Branden Jacobs-Jenkins News

Signature Theatre's production of The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World, by Pulitzer Prize-winner Suzan-Lori Parks and directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz, begins tonight, October 25, and runs through December 4, 2016 with a Sunday, November 13 opening night in The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues). 

Theater represents the era from which it comes! In 1859, when THE OCTOROON opened in New York, the United States was in racial chaos. The slaves of the South had been 'freed,' but, in reality, they weren't free from their years of enslavement. Yes, blacks, the only mass group of people who came to this country against their free will, were the center of much controversy.

SPACE on Ryder Farm, a non-profit artist residency program located an hour north of New York City, is hosting their first annual Farm in the City gala. The event features a farm-to-table dinner, performances from six seasons of SPACE-developed work, and a live auction. The gala will take place on Monday, October 24th at 7 p.m. at Sun West Studios, 450 W. 31st Street, NYC.

Signature Theatre presents 'Master Harold' ... and the boys, written and directed by Tony Award winner Athol Fugard.

The launch of Playwrights Welcome, a new program developed for Dramatists Guild of America members by Samuel French along with Dramatists Play Service, Dramatic Publishing, Music Theatre International, Playscripts, The Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization and participating theaters, was announced today.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of its Project Discovery student matinee program, Trinity Repertory Company-the State Theater of Rhode Island-will offer free tickets to William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream to Rhode Island 11th graders.

Trinity Rep invites the public to revisit the one-minute plays written on the ground in Ferguson, MO and performed at the theater in fall of 2015 to a second community-led performance of The Every 28 Hours Plays on Monday, October 17th at 7:30PM.

APPROPRIATE is a show that manages to be both genuinely funny, but also somewhat hard to watch.  At its core, it's about family, legacy and secrets, but it manages to become something much larger and more complicated and messy than that.  Author Branden Jacobs-Jenkins manages to punctuate moments of extreme discomfort with the perfect injection of levity to avoid this turning into something that is exclusively difficult to watch, and excellent performances from Trinity resident actors Phyllis Kay, Fred Sullivan Jr. and Angela Brazil keep the dark narrative compelling even when it's squirmingly uncomfortable.

 Rehearsals begin today at Polonsky Shakespeare Center, 262 Ashland Place, for Theatre for a New Audience's New York premiere of Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni adapted by Constance Congdon from a translation by Christina Sibul and featuring Steven Epp.  Directed by Christopher Bayes, The Servant of Two Masters begins previews Sunday, November 6, at 7:30pm for a Wednesday, November 16, opening.  The run is scheduled through Sunday, December 4.

Trinity Rep continues its 53rd season Ghosts of the Past, Dreams of the Future with MacArthur "Genius" Grant-winnerBranden Jacobs-Jenkins' Appropriate by directed Brian Mertes.  Appropriate runs through November 6, 2016.

The New Yorker Festival will present a Theatre for a New Audience production of a reading of the new two-character play About Alice that Calvin Trillin adapted from his memoir about his late wife, the educator Alice Stewart Trillin. About Alice, with Jessica Hecht as Alice and Tony Shalhoub as Calvin and directed by Leonard Foglia, will be heard one night only at the Directors Guild Theatre, 110 West 57th Street, Today, October 8, at 7:00pm.

Vineyard Theatre's Artistic Directors, Douglas Aibel and Sarah Stern, are excited to announce a partnership with Developing Artists, a non-profit arts education organization led by Artistic Director Jill DeArmon and Executive Director Jinn S. Kim. The two organizations have partnered to expand the education initiatives of both companies and co-present Developing Artists' REBEL VERSES Youth Arts Festival, July 27-August 5, 2017 at Vineyard Theatre 108 E. 15 St. in New York City.

Theatre for a New Audience has moved up the opening date for the New York premiere of The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni at Polonsky Shakespeare Center, 262 Ashland Place, to Wednesday, November 16, at 7:30pm, one day earlier than originally announced.

Trinity Repertory Company continues season 53, Ghosts of the Past, Dreams of the Future with Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' gripping play,  Appropriate, directed by Brian Mertes. Performances run October 6 - November 6, 2016 in Trinity Rep's Dowling Theater. Tickets are available at www.trinityrep.com, by calling (401) 351-4242 or at the theater's box office at 201 Washington St., Providence.

Yale Repertory Theatre, celebrating 50 years of daring artists, bold choices, and adventurous audiences, presents the world premiere of Scenes from Court Life, or the whipping boy and his prince by Sarah Ruhl, directed by Mark Wing-Davey, now through October 22 at Yale University Theatre (222 York Street). Opening Night is tonight, October 6.

???????Trinity Repertory Company announces the completion of a mural painted by Providence Painted Signs on the back of the Trinity Rep building, above Trinity Brewhouse.

Trinity Rep announces its annual presentation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, directed by James Dean Palmer, and featuring resident acting company member Brian McEleney as Scrooge. Performances run November 5 through December 31.Tickets are on sale now and by phone at (401) 351-4242, online at www.trinityrep.com, or in person at the theater's box office at 201 Washington St. A Christmas Carol is presented by Cardi's Furniture with supporting sponsors Amica Insurance and Hasbro, Inc.

Yale Repertory Theatre, celebrating 50 years of daring artists, bold choices, and adventurous audiences, presents the world premiere of Scenes from Court Life, or the whipping boy and his prince by Sarah Ruhl, directed by Mark Wing-Davey, tonight, September 30, through October 22 at Yale University Theatre (222 York Street). Opening Night is Thursday, October 6.

The Board of Directors and leadership staff have decided that it is no longer in the best interest of the company's artists and audiences to renew their lease, which was set to expire in March 2017, and to close the theater at 46 Walker Street immediately.

New York Theatre Workshop presents NAT TURNER IN JERUSALEM, written by NYTW 2050 Fellow Nathan Alan Davis (Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea) and directed by Megan Sandberg-Zakian (The Convert). It features Phillip James Brannon (Bootycandy) as 'Nat Turner' and Rowan Vickers(The Sensuality Party) as 'Thomas R. Gray.'