Ben Chase News

Eugene O'Neill's Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece ANNA CHRISTIE, a gripping drama of a woman torn between the expectations of men and the secrets of her past, gets a timely retelling under the direction of Peter Richards.

October 20 - November 13 THE RESISTIBLE RISE OF ARTURO UI by Bertolt Brecht in a new translation by Stephen Sharkey, directed by Kevin Confoy With Desmond Confoy, Sergio Fuenzalida,  John Lenartz,  Zach Lusk,  Ellen Mandel,  Craig V. Smith, Jim  Sterling, Elise Stone, Antonio Suarez,  and Josh Tyson Lighting Design by Harold Mulinex; Sound Design by Ellen Mandel; Costume Design by Deborah Hobson; Multimedia design by Andrew Lazarow; Stage Management by Irene Lazaridis Produced by Phoenix Theatre Ensemble Performance schedule: Oct. 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27 @ 8PM; Oct. 22 @ 2PM; Oct. 23 @ 3PM Nov.  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10 11, 12 @ 8PM; Nov. 2 & 5 @ 2PM; Nov. 6 & 13 @ 3PM  Tickets: $25

Night Vale Presents, the team behind Welcome To Night Vale - one of the most downloaded podcasts of all time - today announced the debut of a new program, The Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air). Written and created by musician and storyteller Julian Koster (Neutral Milk Hotel, The Music Tapes), The Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air) is the story of a mysteriously impossible variety show broadcast from the ballroom at the top of the Eiffel Tower and the janitor who longs to become a part of it

Night Vale Presents, the team behind Welcome To Night Vale - one of the most downloaded podcasts of all time - today announced the debut of a new program, The Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air). Written and created by musician and storyteller Julian Koster (Neutral Milk Hotel, The Music Tapes), The Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air) is the story of a mysteriously impossible variety show broadcast from the ballroom at the top of the Eiffel Tower and the janitor who longs to become a part of it

The 2016 CATF mission statement lists their vision as 'The Ultimate Theater Experience', and Not Medea, one of the five plays in rotating rep at the festival, completely satisfies this expectation. A highly creative and completely immersive theatrical experience, Not Medea is brilliantly written by Allison Gregory and expertly directed by Courtney Sale.

The great legends and myths have their roots in common human experience. Yet it is not always obvious which experience gives rise to them. Take the myth of Medea, the sorceress who aided the hero Jason and who, when Jason cast her aside to make a politically expedient marriage, murdered their two sons. Only part of the story is commonplace: the part about Medea being cast aside. We all know (if we are not ourselves) women (and men) whose spouses have deserted them and left them heartbroken. Few of us, however, know parents, and especially mothers, who have murdered their children for that reason. Nor is it fair to trace the roots of the myth to occasional feelings of 'wanting to kill' Junior; those feelings are seldom serious to begin with, and almost always transient.

In celebration of Women's History Month, Dr. Barbara Ann Teer's NATIONAL BLACK THEATRE will present a six (6) performance limited engagement of UN-TAMED: Hair Body Attitude. Created by The New Black Fest (TNBF) and guest-curated by Dominique Morisseau (author of NY TIMES CRITICS PICK Skeleton Crew and Sunset Baby), UN-TAMED is a collection of five (5) short plays by Black Women that explore and dig into the national conversation surrounding Black womanhood and social perceptions of Black femininity. This production will be co-directed by award winning directors Kaia Calhoun and Elizabeth Van Dyke. 

Theater history buffs have two reasons to seek out a production of RED VELVET, Lolita Chakrabarti's historical drama. First, it sketches in part of the true story of the first great black classical actor, Ira Aldridge. Second, it depicts the beginning of the shift from old-fashioned 19th century declamatory acting style to something closer to the naturalism of the 20th century, a naturalism that still dominates today's stages.

Shakespeare & Company presented the first full American production of Red Velvet, written by Lolita Chakrabarti, directed by Daniela Varon, and starring OBIE Award-winning actor John Douglas Thompson last night and Broadwayworld's Stephen Sorokoff was there. This powerful and emotional drama joins the Tina Packer Playhouse repertory and runs through September 13. Check out photos from the production below!

William Shakespeare's hilarious farce, The Comedy of Errors is playing at the Tina Packer Playhouse at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Ma. and Broadwayworld attended a performance. Director Taibi Magar delivers a whirlwind of magic, music and mayhem in the rollicking production of Shakespeare's shortest comedy. Performances run through August 23.

Over 500 filmmakers, celebrities, media and screen industry representatives turned out to celebrate the very best in Western Australian screen production at the 27th Annual WA Screen Awards

Shakespeare & Company has finalized casting for its 38th performance season, and released a complete schedule of Opening Night dates. The announcement was made this week by Interim Artistic Directors Ariel Bock and Jonathan Croy, along with a positive report from Interim Managing Director Stephen D. Ball on the Company's box office successes to date. Shakespeare & Company's season opens on May 22 with The How and The Why, by Sarah Treem.

The Drama League presents DirectorFest 2014: The 31st Annual One-Act Festival, an evening of four short plays staged by the Drama League Directors Project Fall Directing Fellows Elena Heyman, Michael Leibenluft, Michael Osinski, and Caitlin Sullivan .

The Drama League has announced full casting for DirectorFest 2014: The 31st Annual One-Act Festival, an evening of four short plays staged by the Drama League Directors Project Fall Directing Fellows Elena Heyman, Michael Leibenluft, Michael Osinski, and Caitlin Sullivan for a limited 5-performance engagement, tonight, December 13 - 16, 2013 at TBG Theatre (312 West 36th Street, between 8th & 9th Avenues).

The Drama League's DirectorFest 2014: The 31st Annual One-Act Festival, an evening of four short plays staged by the Drama League Directors Project Fall Directing Fellows Elena Heyman, Michael Leibenluft, Michael Osinski, and Caitlin Sullivan begins its limited 5-performance engagement today, December 13, and continues through December 16, 2013 at TBG Theatre (312 West 36th Street, between 8th & 9th Avenues).

The Drama League has announced full casting for DirectorFest 2014: The 31st Annual One-Act Festival, an evening of four short plays staged by the Drama League Directors Project Fall Directing Fellows Elena Heyman, Michael Leibenluft, Michael Osinski, and Caitlin Sullivan for a limited 5-performance engagement, December 13 - 16, 2013 at TBG Theatre (312 West 36th Street, between 8th & 9th Avenues).

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike by Christopher Durang opens tonight, September 26, at Syracuse Stage. Directed by Marcela Lorca, the show runs through October 12, 2014. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

The 14/15 Season at Syracuse Stage starts tonight, September 24, with Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, winner of the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play. In this 'ripped and roaring' comedy by Christopher Durang, Sonia and Vanya have frittered their lives away in the family farmhouse. Enter their sister, self-absorbed movie star Masha with her 20-something boy toy Spike, and a dysfunctional family's reunion turns into a weekend of hilarity.

The 14/15 Season at Syracuse Stage starts September 24 with Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, winner of the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play. In this "ripped and roaring" comedy by Christopher Durang, Sonia and Vanya have frittered their lives away in the family farmhouse. Enter their sister, self-absorbed movie star Masha with her 20-something boy toy Spike, and a dysfunctional family's reunion turns into a weekend of hilarity.