Austene Van News

History Theatre's March repertoire will put two plays on stage which each explore the experiences of soldiers during and after two of America's most recent wars. The Things They Carried by Worthington native Tim O'Brien in the award winning novel about the Vietnam War seen through the eyes of an American soldier. It is being adapted for the stage by local storyteller Jim Stowell and performed as a one-man show by Stephen D'Ambrose, directed by Leah Cooper.

Based on DuBose Heyward's novel 'Porgy' and the play of the same name, which he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy Heyward, the Broadway revival of The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess is a stunning and stirring new staging with a magnificent 23-piece orchestra, including such legendary songs as 'Summertime,' 'It Ain't Necessarily So,' and 'I Got Plenty of Nothing.'

The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts announced today the launch of 'Taking Our Place Centerstage: The African Diaspora in Harmony.' This special initiative offers enhanced programming that includes master classes and workshops, an art exhibition, social gatherings and cultural conversations to celebrate the rich artistic traditions of communities of African and African American ancestry. The surrounding events are designed to enrich the Ordway's 2013-2014 season of world-class performances by Rennie Harris Puremovement, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Maria de Barros, The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, and Step Afrika!.

The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts announced today the launch of 'Taking Our Place Centerstage: The African Diaspora in Harmony.' This special initiative offers enhanced programming that includes master classes and workshops, an art exhibition, social gatherings and cultural conversations to celebrate the rich artistic traditions of communities of African and African American ancestry. The surrounding events are designed to enrich the Ordway's 2013-2014 season of world-class performances by Rennie Harris Puremovement, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Maria de Barros, The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, and Step Afrika!.

It's a very lively crowd for a Sunday matinee but Theatre in the Round Players have quite a loyal following, so I'm not surprised. Just before the lights fade to black, I hear it and it was that moment I should've immediately knocked on wood. 'You can't go wrong with this theatre,' says a man to my right---famous last words.

Theatre in the Round Players (TRP) presents Six Degrees of Separation by John Guare in weekend performances today, January 10 - February 2, 2014.

Inspired by a true story, this play follows the trail of a young black con man who charms his way into the lives of a wealthy New York couple. He first appears on their doorstep wounded, saying he's just been mugged in Central Park, and introduces himself as a friend of their children at Harvard - and the son of movie star Sidney Poitier. Intelligent, funny, at times disturbing, this comedy-drama is a compelling evening of theatre and was named by the New York Drama Critics' Circle as Best New Play of the Year.

The Ordway will say farewell to the McKnight Theatre in grand style tonight, April 28 at 7:30 pm, in a special performance called, 'The Night of a Million Stars.' The concert production will highlight area artists and feature musical pieces from productions previously held in the McKnight Theatre.

James Rocco is the vice president of programming and producing artistic director of the Ordway Center for Performing Arts in Saint Paul, Minn. He is also the director, host and a performer in the Ordway's latest edition of BROADWAY SONGBOOK, this time, focusing on American musical theatre master, Cole Porter. I recently sat down to learn about James, the BROADWAY SONGBOOK: Cole Porter and what's next for the theatre.

The Ordway will say farewell to the McKnight Theatre in grand style on Sunday, April 28 at 7:30 pm, in a special performance called, "The Night of a Million Stars." The concert production will highlight area artists and feature musical pieces from productions previously held in the McKnight Theatre.

Penumbra Theatre announced the addition of seven performances of SPUNK, due to popular demand. The extension runs through Sunday, April 14, 2013. The seven additional performances of the extended run are:

Penumbra Theatre announced today the opening of SPUNK, adapted by George C. Wolfe from "Three Tales" by Zora Neale Hurston, music by Chic Street Man. The production will open Thursday, March 14 and run through April 7, 2013 at Penumbra Theatre.

Penumbra announced today that it exceeded its fundraising goal and will resume programming this spring. Over 1,400 individuals, corporations and foundations donated $359,000 by December 30, 2012.

For its 2012 season closer, the Jungle Theater presents the regional premiere of IN THE NEXT ROOM (or The Vibrator Play), one of Broadway's latest mega-hits. This 2010 Tony-nominated comedy about marriage, intimacy and electricity is directed by Sarah Rasmussen, who worked with playwright Sarah Ruhl (The Clean House, Eurydice) on the original Broadway production. Set in the Victorian era, just before corseted women shed their inhibitions, this funny, smart and provocative play concerns the early history of the vibrator, when doctors used it as a clinical device to treat women for "hysteria." In the Next Room opens November 2 and runs through December 16 at the Lyn-Lake theater at 2951 Lyndale Avenue S., in Minneapolis.

On the heels of successful presentations of Gem of the Ocean, A Raisin in the Sun and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, the Guthrie Theater welcomes back the acclaimed Penumbra Theatre Company for The Amen Corner-an uplifting and masterful drama written by celebrated playwright and novelist James Baldwin and directed by Penumbra Founder and Artistic Director Lou Bellamy.

Lou Bellamy, Artistic Director of the acclaimed Penumbra Theatre, will direct the Cleveland Play House production of Radio Golf, the Tony Award®-nominated finale of playwright August Wilson's unprecedented ten-play cycle chronicling African-American life in the 20th century. Bellamy has been described as the foremost living interpreter of work of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson, and his Penumbra Theatre is proud to have produced more of Wilson's plays than any other theatre in the world. Radio Golf, a co-production with Indiana Repertory Theatre, will begin in the Allen Theatre at PlayhouseSquare on Friday, February 10 and run through Sunday, March 4, 2012. Tickets are available at PlayhouseSquare ticket office by calling 216-241-6000 or online at www.clevelandplayhouse.com. Radio Golf is presented with support from Cuyahoga Arts and Culture and the Ohio Arts Council.

Lou Bellamy, Artistic Director of the acclaimed Penumbra Theatre, will direct the Cleveland Play House production of Radio Golf, the Tony Award®-nominated finale of playwright August Wilson's unprecedented ten-play cycle chronicling African-American life in the 20th century. Bellamy has been described as the foremost living interpreter of work of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson, and his Penumbra Theatre is proud to have produced more of Wilson's plays than any other theatre in the world. Radio Golf, a co-production with Indiana Repertory Theatre, will begin in the Allen Theatre at PlayhouseSquare on Friday, February 10 and run through Sunday, March 4, 2012. Tickets are available at PlayhouseSquare ticket office by calling 216-241-6000 or online at www.clevelandplayhouse.com. Radio Golf is presented with support from Cuyahoga Arts and Culture and the Ohio Arts Council.

History Theatre celebrates the holiday season with the regional premiere of an epic Christmas musical written by Pulitzer Prize-winner Paula Vogel. The show's director, Austene Van, describes A Civil War Christmas as a show that celebrates the joy of finding what has been lost, and the power of the holiday season to bring out the best, most generous parts of people and communities.

A young couple juggles competing family expectations during the holidays, literally shopping ‘til they drop. When they finally stop for a cup of hot chocolate, they discover the 'secret recipe' that weaves the diverse threads of their lives into new traditions, and reminds us that love and family are at the heart of the holidays. Director/playwright Austene Van and actor/singer Thomasina Petrus last collaborated on Park Square's stage in Gee's Bend (October 2010). Together, they have conceived a contemporary new holiday story filled with music-Hot Chocolate -on stage for 11 performances at Park Square Theatre. Petrus, well known to Park Square audiences for her performances in Constant Star and Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill, is joined by Julius Collins III, making his Park Square debut.