Branden Jacobs-Jenkins News

Second Stage Theatre  will conclude the 2016 Uptown Series with the New York premiere of Lucy Teitler's ENGAGEMENTS, directed by Kimberly Senior. ENGAGEMENTS will feature JENNIFER KIM, OMAR MASKATI, ANA NOGUEIRA, MICHAEL STAHL-DAVID, and BROOKE WEISMAN . ENGAGEMENTS will begin previews on Monday, July 18th and will officially open on Thursday, August 4th. 

Austin Durant, Reggie Gowland, Chris Myers,Rachel Nicks, Michele Shay, Lance Coadie Williams, and Charlayne Woodard star in the LCT3/Lincoln Center Theaterproduction of WAR by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz.WAR is now in previews, and officially opened yesterday, June 6, running for six weeks only through Sunday, July 3 at the Claire Tow Theater. 

Last night WAR opened Off-Broadway at Lincoln Center and BroadwayWorld has all of your coverage from the special night.

Charlayne Woodard stars as a mother whose stroke leads to what might be the discovery of a family secret.

"Out of every eight drops of my blood, seven are red, but one is black." In those words, spoken with despairing apology in An Octoroon by Zoe, the titular octoroon, the illegitimate daughter of a plantation owner, are revealed the most profound and internalized depths of racism. Like a root vegetable, where the substance of the plant is buried under the ground, it truly visible only when you yank it out to examine what has grown underneath. In this case, what's above ground is a brilliant adaptation by playwright, 2016 Pulitzer finalist (for Gloria), and DC-native Branden Jacobs-Jenkins of an 1859 play by Anglo-Irish Dion Boucicault; a play that caused controversy and sold-out houses in somewhat equal measure when it played at the Winter Garden Theatre in the looming shadow of the Civil War.

Actor's Express announces its 29th Season including two Tony Award winners and three Atlanta premieres. The season opens July 30 with a modern take on Stephen Sondheim's game-changing musical Company directed by Actor's Express Artistic Director Freddie Ashley (Sweeney Todd, Rent). In the fall, Actor's Express will produce the Atlanta premiere of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' raucous dark comedy Appropriate, a standout at the 2013 Humana Festival of New American Plays. A visceral new production of Arthur Miller's classic American drama The Crucible kicks off 2017 followed by the Atlanta premiere of The Legend of Georgia McBride by Matthew Lopez, a music-filled comedy about an Elvis impersonator turned drag queen. The season will close with the Pulitzer Prize finalist Father Comes Home from the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3), Suzan-Lori Parks' epic trilogy about a slave's journey to freedom during the Civil War.

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Sarah Benson and Executive Director Cynthia Flowers, Soho Rep. has continually produced work by bold artists who harness the intimate power of the organization's own 73-seat black box theater, as well as other spaces, to create transformative experiences. Soho Rep.'s 2016-17 season, announced today, comprises two ambitious new works-both characterized by inventive theatrical forms, holistic collaborations, and striking original music-along with an opportunity to get the first 'work-in-process' look at a new commission by a celebrated playwright.

Austin Durant, Reggie Gowland, Chris Myers,Rachel Nicks, Michele Shay, Lance Coadie Williams, and Charlayne Woodard star in the LCT3/Lincoln Center Theater production of WAR by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz. WAR is now in previews, and officially opens on Monday, June 6, running for six weeks only through Sunday, July 3 at the Claire Tow Theater. Check out a first look below!

Colman Domingo will host Vineyard Theatre's Annual Emerging Artists Luncheon on Thursday, June 30 from noon-2pm at The Gander (15 West 18th Street) in Manhattan. The event will feature the presentation of the 2016 Susan Stroman Directing Award to Lee Sunday Evans (D DEB DEBBIE DEBORAH, A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN NOVEMBER...).

SPACE on Ryder Farm, the non-profit artist residency program located on Ryder Farm, an idyllic 200 year-old working organic farm on the border of Putnam and Westchester Counties, announces its 2016 season of public events featuring performances by SPACE's resident artists.

SPACE on Ryder Farm, the non-profit artist residency program located on Ryder Farm, an idyllic 200 year-old working organic farm in Brewster, New York announces its 2016 season for The Working Farm, Family Residency, Creative Solutions Symposium and Artistic Residency programs. 2016 residents include playwrights Adam Bock, Cusi Cram, Daisy Foote, Adam Rapp, J.T. Rogers, Sarah Ruhl, recipients of the inaugural Relentless Award--Clare Barron and Sarah DeLappe--indie folk band Jamestown Revival, Pig Iron Theatre Company, SoHo Rep, and actor and playwright Hamish Linklater.

The Drama League (Executive Artistic Director, Gabriel Shelian-Shanks) gathers today for the 82nd Annual Drama League Awards Ceremony, hosted by 2016 Tony® Award-nominees, Zachary Levi (She Loves Me) and Megan Hilty (Noises Off), in the Broadway Ballroom at the Marriott Marquis Times Square (1535 Broadway). 

The Habitat presents HARRY & THE THIEF, written by Sigrid Gilmer and directed by Katie Lindsay, running tonight, May 19, through June 4 at the Robert Moss Theater. Travel back in time. Find Harriet Tubman. Don't f**k it up.

Lincoln Center Theater, under the direction of Andre Bishop, has announced that Evan Cabnet has been named the new Artistic Director of LCT3, effective July 1.

Manhattan Theatre Club, in partnership with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, announces the upcoming Sloan Panel Discussion on INCOGNITO, which will be held following tonight's May 17 performance of the play at MTC at New York City Center-Stage I (131 West 55th Street), and is open to anyone attending the evening's performance.

Manhattan Theatre Club, in partnership with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, announces the upcoming Sloan Panel Discussion on INCOGNITO, which will be held following the Tuesday, May 17 performance of the play at MTC at New York City Center-Stage I (131 West 55th Street), and is open to anyone attending the evening's performance.

Today, Berkeley Repertory Theatre revealed that Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' Obie Award- winning play, An Octoroon, will be the seventh and final production in its upcoming 2016-17 subscription season. The West Coast premiere of the reworking of the mid-19th-century play will be performed in the Peet's Theatre in June 2017.

The Encores! production of DO I HEAR A WALTZ?, the romantic, rarely-seen 1965 musical that marked the only collaboration of Richard Rodgers and Stephen Sondheim, opens tonight.

Previews are underway for Theatre for a New Audience's production of August Strindberg's THE FATHER in a new version by Scottish author David Greig commissioned by Theatre for a New Audience and performances start tonight, May 10, at 7:30pm for A DOLL'S HOUSE in an adaptation by Thornton Wilder not seen in New York since its Broadway premiere in 1937.

New York Theatre Workshop has announced the playwrights and directors selected for the 2016/17 Season 2050 Fellowship. The playwrights are Beto O'Byrne, Ming Peiffer, and Francis Weiss Rabkin and the directors are Danny Sharron, Stevie Walker-Webb, and Mo Zhou.