Ars Nova News

Tribal Theatre Group opens  its third and most ambitious play yet: boom by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, directed by Chris Schulz, January 12-22nd 2017.

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater and Page 73 present the New York premiere of Basil Kreimendahl's memory play about a transmasculine child and their dying Vietnam vet father, Orange Julius, directed by Dustin Wills, beginning previews January 10 for an opening January 22 at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, 224 Waverly Place.  

Four stories of family, gender, female empowerment and migration comprise the projects supported by Sundance Institute's Theatre Program at its two-week Lab at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA), taking place December 4-18. Dedicated to the creation and development of new musical theatre work, the Lab's projects are cast individually, rehearsed daily and benefit from concentrated, uninterrupted time and resources.

Following sold-out performances at The PIT and Dixon Place, THE MOTHER LINE STORY PROJECT is coming to the Abingdon Theatre Company's Dorothy Strelsin Theatre (312 West 36th Street) for a one-night-only engagement on Friday, December 2 at 7pm. Created and performed by members of The Mother Line Story Project, this evening of unique stories celebrating women is based on an original concept by Eliza Simpson (co-star of Off-Broadway's The Woodsman). Kel Haney is set to direct.

New Dramatist playwright Melisa Tien and San Francisco-based Megan Cohen joined The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in residence this month to develop innovative stage works with the Academy's third year NY Company.

The Playwrights Realm welcomes back The Wolves, Sarah DeLappe's debut play. The most recent addition is Kate Arrington, who will star alongside the original soccer team cast including Susannah Perkins, Lauren Patten (Fun Home), Jenna Dioguardi, Tedra Millan, Sarah Mezzanotte, Brenna Coates, Samia Finnerty, Midori Francis, and Lizzy Jutila.

The Meeting* hosted by Justin Sayre - the monthly gathering of the International Order of Sodomites, the centuries-old organization which sets the mythic Gay Agenda - will celebrate Sayre's debut comed album "The Gay Agenda" with a  special night at UNCABARET at Au Lac (710 West First Street, LA 90012) on Sunday, December 4 at 8:00 PM.

The New York premiere of THE PORTAL began an Off-Broadway open-ended run on October 27, 2016 at the Minetta Lane Theatre. THE PORTAL is a rock odyssey conceived and directed by Luke Comer, with original music composed by Tierro Lee and Luke Comer, starring Billy Lewis Jr. (Mason McCarthy on the Fox series "Glee"), and choreographed by Jessica Chen. Opening night is set for Saturday, December 3.

New Dramatist playwright Melisa Tien and San Francisco-based Megan Cohen joined The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in residence this month to develop innovative stage works with the Academy's third year NY Company.

This week Keen Company welcomed Lilli Cooper to Keen's acclaimed new production of Jonathan Larson's Tick, Tick...BOOM! Beginning November 22nd, Lilli Cooper, seen on Broadway in Spring Awakening and Wicked, has taken over the role of Susan, joining Nick Blaemire and George Salazar. BroadwayWorld has a first look at her in action below!

Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST), along with EST's Youngblood and EST's Sloan Project, have announced new EST/Sloan commissions and EST/Youngblood members & programming for the 2016-2017 season.

The understudy for Josh Groban in NATASHA, PIERRE AND THE GREAT COMET OF 1812, Stangland took over just two days after opening and is settling in.

The Playwrights Realm has announced the complete cast of The Wolves, Sarah DeLappe's debut play.

Joey Merlo's The Witch of St. Elmora Street explores love, heartbreak, and witchcraft within an Italian-American family circa 1987. Weaving together tales of family lore and superstitious hearsay The Witch of St. Elmora Street is a grotesque comedy about what it means to live with a broken heart.

Follow the tail! NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812: THE JOURNEY OF A NEW MUSICAL TO BROADWAY, edited and compiled by Steven Suskin with script and annotations by Dave Malloy, hits the shelves today.

Keen Artistic Director Jonathan Silverstein recently announced that Keen's acclaimed new production of Jonathan Larson's Tick, Tick...BOOM! would play an extended run through December 18th. Beginning tonight, November 22nd, Lilli Cooper, seen on Broadway in Spring Awakening and Wicked, will take over the role of Susan.

Artist Camille Harris to premiere new music video for her single 'Baby on the Subway'. Harris will also be releasing her new single 'Among the Trees' on December 9th and celebrating the single release with a live show at Rockwood Music Hall on December 12th, at 10pm.

Today's big news: The stars of ANASTASIA perform at tonight's Broadway Dreams Gala celebrating Ahrens & Flaherty, and Manhattan Theatre Club's 2016 Fall Benefit honors Nathan Lane!

The 12th Annual Goodspeed Festival of New Musicals, produced by Goodspeed Musicals' Max Showalter Center for Education in Musical Theatre, kicks off its much-anticipated three-day festival of brand-new works on Friday, January 13, 2017 at The Goodspeed with a staged reading of the intriguing new musical Picnic at Hanging Rock by Daniel Zaitchik based on the cherished novel by Joan Lindsay.

Rehearsals are underway for the Steppenwolf-commissioned world premiere production of Erika Sheffer's The Fundamentals, directed by ensemble member Yasen Peyankov, who also directed Sheffer's Russian Transport at Steppenwolf in 2014.