A.C.T. kicks off its 2014-15 season with the West Coast premiere of the Signature Theatre production of Old Hats (September 10-October 5, 2014), starring Tony Award winners Bill Irwin and David Shiner. Using music, technology, and movement - plus a few other tricks up their sleeves - Old Hats combines the inimitable magic, slapstick and hilarity of Irwin and Shiner into a wild and remarkable outing of theater for generations old and new. Directed by Tina Landau, Old Hats was the recipient of the 2013 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Alternative Theatrical Experience and the 2013 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revue. Old Hats marks the first collaboration for Irwin and Shiner since the smash Broadway hit Fool Moon, which set A.C.T. box office records during its sold-out 1998 run and their return engagement in 2001. Press night for Old Hats will be on Wednesday, September 17, 2014.
In advance of American Conservatory Theater's (A.C.T.) upcoming U.S. premiere of James Fenton's acclaimed adaptation of The Orphan of Zhao, a classic Chinese legend that has its roots in the fourth century BCE, A.C.T. and the Commonwealth Club of California are proud to present BD Wong and A.C.T. Artistic Director Carey Perloff in Conversation for one-night-only - Monday, May 19 at 7:30 p.m. at A.C.T.'s Geary Theater (415 Geary St., San Francisco).
In conjunction with the internationally acclaimed music-infused production, The Suit, American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) announced today a partnership with Dress for Success San Francisco during the engagement of the production (April 23-May 18, 2014) to help garner donations for the celebrated non-profit and save on tickets to A.C.T. performances.
The five-time Grammy Award-winning San Francisco Girls Chorus--Lisa Bielawa, Artistic Director and Valérie Sainte-Agathe, Music Director and Principal Conductor-continues its 35th anniversary season with a fully staged production of Benjamin Britten's 1957 opera Noye's Fludde, based on the biblical deluge story, in one performance only, tonight, March 29, 2014, at 8 pm at Temple Emanu-El in San Francisco.
Roundabout Theatre Company has announced that PS Classics will record the cast album of VIOLET on April 7, 2014. This Original Broadway Cast Recording, a two-disc set, will be released on June 3. The production is currently playing at the American Airlines Theatre through August 10, 2014.
American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) Artistic Director Carey Perloff announced today that Beatrice Basso has been named as A.C.T.'s first Director of New Work. Furthering A.C.T.'s mission to provide innovative programming that enriches, educates, and engages with the community, Basso-in her new role-will focus on new work development, season planning, and the commissioning process for all of A.C.T.'s performance spaces: The Geary Theater, The Costume Shop Theater and the soon-to-be-opened Strand Theater.
Roundabout Theatre Company has announced Tony Award winner Rosemary Harris will play the role of 'Eleanor Swan' in the Off-Broadway premiere of Tom Stoppard's Indian Ink, directed by Carey Perloff. The production will begin performances on September 4 and open Sunday, September 28, 2014 at the Laura Pels Theatre in the Harold & Miriam Steinberg Centre for Theatre (111 West 46th Street).
Performances begin tonight for Roundabout Theatre Company's third annual Roundabout Underground Reading Series. The actors involved in the series include: Pico Alexander, Fred Applegate, De'Adre Aziza, David Aaron Baker, Cassie Beck, Michael Chernus, Diane Davis, Dashiell Eaves, Ryan Eggold, Lisa Emery, Sue Jean Kim, Chad Kimball, Jessica Love, Lizbeth Mackay, Annie McNamara, Alex Mickiewicz, Aaron Clifton Moten, Olivia Oguma, Tonya Pinkins, Paul Pontrelli, Conrad Ricamora, Reg Rogers, Debra Jo Rupp, Campbell Scott and Max von Essen.
Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) presents its annual 2014 Spring Gala 'In Here, Life Is Beautiful' on Monday, March 10th, 2014 at the Hammerstein Ballroom (311 West 34th Street, NYC). The evening will be a celebration of Academy Award, Olivier and Golden Globe winner Sam Mendes, who will be presented with The Jason Robards Award for Excellence in Theatre.
Roundabout Theatre Company's production of Machinal, starring Rebecca Hall and directed by Lindsay Turner, will conclude its limited engagement on March 2, 2014 at 2:00PM.
16 years after they swept San Francisco Bay Area audiences off their feet with the Tony Award-winning production Fool Moon, American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) welcomes back Tony Award winners Bill Irwin and David Shiner in the West Coast premiere of the Signature Theatre production of Old Hats. Using music, technology and movement - plus a few other tricks up their sleeves - Old Hats combines the inimitable magic, slapstick and hilarity of Irwin and Shiner into a wild and remarkable outing of theatre for generations old and new. Directed by Tina Landau, Old Hats was the recipient of the 2013 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Alternative Theatrical Experience and the 2013 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revue. Old Hats marks the first collaboration for Irwin and Shiner since the smash Broadway hit Fool Moon, which set A.C.T. box office records during its sold-out 1998 run and their return engagement in 2001. At this time, tickets to Old Hats are available only to subscribers of A.C.T.'s 2014-15 season.
Roundabout Theatre Company's production of Dinner with Friends by Pulitzer Prize winner Donald Margulies and directed by Tony Award winner Pam MacKinnon, opens tomorrow, Thursday, February 13 at 7:00PM.
Continuing its 2013-14 season, American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) travels to 1940s Italy with A.C.T. favorite Marco Barricelli (former Artistic Director of Shakespeare Santa Cruz; Vigil at A.C.T.) and Canada's Stratford Festival star Seana McKenna (Phedre at A.C.T.), who return to lead the cast of Napoli!, Beatrice Basso and Linda Alper's vivid new translation of Eduardo De Filippo's poignant Italian comedy. During the chaotic days of World War II in Naples, an enterprising woman sets up a small-time black market business in the middle of her home to keep her family afloat. She prospers, but maybe a bit too much-compelling her husband to ask hard questions about morality, civility, and the state of their society. In a war-torn culture in which coffee is like liquid gold, De Filippo's masterful blend of humor and pathos tells the story of an unforgettable and wildly entertaining family determined to make a living even if it means profiteering. Directed by A.C.T. Associate Artistic Director Mark Rucker, this production culminates the Year of Italian Culture in the United States.
The American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) Program continues to grow its annual Will on Wheels program, which tours works of William Shakespeare to schools around the Bay Area, with a record-setting 24 performances this year. The 2014 Will on Wheels tour spotlights abridged versions of two Shakespeare classics: Romeo and Juliet and a two-woman production of As You Like It. Both productions feature student actors from the A.C.T. M.F.A. Program class of 2015.
American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) and Gala Co-Chairs Nancy Sawyer Hasson and Fred M. Levin are proud to announce its 2014 season gala, FLEISHHACKER, MAGNIN, SWIG - A.C.T.'S MAD, MAD MEN, honoring the three founding fathers of A.C.T.-- Mortimer Fleishhacker, Cyril Magnin, and Melvin Swig--and celebrating the past, present, future of the organization. The gala will be held on Sunday, May 18, 2014, at the historic Regency Ballroom (1300 Van Ness Avenue) in San Francisco.
From legendary theatrical innovators Peter Brook, Marie-Helene Estienne, and Franck Krawczyk comes the internationally acclaimed music-infused production, The Suit. Fresh from sold-out runs in New York, Paris, and London, The Suit is a tragic tale of betrayal and resentment adapted from the short story of the same name by South African writer, Can Themba. When a husband catches his beautiful wife in the arms of her lover, the lover flees-but leaves his suit behind. As her penance, the husband makes his wife 'treat the suit as an honored guest,' to accompany her wherever she goes. From the dinner table to walks around the neighborhood, the suit becomes a whimsical yet cruel reminder of her infidelity. Traditional African melodies interweave with jazz standards to underscore this simple yet surprising tale, set in Apartheid-era Johannesburg. Reminiscent of The Scarlet Letter and overflowing with the same inventiveness as The Overcoat and Brief Encounter, The Suit features innovative staging that integrates virtuosic musicians directly into the action, making Brook's haunting production of this heartbreaking fable sing. The Suit will perform at A.C.T.'s Geary Theater (415 Geary Street, San Francisco) April 23-May 18, 2014. Press night is Wednesday, April 30, 2014. Tickets ($20 -$120) are on sale now and may be purchased online at act-sf.org or by calling 415.749.2228.
The five-time Grammy Award-winning San Francisco Girls Chorus—Lisa Bielawa, Artistic Director, and Valérie Sainte-Agathe, Music Director and Principal Conductor—are in demand as one of the Bay Area's top vocal ensembles with upcoming guest performances this spring with the San Francisco Symphony, award-winning visual arts organization Creativity Explored, Stephen Petronio Dance Company presented by San Francisco Performances and in Opera Parallèle's productions of Poulenc's Les Mamelles de Tiresias and Weill's Mahagonny. In addition, the Girls Chorus will stage Benjamin Britten's Noye's Fludde, based on the biblical deluge story, with décor and set pieces by artists from Creativity Explored on Saturday, March 29. A complete list of Spring performances is listed below. For more information, visit www.sfgirlschorus.org .
Artistic Director Carey Perloff announced today that American Conservatory Theater will present the exclusive California screening of Peter Brook: The Tightrope, a new and definitive documentary on the creative process of legendary theater director Peter Brook, on Monday, March 24 at 7 p.m. at A.C.T.'s Geary Theater (415 Geary Street, San Francisco).
American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) is primed to seduce audiences this March with an electrifying new production of Venus in Fur-David Ives' 2012 Tony Award-nominated play that electrified (and titillated) Broadway audiences. When a young actress auditions for a demanding playwright/director's adaptation of a classic novel that explores sexual domination, their encounter explodes into a playful, witty, and erotic game of cat and mouse, dangerously blurring the lines between fantasy and reality-and seduction and power. Venus in Fur was named one of the 'year's best' plays by more than a dozen major publications, and called 'seriously smart and very funny . . . a suspense-packed study of the erotics of power' by the New York Times. Venus in Fur runs March 19-April 13, 2014, at A.C.T.'s Geary Theater (415 Geary Street, San Francisco). Press night is Wednesday, March 26, 2014. Tickets ($20 -$120) are on sale now and may be purchased online at act-sf.org or by calling 415.749.2228.
Directors Lab West Steering Committee is pleased to announce the dates for the fifteenth annual Directors Lab West. The 2014 Lab will take place May 17-24th in residence at the Pasadena Playhouse. The Lab will continue its tradition of bringing together dedicated theatre directors, choreographers and master artists for a week of intense discussions and exploration of the art form.
