Cedric Mays News

Under the leadership of Charles Newell, Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director and Stephen J. Albert. Executive Director, Court Theatre continues its Spotlight Reading Series, with a free, public reading of Roosters by Milcha Sanchez-Scott and directed by Ricardo Cutierrez, at the National Museum of Mexican Art, 1852 W 19th Street, on Monday, May 1 at 6:30 p.m.

Court Theatre, under the leadership of Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director Charles Newell and Executive Director Stephen J. Albert, announces the 2017 lineup for the Spotlight Reading Series, a multi-year community outreach initiative that aims to expose communities beyond Hyde Park to theatre arts, focusing specifically on works from outside of the canon of classic theater.

Windy City Playhouse (3014 W. Irving Park Road) announces the complete casting for Fernanda Coppel's "King Liz," a production that "keeps you gasping with excitement" (Observer) over one woman's journey to take on the male-dominated world of sports agents.

Did you know that there was an African Theater Company in 1821? We learn during American Players Theater production of 'THE AFRICAN THEATER COMPANY PRESENTS RICHARD III, that 6 years before New York abolished slavery and 20 years before the beginning of the Civil War, this company existed.

Name one person worth passing through the gates of Hades for while singing a song so sorrowful the stones would weep--A parent? A child? A partner? Perhaps even a true friend? American Players Theatre stages Eurydice, steampunk style in the Touchstone Theatre, recreating Sarah Ruhl's ethereal, surreal play examining love and the lengths someone would travel to serve that love. Based on the Greek myth of lovers Eurydice and musical rock star Orpheus, the child of Calliope and perhaps the God Apollo, Ruhl transforms the myth with a tale in tribute to her own father. Directed by Londoner Tyne Rafaeli, this production acquires a spiritual ambiance drawing the audience into Ruhl's and Rafaeli's underworld where Orpheus searches for Eurydice and literal sobs, tears flowing freely, were heard in the audience on opening day.

Outside the Touchstone Theatre in Spring Green, American Players Theatre (APT) stages an exuberant African Dance accompanied by the thunder of drums and keyboard. The impromptu performance celebrates the legacy of color about to be admired on stage in a production of Carlyle Brown's The African Company Presents Richard III. Set in 1821 New York, the play focuses on actual historical events where a small African-American theater company produced their production of Shakespeare's Richard III on the exact same night  the famous Park Theatre owned by Daniel Price opened their production featuring English actor Julius Booth as the deformed king.

American Players Theatre (APT) announces its 37th Summer Festival Season, June 3 - October 16, 2016, a diverse lineup of eight classical and contemporary plays in repertory that includes the return and work of two visiting Chicago directors: Derrick Sanders, founding Artistic Director of Congo Square Theatre Company directing The African Company Presents Richard III by Carlyle Brown in APT's intimate 200-seat Touchstone Theatre; and Jeff Award winner William Brown taking on William Shakespeare's King Lear in APT's flagship 1140-seat outdoor amphitheater on the Hill.

StageOne Family Theatre, Louisville, KY's professional theatre for young audiences, presents a new look at the life and legacy of Muhammad Ali with the world premiere production of And in This Corner…Cassius Clay, on January 17, 2015, Ali's 73rd birthday. Dubbed "Play it Forward: Champions Night," the evening will feature a gala dinner as well as the play, and a post-show champagne reception honoring the Champ and the new production. The event will be co-hosted by StageOne Family Theatre, The Muhammad Ali Center and The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts. Performances will continue atThe Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts from January 19th to February 14th.

Hall mixes historical reality with playful conjecture to create a piece which is heartwarming and thought-provokingA rainy Saturday evening in Chapel Hill was fitting for the opening night of PlayMakers Repertory Company's production of The Mountaintop, produced in partnership with Greensboro's Triad Stage. The play, written by Katori Hall, also takes place on a rainy evening - a fateful one: April 3, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. It was the night before Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot, and it follows the man through his final evening, which was spent in his hotel room. Hall mixes historical reality with playful conjecture to create a piece which is heartwarming and thought-provoking.

PlayMakers Repertory Company kicks off its new Mainstage Season today, Sept. 18-Oct. 6 with the regional premiere of the acclaimed new play focusing on the last night in the life of DR. Martin Luther King Jr., 'The Mountaintop' by Katori Hall.

PlayMakers Repertory Company kicks off its new Mainstage Season Sept. 18-Oct. 6 with the regional premiere of the acclaimed new play focusing on the last night in the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., 'The Mountaintop' by Katori Hall.

Chicago Children's Theatre (CCT) skips a few grades following its recent smash hit, Harold and the Purple Crayon, with a new production of Bud, Not Buddy, January 12-February 24, 2013 at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. Press opening is Friday, January 18 at 7 p.m. Single tickets start at $20, and are on sale now. To purchase, visit chicagochildrenstheatre.org or call (872) 222-9555. For group rates, visit GroupTix.net or call (773) 327-3778.

Goodman Theatre and Teatro Vista team up for their second world-premiere production with Fish Men, Puerto Rican playwright Candido Tirado's new comedic drama about a group of urban chess hustlers drawn together by a shared need to overcome their individual demons. Edward Torres, Artistic Director of Teatro Vista, makes his Goodman directorial debut with this second play of a three-year producing partnership between the Goodman and Teatro Vista, Chicago's first and largest not-for-profit professional Latino theater company. Fish Men runs through tonight, May 6, 2012, in the Goodman's Owen Theatre.

Goodman Theatre and Teatro Vista team up for their second world-premiere production with Fish Men, Puerto Rican playwright Cándido Tirado's new comedic drama about a group of urban chess hustlers drawn together by a shared need to overcome their individual demons. Edward Torres, Artistic Director of Teatro Vista, makes his Goodman directorial debut with this second play of a three-year producing partnership between the Goodman and Teatro Vista, Chicago's first and largest not-for-profit professional Latino theater company. Fish Men runs opening night, tomorrow, April 16, through May 6, 2012, in the Goodman's Owen Theatre. Check out photos of the production below!

Goodman Theatre and Teatro Vista team up for their second world-premiere production with Fish Men, Puerto Rican playwright Candido Tirado's new comedic drama about a group of urban chess hustlers drawn together by a shared need to overcome their individual demons. Edward Torres, Artistic Director of Teatro Vista, makes his Goodman directorial debut with this second play of a three-year producing partnership between the Goodman and Teatro Vista, Chicago's first and largest not-for-profit professional Latino theater company. Fish Men runs April 7 - May 6, 2012 (Opening Night is April 16) in the Goodman's Owen Theatre.

Goodman Theatre and Teatro Vista team up for their second world-premiere production with Fish Men, Puerto Rican playwright Candido Tirado's new comedic drama about a group of urban chess hustlers drawn together by a shared need to overcome their individual demons. Edward Torres, Artistic Director of Teatro Vista, makes his Goodman directorial debut with this second play of a three-year producing partnership between the Goodman and Teatro Vista, Chicago's first and largest not-for-profit professional Latino theater company. Fish Men runs April 7 - May 6, 2012 (Opening Night is April 16) in the Goodman's Owen Theatre.

Was it natural disaster or man-made greed that led to the loss of 2,200 lives in 1889? Playwright Rebecca Gilman teams up with Tony Award-winning Director Robert Falls for the world premiere of A True History of the Johnstown Flood, an epic theatrical event set against the backdrop of the 1889 flood-a disaster more deadly than Hurricane Katrina. The production will end its run April 18th.

Was it natural disaster or man-made greed that led to the loss of 2,200 lives in 1889? Playwright Rebecca Gilman teams up with Tony Award-winning Director Robert Falls for the world premiere of A True History of the Johnstown Flood, an epic theatrical event set against the backdrop of the 1889 flood-a disaster more deadly than Hurricane Katrina. The Goodman commissioned Gilman, an acclaimed Chicago-based writer whose work 'reaches the heart and head with equal force' (Time) and has the 'ability to shake up a theater audience with the power of her ideas-and words' (Chicago Tribune), for this world premiere about love, money, class struggles and the power of theater to change lives.

Was it natural disaster or man-made greed that led to the loss of 2,200 lives in 1889? Playwright Rebecca Gilman teams up with Tony Award-winning Director Robert Falls for the world premiere of A True History of the Johnstown Flood, an epic theatrical event set against the backdrop of the 1889 flood-a disaster more deadly than Hurricane Ka

Was it natural disaster or man-made greed that led to the loss of 2,200 lives in 1889? Playwright Rebecca Gilman teams up with Tony Award-winning Director Robert Falls for the world premiere of A True History of the Johnstown Flood, an epic theatrical event set against the backdrop of the 1889 flood-a disaster more deadly than Hurricane Ka