Ars Nova News

The YALE INSTITUTE FOR MUSIC THEATRE (Mark Brokaw, Artistic Director) announces the creative teams and casting for the two original book musicals, COWBOY BOB, created by Molly Beach Murphy, Jeanna Phillips, and Annie Tippe, book by Molly Beach Murphy, music and lyrics by Jeanna Phillips; and GUMBO, music by Brett Macias and book and lyrics by Christina Quintana, conceived by Brett Macias and Christina Quintana, which are being developed in an intensive two-week summer lab at Yale School of Drama, June 13-24. Scott Frankel is the Artistic Advisor, and Catherine Sheehy is the resident Dramaturg for this year's Institute, which culminates with open rehearsal readings of each project, presented as part of New Haven's International Festival of Arts & Ideas on June 23 and 24.

Red Lab Productions (Boris Akunin's Hamlet. A Version) will present the World Premiere of Lasha Bugadze's Navigator in Love, directed by Adam Knight (In the Room with Slant Theatre Project) as part of the Georgian-American Theatrical Feast, a festival of new works written by playwrights from the Republic of Georgia translated into English, July 13-August 6 at Teatro Circulo (64 East 4th Street between 2nd Avenue and Bowery) with performances on Thu 7/13, Fri 7/14, Sat 7/15, Sat 7/22, Wed 7/26, Thu 7/27, Fri 7/28, Fri 8/4 & Sat 8/5 @ 8pm, Sun 7/16, Sun 7/23 & Sun 8/6 @ 3pm. Tickets ($18) are available in advance at http://navigator.brownpapertickets.com or by calling 1-800-838-3006. The show will run approximately 80 minutes, with no intermission. 

Manhattan Theatre Club presents the world premiere of Fulfillment Center, the new play by Abe Koogler, directed by Daniel Aukin. Fulfillment Center is currently in previews and opens Tuesday, June 20, at The Studio at Stage II - Harold and Mimi Steinberg New Play Series at New York City Center - Stage II (131 West 55th Street). BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

More funding is reaching theaters across the country as the National Endowment for the Arts announces its second round of grants for FY 2017.

Theatre for a New Audience presents Simon Godwin's (Associate Director, London's National Theatre) Measure for Measure, William Shakespeare's dark comedy about justice, faith, power, sex and family. Measure for Measure is the first time Godwin is directing Shakespeare with an American company. The production runs this weekend, June 17, through July 16 at Polonsky Shakespeare Center (262 Ashland Place) in the Brooklyn Cultural District.

Written in 2008 and premiering at the Ars Nova Theater in New York, Peter Sinn Nachtrieb's comedy BOOM quickly became the most produced play in the US between 2009 - 2010 and until now, has never before been professionally staged in the UK.

This summer, The K.G. Scully Players are pleased to present VICTORY GIRLS, by Kristina Poe, directed by Jill DeArmon, as part of the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity.

Prospect Theater Company, under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Cara Reichel and Managing Director Melissa Huber, will present WORLD VIEWS, a collection of new mini-musicals in concert, the culmination of Prospect's 2017 Musical Theater Lab. WORLD VIEWS, the company's 11th lab performance, will be presented on July 8, 2017 at 8pm at The TimesCenter.

Multi-platinum recording artist Ingrid Michaelson will join the cast of Broadway's Tony Award-winning musical NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 as 'Sonya' beginning July 3, 2017.

Steven Levenson has won the 2017 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for Dear Evan Hansen. This marks his first Tony nomination and win.

Bradley King has won the 2017 Tony Award for Best Lighting Design of a Musical for NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812. His collaborations with Rachel Chavkin include Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 (Broadway), Hadestown (NYTW), Preludes (LCT3), The Fairy Tale Lives of Russian Girls (Yale Rep), and the upcoming The Royal Family (The Guthrie).

Bradley King has won the 2017 Tony Award for Best Lighting Design of a Musical for NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812.

Steven Levenson has won the 2017 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for DEAR EVAN HANSEN.

There may be a war going on out there somewhere, but inside the Imperial Theatre, but there is a whole other lush world being created by the team behind this season's NATASHA, PIERRE AND THE GREAT COMET OF 1812. The warm-hearted Russians celebrating happiness, freedom and life eight times a week have been on quite the journey from the show's humble beginnings, and as the tale of romance and war gears up for its big night on the Tony Awards this Sunday, we look back on the many incarnations that led to the show blossoming into a new life on Broadway.

In this febrile climate, do we want societal critique from our theatre or pure escapism? As I experienced when I recently swapped BroadwayWorld UK Editor duties for a New York trip, both theatrical regions are currently just as charged by provocative, resonant commentary as by jazz hands ­– as this year's Tony Award nominations reflect.

Paloma Young picked up her first Tony Award in 2012 (Peter and the Starcatcher) and she's back for more in 2017. As costume designer for Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, Young has made some of her best creations yet, and she openly hands much of the credit to her collaborators below! 

A notable company of stage artists join a powerhouse team of playwrights and directors for Planet Connections' Playwrights for a Cause, Sunday, July 23, 2017

On May 3, the 2017 Tony nominees flocked to the Sofitel New York, where they met with the press for the first time since getting the big news. BroadwayWorld will continue bringing you coverage from the epic day over the next month, but for now, check out photos of Best Performance by and Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical nominee for Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812- Lucas Steele, as captured by Walter McBride!

Opera Saratoga's Artistic and General Director Lawrence Edelson announced today complete casting for the three exciting new productions that will comprise the company's 2017 Summer Festival, which will build on the company's commitment to producing masterpieces from the operatic cannon, important American works, and works in which dance plays an integral role. In addition, a wide variety of free and ticketed concert events will be presented from May 28th through July 16th at venues throughout the region.

Mike Carlsen and Aaron Roman Weiner star in the headliner of the staged reading series: WITHOUT, a new play by Michael Puzzo at Planet Connections.