Ars Nova News

San Francisco Playhouse (Artistic Director Bill English; Producing Director Susi Damilano) announced casting for the second show of its 2017-18 Sandbox Series-the world premiere of In Braunau, written by Dipika Guha. Susannah Martin will direct.

The Dirty Blondes, the feminist theater company behind the critically acclaimed production of The American Play at Soho Playhouse, will celebrate their six years of creating theater with a special event called DRAG. Featuring some of the most exciting and emerging drag performers in New York City, DRAG will celebrate inclusivity by deconstructing stereotypes, defying expectations and honoring individuality - everything The Dirty Blondes stands for as a theater company. DRAG will be held on Thursday, May 31, 2018, at The Gallery at Le Poisson Rouge (located at 158 Bleecker Street, between Sullivan and Thompson Streets) with doors opening at 7:00pm and performances beginning at 7:30pm.

HERE (Kristin Marting, Founding Artistic Director, and Kim Whitener, Executive Director) is proud to close their 25th anniversary season with the commissioned world premiere of American Weather, a new work by director and designer Chris Green, a member of the HERE Artist Residency Program since 2016. With a bittersweet verve, American Weather is a visceral work of material performance inspired by daily life in America.

Theatre for a New Audience (TFANA; Jeffrey Horowitz, Founding Artistic Director) announces a public reading of Obie and Drama Desk Award-winning playwright Will Eno's Gnit, directed by Oliver Butler (The Open House, 2014), and starring acclaimed stage and screen actor Michael C. Hall (stage: Hedwig and the Angry Inch on Broadway, David Bowie's Lazarus at NYTW; screen: Six Feet Under, Dexter). The reading will take place June 18 at 7pm at Polonsky Shakespeare Center (262 Ashland Place, Brooklyn, NY).

Playwrights Foundation announces the plays and playwrights of the 2018 Bay Area Playwrights Festival (BAPF) running July 20-29, 2018 at Potrero Stage, 1895 18th St in San Francisco. The 2018 Bay Area Playwrights Festival (BAPF) features SUSPENSION by Kristiana Rae Colon, HOUSE OF JOY by Madhuri Shekar, VRTU-L by T.D. Mitchell, WHEN LIGHTING THE VOIDS by Jon Bernson, COLONIALISM IS TERRIBLE, BUT PHO IS DELICIOUS by  Dustin Chinn and THE DAUGHTERS by Patricia Cotter. A nationally recognised launchpad for exceptional plays and playwrights the Festival features twelve staged readings, offers a Theater Professionals weekend 7/27-29, with special events and a kick-off fundraiser on 7/15.  Tickets on sale June 1st at www.playwrightsfoundation.org

Broadway's Jason Tam joins the company of this summer's hotly anticipated musical Be More Chill. Assuming the role of 'The Squip,' Tam joins previously announced cast members from the 2015 Two River Theater production and original cast recording including Gerard Canonico (Spring Awakening, Groundhog Day) as Rich, Katlyn Carlson (Dirty Dancing, The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin) as Chloe, Stephanie Hsu (SpongeBob SquarePants) as Christine, Lauren Marcus (The Humans at St. Louis Rep, Company at Barrington Stage) as Brooke, and George Salazar (tick tick BOOM!, Godspell, The Lightning Thief) as Michael; as well as Will Roland (Dear Evan Hansen, The Black Suits) as Jeremy and Jason SweetTooth Williams (Freaky Friday, Benny and Joon, Bloodsong of Love) as Jeremy's Dad/Mr. Reyes.

New Light Theater Project is thrilled to present the New York premiere of the hollower written by Liza Birkenmeier and directed by Kristy Dodson. the hollower's limited engagement runs through Saturday, June 9. Press opening is Friday, May 25 at 8 PM. 

Mean Girls will launch a National Tour in the Fall of 2019 beginning at Shea's Buffalo Theatre. The show will also tech and rehearse at Shea's in the weeks preceding public performances. Mean Girls features a book by nine-time Emmy Award winner Tina Fey, based on her screenplay for the film, music by three-time Emmy Award winner Jeff Richmond; and lyrics by two-time Tony Award nominee Nell Benjamin. Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw directs and choreographs.

Salty Brine announces a new cabaret-theater hybrid production of I'm A Lot Like You as the latest installment in his series, The Living Record Collection. I'm A Lot Like You is inspired by Weezer's alternative rock album, Pinkerton, and Puccini's iconic opera, Madame Butterfly. The show will perform at Pangea (178 2nd Avenue) on May 23, 30 and June 6, 13, 20, 27. Doors will open at 6:00pm with performances beginning at 7:00pm.

Ferocious Lotus Theatre Company, with the support of Intersection for the Arts, presents the world premiere of Leah Nanako Winkler's TWO MILE HOLLOW directed by Lily Tung Crystal. Ferocious Lotus is proud to produce Winkler's work since she was announced as the 2018 winner of the coveted Yale Drama Series Prize for her new play, GOD SAID THIS, and the 2018-2019 Jerome Fellow at The Lark. TWO MILE HOLLOW is part of a simultaneous world premiere with Artists at Play in Los Angeles, First Floor Theatre in Chicago, and Theatre Mu/Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis.

Ars Nova, 'one of the most adventurous Off-Broadway companies' (New York Times), under the leadership of Founding Artistic Director Jason Eagan and Managing Director Renee Blinkwolt, is pleased to announce programming for its 2018-2019 season, which marks a rich expansion of the non-profit's unique role as both an exciting hub for new talent and a hands-on producer of genre-bending Off-Broadway productions.

LAUNDRYFEST will make its world premiere at The Soap Box, 110 Saratoga Ave, Brooklyn NY 11233. The show will be comprised of site specific and site responsive pieces in an actual laundromat. The festival, produced by The Motor Company (Lillian Meredith, Artistic Director; Jessica Schmidt, Producing Director), will feature new short plays and musicals by Sean Pollock, Billy Recce, Ben Holbrook and Cherry Lou Sy. Directors include NJ Agwuna, David Kahawaii, Phoebe Padget, and Lillian Meredith. The festival is co-curated and co-produced by Sean Pollock. The performance schedule is Friday, June 8th, Saturday June 9th, Friday, June 15th, and Saturday June 16th at 9:00PM; Sunday June 10th and Sunday June 17th at 7:00PM. Admission is free of charge to the public.

The Drama League (Gabriel Stelian-Shanks, Executive Artistic Director) today announced the 2018 Drama League Awards Nominees for Outstanding Production of a Play, Outstanding Revival of a Play, Outstanding Production of a Musical, Outstanding Revival of a Musical, and the much-coveted Distinguished Performance Award. The nominations were announced this morning by Tony® Award winners Harriet Harris, Julie White and Tony® Award nominee Christopher Sieber at the official announcement event at Sardi's Restaurant, which was streamed live online right here at BroadwayWorld.com.

The National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) announces 18 awards granted from their National Fund for New Musicals, and five awards granted from their Innovation & Exploration Grant program. The National Fund for New Musicals (NFNM) is a major funding program to support NAMT member not-for-profit theatres in their collaborations with writers to create, develop and produce new musicals. Now in its tenth year, this year the Fund is providing grants totaling $58,000 to organizations across the country.

Atlantic Records is celebrating today's digital release of "MEAN GIRLS ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST RECORDING," the official companion to the Tony Award®-nominated new musical comedy based on the iconic film. The album is available now at all DSPs and streaming services; physical CDs arrive in stores nationwide on Friday, June 8th.

Hit the Lights! Theater Co. is pleased to present their original shadow play WHALES at The Peoples Improv Theater (The PIT), running April 24 through May 18th, 2018.

A Chicago housewife turns one small step into a giant, life-changing leap in Bartram & Hill's new musical You Are Here. Goodspeed Musicals continues its commitment to innovative, thought-provoking works with this intimate tour-de-force new musical featuring Tony Award nominee Patti Cohenour as Diana, Broadway performers Andrea Frierson as Voice 1 and Stacia Fernandez as Voice 2, and Spamilton: An American Parody starDan Rosales as Voice 3.

Chimera Ensemble today announced the casting for its US Premiere of DON'T SMOKE IN BED, written by award-winning playwright Aurin Squire, and directed by acclaimed director Chika Ike. Kai A. Ealy, who earlier this year appeared in MARY STUART at Chicago Shakespeare and FRANKLINLAND for Jackalope Theatre company; and ensemble member Nicole Fabbri, seen in Chimera's SISTER CITIES, will play an interracial couple being interviewed about their marriage by an unseen journalist via webcam.

Founding Executive Director Kathy Evans announced the 19 writers of 9 new musicals in this summer's Rhinebeck Writers Retreat. This year's writers include 2018 Jonathan Larson winners Andrew Farmer and Andrew Butler, 2018 Kleban winner Amanda Yasnowitz, Tony-winner Ken Davenport, 2018 Lucille Lortel winner for Outstanding Musical (KPOP) Max Vernon, Emmy winner Doug Katsaros, Obie winner Erin Courtney, and the writers of the podcast musical 36 questions who are developing their next musical, Chris Littler and Ellen Winter.

Philadelphia's Bearded Ladies Cabaret returns to The Wilma Theater with You Can Never Go Down the Drain after their New York City run at La MaMa and Joe's Pub at the Public Theater. Mr. Rogers always said: no matter how bad things are, 'You can never go down the drain.' Using and abusing iconic songs from the children's show, John Jarboe, Artistic Director of Philadelphia's Bearded Ladies Cabaret, puts this idea to the test. For this performance, expect a goldfish funeral, gay romps into the land of make-believe, and some earnest questions about irony. You Can Never Go Down the Drain runs for ten performances between June 20th to July 1st at The Wilma Theater.