Brooklyn Boy News

Producers Emanuel Azenberg and Ira Pittelman are pleased to announce that THE NEIL SIMON PLAYS, new productions of Neil Simon's BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS and BROADWAY BOUND, will play Broadway's beautifully restored Nederlander Theatre (208 West 41st Street). The productions will be directed by David Cromer (Our Town).

Producers Emanuel Azenberg and Ira Pittelman are pleased to announce casting for THE NEIL SIMON PLAYS - new productions of two of Neil Simon's most beloved and successful works, BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS and BROADWAY BOUND. David Cromer (currently represented in New York with the critically acclaimed production of Thornton Wilder's Our Town) directs THE NEIL SIMON PLAYS, which will be performed in repertory at a theatre to be announced.

Lynne Meadow (Artistic Director) and Barry Grove (Executive Producer) have announced that the New York premiere of Lynn Redgrave's NIGHTINGALE and the New York premiere of Polly Stenham's THAT FACE will be a part of Manhattan Theatre Club's upcoming 2009-2010 Off-Broadway season at New York City Center - Stage I (131 West 55th Street).

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey kicks off its 2009 Season with a world premiere stage adaptation of Around the World in Eighty Days. Adapted for the stage by Bonnie J. Monte from the beloved novel by Jules Verne, this inventive production is an exhilarating treat for people of all ages. Around the World in Eighty Days began performances on April 29 and continues through May 24 at the Shakespeare Theatre's Main Stage - The F. M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre, 36 Madison Avenue at Lancaster Road in Madison. For tickets or more information, call the box office at 973-408-5600, email boxoffice@shakespearenj.org or visit www.ShakespeareNJ.org.

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson) announced additional casting today for the Shakespeare in the Park production of TWELFTH NIGHT, directed by Daniel Sullivan. Herb Foster will play Valentine; Kevin Kelly will play Sea Captain; Tony nominee Stark Sands will play Sebastian; Baylen Thomas will play Curio; Jon Patrick Walker will play Fabian; and Tony Award winner Julie White will play Maria. TWELFTH NIGHT will feature original music by symphonic folk-rock band Hem.

Kandis Chappell and Melanie Lora take on the celebrated roles of Professor Ruth Steiner and Lisa Morrison in Donald Margulies? Collected Stories at South Coast Repertory. Margulies? Pulitzer Prize-nominated play about two women writers at opposite stages of their careers is one of SCR?s best-known commissions and has achieved worldwide success. Directed by Artistic Director Martin Benson, Collected Stories will run from May 15 through June 14, 2009 on the Segerstrom Stage. Low-priced previews are available from May 15 through May 21. Opening night is May 22. Press night is Saturday, May 23 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets to Collected Stories may be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or in person at the SCR box office.

The Public Theater announced initial casting today for the Shakespeare in the Park production of TWELFTH NIGHT, directed by Daniel Sullivan and featuring the previously announced Anne Hathaway as Viola. TWELFTH NIGHT will run June 10-July 12 at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park with an official press opening on Thursday, June 25 at 8 p.m. Bank of America will return as lead sponsor of Shakespeare in the Park 2009.

Florida Studio Theatre opens Frank Higgins' Black Pearl Sings in its continuation of the Winter Mainstage Season. Work shopped at Florida Studio Theatre last spring, Black Pearl Sings! 'Connects us to our heritage, our culture, and each other, while asking the simple question: who owns culture?' stated Richard Hopkins, FST Artistic Director.

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey kicks off its 2009 Season with a world premiere stage adaptation of Around the World in Eighty Days. Adapted for the stage by Bonnie J. Monte from the beloved novel by Jules Verne, this inventive production is an exhilarating treat for people of all ages. Around the World in Eighty Days begins performances on April 29 and continues through May 24 at the Shakespeare Theatre's Main Stage - The F. M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre, 36 Madison Avenue at Lancaster Road in Madison.

Rep Stage, the professional Equity theatre in residence at Howard Community College (HCC), continues its 16th season with the regional premiere of Jenny Schwartz's 'God's Ear,' playing April 1 through April 26, 2009 in the Studio Theatre of HCC. 'God's Ear' focuses on a young couple, Ted and Mel, and how they cope with the loss of their son. Positioned firmly in the center of 'God's Ear' is the concept of language, and how language and expression are used to deal with tragedy and grief. Paul Morella (Ted), Julie-Ann Elliott (Mel) and Lauren Williams (Lanie) star; Helen Hayes Award-winning director Kasi Campbell directs. For show schedules and additional information, refer to the included Fact Sheet.

Florida Studio Theatre opens Frank Higgins' Black Pearl Sings in its continuation of the Winter Mainstage Season. Work shopped at Florida Studio Theatre last spring, Black Pearl Sings! 'Connects us to our heritage, our culture, and each other, while asking the simple question: who owns culture?' stated Richard Hopkins, FST Artistic Director.

Lynne Meadow (Artistic Director) and Barry Grove (Executive Producer) have announced three of the productions for Manhattan Theatre Club's upcoming 2009-2010 theatrical season, including two of the three productions at MTC's Broadway theatre, the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street) (THE ROYAL FAMILY, COLLECTED STORIES) and the first of the three shows planned for MTC's Off-Broadway theatre at New York City Center - Stage I (131 West 55th Street) (TIME STANDS STILL).

South Coast Repertory's Artistic Directors, David Emmes and Martin Benson, today announced the cast and creative team for the World Premiere of Richard Greenberg's Our Mother's Brief Affair, about two adult siblings who reunite to tend to their elderly mother and their astonishment to learn about her long-ago love affair. Commissioned by SCR and directed by Pam MacKinnon, Our Mother's Brief Affair will run from April 3 through May 3 on the Segerstrom Stage. Low-priced previews are available from April 3 through April 9. Opening night is April 10. Press night is Saturday, April 11 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets to Our Mother's Brief Affair may be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or in person at the SCR box office.

Rep Stage, the professional Equity theatre in residence at Howard Community College (HCC), continues its 16th season with the regional premiere of Jenny Schwartz's 'God's Ear,' playing April 1 through April 26, 2009 in the Studio Theatre of HCC. 'God's Ear' focuses on a young couple, Ted and Mel, and how they cope with the loss of their son. Positioned firmly in the center of 'God's Ear' is the concept of language, and how language and expression are used to deal with tragedy and grief. Paul Morella (Ted), Julie-Ann Elliott (Mel) and Lauren Williams (Lanie) star; Helen Hayes Award-winning director Kasi Campbell directs. For show schedules and additional information, refer to the included Fact Sheet.

Florida Studio Theatre continues it's Stage III Series with ...and L.A. is Burning opening March 4 and continues through March 19, 2009. Called 'a powerful examination of a changing nation' by the Houston Press ...and L.A. is Burning recently received the Smith Prize from the National New Play Network for 2008.

Underground Railway Theater presents How Do You Spell Hope?, a theatrical experience for the whole family based on true stories of people who overcame great obstacles to learn to read, playing at the Central Square Theater Friday, February 13 through Sunday, March 1. Written by Melinda Lopez and directed by Underground Railway Theater Artistic Director Debra Wise, How Do You Spell Hope? tells the stories of the road to literacy for a Cambridge high school athlete with severe dyslexia, Frederick Douglass, and a Latina immigrant who learns to read English ? all woven together by puppets and actors in a world of giant pop-up books. The cast features award winning Boston area actors Vincent E. Siders and Ramona Alexander, as well as puppeteer Penny Benson. Press Night is set for Saturday, February 14 at 3 PM.

McCarter Theatre Center announces the complete cast of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, directed by Rebecca Taichman. A co-production with Washington, D.C.'s Shakespeare Theatre Company, Twelfth Night begins performances in the Matthews Theatre on Tuesday, March 10 and runs until March 29. (Press opening Friday, March 13). Shipwrecked in a foreign land without family, friends or possessions-what's a girl to do? Identity is under siege in the labyrinth of misconceptions that is Twelfth Night, Shakespeare's bewitching comedy of unquenchable desire, self-deception and misdirected love. This fantastical, timeless production-helmed by rising-star director Rebecca Taichman-is a real sensualist's delight: full of longing 'all as hungry as the sea' and awash in ethereal charm.

Underground Railway Theater presents How Do You Spell Hope?, a theatrical experience for the whole family based on true stories of people who overcame great obstacles to learn to read, playing at the Central Square Theater Friday, February 13 through Sunday, March 1. Written by Melinda Lopez and directed by Underground Railway Theater Artistic Director Debra Wise, How Do You Spell Hope? tells the stories of the road to literacy for a Cambridge high school athlete with severe dyslexia, Frederick Douglass, and a Latina immigrant who learns to read English ? all woven together by puppets and actors in a world of giant pop-up books. The cast features award winning Boston area actors Vincent E. Siders and Ramona Alexander, as well as puppeteer Penny Benson. Press Night is set for Saturday, February 14 at 3 PM.

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson) announced today that the 2009 Shakespeare in the Park summer season will begin in June with a new production of William Shakespeare?s TWELFTH NIGHT directed by Daniel Sullivan and featuring Academy Award nominee Anne Hathaway as Viola. TWELFTH NIGHT will run June 9-July 12 at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. In August, JoAnne Akalaitis will return to direct Euripides?s THE BACCHAE, translated by Nicholas Rudall, and featuring original music by Philip Glass. THE BACCHAE will run August 11-September 6.

Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) is proud to announce the full cast for the upcoming New York premiere of Distracted, by Lisa Loomer, directed by Mark Brokaw. Distracted will begin previews on Saturday, February 7th and open officially on Wednesday, March 4th, 2009 at the Laura Pels Theatre in the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre (111 West 46th Street).