Ars Nova News

Barrington Stage Company (BSC), the award-winning theatre in the Berkshires (Pittsfield, MA) under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, announced today its 25th Anniversary season, which will feature four world premieres, including the new musical from BSC's Musical Theatre Lab, Fall Springs by Niko Tsakalakos and Peter Sinn Nachtrieb; America v. 2.1: The Sad Demise & Eventual Extinction of The American Negro by Stacey Rose; American Underground by Brent Askari; and Ragtag Theatre's Hansel and Gretel, commissioned by BSC.

Broken, a new play by Devlin Elliott, will have an industry presentation today, February 8, in New York City. Directed by Teddy Bergman (KPOP, Empire Travel Agency), the cast is led by three-time Emmy and Tony Award winner Stockard Channing and Tony Award winner Robert Sean Leonard who star as a birth-mother and son reunited after decades apart.

New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) announced today that Jeremy O. Harris (Slave Play, "Daddy") and Heidi Schreck (the Broadway-bound What the Constitution Means to Me), the playwrights behind NYTW's two sold-out fall productions, will co-host the NYTW 2019 Gala celebrating 40 Years of New York Theatre Workshop and honoring Founding Trustee Stephen Graham.

Four women of color breaking boundaries at Mabou Mines as part of the 2019 SUITE/Space program - Cinthia Chen, Marcelle Davies-Lashley, Cristina Pitter and Edisa Weeks.

Jack Maple & Brian Zeilinger for Take Two Theatricals, and Ken Fakler present the European premiere of new LGBTQ+ musical THE VIEW UPSTAIRS from 18 July to 31 August at Soho Theatre, following a triumphant run Off-Broadway, multiple regional US productions and a recent Australian premiere, THE VIEW UPSTAIRS is written by young up-and-coming artist Max Vernon and will be directed in London by Jonathan O'Boyle (Aspects of Love, Pippin, Hair), with choreography by Fabian Aloise (The Rink, Madagascar The Musical, Our House, Working). There will be a national press night on Tuesday 23 July. Casting is to be announced.

Farmers Alley Theatre is proud to present the Southwest Michigan premiere of the acclaimed Tony Award winning new play, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, based on the best-selling book of the same name. Running March 15-31, Farmers Alley Theatre is also pleased to announce that thanks in large part to several local organizations, we will be reinstating our Student Ticket Initiative for this production, which provides free student tickets to those who wish to attend the show (subject to availability). This is a story about a uniquely gifted young adult, that we feel is very important for students to have the opportunity to see, without the barrier of a ticket price, states Executive Director Adam Weiner.

NYC theater company COLLABORATIONTOWN and FLINT REPERTORY THEATRE are proud to announce the World Premiere of RIDDLE OF THE TRILOBITES, in a co-production presented at Flint Repertory Theatre in Flint, Michigan, March 1-10, 2019, in advance of a New York Premiere in 2020.

Before Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda was part of the unique Freestyle Love Supremehip hop improv show. The seeds of the show were planted during rehearsals for Miranda's first Broadway show, In the Heights. Along with fellow cast member Anthony Veneziale, Miranda freestyled during rehearsal breaks and eventually co-created this unique show with Heights director Thomas Kail. Now, Freestyle Love Supreme returns to NYC for a limited run, starring Anthony Veneziale (aka Two Touch), Chris Sullivan (aka Shockwave), Utkarsh Ambudkar (aka UTK The Inc), Bill Sherman (aka King Sherman), Arthur Lewis (aka Arthur the Geniuses) and Andrew Bancroft (aka Jelly Donut). Special guests with Miranda (aka Lin-Man) include Tony Award winner James Monroe Iglehart (aka J-Soul) and Hamilton co-stars Christopher Jackson (aka C-Jack) and Daveed Diggs (aka Mr. Diggs).

Just in time for Valentine's Day, Pioneer Theatre Company presents the romantic, Tony Award-winning musical Once, with music and lyrics by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova and book by Enda Walsh. Based on the motion picture written and directed by John Carney, the Sundance film-turned-Broadway-hit won eight Tonys, including Best Musical. The touching love ballad, 'Falling Slowly,' also won the Oscar for Best Song. It runs February 15 through March 2, 2019.

Raven Theatre announces its 2019-20 Season, kicking off this fall with the Chicago premiere of Rachel Bonds' drama SUNDOWN, YELLOW MOON, directed by Artistic Director Cody Estle and featuring music and lyrics by The Bengsons. This warm, delicate play with music is an honest look at the hard work of holding a family together and re-connecting with what we've left behind.

Ma-Yi Theater Company - which had considerable success last fall with the world-premieres of SESAR and THE CHINESE LADY will debut a world-premiere play by the Asian-American playwright Sam Chanse entitled FRUITING BODIES, with performances taking place April 23 - May 19 at Theatre Row (410 W. 42nd Street); Shelley Butler will direct. Tickets go on sale today, Thursday, January 31, 2019.

This land was made for you and me" - Woody Guthrie. IAMA Theatre Company partners with the Latino Theater Company to bring the world premiere of Canyon by Jonathan Caren (The Recommendation, Need To Know) to The Los Angeles Theatre Center. Previews begin Feb. 22, with the press opening scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 28 and performances continuing through March 24.

TheaterWorksUSA announces their newest partnership with Writers House and Scholastic, the global children's publishing, education, and media company, by securing the rights to adapt the worldwide bestseller DOG MAN by Dav Pilkey for the stage.

Four women of color breaking boundaries at Mabou Mines as part of the 2019 SUITE/Space program - Cinthia Chen, Marcelle Davies-Lashley, Cristina Pitter and Edisa Weeks.

Rob Rokicki (The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical) and Eric Price (The Violet Hour) will present two new musicals at Molloy College/CAP21 this Spring. Experience Marianas! and Emma! will be workshopped this March using students from the college.

The Manhattan Association of Cabarets (MAC) 33rd MAC Awards will be held tomorrow night at Sony Hall in New York City. 

Trans Lab is proud to announce the six recipients of the 2019 fellowship: Ashley Lauren Rogers, Eamon Boylan, Noemi Charlotte Thieves, Mariam Bazeed, Corinne Donly, and Ty Defoe.

ACTUALLY, WE'RE F**KED, a new play by Matt Williams, will be given its world-premiere production at Cherry Lane Theatre (38 Commerce St. in Manhattan), with previews starting on February 26 prior to an official opening on March 7, it has been announced by Cherry Lane founder Angelina Fiordellisi and artistic director Seri Lawrence. The play is directed by John Pasquin, with whom Mr. Williams has a long-standing collaboration, including the popular television series "Home Improvement."

The Bushwick Starr will collaborate with Ma-Yi Theater Company in presenting the world premiere of Suicide Forest by award-winning playwright and performer Kristine Haruna Lee (Memory Retrograde at The Public Theater with Under the Radar and Ars Nova, War Lesbian at Dixon Place), directed by Aya Ogawa (Ludic Proxy produced by The Play Company at Walker Space, The Nosebleed at The Public Theater with Under the Radar).

The Drama League (Executive Artistic Director Gabriel Stelian-Shanks) presents DirectorFest 2019: The 35th Annual Directors Festival, the only festival in the United States exploring the art of contemporary stage directing, concludes with First Love andDeathwatch at the New Ohio Theatre (154 Christopher Street). Festival programming, tickets and additional details are available atwww.directorfest.org, or by calling (212) 244-9494.