B. Iden Payne News

Kicking off the 2019 summer season, City Theatre Austin will present Kathy Najimy and Mo Gaffney's hilarious and insightful cult comedy Parallel Lives. Two women, twenty-five characters, and an evening of laughter that you will never forget. It's a must see!

National New Play Network, the country's alliance of nonprofit theaters that collaborate in innovative ways to develop, produce, and extend the life of new plays, announces the continuation of two Rolling World Premieres: Apple Season by E.M. Lewis, which opens in Iowa City at Riverside Theatre (running March 29-April 20, 2019), and Gabriel Jason Dean's Heartland at Philadelphia's InterAct Theatre Company (running March 29-April 21, 2019). 

WEAR AND TEAR- A fast-paced movement-based comedy extravaganza creatively combining non-spoken performance, music, dance, and media, this time plopped in the round, for an "all sides are our good side" viewing experience. The Back Pack's imaginative style has been described as: "a live action cartoon", "unmatched in its cleverness", and "pure entertainment that will leave you with a smile on your face and a glow in your heart".  Wear and Tear is a series of pieces of original work pulled into a single evening. Their unique brand of story telling features line drawings on large pads of paper strapped to the performers.  The Back Pack also welcomes aboard lighting design extraordinaire, Jacqueline Sindelar, who will be working her magic to blast them off to new a new dimension of dance theatre bliss. 

The University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance and Dance Repertory Theatre presents Fortitude March 5-15, 2019 at the B. Iden Payne Theatre.

For a two-week special event, The City Theatre Company presents the comedic satire Lysistrata. With wars raging, the distressed women of Athens take matters into their own hands, refusing to make love until there is peace. This social spoof, written in 411 BCE., is as relevant to modern concerns - and humor - of today as it was in ancient Greece.

After an unfortunate 'failure to launch' mishap, Loading Dock Theatre is thrilled to announce that Leegrid Steven's Spaceman has once again been cleared for take-off and will launch into the Off-Broadway stratosphere beginning February 2019. This exciting news comes after the originally scheduled debut was forced to close after only one preview when leading lady Erin Treadway suffered a substantial fall that left her with serious fractures to both arms and left wrist.

Coming in February, The City Theatre Company proudly presents the acclaimed stage classic Our Town, Thornton Wilder's great American play about family, community, and the value of life's most precious moments. Written in 1938, this moving portrait of small-town life won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and, with so much relevance, is still being produced in theatres today. It plays February 14 thru March 3 in an exciting original production at Picturebox Studios.

National New Play Network, the country's alliance of nonprofit theaters that collaborate in innovative ways to develop, produce, and extend the life of new plays, announces the continuation of three Rolling World Premieres: Apples in Winter by Jennifer Fawcett at Indianapolis's Phoenix Theatre (January 11-27, 2019), Red Bike by Caridad Svich at Know Theatre of Cincinnati (January 11-February 2, 2019), and Gabriel Jason Dean's Heartland at New Repertory Theatre (Watertown: January12-February 9, 2019) and the VORTEX (Austin: January 17-February 9, 2019).

After an unfortunate "failure to launch" mishap, Loading Dock Theatre announces that Leegrid Steven's Spaceman has once again been cleared for take-off and will launch into the Off-Broadway stratosphere beginning February 2019. This news comes after the originally scheduled debut was forced to close after only one preview when leading lady Erin Treadway suffered a substantial fall that left her with serious fractures to both arms and left wrist.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces the full company for the world premiere of Kenneth Lin's timely cautionary tale of capitalism run amok, Kleptocracy. Inspired by the power struggle between the richest of the Oligarchs and an ambitious Vladimir Putin after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Lin (House of Cards) explores U.S. - Russia relations then and now. Directed by Jackson Gay, and by special arrangement with Robert Ahrens, Mickey Liddell and Michael Mills, Kleptocracy runs January 18 - February 24, 2019 in the Kreeger Theater.

The Austin Puppet Incident, presented Today, December 7th and Saturday, December 8th at 8pm at The Dougherty Arts Theater, 1110 Barton Springs Rd, Austin, TX 78704, features local and national puppet artists performing short, original puppet works for ADULT audiences. Funny, sweet, deep, enchanting: it's all here. Co-presented by Glass Half Full Theatre and Trouble Puppet Theater Company in coordination with The Dougherty Arts Center, and funded in part by The Puppet Slam Network, The Austin Puppet Incident is an annual event since 2009. Tickets for this event are $15.

THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD (or, as it is sometimes called, the much shorter, 'Drood') is a 1985 musical based on Charles Dickens unfinished novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Written entirely by Rupert Holmes, it was the first Broadway musical with multiple endings determined by the audience. Holmes received Tony Awards for Best Book and Best Original Score. The production won five Tony Awards out of eleven nominations, including Best Musical. The musical is derived from both Dickens' final unfinished novel and British pantomime and music hall traditions that reached the height of their popularity in the years following Dickens' death. Produced originally by Austin Playhouse in 2005, it was nominated for six B. Iden Payne awards including the winner of Best Director for Musical Theatre (Don Toner). Jill Blackwood, Rick Roemer, and Jacqui Cross reprise their roles from that 2005 production.

Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT) continues its 2018-19 season with Paula Vogel's 'A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration.' Elizabeth VanDyke will direct. Performances will be held in the Harriet S. Jorgenson Theatre from November 29th - December 9th, 2018. For tickets and information please visit crt.uconn.edu or call (860) 486-2113.

Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT) continues its 2018-19 season with Paula Vogel's 'A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration.' Elizabeth VanDyke will direct. Performances will be held in the Harriet S. Jorgenson Theatre from November 29th - December 9th, 2018. For tickets and information please visit crt.uconn.edu or call (860) 486-2113.

Ring in the holidays with the Texas-sized holiday comedy!

After an unfortunate 'failure to launch' mishap, Loading Dock Theatre is thrilled to announce that Leegrid Steven's Spaceman has once again been cleared for take-off and will launch into the Off-Broadway stratosphere beginning February 2019. This exciting news comes after the originally scheduled debut was forced to close after only one preview when leading lady Erin Treadway suffered a substantial fall that left her with serious fractures to both arms and left wrist.

Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT) continues its 2018-19 season with Paula Vogel's "A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration." Elizabeth VanDyke will direct. Performances will be held in the Harriet S. Jorgenson Theatre from November 29th - December 9th, 2018. For tickets and information please visit crt.uconn.edu or call (860) 486-2113.

The Austin Puppet Incident, presented Friday, December 7th and Saturday, December 8th at 8pm at The Dougherty Arts Theater, 1110 Barton Springs Rd, Austin, TX 78704, features local and national puppet artists performing short, original puppet works for ADULT audiences. Funny, sweet, deep, enchanting: it's all here. Co-presented by Glass Half Full Theatre and Trouble Puppet Theater Company in coordination with The Dougherty Arts Center, and funded in part by The Puppet Slam Network, The Austin Puppet Incident is an annual event since 2009. Tickets for this event are $15.

Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT) continues its 2018-19 season with Paula Vogel's "A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration." Elizabeth VanDyke will direct. Performances will be held in the Harriet S. Jorgenson Theatre from November 29th - December 9th, 2018. For tickets and information please visit crt.uconn.edu or call (860) 486-2113.

Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT) continues its 2018-19 season with Paula Vogel's "A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration." Elizabeth VanDyke will direct. Performances will be held in the Harriet S. Jorgenson Theatre from November 29th - December 9th, 2018. For tickets and information please visit crt.uconn.edu or call (860) 486-2113.