S. Marx Theatre season comes to a riotous close with VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE, Christopher Durang's madcap comedy about melancholy people. A smash hit on Broadway, VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE earned numerous critical accolades, including the 2013 Drama Desk and Tony awards for best play. It runs April 25 through May 23 in the Marx Theatre.
Today, RISK AGAIN! introduces you to NTI Program Representatives Brittany Ayers (NTI Fall '12) and Brendan Naylor (MATS '08) who share NTI's training opportunities with students and schools across the country. NTI is currently accepting applications for summer and fall programs. The deadline to apply for the Theatermakers Summer Intensive, National Theater Institute Semester, National Music Theater Institute, Moscow Art Theatre Semester, or NTI Advanced Directing program is March 30.
I wonder if Jackie Nichols is providing on-site psychiatric help for those involved in the repertory presentations of Anton Chekhov's THE SEAGULL and Christopher Durang's VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE at Playhouse on the Square. Surely the veteran Irene Crist, performing double duty as Director of both the uber-heavy Chekhov piece and the giddy Durang parody, is on a schizoid seesaw as she veers from the serious to the silly - and the same might be said from the cast members who swap costumes and take their characterizations from one play to the next. Having just seen THE SEAGULL last week, I was eager to see how Durang's TONY-winning play would parlay all that Chekhovian talk about artists and pseudo-artists into something more laughter-inducing. However, rest assured that the talents involved in both plays rise (or fall, as it were) without any difficulty.
Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater presents the Washington, D.C. premiere of Christopher Durang's Tony Award-winning comedy Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike runs April 3-May 3, 2015 in the Fichandler Stage. Click below to watch a fun promo for the show!
19 March 2015 - On March 30th, 31st, April 1st, and April 2nd, A River, a new play by Michael Joel, will make its New York debut as part of the Spring One Act Festival at the Manhattan Repertory Theatre. The play features Aryana Sedarati, Kaitlin Overton, David Acosta, and Matt Petrucelli.
The Hypocrites are pleased to conclude their 2014-15 season with Anton Chekhov's heartbreaking comedy THREE SISTERS, adapted and directed by Geoff Button, playing April 17 - June 6, 2015 at their new home, The Den Theatre Mainstage, 1329 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago.
The Classical Theatre of Harlem (CTH) announces plans for its landmark 2015 season. The Harlem-based American theatre company will present its 15th Anniversary Celebration and Benefit Concert this spring, featuring songs from the eagerly anticipated musical Witness Uganda, winner of the American Academy of Arts and Letters 2014 Richard Rodgers Production Award for Musical Theater; a free summer production of William Shakespeare's The Tempest; and the winter holiday world premiere of a new CTH-commissioned musical, The First Noel.
Power. Lust. Friendship. Legacy. What matters in a human life? Gilgamesh, the larger-than-life King, travels to the end of the world to find out. Based on the epic from Mesopotamia, one of the oldest pieces of literature known to us today, GILGAMESH - A MUSICAL EPIC is a coming of age story depicting Man's breakthrough into Consciousness, told in the form of an original epic musical experience with a live band.
Staging a play by Henrik Ibsen or Anton Chekhov poses certain problems for theatre groups. On the one hand, there is a commitment to 'the classics' - and there is an opportunity for actors (especially young ones) to examine their talents and extend them in directions they have not gone before. The 'downside' is the reputation such plays have as 'talkfests,' for they are often deliberate and detailed in their construction of characters and relationships. I was reminded of this during both the performance and the intermission of Playhouse on the Square's production of Chekhov's THE SEAGULL (which, literally, follows on the 'heels' of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW). During Intermission, two couples stood next to my seat and discussed the play. With a hint of apology, one lady stated, 'The actors are very good, but I really prefer the musicals.' Yet, as I watched and listened to the play, I glanced at one audience member, leaning forward and rapt in concentration; and further down my row, another could audibly be heard gasping at the insensitivity of 'Madame Arkandina' toward her son.
Famous, but aging, actress Irina Arkadina is obsessed with a callous younger lover, dismissive of her son the frustrated playwright, and suspicious of an admiring ingenue. Christopher Hampton's adaptation of Anton Chekhov's 1895 play lays bare its comedy and its cruelty in a household overflowing with creativity, fantasies of fame, jealousy, and unrequited love.
Following the wildly successful Chekhov One Act Festival in Fall 2014, Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Avenue, Chicago, is proud to present the clever, critically acclaimed sextet of one act comedies, ALL IN THE TIMING, as Stage 773's Spring One Act Festival, opening March 20 and running every Friday at 8:15 p.m. through April 17. Written by legendary playwright David Ives, the playful series of award-winning comedies combines wit, intellect, satire and all-around fun. In a unique twist, each scene will be presented by a different Chicago theater, hitting the heart of Stage 773's mission to connect Chicago Theater. Hobo Junction, Organic Theater Company, (Re)Discover Theatre, The Ruckus, and Red Theater Chicago join Stage 773 for this creative event.
Stories on Stage collaborates once again with the Buntport Theater Company in Son of Very Short Stories. Denver performances are today, March 7 at 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at Su Teatro Cultural and Performing Arts Center, located at 721 Santa Fe Drive.
Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces the full company for the Washington, D.C. premiere of Christopher Durang's Tony Award-winning comedy Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. Helen HayesAward-winning director and playwright Aaron Posner, known for his Chekhov-inspired plays Stupid f**king Bird and Life Sucks (Or the Present Ridiculous), lends his hand to this riotous sendup, which satirizes characters and themes from Anton Chekhov's classics. In this 'sunny new play about gloomy people' (New York Times), siblings Vanya and Sonia live out their days in an endless, bleak tableau in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. All seems numbingly mundane until in sweeps hurricane Masha, their fading movie star sister, with her shiny new boy toy and a big announcement. Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike runs April 3-May 3, 2015 in the Fichandler Stage. Check out a first look at the cast below!
Sierra Stages opens its 2015 season with the hilarious Broadway comedy VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE, winner of the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play. Written by Christopher Durang, VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE plays at the historic Nevada Theatre in Nevada City from tonight, March 5-28.
Join four Toronto-based composers for an evening celebrating Canada's exciting new voices in contemporary musical theatre. Scott Christian, Colleen Dauncey, Akiva Romer-Segal and Kevin Wong are behind some of the biggest hits recently presented at the Fringe, SummerWorks and Next Stage festivals. Their songs have been enjoyed on recordings and in theatres, concert halls and cabarets worldwide. Discover compelling characters and stories brought to life by a whole new generation of musical theatre creators.
Artists confirmed for Andrew Upton's seventh season (his second programmed as solo Artistic Director) at Sydney Theatre Company in 2015 include many of Australia's top theatrical talents: Cate Blanchett, Jacqueline McKenzie, Robyn Nevin, Susie Porter, Richard Roxburgh, Geoffrey Rush, Helen Thomson, Hugo Weaving, Ursula Yovich and many more in a program boasting directors such as Neil Armfield, Leticia Ca?ceres, Richard Cottrell, John Crowley, Pamela Rabe and STC's Andrew Upton, Sarah Goodes and Kip Williams.
Cate Blanchett revealed to the Daily Mail that after starring in her husband Andrew Upton's adaptation of Chekhov's THE PRESENT at the Sydney Theatre Company this August, she wants to take the production on tour to the U.S. and London.
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